The Big Tech Show

What sort of power do ‘influencers’ really yield? Adrian sits down with one of the most powerful social media figures in Ireland, who is a wanted man by commercial brands. James Kavanagh explains what he does, why it works and how he is now earning a multiple of what he did in previous jobs. Honesty and originality, he says, are key attributes, as well a particularly strong work ethic. He discusse...

What’s the story with self-driving cars coming to Ireland? How will it all affect insurance? Will middle-aged men be able to bear giving up ‘control’ of their ‘rides’? And which cars already have significant self-driving capabilities? Adrian sits down with two people who know all about it, Geraldine Herbert (Sunday Independent and editor of wheelsforwomen.ie) and Philip McNamara, co-founder of Mob...

Communications Minister Denis Naughten sits down with Adrian and Fearghal O’Connor to talk of plans to make high speed broadband an “enforceable legal right” in Ireland. The Roscommon TD also says that a new mobile coverage map for Ireland will become available at the end of the year, showing where all the blackspots are. And after weeks of controversy, Minister Naughten also answers a few questio...

This week Adrian sits down with the Emmy award-winning Boston tycoon who is the last man standing in Ireland’s controversial National Broadband Plan – Enet chairman David McCourt. Joined by Sunday Independent deputy editor Fearghal O’Connor, they discuss politics, Donald Trump, Angelina Jolie and the prospects for rural Ireland. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, Adrian talks about digital consent, kids, Facebook, privacy and all points in between with Dylan Collins, the Tipperary founder and chief executive of SuperAwesome, a ‘kid tech’ company he founded five years ago and which is now valued at over $100m. Adrian and Dylan debate some basic truths about the internet and social media, and also look Mark Zuckerberg’s performance in front...

This week, Adrian is joined by the CTO of Europe’s biggest airline, Ryanair. John Hurley talks about the barrier to putting wifi in the planes, those trumpet noises and whether Ryanair can really become the “Amazon of travel”. He also explains why, despite things like reserved seating now on offer, Ryanair won’t ever be getting into ‘business class’. The Sunday Independent’s deputy business editor...

What are the rules when it comes to dating people you work with? In tech companies, there are some interesting new guidelines emerging. To discuss this, Adrian is joined by Green Party leader Eamon Ryan TD and Irish Independent journalist Katie Byrne. The three also discuss the future for electric cars and whether we’re caught up in too many techno-fuelled upgrade bubbles, resulting in poor enviro...

Facebook is a mess — but are we really deleting it from our lives? Adrian is joined by outspoken privacy expert Daragh O’Brien and the group editor of Independent News & Media, Dearbhail McDonald, to talk about the fallout from the omnishambles that has been Facebook’s last week. Is this a basic question of right and wrong? Or are there other agendas at work? Will people really walk away from Face...

Adrian sits down with Helen Dixon, the most powerful data protection enforcer in Europe. Dixon talks about the factors and contexts involved in dealing with the likes of Facebook, Yahoo, Google and other big firms, which are based in Ireland. The possible birth of a national identity card is also discussed. In a frank exchange, Dixon also refutes the claim, sometimes thrown by critics of Ireland’s...

In this episode, Adrian sits down with journalist Roisin Kiberd and Dublin TD Noel Rock to talk about Twitter, having a social media ‘score’ and Samsung’s newest Galaxy S9 phone. Rock talks about using Twitter as a medium and what to do when you get it wrong. The panel also looks at China’s dystopian new ‘Sesame Credit’ score where citizens are rated according to everyday tasks such as separating...

Adrian sits down with DIT head of design Barry Sheehan and freelance culture journalist Roisin Kiberd to talk about whether AirBnb is helping society or damaging it. Sheehan, who rents out his one-bed house in Dublin using AirBnb, says that it’s not detracting from the rental stock available to struggling families. The panel also looks at the short New York Times career of Quinn Norton, whether jo...

Adrian sits down with award-winning Irish press photographer, Steve Humphreys, to talk about the best cameras on the market, how to take a good photo and what type of camera you should use on different occasions. Is a full frame model really necessary? What are some good tips to get the best out of a single lens when travelling? Where does taking photos of people now sit with modern privacy rules?...

Best phone? Or Windows laptop under €1,000? What about noise-cancelling headphones? Or mid-level camera? Adrian is joined by Independent tech whizz (and Dublin Roller Derby maestro) Sara Devine to go through some of the most common buying decisions that listeners throw up. Sara and Adrian also pit the iPad Pro against Microsoft’s Surface Pro in what turns out t be something of a hardware battle ro...

Web Summit founder Paddy Cosgrave sits down with Adrian to talk bluntly about Irish journalism, politics, the property crisis, the future of tech and a skewed balance of power that multinational firms have over Ireland’s industrial future. Paddy also talks about AI and cryptocurrencies ahead of Moneyconf, the Web Summit’s financial technology event happening in Dublin this June. See omnystudio.com...

Adrian is joined by former Ireland rugby player (and Android enthusiast) Mike Ross and long time Apple user Dermot Daly to talk about the latest phones. The three compare the iPhone X to top Android models, including Samsung’s S8, and look at which one to choose. The panel also digs down into other recent developments, such as Amazon’s launch of Alexa into the Irish market and whether it’s worth g...

Adrian is joined by Leinster and Ireland rugby international player Jamie Heaslip, who talks about his favourite tech and why he has become a keen investor in a number of Irish startups. Jamie also talks about being an adult intern in Google (twice), his admiration for blockchain technology and his future after rugby. Other topics this week include smart homes, Elon Musk, electric cars and Apple....

This week, Adrian talks to one of the world’s most infamous hackers, Kevin Mitnick, about what it’s like to be on the run for two years, get caught and then spend a year in solitary confinement. Mitnick says that he was punished too harshly for his crimes and that the companies he hacked did not suffer to the extent they pleaded. Adrian is also joined in studio by the Dublin co-founder of one of S...

After a week of tech utopia at CES, Adrian looks at the some of the gadgets to come out of it – the growing influence of Alexa, giant TVs, drone cars and the coming wave of AR and VR glasses. These topics, together with artificial intelligence in our daily lives, are discussed with this week’s guest, one of Ireland’s most successful tech entrepreneurs. Steve Collins built gaming companies such as...

“Bitcoin will reach $200,000 by the end of 2018.” That’s the view of Reuben Godfrey, one of Adrian’s guests on today’s show, who insists that the rise in the cryptocurrency’s valuation is not a bubble. Another Bitcoin expert, John Gleeson, explains to the podcast how to go about buying Bitcoin for the first time if you’re a beginner. We also discuss the cost and process of replacing your phone’s c...

Adrian is joined by award-winning tech journalist Marie Boran and INM ‘newsonomics’ expert Steve Dempsey to talk about whether the media will survive in 2018. The three also take a look at how robotics and social media will affect society in the next 12 months and go through the most important trends of 2017. There’s a last chance to win one of two Motorola Moto G5 smartphones. See omnystudio.com/...

Is the ‘gig economy’ exploitative or a source of opportunity? Adrian discusses its pros and cons with Oisin Hanrahan, the 34-year-old Dubliner who raised €100m for Handy.com, an online cleaning and handyman service he cofounded. The two also look at gadgets, artificial intelligence and whether Facebook has more responsibility to society now than it did in previous years. There’s also one of two Mo...

In the first episode of The Big Tech Show, technology editor Adrian Weckler and Neva-Labs cofounder Mark Little discuss startups, gadgets, Facebook and the future of social media. Little, a former RTE Prime Time anchor, Storyful founder and head of Twitter Ireland, questions the quality of the news that Facebook and other social networks show us every day. Weckler and Little also compare existing...