The Hard Shoulder

Jonathan Healy is joined by John Fardy, host of Screentime, and entertainment journalist Sarina Bellissimo to preview the weekend’s best film and streaming picks — from hidden gems to blockbuster releases. Listen here

Architect and conservationist, Roisin Murphy, and UCD history professor, Conor Mulvagh join The Hard Shoulder to discuss why so many of Ireland’s heritage buildings are deteriorating. This comes after a viscious row erupted in the Dáil between Simon Harris and Sinn Féin on plans to redevelop the GPO. Listen here to hear if these plans will be positive, or yet another failure in the state acknowled...

Comedian Jason Byrne joins The Hard Shoulder for the Thursday Interview this week. Get all the latest from Jason's career, his early life doing gigs in England and what's coming next. Listen to it all here.

Sean Defoe, Newstalk’s Political Correspondent, joins The Hard Shoulder to break down the latest in the race for Áras an Uachtaráin - or lackthereof - and to analyse a fiery exchange in the Dáil involving Tánaiste Simon Harris. Listen here for all the lates.

Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon attempts to break the barrier of the women’s four-minute mile this evening in Paris.  She is already the world-record holder in the mile and the 1500m, but she now has her sights set on being the first woman to run the four-minute mile.   Sonia O’Sullivan, World Champion and Irish Olympian joins Jonathan to discuss what a milestone it will be for a woman to break t...

Thomas Gould, Sinn Féin TD for Cork North Central, and Cllr. Joe Kavanagh, former Lord Mayor of Cork, join The Hard Shoulder to respond to growing anger over Cork’s road conditions. According to figures released to NewsTalk, Cork ranks the highest in number of pothole related complaints to local council. Listen here for all the latest.

Broadcaster Jennifer Zamparelli joins Jonathan Healy to talk about stepping into the iconic role of narrator in the new stage production of The Rocky Horror Picture Show in the Bórd Gáis— and how she’s putting her own spin on the cult classic. Listen here

Barra Roantree, Director of the Masters in Economic Policy at Trinity College Dublin, joins The Hard Shoulder to discuss ESRI’s latest economic outlook — including fears about a construction slowdown and rising costs related to US foreign policy moves. Where will the next economic crash come, or what form might it take? Listen here for more.

According to new figures released to NewsTalk, there has been a 92% increase in pothole complaints to local councils. NewsTalk's own, Josh Crosbie has been asking motorists how badly affected their areas are. Listen here.

NewsTalk's Josh Crosbie hit the streets to ask parents their views on allowing kids to see their drinking habits. For discussion,June Shannon, medical journalist and mother, and Dr Malie Coyne, clinical psychologist and author, join Jonathan Healy on whether this sets a harmful example. Listen here

New research has found that more than 500 bird species, including the puffin and the European turtle dove, could vanish within the next century. Can it be stopped? Joining guest host Jonathan Healy to discuss is Niall Hatch of Bird Watch Ireland.

Life can be full of confusing things, but no need to worry! Every Wednesday, Simon Tierney will be showing you ‘How to do Stuff’ - bringing his best tips for those things you might not think about. This week, Simon joins guest host Jonathan Healy to discuss how to pack a suitcase!

The Irish Postmasters' Union is calling on the Government to invest €15 million per year over the next five years to prevent a decline in post offices. It’s one of a number of issues brought up today at the Oireachtas Arts and Community Committee in relation to the future of our postal service. David McRedmond, CEO of An Post, was there, and joins Jonathan Healy to discuss.

With technology rapidly advancing, and artificial intelligence becoming more and more intelligent, should we be concerned about AI replicating us after death? Would we want our loved ones to talk to artificial models of us after we pass? Or is that something that we should be able to opt out of, like in our wills? Newstalk's Technology Correspondent Jess Kelly joins guest host Jonathan Healy to di...

|reland has the third lowest childhood vaccine coverage among high-income nations globally. It also has the sixth lowest coverage among the countries on the European continent and the second lowest among western European nations. Why is this the case? To answer this and discuss further, guest host Jonathan Healy is joined by Professor of Experimental Immunology at Trinity College Dublin, Kingston...

Women’s Aid recorded their highest number of calls ever in 2024, the organisation has confirmed in its annual report. Last year, the organisation was contacted 32,144 times - a figure 12% higher than the one in 2023 - of which 24,396 were made through the National Freephone Helpline. For more on this, guest host Jonathan Healy is joined by CEO of Women’s Aid, Sarah Benson. And later, Trina O’Conno...

First published in 1774, the classic nursery rhyme Hickory Dickory Dock has been given a trigger warning over 250 years since it was originally published. This comes after a theatre production of the kids’ classic Three Little Pigs was criticised for placing a similar trigger warning on its content. This begs the question, are we taking this trigger-happy approach to content warnings on children’s...

UNICEF has warned that, with the world’s attention averted elsewhere, the situation in Gaza is hitting “rock bottom.” Famine conditions in the territory worsen as aid continues to be blocked, with hospital resources unable to accommodate the number of children being admitted for acute malnutrition. Over 500 people have been killed since last month, and almost 3,800 injured at Gazan aid sites, acco...

Irish farmers have welcomed plans by the European Parliament to restrict “cynical” vegetarian and vegan food producers from using words such as sausage and burger to sell their products. Henry McKean has been getting thoughts from the public, and joins guest host Jonathan Healy to discuss.

Every week for The Ultimate Guide on The Hard Shoulder, Fionn Davenport takes a closer look at some of the fantastic destinations to visit around the world. This week, Fionn joined guest host Jonathan to give his travel tips for the windy city of Chicago!

The Government last week authorised the purchase of the CityWest hotel in Saggart, Co Dublin, to become a state-owned International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) centre for asylum-seekers. According to Eoin O’Malley, Associate Professor of Politics at DCU, the CityWest hotel can be described as “a monument to Irish policy failure”. Eoin joins Jonathan Healy to discuss.

Comedian and actress Catherine Lynch joins guest host Jonathan Healy to place her favourite book on The Hard Shoulder Bookshelf!

Today, Sinn Féin brought a Private Member’s Bill on extending voting rights to Irish Citizens outside the state for the Presidential Election. This has been hotly debated for years, with the Constitutional Convention first recommending this extension in 2013. Sinn Féin Senator Conor Murphy joins guest host Jonathan Healy to discuss.

An agreement has been reached between the HSE and health unions on the introduction of an extended working day and week. This agreement is an attempt to free up beds, and have extended care to patients outside of 9 to 5 office hours. The agreement would see staff such as consultants, social workers, therapists and administrative staff rostered over seven days, as opposed to five. To discuss this,...

Today is the first of a two-day summit of NATO members, being held in the Hague. The summit has one main item on the agenda: defense spending. The aim is to increase spending to 5% of member’s GDP by 2035, in line with President Trump’s demands. Shona Murray, Europe Correspondent with Euronews joins guest host Jonathan Healy to discuss. Image: Reuters