The Last Word with Matt Cooper

Bob Dylan played the 3Arena this week in his long-awaited return to Dublin. Zara Hedderman was at the gig and joined Matt to review it. John Caddell and Dee Reddy also covered the latest music news and releases including new music from Irish band House Plants and the tragic passing of singer Aaron Carter. Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page.

Voters in the US have been heading to the polls for the midterm elections which will determine whether the Democrats lose control of Congress. The party that controls the White House typically loses seats in the midterms. Matt is joined by Marion McKeone and Cal Thomas to discuss these key elections as well as the other biggest stories from the States. Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' bu...

Laureate for Irish Fiction, Colm Tóibín spoke to Matt about his latest book 'A Guest at the Feast', which is a collection of essays about his own life. Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page.

There have been big changes to social media giant Twitter since Elon Musk’s takeover and more are expected to come. As a result lots of people have started looking for an alternative platform. Andy O’Donoghue spoke to Matt on The Last Word about Mastodon, a platform that has already seen a surge in users, as well as other alternatives to Twitter. Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button o...

Miguel Delaney and Mark Lawrenson spoke to Matt on The Last Word about the potential sale of Liverpool and the weekend’s Premier League. Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page.

Matt was joined by Joe O’Shea and Elaine Burke on The Last Word to discuss the latest TV and streaming news, including the return of reality TV staple I’m A Celebrity and Netflix’s The Crown. Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page.

The Northern and Western Regional Assembly has called for at least two electric charge facilities in every town and village in the country in order to meet electric vehicle targets. John Daly, chief economist at the Northern & Western Regional Assembly, joined Matt on The Last Word to discuss why more people aren’t switching to electric vehicles. Catch the full chat by pressing 'Play' button on th...

Visiting New York with kids may seem daunting to some, but it can be the trip of a lifetime. Sarah Slattery from the travelexpert.ie spoke to Matt on The Last Word about her top attractions when travelling to New York as a family. Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page.

Twitter has begun laying off Irish staff as it plans to cut up to half of its global workforce. Ian Guider, columnist with the Business Post and General Secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, Owen Reidy spoke to The Last Word about what this means for the social media giant. Ian also has the day’s other business stories including Revolut’s plan to offer ‘100% digital’ mortgages. Catch th...

Fifa have written to the teams competing in the World Cup asking them to focus on the football in Qatar and not allow the game “to be dragged into every ideological or political battle that exists.” Miguel Delaney spoke to The Last Word about the wave of controversies facing the tournament and how world football is dealing with them. Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page.

Roe McDermott, Irish Times advice columnist and movies editor with Hot Press and special correspondent with the Irish Examiner, Mick Clifford, discuss some of the other stories making headlines this week, including Twitter's layoffs and Gwyneth Paltrow’s Christmas gift guide. Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page.

On The Last Word on Movies Roe McDermott and Brian Lloyd discuss this week’s biggest movie releases. These include Watcher, The Wonder and the latest project from Cartoon Saloon, My Father’s Dragon. Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page.

Ahead of the Autumn International series at the Aviva, the IRFU has plans to contact ticket holders to remind them to be respectful to fellow patrons. Gerry Thornley, Irish Times Rugby Correspondent doesn’t think the measures will go far enough as many patrons have highlighted the interruptions caused by the flow of traffic through seat rows and aisles. Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' b...

Recent incidents on the side-lines of children’s sports have led to calls for a ‘zero tolerance’ policy on abuse of officials and players. In the UK, parents have been banned from shouting during children's football matches as part of a pilot project to curb violent incidents. Irish Times parenting columnist Jen Hogan and Senator Shane Cassells joined The Last Word to discuss whether a similar app...

Glaucoma is a slowly progressive illness and the leading cause of blindness in the developed world. Dr Brian Higgins outlines the causes of glaucoma and how to treat it. Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page.

Fr. Tim Hazelwood from the Association of Catholic Priests and theologian Gina Menzies joined The Last Word to discuss the survey from the Association of Catholic Priests on the ageing population of priests in Ireland. Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page.

Fergal Hickey, president of the Irish Association of Emergency Medicine joined The Last Word to discuss hospital waiting lists, staff shortages and delays in discharging patients. Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page.

Looking for a Christmas or New Year's break? Sarah Slattery from travelexpert.ie joined The Last Word to discuss the best Irish hotel deals for Christmas and New Year's Eve 2022/23. Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page.

Hugh Bonneville, actor and author speaks on the ups and downs of career which has seen him star in Downton Abbey, Nothing Hill and Paddington. Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page.

Dee Reddy and Dave Hanratty discuss all the latest music news and releases, including Adele commanding £40,000 for tickets to her Las Vegas gigs. Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page.

Cal Thomas, nationally syndicated columnist, and Marion McKeone of the Business Post discuss the assault on US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband Paul. They also look ahead to next week’s midterm elections. Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page.

Boxer and Olympic Gold medalist Kellie Harrington and author Roddy Doyle discuss collaborating on “Kellie”, which tells the story of the boxer’s journey from inner city kid to winning gold in Tokyo. Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page.

Geoff Shreeves is a giant of football and in his memoir 'Cheers Geoff', he shares hilarious, bizarre and moving stories from across his career. Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page.

Elon Musk has completed his $44m takeover of Twitter after months of speculation over the deal. Jenny Darmody, Deputy Editor at Silicon Republic, considers how Twitter might change after Elon Musk’s take over. Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page.

Today FM presenter Pamela Joyce and Mark Paul, Business columnist with the Irish Times discussed some of the other stories making headlines this week, including the release of Matthew Perry’s book, and criticism of UK foreign secretary James Cleverly for saying LGBT football fans should respect Qatar. Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page.