The State of Us

Exposure to sectarian and political violence in childhood is a defining feature in the lives of homeless people in Northern Ireland. That’s according to research into how people living in hostels here have grown up. The study found they are three times more likely to have experienced Troubles-related violence than the rest of society. The Childhood Adversity and Homelessness in Northern Ireland wa...

He was Stakeknife, Britain's top spy in the IRA. And he was also Freddie Scappaticci, a west Belfast man who rose through the ranks of the IRA, before fleeing Northern Ireland decades ago when claims about his double life became public. He died in 2023, but the details and circumstances of his life – and what he did while acting for the Army while in the IRA – has become the subject of books, podc...

Blue-green algae, pollutants – and cocaine? The health of Northern Ireland’s lakes and rivers has been in the spotlight for some time and now scientists have found the widespread presence of drugs – including cocaine, painkillers and anti-depressants – in some of our major waterways. And, while the water sampled is not the same stuff as comes out of our taps, it does point towards another pressure...

The Presbyterian Church in Ireland (PCI) is the biggest Protestant denomination in Northern Ireland, with more than 200,000 members across the island. And it has never had its moderator, or head of the church, resign in its 185-year history – until three weeks ago. The announcement that Rev Trevor Gribben was stepping down due to serious safeguarding failings over a 13-year period, and that the po...

When Aidan Walsh announced his retirement from boxing last month, and said he was doing so with relief, it was clear his relationship with the sport is complicated. There were great days, not least winning a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics and representing Ireland at the highest stage with sister, and fellow boxer, Michaela. But there were dark days too, when he struggled under the pressure of...

Taxes, child benefits, electric cars and milkshakes - yes, we’re talking the Budget and how it could affect you. To help us along we invited some past guests of the programme back on to better understand what it all means. These guests all come from different circumstances – factory worker and new homeowner Jamie Jennings; single mum Louise McCullough; full-time worker Marc McKee who has a side-bu...

Jim Browning has more than four million followers on YouTube, is a star of the BBC’s Scam Interceptors programme and makes his living uncovering and exposing people trying to grift their way to your money – but no-one knows who he really is. Once a Northern Ireland-based engineer with a curiosity about who was behind those annoying phone calls, now he’s a ‘scam-baiter’ who looks to turn the tables...

The Christian religious education (RE) taught in schools in Northern Ireland is unlawful, the UK Supreme Court has ruled. In a unanimous judgement the UK's highest court allowed an appeal by an unnamed father and daughter from Northern Ireland. BBC News NI education correspondent Robbie Meredith joins Tara Mills and Declan Harvey to explain what it will mean for schools and pupils going forward. F...

Earlier this week, Tara and Declan spoke to two fathers who lost their sons in a crush outside a County Tyrone hotel almost seven years ago – and during the conversation were struck by the fact that many young people were caught up in chaos outside the Greenvale Hotel. So in this episode they spoke to two of them – Jack McCullagh and Darragh Dalton, close friends of two of three teenagers who died...

It is almost seven years since three teenagers went to a St Patrick's night disco in County Tyrone and did not come home. Morgan Barnard, 17, Connor Currie, 16 and Lauren Bullock, 17, died in a crowd crush involving hundreds of young people outside the Greenvale Hotel in Cookstown in March 2019. Their families say that delays in the legal system have been like a ‘second trauma’. Morgan's dad Jimmy...

Blue Lights’ winning streak looks set to continue, with season three of the award-winning police drama attracting plenty of attention from TV fans and critics alike. This season Michael Smiley, best known for roles in the likes of Spaced, Alien: Earth, Black Mirror and Bad Sisters, joined the cast as intelligence officer Paul ‘Colly’ Collins, whose long history with Ch Insp Helen McNally, played b...

Darragh MacIntyre is an investigative journalist with BBC Panorama. When it comes to being at the forefront of breaking news stories, there’s not much Darragh hasn’t done over his career. From talking to paramilitaries and looking at the crimes of the Catholic Church, to getting the first UK interview with Virginia Giuffre. He joined Tara Mills and Declan Harvey in front of a live audience at the...

Some women died of cervical cancer in Northern Ireland, while waiting to find out what went wrong with the Southern Trust’s screening programme. 17,500 tests had to be rechecked. Women who had been diagnosed and treated for cancer were retraumatised after they were again contacted about abnormalities discovered during an audit of their cases. This process – known as disclosure – was so badly handl...

At least 116 children – including 91 teenage girls – have been married in Northern Ireland since legal reform to criminalise the arrangement of child marriages was announced over three years ago. On 1 July 2022, Stormont’s then Finance Minister Conor Murphy said that work would begin on new legislation following a public consultation which showed overwhelming support to raise the minimum age for m...

A former paratrooper has been found not guilty of murdering two people on Bloody Sunday in Londonderry in 1972. Known only as Soldier F – he was also found not guilty of five counts of attempted murder. Thirteen people were shot dead, and 15 others injured, when soldiers opened fire at a civil rights demonstration in a predominantly Catholic part of the city. Soldier F - the only military veteran...

People in the arts community who have sympathy with Israel are treated “basically like a Nazi” according to the writer of a major new TV drama. David Ireland has said that the situation in Israel and Gaza is an “impossible thing to talk about” for some people working in the arts. Ireland is the writer behind the ITV crime thriller Coldwater staring Eve Myles and Andrew Lincoln, as well as The Fift...

The parents of a SEN teenager have been convicted for their son’s non-attendance at school in a case that has cost them £30k. The Education Authority took the case against James and Leigh Bryson after their son Archie, who is autistic, missed almost a year of school. The couple join Tara and Declan on the podcast to talk about having their lives dissected in court and feeling victimised by the pro...

Donald Trump says the next stage of negotiations over his Israel/Gaza peace plan to end the war are under way. There are no details yet though, about when, where or how that will be carried out. The PM Keir Starmer says the focus in the days and weeks ahead is "the relentless implementation of this peace plan", which he calls "no small challenge." With Tony Blair being tipped to potentially help o...

When a man was convicted of raping a woman last month, he went on the run. His victim says she felt down when it took police nearly two weeks to publish his picture. Ahmed Abashar, 31, from University Avenue in Belfast, was convicted of rape last month but failed to appear in court. Jane, not her real name, said the lack of action made her feel the police "weren't taking it seriously". The Police...

Childhood vaccination rates in Northern Ireland are dropping year on year. Experts are worried. The Public Health Agency is warning that if rates drop further we will start to see the return of “diseases of the past” such as polio, diphtheria and tetanus. Measles returned to Northern Ireland last year. So why are people so divided about vaccines? Two men who have been battling it out on social med...

Has the world of golf gone mad? Swearing, shouting, and lobbing pints – that was the Ryder Cup 2025. Stephen Watson is one of the closest journalists to NI golfer Rory McIlroy. He's just back from Bethpage Black, where he said the atmosphere sometimes felt like a Trump rally. He has followed Rory's career since he was a kid; through Masters wins and defeats, and at countless Ryder Cups. But Stephe...

Following on from our chat with Rachel and Louise, two mothers living in poverty in Northern Ireland, the minister heading up the executive anti-poverty strategy defends his plan. Minister Gordon Lyons joins Tara and Declan in The State of Us studio as they discuss the 28-page paper which sets out the proposed route to tackling poverty over the next 10 years. It outlines efforts already being take...

A bonus episode of the State of Us after the terrorism case against Kneecap rapper Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh was thrown out. Kelly Bonner joins Declan from outside Woolwich Crown Court to bring us how the case fell apart as well as reaction from the band. The rapper who performs under the stage name Mo Chara was charged in May after allegedly displaying a flag in support of proscribed organisation Hezbol...

Julian O’Neill joins Tara and Declan on The State of Us after new details were revealed on how the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) unlawfully used covert surveillance powers. A report has uncovered how the PSNI used journalists' phone numbers to check for any leaks of information by its officers or staff, and also revealed there were 21 unlawful uses of covert powers to attempt to uncove...

Nominations for the next president of Ireland close on Wednesday. Already there has been some controversy around this race to the Áras. BBC NI’s new Dublin correspondent Gabija Gataveckaitė joins Declan Harvey to talk about what we can expect from this campaign. Who are the runners and riders? What does the president actually do? Or, perhaps more crucially, what don’t they do? Confirmed candidates...