The week that really was

John and Sarah discuss whether there's merit in chemical castration for paedophiles; What to make of Bambie Thug and Eurovision; Javier Millei's astonishing success in Argentina; and general European and Local election chat.

 John and Sarah review the week, including Ireland's renewed - if conveniently timed - war with Britain on immigration; reflections on the battle of Newtownmountkennedy; whether the polls are to be believed; and is the cost of living being ignored?

Sarah Ryan explains to John McGuirk why she has decided to manage Niall Boylan's EU election campaign. Also, they talk about events at the Oireachtas committee on immigration, Helen McEntee's bad week, and are smartphones the new "microchipping"?

Bestselling author, Journalist, and now campaigner Helen Joyce joins John and Sarah to explain the contents of the Cass Review into the treatment of "transgender" children, and the wider implications of transgender ideology on western society.

John and Sarah discuss Simon Harris's cowardly reshuffle, the desired return of Kate O'Connell to frontline politics, the Cass Review, and the state of abortion politics, stateside.

John and Sarah talk JK Rowling's defiance of the Scottish Government, The Government's incestuous relationships with journovisors, the costs of a United Ireland, Sinn Fein's loss of "middle finger status", and checking in on Trump v Biden.

John and Sarah discuss how the week-long debate on the Hate Speech Bill underlines the identity crisis facing Ireland's politicians; The possibly permanent loss of Sinn Fein's mojo; and why Assisted Suicide absolutely is a slippery slope, and one that cannot be escaped. 

The fall of the House of Varadkar is set to leave the country in the hands of Simon Harris, at 37, the youngest Taoiseach Ireland has ever had. John and Sarah talk through Varadkar's legacy, and are divided on the prospects for Harris as leader.

John and Sarah discuss the tent city on Mount Street and the collapse of Irish immigration policy, as well as the Taoiseach's comments on Saint Patrick, Dylan Mulvaney's hot new music video, and the sudden decline of the Late Late Show.

In a special reaction episode, John and Sarah analyse the Government's crushing defeat in the referendums on the 39th and 40th amendments. Their takeaway? "A lot of people who felt very alone now know that they're not the ones in the minority at all".

John and Sarah discuss the Government's new sex education reforms, including the new gingerbread person. Also: Final referendum predictions, Sinn Fein's continuing woes, and the Government, if it will do nothing else for us, will at least kill us off before the end.

John and Sarah talk about an epidemic of double standards in Ireland: The lack of any concern about the attack on Carol Nolan's office, as opposed to the horror at the NWCI receiving mean tweets. Also: FF's selection mess, crazy cat killing women, and the perils of canvassing.

John and Sarah recap an eventful week, from the Taoiseach's flight and fight attitude to Gript, the continuing chaos of the referendum campaigns, a sausage festival in Belfast, and the competing scandals in a Limerick hospital.

In this week's edition, John and Sarah discuss being male, pale, and stale, per an FG MEP, as well as the mounting Children's hospital disaster, Simon Harris's latest bright idea, and Michael McDowell's palpable fury over Government misinformation in the referendum campaign.

John and Sarah discuss the funding of the National Women’s Council of Ireland, which Sarah insists doesn’t represent her. Also: The Sinn Fein polling slump is real, Euthanasia breaks new frontiers in Holland, and Joe Biden is now talking to the dead.  

John and Sarah review some of the sentences from the Irish courts in January, and conclude that it’s a good time to be a criminal in Ireland. Also: Is politics putting women off dating, and are Sinn Fein in serious decline?

A dumb new RTÉ funding plan, a stupid controversy over the Oscars, confusion from the electoral commission, and a covid enquiry that won’t blame anybody: The week was a carnival of nonsense, says Sarah Ryan, and John finds it hard to disagree.

John and Sarah discuss Javier Millei and the World Economic Forum, and how Argentina’s President is confounding expectations. Also, Roderic O’Gorman and Throuples, Roscrea’s community hotel, and Jordan Petersen’s re-education.

John and Sarah discuss the latest developments in Ireland’s widening immigration debate, including the vexxed question of whether it’s justified to be worried about “unvetted migrant men”. Also: a heated debate about whether historic sex crime trials can ever be fair.

John and Sarah discuss how Ozempic has made new years resolutions moot for both of them, and also, share their predictions for the year ahead, featuring plenty of misery for the Irish Government.

“The hate speech bill was when the tide began to turn” – Sarah and John look back on a year that may be remembered, in decades to come, as one of the most politically eventful in Irish history.

With surrogacy on the political agenda this week, John and Sarah have a frank discussion about the issues involved, and why they both have deep concerns about surrogacy for money. But first: Aodhan O’Riordain’s flip-flops, and a very predictable last minute COP deal.

John and Sarah discuss Helen McEntee’s very broad definition of “far right”, why they’re both voting NO twice on March 8th, and why men are so useless at domestic chores. Also: Paschal Donohoe’s future, and the increase in domestic violence.

John and Sarah discuss the week that really was, including the background to Gript’s deleted story, and the wider ongoing coverage and cultural concerns around events in Dublin over the past week.

“They cannot figure out that it is not the “far right” fuelling anti-immigration sentiment in Ireland, it is anti-immigration sentiment fuelling the “far right”. John and Sarah discuss yesterday’s events, and the week that led up to them.