In The News

Last week, a Brazilian man who rented out properties across rural Ireland under false pretences and used them as brothels, was jailed for nine years.Ilamar Rodrigues Ribeiro, who pleaded guilty to brothel keeping, possession of child pornography, and money laundering, was linked to rental properties in counties Longford, Kildare, Cavan, Wexford, Roscommon, Leitrim and Carlow.The case highlighted how the sex industry continues to thrive throughout Ireland, while also shining a light on the State’s 2017 legislation which made the purchase of sex illegal, but not the sale.The legislation was designed to shift the legal burden towards those who buy sex rather than the sellers, aiming to protect those most at risk within the sex industry. But has this worked?A long-awaited review of the legislation, which was finally published last week, acknowledged that the demand for sexual services has not decreased in recent years.Why is enforcing this legislation so difficult and do those within the sex industry feel more protected by this law?Irish Times reporter Órla Ryan discuses the review of Ireland’s contentious sex-work legislation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Last night US president Donald Trump announced tariffs on imports from dozens of countries, including Ireland and the European Union as a whole, launching a potential trade war on a global scale.Irish Times political editor Pat Leahy messaged In the News with some analysis of the significance of the moves announced by Trump and how the Irish government may respond. But first, we listen back to the main points from Trump's address. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Two Irish citizens living in Berlin have been issued with deportation orders and instructed to leave Germany before April 21st after facing charges over alleged actions at pro-Palestinian protests.Lawyers for their case have raised concerns that the deportation orders undermine civil liberties for EU citizens living in Germany, as neither have been convicted of any criminal offences in the German courts.Bert Murray (31) and Shane O’Brien (29) have been attending protests in support of Palestinians since the Israel-Hamas conflict began in October 2023.On this episode of In the News Bert Murray talks about her case and Irish Times columnist Una Mullally explains the background to the story. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As sea levels rise and extreme floods become more frequent, increasing numbers of Irish homeowners are struggling to secure insurance for their properties. Midleton resident Caroline Leahy, who's home was affected by Storm Babet in October 2023, is one of them. In this episode, she talks to Sorcha Pollak about living in constant fear of the next disaster and why the Government response falls short of what is needed to help those impacted. Later on, Environment and Science editor Kevin O’Sullivan on how climate change is impacting the situation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Verona Murphy made history last December when she became the first female Ceann Comhairle of Dáil Éireann. After just months into that role, she has become the first to face a vote of no confidence.So what does this mean for Murphy? How might her background and experience help her navigate this political storm? And what else do we know about the politician who first made a name for herself in the haulage industry?Political correspondent Harry McGee traces her career and outlines the challenges facing her.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On March 15th the US military carried out air strikes against the Iran backed Houthis in Yemen. It was an operation that should have been top secret, its planning known only to key Trump administration officials. But it wasn’t.Through an astonishing breach in national security, the editor of the Atlantic magazine Jeffrey Goldberg was invited into a group chat on Signal where US vice-president JD Vance, secretary of defence Pete Hegseth, and national security adviser Mike Waltz, among others were sharing highly-classified information in advance of the military strike.President Donald Trump responded to this astonishing leak, not by initiating a round of firings, but with a robust deny and deflect strategy.Scott Lucas, Professor of International Politics at the UCD Clinton Institute explains how this Signal leak happened and how the story unfolded this week.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by John Casey. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Garron Noone is one of the country's most popular social media stars, with a combined 3.5 million followers on Tiktok and Instagram. Usually he's gently poking fun at badly made cups of tea or ranking his favourite ice creams, but last week he veered off brand and ended up at the centre of an international culture war. After making comments about Ireland's immigration crisis, he drew support from the likes of right-wing commentator Katie Hopkins and misogynist influencer Tristan Tate. He's since explained his points were not well communicated and he's dismayed by the attention from the far right. But Irish Times media columnist Hugh Linehan says Noone's comments have thrown fresh light on the language and toxic discourse that surrounds discussions of immigration. This episode contains strong language.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Aideen Finnegan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Irish Times education editor Carl O’Brien discusses how a Dublin school investigated claims that the alleged GAA catfish is among its staff.Presented by Sorcha Pollak. Produced by Suzanne Brennan.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On March 2nd, two men – one Israeli and one Palestinian – stood on the stage of the Academy Awards in LA and accepted an Oscar for their documentary ‘No Other Land’. Basel Adra and Yuval Abraham spent four years filming Israel’s forced displacement of Palestinians in the West Bank region. Their documentary was recorded before the war in Gaza, but highlights a reality that Palestinian communities have faced for decades. Life in the West Bank has become significantly more dangerous since Israel launched its Iron Wall operation just days after a the January ceasefire took hold in Gaza. What is the aim and justification of Israel’s Iron Wall operation? And with settler violence on the rise, is Israel working towards a formal annexation of the region?Hanno Hauenstein, a Berlin-based journalist, discusses his years reporting reporting rom the West Bank for the Israeli-Palestinian +972 Magazine.Presented by Sorcha Pollak. Produced by Declan Conlon. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The biggest shake-up to the primary school syllabus in more than two decades is on the way. It will overhaul the way most subjects are taught, even add new ones, but changes to one subject is proving the most controversial: sex education.It will replace the Stay Safe programme first introduced in the 1980s and as soon as the Department of Education announced it was working on a new approach and opened up a period of public consultation, one subject emerged as the most contentious – gender identities.Gender identity issues are not on the new primary school curriculum – something that has angered those on one side of this polarising culture war, while reassuring those on the other.Irish Times education editor Carl O’Brien explains why the curriculum is changing and how it became caught up in this most contentious debate.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The new Netflix show "Adolescence" has touched a nerve. In its first four days alone, it pulled in 24 million views. The fictionalised account of a 13 year old boy who murders his female classmate shines a light on a growing problem; the dangerous impact misogynist influencers are having on young men. If you've been preoccupied by the show and how you can take action on it, this episode is for you. Originally published in January 2025, Dr Darragh McCashin from the School of Psychology at DCU outlines the best way to speak to the young people in your life about influencers like Andrew Tate. The complete resource for parents and teachers can be accessed for free here.Presented by Aideen Finnegan. Produced by John Casey.Why we can't look away from this hypnotic Netflix hit, writes Laura Slattery in today's Irish Times. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Only a few Irish eyes were smiling when Conor McGregor appeared alongside Donald Trump in the Oval Office on St Patrick's Day. The former UFC star, who is appealing a civil jury's finding that he was responsible for raping Nikita Hand, has long been a darling of the American far right. McGregor used the opportunity to spread disinformation about Ireland on the world stage, falsely alleging that Dublin is unsafe because of the high numbers of asylum seekers. But how did the ex-MMA star go from tweeting "f**k politics" in 2015 and being pro-lockdown in 2020 to teasing his ambitions to run for president this year? Crime and security correspondent Conor Gallagher outlines the vague and shifting politics of Conor McGregor and how he's been quietly working moving into politics behind the scenes.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Aideen Finnegan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On Tuesday gardaí seized cocaine valued at more than €10 million when they stopped a truck on the M9 in Co Kilkenny.Intelligence led to the truck being stopped and finding no drugs in their initial search of the vehicle, they took it to be scanned, soon finding a hidden compartment packed with 152kg of drugs.As well as seizing the truck, they searched two business premises and a residential address in Co Waterford.A man in his 60s was arrested and taken in for questioning. He has been a target of the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau (DOCB) for some time.Gardaí believe the suspect has links to the Dublin-based gang that is sometimes referred to in media reports as “The Family”. It has surpassed the Kinahan cartel’s Irish operation as the biggest drugs network in the Republic.Drugs with a street value of over €10m is regarded as a major seizure, but what impact will it have on the drugs trade in Ireland? Is The Family using the Kinehan playbook in its importation and distribution operation? And will losing such a valuable consignment damage the crime group?Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Over the past two years, the pharmaceutical industry has quietly waged a massive lobbying campaign to try to block proposed EU regulations for the sector.Big Pharma companies have invested particular time and energy into lobbying the Irish Government, urging the State to push back against reforms to speed up the roll-out of new medicines across the EU, particularly to smaller and poorer countries.Correspondence now shows pharmaceutical companies are “disappointed and concerned” by the lack of support the Government has shown the sector in its push back against proposed European Union reforms.Irish Times acting Europe correspondent Jack Power joins In The News to discuss his investigation into pharma firms’ attempts to prevent further regulation of the sector and the implications of these changes for pharmaceutical companies' presence on Irish soil.Presented by Sorcha Pollak. Produced by Suzanne Brennan and Declan Conlon.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The High Court is set to hear revealing details on the workings of one of Ireland’s most high profile companies: Web Summit.In a civil trial that is set to last nine weeks, the three former friends who founded the tech events company – Paddy Cosgrave, David Kelly and Daire Hickey – will lay out their grievances against each other.Cosgrave, the better known of the three, has a majority stake in the company with a whopping 81 per cent, Hickey has 7 per cent and Kelly 12 per cent.There are five individual cases to be heard in a civil trial that is expected to last around nine weeks.Catherine Sanz, author of Drama Drives Interest: The Web Summit Story explains the background while Irish Times business reporter Ian Curren tells what dirty laundry might be aired.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cooke used pseudonyms including Carrie Jade Williams Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Manchester United used to dominate the Premier League.During Alex Ferguson’s reign as manager, the team won 13 league titles – a record that’s unlikely to be beaten.Since he stepped down in the 2012-2013 season it’s been a trying time for Man U’s loyal fans who have looked on as successive managers made poor choices and owners wasted eye-watering sums.To understand just why the team’s glory days are a distant memory look beyond what happens on the pitch and take a closer look at how the owners – the American Glazer family who are the majority shareholders, and Jim Ratcliffe who bought 25 per cent of the club – are doing their business.Irish Times sports columnist Ken Early lays out the club’s problems.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by John Casey. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Listen to the highlights of Taoiseach Micheal Martin's press event with US president Donald Trump in Washington DC earlier today. The two leaders jointly took questions for almost an hour. We've edited that down to 20 minutes of key exchanges and remarks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Later today Taoiseach Micheal Martin will meet US president Donald Trump in Washington, against a backdrop of Trump’s tariff threats and huge economic uncertainty.The economic relationship between Ireland and the United States is likely to feature when both leaders face the press.The recent torrid experience at the White House of Ukrainain president Volodymyr Zelenskiy suggests its possible Mr Martin could be in for a difficult day.So how should the Taoiseach handle Mr Trump?Political correspondent Jack Horgan-Jones explains where and how problems may arise.Then neuropsychologist Ian Robertson suggests some strategies for dealing with Trump’s singular personality. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The number of babies being born is falling globally, with profound effects in store for societies and economies should the trend continue long term. The phenomenon has preoccupied pro-natalist politicians like JD Vance and Viktor Orban; as well as father-of-12 Elon Musk who has previously claimed "a collapsing birth rate is the biggest danger civilization faces by far". But while it’s long been acknowledged the decline is down to couples deciding to have smaller families, Financial Times data reporter John Burn-Murdoch believes the trend in recent decades is actually down to a ‘relationship recession’; a collapse in the number of couples of child-bearing age. This is happening in countries as disparate as Finland and South Korea. Burn-Murdoch reveals the reason for the global decline is surprising and is not, as frequently posited, driven by the financially independent "girl-boss". Irish Times sex and relationships columnist, Roe McDermott, also joins the podcast to examine the factors contributing to the relationship recession in Ireland.Presented by Sorcha Pollak. Produced by Aideen Finnegan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

High profile Kerry businessman Nathan McDonnell was “committed to and invested in” a €32 million crystal meth operation by an organised crime group with links to the notorious Mexican Sinaloa Cartel.For his role in the scheme he has been jailed for 12 years.McDonnell, who had encountered “fierce financial difficulties” and racked up debts of €4 million, was to be paid €150,000 to store a machine containing the drugs on his premises and arrange for its export to Australia.He was known locally for his flash lifestyle and his prominent business. But what do people in Tralee think now?Barry Roche, Irish Times Southern Correspondent reports. Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Aideen Finnegan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alan Vial (39) and Nikita Burns (23) have been found guilty of murdering 66-year-old ‘Robin’ Wilkin whose body was thrown over the cliffs at Sliabh Liag in Co Donegal almost three years ago.The trial lasted two-months. It was, the court heard, a grisly murder carried out by two people living a chaotic, alcohol fuelled life.It was eight days after the murder that Wilkin’s body was found, a delay that caused significant challenges in establishing a cause of death.The jury agreed that on June 25th, 2023 the pair had attacked their housemate, Wilkin, as the trio were on yet another of their drinking sprees. They dumped his body over the cliffs at Sliabh Liag, which ranks among Europe’s tallest sea cliffs.The couple were caught 24 hours later when their car went into a ditch. Gardaí noted blood spatter and cleaning products in the car and the foundation of the case was a confession Burns made to her friends, which they recorded and then reported to the Garda.In court, Vial attempted to blame Burns much to the troubled woman’s obvious distress.Court reporter Eoin Reynolds explains how the case unfolded.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The newly formed Gambling Regulatory Authority has, since Wednesday, taken control of the industry.The regulator will decide who in the areas of gaming, betting and lottery will get operating licences, and oversee the new regulations now in force under the long delayed Gambling Regulation Act.The underlying goal of the legislation is to protect children and problem gamblers.Measures include advertising and sponsorship restrictions as well as banning industry-wide marketing practices such as free bets, free credit and hospitality.And those child-sized football jerseys that feature gambling sponsors? They are banned too.The authority’s remit encompasses all types of gambling so, for example, it will have oversight on draws run by local charities and sports clubs.With problem gambling a growing phenomenon in Ireland and online betting easier than ever to access, it is astonishing that this new legislation – which also establishes a single regulatory authority over the rich and powerful industry – took nearly two decades to be enacted.Irish Times reporter Mark Hilliard explains the delay; how lobbying from vested interests slowed the whole thing down, and what powers the new authority has.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by John Casey. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

US secretary of state Marco Rubio told Tánaiste Simon Harris it was a priority of the Trump administration to address the “trade imbalance” between Ireland and the US when they spoke by phone on Tuesday.By now it’s known what that means: tariffs.US president Donald Trump has already talked about a 25 per cent import tax on Europe so that phone call won’t have been a surprise.Nothing, as yet, is certain; not least the level of import taxes that might be imposed and whether it will be a blanket rate on all goods across the EU.But what would drastically increased tariffs mean for Ireland?And is there anything Taoiseach Micheál Martin can say over the bowl of shamrock when he meets Trump in the Oval Office next week that might influence the president?Irish Times economics columnist Cliff Taylor explains the business of tariffs and why, if Trump carries through on his promise, chaos is coming.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan and Declan Conlon.You can read Cliff's latest column on US tariffs here Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Stephen Mooney pleaded guilty to murdering his wife, Anna Mooney, at their home in Kilbarrack, Dublin in June 2023.Mooney had been due to stand trial for the murder but circumstances changed last month following a “significant development” in the case.After two years of being unable to access the contents of Mooney’s phone, gardaí were finally able to extract video and audio footage of the murder using controversial Israeli-made decryption technology.What is this decryption technology, how does it work and why did it take two years to work?And what else do we know about this decryption technology which is widely used by Israeli military?Crime and security correspondent Conor Gallagher, who reported on this Israeli-made technology for The Irish Times, joins the podcast.Presented by Sorcha Pollak. Produced by Suzanne Brennan.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Last Friday's showdown between Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Donald Trump in the Oval Office will have Irish officials on tenterhooks. Just hours after the Taoiseach accepted an invitation to the St. Patrick's Day shamrock ceremony at The White House, the Ukrainian leader's press conference with the US president turned into a shouting match. While Micheál Martin's visit is unlikely to be as eventful, there remains a number of landmines he will have to avoid on March 12th. They include our trading relationship with the US, Ireland's support for Ukraine and its recognition of Palestine as well as the EU's diverging view on tech regulation. But with a partisan press corps of fringe media outlets and the American culture wars dominating political discourse, journalist, tech entrpreneur and former RTE Washington Correspondent Mark Little says the Taoiseach will have to either "throw red meat to the president, or be the red meat" himself.Presented by Sorcha Pollak. Produced by Aideen Finnegan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Backpacker Danielle McLaughlin knew that her mother Andrea worried about her when she was away on her travels, so every day she’d text home to Donegal.Then one day in March 2017 there was no text and Andrea soon learned, from one of Danielle’s friends in Buncrana, that her 28-year-old daughter had been murdered in Goa.The friend had seen the news on Facebook and it was up to Andrea to go to her local Garda station to seek help.Last month, Vikat Bhagat, 24 at the time of the killing, was found guilty of the rape and murder of the young Donegal woman. He was handed two life sentences with additional time for concealing evidence.The case took eight years to conclude (Bhagat has 90 days to lodge an appeal) and was before the court more than 250 times.Andrea, her second daughter Jolene McLaughlin-Brannigan and Danielle’s best friend, Louise McMenamin, travelled to India for the verdict.Irish Times reporter Kitty Holland travelled to Buncrana to talk to Andrea about her daughter, the slow-moving Indian legal system, the scenes in court as Bhagat was sentenced and what they hope will happen now.They still don’t know exactly how Danielle died.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The run up to this year’s Oscars in Ireland has been quiet; for the first time in years there are no Irish contenders in the major categories.The movies named across several categories include Sean Baker’s Anora, Jacques Audiard’s Emilia Pérez, Brady Corbet’s The Brutalist, Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance as well as Conclave and Wicked.It’s been a year when awards talk around movies and performances ebbed and flowed particularly since Cannes, as some gained momentum while others lost it.In one movie’s case, Emilia Pérez, that can largely be explained by the self-inflicted controversy around Karla Sofía Gascón, the film’s Oscar-nominated lead. For others, its more about timing and public reaction.Irish Times chief film correspondent Donald Clarke has a solid track record picking the winners and he tells In the News who he thinks will win in the main categories and why.And he predicts there is going to be one Irish winner on stage being handed the famous statuette.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by John Casey. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Elon Musk seems particularly taken with the opinions of three Irish men active on X: far-right activist Michael O’Keeffe; Barry O’Driscoll, whose idea of calling the US’s new cost-cutting agency DOGE was seized on by president Donald Trump’s right-hand man, and Keith O’Brien, a white nationalist who goes by the name Keith Woods on X. Musk interacts with these men and often amplifies their posts to his millions of followers. So what image of Ireland is the billionaire being fed by these men and why does it matter that so much of what he sees, and endorses from his “awesome” Irish friends, is often simply factually wrong? Crime and security editor Conor Gallagher profiles the men, including the Cork-based O'Driscoll who goes by 'Sir Doge of the Coin' on X, and explains what happened when he wrote about them in The Irish Times.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Aideen Finnegan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

She’s been described as the politician of contradictions.Alice Weidel is the leader of the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) party but is married to a Sri-Lankan born woman.A gay woman, she has two children with her partner, but is part of a political party which defines family as a father and mother raising children.She’s a German nationalist who spends most of her time living in a small town in central Switzerland.She has been described as the “respectable” and more moderate face of party that has been linked to neo-Nazis and plots to overthrow the German state.While the AfD didn’t win Germany’s federal election last weekend, the party is now the second largest in the country, having doubled its vote share in just four years.How did Weidel break the AfD into Germany’s mainstream political area and rally the support needed to secure more than 20 per cent of the vote in last weekend’s election?And what is it about this Swiss-based ex-banker that appeals to the German people?New York Times reporter Christopher Schuetze, who covers politics from Berlin, joins the podcast.Presented by Sorcha Pollak, produced by Suzanne Brennan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

One in every three births in Ireland is by Caesarean section. In the case of first time mothers, that figure rises to 41%. These are some of the highest rates in the EU and OECD. It’s prompted concerns that some people may be unnecessarily undergoing the abdominal surgery; perhaps even suiting the hospital and the health system above themselves. But because there has historically been much handwringing about how women give birth – from church-led interference to the offensive ‘too posh to push’ label - it can be hard to ascertain what rate is appropriate. What are the factors influencing our high numbers? How much does fear of litigation play a part? And why is the Scandinavian rate so low by comparison? Dr. Deirdre Daly, professor of midwifery at Trinity College Dublin, outlines how Ireland came to have such a high number of Caesarean births, the obstacles to reducing the rate, and why we have a way to go before we truly have a woman-centred system.Further information about TCD's MAMMI study is available herePresented by Sorcha Pollak. Produced by Aideen Finnegan Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 2013 a Bitcoin hard drive – now worth more than half a billion euro – was mistakenly dumped in the council rubbish tip in Wales.Since then its owner, James Howells, has been fighting to get it back.For the past 10 years he has petitioned to search the site; gone to court to get compensation; and appealed for help through the media but to no avail.The council now says it is selling the dump in Newport and Howells wants to buy it.The 39-year-old engineer tells In the News how he became an early investor in cryptocurrency and where his attempts to find his lost millions will go next.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s been a head-spinning week for Ukraine, with US president Donald Trump publicly turning on the war-torn country’s leader Volodymyr Zelenskiy.It is three years since Russia invaded Ukraine and the world is now seeing what the US president meant with his election promise of ending the war.As evidenced by his actions this week, that apparently involves the US dealing directly with Russian leader Vladimir Putin and cutting Ukraine and Europe out of any peace talks; undermining Zelenskiy and questioning his motives and authority; proposing a payback for US aid from Ukraine; broadly acceding to Russia’s war aims, and claiming Ukraine started the war.Zelenskiy responded to some of the statements, a move which provoked further attacks from the White House.So how is this being viewed from Kyiv – officially and among war-weary citizens?Irish Times Eastern Europe correspondent Dan McLaughlin takes us through this most extraordinary week in international relations, and explains how Ukrainians view their leader in light of the critical blasts from the US.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Declan Conlon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Darling Duran, a 38-year-old digital marketing graduate from Bolivia was looking for a place to rent in Dublin when an ad for a one-bedroom apartment for €700 a month came up on her Facebook feed.When she met the man advertising the space, it turned out he lived in the apartment and she would have to share a bed with him.This offer of sex in exchange for rent is something she and her friends have come across frequently in their search for accommodation in Ireland.Their experience is reflected in the Irish Council for International Students survey which found that 5 per cent of female respondents had either received an offer to rent a room in Ireland in exchange for sex or had seen a room advertised in exchange for sex. The research also revealed severe overcrowding experienced by students who felt they had no other option.Housing reporter Niamh Towey explains the difficulties international students face in finding accommodation; and Darling Duran tells of her personal experience.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by John Casey. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

An 80 year alliance between the US and Europe has been upended in just one week. Donald Trump and other American officials have long felt Europe should not rely on US tax dollars for its defence. Now the US president and his administration has explicitly stated Europe needs to take responsibility for its own security, while simultaneously moving to end the war in Ukraine on Russia's terms. Excluding Europe in a discussion about its borders and threatening to pull military support begs the question - if America can no longer be relied upon to help defend us against Russian aggression, just how capable is the bloc of doing the job? Europe correspondent Jack Power joins us from Brussels, while crime and security correspondent Conor Gallagher lays bare the stark reality Ireland and its neighbours might face.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Declan Conlon and Aideen Finnegan Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Over the last four weeks, the Omagh bombing inquiry has heard from the families of those who died, survivors, and the emergency service personnel who attended the scene.As the inquiry moves into the next phase, it will attempt to answer questions that have remained unanswered for more than 26 years - what happened on that day, and could this atrocity have been prevented?Irish Times Northern Editor Freya McClements reflects on the testimonies of the survivors of the single worst atrocity of the Northern Ireland Troubles.Presented by Sorcha Pollak. Produced by Suzanne Brennan.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Groups of Irish parents dotted around the country have unwittingly started a large-scale social experiment – they’re joining together and aiming, as a group, to delay giving their preteen a smartphone. These parents of soon-to-be first year students in secondary schools in Dublin, Cork and Galway hope they can hold out in the face of their children’s smartphone requests, social media’s addictive algorithms and what many see as a failure by successive governments to regulate the dangers of the internet. Mary Lovegrove is one such parent who has spoken to Irish Times education correspondent Carl O'Brien.Presented by Sorcha Pollak. Produced by Declan Conlon and Aideen Finnegan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Garda investigation into the disappearance of Elizabeth Clarke, a mother of two from Co Meath, has been upgraded to a murder inquiry.She was officially reported missing in January 2015, though there have been no confirmed sightings of her since November 2013. She had previously lived in Portrane, Co Dublin, and Bettystown, Co Meath, as well as at another address in Co Meath.Irish Times crime and security correspondent Conor Lally explains why her disappearance never gained the sort of media attention given to other cases of missing Irish women, and where the investigation is at now.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dublin will host Ireland’s first NFL regular-season game at Croke Park later this year. No date has been given but one side is known: the Pittsburgh Steelers, who will be the designated ‘home team’.It is believed the Government and Dublin City Council will contribute almost €10 million to stage the event. Sports Minister Charlie McConalogue says the American football game will attract 30,000 international visitors with an expected economic boost north of €60 million, plus €20 million to the exchequer.Other figures predict a far greater economic bump. And that’s not counting the massive US TV audience with the potential for tourism growth that that level of exposure brings.Ireland has become the latest pin in the map for the behemoth that is the NFL because the Dublin date is one of several outside the US this year signalling the global growth of the game.And with annual revenue of over $20 billion, the NFL is the richest and most profitable sports league in the world.Irish Times sports columnist Dave Hannigan, who is based in the US, explains just how massive the NFL is; the extraordinary amount of money swirling around the sport, and how the NFL has so successfully managed to monetise the appeal of the game.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by John Casey. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Luis Rubiales' infamous kiss on Jenni Hermoso during the Women’s World Cup celebrations in August 2023 provoked a global reaction. He swore it was consensual. She did not. But the subsequent behaviour of the former football association president, and three other officials, has since escalated into a full-blown criminal trial. If convicted on charges of sexual aggression, he could face two and a half years of jail time. But how realistic is a custodial sentence? And why is he also accused of coercion? As the trial concludes this week, Dermot Corrigan from The Athletic and The New York Times in Madrid, breaks down the legal battle surrounding Rubiales, outlines the testimony of Hermoso and explains the cultural fallout which led to #SeAcabó - Spain's #MeToo movement, and its subsequent backlash.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Aideen Finnegan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Consumer affairs correspondent Conor Pope joins In the News to discuss the rise in online romance scams, while Dublin woman Stacey* shares her own experience of losing more than €20,000 to an online fraudster, who pretended to be Coldplay's Chris Martin. Presented by Sorcha Pollak, produced by Suzanne Brennan.*Pseudonym used to protect interviewee’s identity  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Last November, in one of the most surprising stories of the general election, Gerard Hutch, the head of the Hutch organised crime gang, came close to securing the final seat in the Dublin Central constituency. The veteran criminal, better known as the Monk, had returned to take part in the election while on bail from Spanish authorities who were investigating money laundering. His surprise run for the Dáil was made while Irish Times crime and security correspondent Conor Gallagher was working on a new RTÉ documentary called AKA The Monk. Gallagher joins the podcast to discuss the two-part documentary into the life, and career, of Gerard Hutch. AKA The Monk is available now on the RTÉ Player.Presented by Sorcha Pollak. Produced by Aideen Finnegan.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Take a five-minute walk in any direction in Dublin city centre and you’ll come across boarded-up, even cemented-over shopfronts, upper floors supported by steel struts and foliage growing through the roof.Properties in prime locations left to rot in the capital city, in the middle of a housing crises. It doesn’t make any kind of sense.In theory it should be easy to find out who owns these decaying properties but it’s not. Nor is it straightforward to discover exactly why valuable properties have been left, sometimes for decades, as eyesores.For a new Irish Times series, Derelict Dublin, Olivia Kelly, along with colleagues Ronan McGreevy and Jack White investigated why the city is blighted by decay and what the council is doing about it.Kelly came into studio to explain.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Declan Conlon and Suzanne Brennan.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When it comes to the political pecking order, Minister for Arts is way down the list. It’s been called the last seat on the bus.The newly-appointed arts minister is Patrick O’Donovan and quite how much interest or experience the Fine Gael TD has in the arts – or culture, also part of the job- is not clear.And his portfolio is massive – it includes communications, media and sport.Two tricky and pressing issues for O’Donovan are RTE’s ongoing funding problems and the soon-to-end basic income for artists programme. And there’s so much more.Hugh Linehan, who wrote a no-holds-barred column questioning O’Donovan’s suitability for the job, explains why in a country that prides itself on its arts and culture, the arts ministry is, in political terms, a low prestige role.And following the new Minister’s visit to Montrose to talk to RTE chief Kevin Bakhurst, Laura Slattery explores his peculiar obsession with the station’s programming - and why he’s got it wrong.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Declan Conlon and John Casey. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On the campaign trail, Donald Trump promised he would end the war in Ukraine  in just 24 hours. Despite missing his own deadline, Trump has threatened Russia with high tariffs and further sanctions if Putin fails to end the war. But this week, Donald Trump announced he was “looking to do a deal with Ukraine”. In return for further US military aid, Trump wants access to Ukraines rare earths, critical elements used in electronics, such as  titanium, lithium, graphite and uranium. So what will this development mean for the future of peace talks? And does Trump really have an interest in ending the war in Ukraine? Sorcha Pollak speaks to Irish Times Eastern Europe correspondent Dan McLaughlin from Kyiv. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

At the White House on Tuesday US President Donald Trump announced an outrageous idea to end the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The US would seize control of the strip and turn it into “the Riviera of the Middle East”. Trump suggested Palestinians who had been living through "hell" could live in neighbouring Arabic nations like Egypt and Jordan, funded by wealthy countries. The declaration was made at a joint press conference at the White House with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu; who welcomed the idea without explicitly backing it. The suggestion was roundly condemned in the Middle East and criticised by the international community. Sky's Middle East correspondent Alistair Bunkal says it raises more questions than Trump’s bizarre answer to an entrenched geopolitical problem. Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Aideen Finnegan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

During his last presidency Donald Trump slapped a tariff on Kerrygold butter; costing its parent company, Ornua, €50m in one year. A fortnight into his second presidency and it’s clear sweeping tariffs are now a core part of the agenda for his second stint in the White House. He's hit China with a 10% tax, while Canada and Mexico have been given a month before their US exports are levied with 25% duties. And the 78 year-old has been explicit about his plans to impose tariffs on goods coming from the European Union, saying the EU bloc’s approach to trade is an “atrocity”. So, what exactly is a tariff and why is Donald Trump so focused on imposing them? And what does this all mean for Ireland’s main exports and our country’s foreign direct investment? Irish Times economics correspondent Eoin Burke Kennedy outlines how the 'Americanisation' of our economy has left us vulnerable to Trump's tariffs and tax plans, and what may be offered by Brussels to appease Washington's whims.Presented by Sorcha Pollak, produced by Aideen Finnegan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When the parents of eight-year-old Elizabeth Struhs stopped giving her the insulin she needed to control her diabetes, they thought God would cure her.And when the little girl slowly died in their home in the Australian city of Toowoomba they and other members of the Saints, a religious sect stood by waiting for her to rise from the dead.The details that emerged at the trial in Queensland of the 14 members of the cult were harrowing. The court heard that the child’s father Jason Struhs finally called emergency services 36 hours after his daughter’s death, saying “though God would still raise Elizabeth, they could not leave a corpse in the house”.Both Jason and her mother Kerrie Struhs were found guilty of manslaughter. The sect’s leader, Brendan Stevens was found guilty of manslaughter for encouraging the father to withhold insulin from his daughter in January 2022.The Saints are a conservative Christian sect made up mostly of three families who believe in speaking in tongues and who reject modern medicine as “witchcraft”.The 14 will be sentenced on February 11th.Andrew Messenger from the Guardian Australia details this tragic case.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode was first published in November 2024. Veteran republican Marian Price initiated legal action against streaming giant Disney+ after the release of TV drama Say Nothing, based on a book of the same name by Patrick Radden Keefe, which her lawyers say depicted her as being involved in the murder of Belfast woman Jean McConville.Lawyers for Price, who was jailed for her part in the IRA’s London bombing campaign of 1973, said the allegation was “not based on a single iota of evidence”.In this episode we replay an interview with Patrick Radden Keefe, recorded when Say Nothing was published in 2018.Radden Keefe explains how he reached his conclusion that Marian Price was centrally involved in McConville's killing, along with her sister Dolours Price.The Disney dramatisation of Say Nothing has brought the stories of the Price sisters and Jean McConville to a new global audience."Such allegations published on an international scale are not only unjustified, but they are odious insofar as they seek to cause our client immeasurable harm in exchange for greater streaming success. Our client has now been forced to initiate legal proceedings to hold Disney to account for their actions", Prices lawyers said.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by John Casey. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht was one of the hundreds of prisoners who walked free thanks to a pardon from US president Donald Trump.His online marketplace facilitated the sale of everything from illegal drugs to weapons, hacking equipment to stolen passports, all delivered to your door at the push of a button. He had more than a million customers worldwide.The campaign for his release began as soon as his double life sentence was handed down in 2015. They came from his family; his mother Lyn was tireless in her lobbying and also from the Libertarian Movement whose the support Trump sought in the run up to the presidential election.New York Times technology reporter David Yaffe Bellany explains the background.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by John Casey. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.