Shows / In The News
In The News
In The News is a daily podcast from The Irish Times that takes a close look at the stories that matter, in Ireland and around the world. Presented by Bernice Harrison and Aideen Finnegan.
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Episodes
- In The News
Why calls to free killer nurse Lucy Letby are getting louder
Former British nurse, Lucy Letby, is serving 15 life sentences for the murder and attempted murder of 14 babies. All of the infants were under her care when…
- In The News
Why America is cracking down on the parents of school shooters
Last Wednesday, a 14 year-old American student walked through the doors of his highschool in Georgia and opened fire. Terrified students and teachers ran for…
- In The News
Explainer: Could Sinn Féin’s new housing plan work?
Sinn Féin has published its plan to solve the housing crisis. Party spokesman on housing Eoin Ó Broin says A Home of Your Own, is “comprehensive, detailed and…
- In The News
Can the State make religious orders pay for the sexual predators who destroyed lives?
Hundreds of primary, secondary and special schools run by religious congregations have been named for the first time as having complaints of child sexual…
- In The News
Roblox: what is it and are Irish children at risk?
If you don't have young children in your life, you may be completely unaware of one of the world's biggest game platforms. Roblox is a digital playground where…
- In The News
Why was the price of Oasis tickets so high?
On Saturday morning, Irish Times consumer expert Conor Pope logged on to Ticketmaster, ready to take his own advice about navigating the sales platform to buy…
- In The News
‘It was a real global effort’: catching Australia’s worst online sexual predator
Last week, an Australian man was sentenced to 17 years in prison for what has been described as one of “the worst sextortion cases” in history. Muhammad Zain…
- In The News
Is Dublin’s new traffic plan working?
A key element of the Dublin City Centre Transport Plan kicked in on Monday and Olivia Kelly, Irish Times Dublin editor tells In the News that she was out on…
- In The News
Shaun Brady: The murder that shocked an Irish community in the heart of America
An Irish chef living in the US has been killed after being shot outside his own business in Kansas City. Shaun Brady, originally from Nenagh, Co Tipperary, was…
- In The News
Will RFK Jnr help Trump beat Harris?
US presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy jnr has dropped out of the race in America's key swing states, but vows to remain as an alternative choice for…
- In The News
Why are so many busy Irish restaurants shutting down?
Brasserie Sixty6, Rustic Stone and Ukiyo are just three of the high-profile restaurant closures in Dublin this month. 577 eateries across Ireland have…
- In The News
Oasis: Will the Gallagher brothers end their feud and play Croke Park?
In 2009 warring brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher fell out for the last time – their final argument broke up their band, Oasis. At the time Oasis albums topped…
- In The News
Trump or Harris: who would be better for Ireland?
If elected president in November Donald Trump has promised to slash the US rate of corporate tax to 15 per cent. Kamala Harris has said she would raise it to…
- In The News
What’s behind the EV backlash?
Sales of EVs in Ireland collapsed in 2024 with the number of newly-licensed electric vehicles down by 24 per cent in the first seven months of the year. But…
- In The News
Why was a 99 year old woman put on trial for Nazi atrocities?
This week, a 99-year-old German woman, who worked in a Nazi-era concentration camp office in her late teens, was confirmed guilty of being an accessory to…
- In The News
'I had no sleep for the first 24 hours' - a mother's record breaking run from Malin to Mizen head
Last June, Sophie Power has just done something extraordinary – she ran 563km from Malin Head to Mizen Head in record time. It took her a record-breaking three…
- In The News
The cover-up: Jonathan Creswell's crimes are laid bare - Part 2
Last April, Jonathan Creswell’s trial for the rape and murder of 21-year-old Katie Simpson opened in Derry’s Crown Court. But as we heard in yesterday’s…
- In The News
The cover-up: How Jonathan Creswell tried to get away with murder - Part 1
In August 2020, in a small housing estate in Derry, 21-year-old Katie Simpson was found in a critical condition. According to the man who discovered her, her…
- In The News
The trouble with Temu, the cut-price Chinese competitor to Amazon
This episode was originally published in May 2024. A pair of trainers for the price of a sandwich; a Dyson-dupe hair straightener for a fraction of the real…
- In The News
How cannabis-induced psychosis can cause deadly harm
In the most recent murder case where cannabis use was judged to be a factor, the court ruled that Diego Costa Silva killed his wife while in a state of…
- In The News
What will happen to Dublin’s empty office blocks?
Dublin’s office market is likely to get worse before it gets better with no relief in sight until 2027 amid a collapse in demand and a glut of new developments…
- In The News
How ex-Irish soldiers are training a rogue Libyan militia
This episode was originally published in April 2024. In Libya, former members of the Irish Defence Forces, including men who served in the elite Army Rangers…
- In The News
Is Ireland on the brink of a Fentanyl crisis?
The global heroin supply is under threat. But observers of international narcotic trends warn that drugs addicts will replace heroin with - synthetic opioids…
- In The News
Stripping an Islamic terrorist of his Irish citizenship
A new process to strip citizenship from Irish citizens has been passed by the Oireachtas more than three years after the previous system was struck down by the…
- In The News
The Limerick man investigating some of the world's worst crimes
Malachy Browne heads up the New York Times’s visual investigations unit where he and his team investigate key events, from breaking news at home to war…
- In The News
'Googlepocalypse' - the way you search the internet is about to change forever
In May, Google launched AI Overviews – software which uses artificial intelligence to answer people’s questions quickly, skipping the step of scrolling through…
- In The News
Intermittent fasting: the good, the bad and the hungry
This episode was originally published in March 2024. Health and family editor Damian Cullen had already ticked off a long list of diets before he hit on…
- In The News
The dark history of Irish slave owners
Were Irish colonisers too? A new book reveals our forgotten dark history In discussions around empire and colonisation, including popular movements such as…
- In The News
Film classification: we're cool with sex, careful about suicide
Ireland has come from a place where movies were regularly censored out of puritanical panic, to classifying gay sex scenes as suitable for a 16 audience. The…
- In The News
Derry O’Rourke: Ireland’s most convicted child sex abuser
Content warning: This episode contains details of child sexual abuse and may cause some listeners distress. "They called him God, and the room where he…
- In The News
Venezuela: Maduro clings to power after disputed election result
Protesters across Venezuela have been met with a violent crackdown by security forces following the disputed re-election of Venezuela's president Nicolas…
- In The News
What is daily life really like in the West Bank?
For nearly ten months, the eyes of the world have remained fixed on the devastating war and human catastrophe unfolding on the Gaza Strip. However, this war…
- In The News
Why China's young people are making a surprising life choice
Chinese graduates are heading to the factory floor. During the first quarter of 2024, the number of people under 25 applying for blue-collar jobs rose by 165…
- In The News
Is the RTE funding plan a reward for its mistakes?
After more than a year of crisis at RTE and handwringing about how to fund it into the future, the government has decided the license fee should stay and the…
- In The News
Sinn Féin's plan for housing asylum seekers, explained
On Tuesday, Sinn Féin launched its new immigration policy document. The proposals, which come eight weeks after the party’s poor performance in the June local…
- In The News
Olympics 2024: The key events for Irish viewers
Ireland’s Olympic medal hopes have never been higher. Many of the athletes are already household names, including Rashidat Adeleke, Kellie Harrington and Paul…
- In The News
Biden is out, but is Kamala Harris ready to win the White House?
On Sunday evening, shortly before 7pm Irish Time, US president Joe Biden posted a letter on X confirming his intention to withdraw from the 2024 presidential…
- In The News
Inside Ireland’s ‘fight club’ for right-wing extremists
Comhaltas na nGaedheal (CnG) is a newly-established group of right-wing extremists in Ireland. It focuses on physical confrontation and is part of a growing…
- In The News
Kneecap: The Northern Irish rappers leading a Celtic revival
Belfast and Derry rappers Kneecap have been in the news for many things in the past year: they took a case against the previous UK government for intervening…
- In The News
What has Simon Harris done in his first 100 days as Taoiseach?
In April, Simon Harris became Taoiseach - today he is 100 days in office. It’s a milestone beloved of political commentators as a yardstick to measure…
- In The News
Coolock clashes: 'A complex and volatile security threat'
Garda representatives say officers were left potentially exposed "to extremely volatile and dangerous conditions" in Coolock in north Dublin on Monday night. A…
- In The News
How the assassination attempt on Trump could affect the race for The White House
On Saturday evening, in the small American town of Butlers in Pennsylvania, former president Donald Trump narrowly escaped death after a bullet grazed his head…
- In The News
Why are Irish property prices still rising?
According to property website MyHome.ie, house asking prices rose by 7.3 per cent year on year in the second quarter, the fastest pace of growth recorded in…
- In The News
Paul Howard on loving and losing his dog Humphrey
Ross O'Carroll Kelly creator, Paul Howard, decided to get a basset hound because Columbo - the iconic tv detective - had one. It's definitely not the soundest…
- In The News
Sudan: The conflict that's left 25 million people without food
After more than a year of civil war in Sudan, the situation is being described as the worst humanitarian crisis anywhere in the world. The death toll is…
- In The News
Why has Dublin’s traffic plan stalled?
The new transport plan for Dublin is due to be implemented in August. It aims to stop drivers using the city centre as a rat-run to get to other destinations…
- In The News
Why the far right failed to take power in France
On Sunday evening, France witnessed one of the biggest surprises in the country’s electoral history when the recently formed left-wing alliance won the highest…
- In The News
The shocking health problems affecting Ireland's homeless children
On today’s In the News podcast we look at a new report that reveals the shocking health problems affecting children who spend years spent living in emergency…
- In The News
The plot to kidnap Holly Willoughby
Security guard Gavin Plumb hatched an online plot to kidnap, rape and murder British TV personality Holly Willoughby. Yesterday he was found guilty of all…
- In The News
Immigration: What is a 'safe country'?
This week Minister for Justice Helen McEntee announced that five more countries have been added to the list of safe countries. They are Egypt, Morocco, India…
- In The News
Trump's immunity ruling and will Joe go?
It's been a big week in US politics with Donald Trump's partial legal victory in the Supreme Court and Joe Biden's disastrous head-to-head debate with his…
- In The News
Is France set to have its first far-right government since the second world war?
Three weeks ago, French president Emmanuel Macron stunned and bewildered French voters, and his own Government, by calling a snap general election. By Monday…
- In The News
Car theft in Ireland: Are international gangs to blame?
Last year, nearly 5,000 cars were stolen across Ireland – making it the worst year for car thefts in more than a decade. Opportunists and joyriders have always…
- In The News
The 'affordable' homes costing twelve times the average wage
Dublin’s housing market has reached the point where a three-bed semi-detached house in Coolock priced at €475,000 is deemed ‘affordable.’ The long awaited…
- In The News
Gamblegate: Is a Tory wipeout inevitable after yet another scandal?
Revelations that members of UK prime minister Rishi Sunak's inner circle correctly bet on the timing of the general election have damaged the Tory party as it…
- In The News
Cathal Crotty case: Are judges out of touch with the public?
Another protest is planned today in Limerick over the suspended sentence handed down to a serving soldier who was convicted of assault last week. Two years…
- In The News
The Aer Lingus pilot strike will end - but when?
The war of words between Aer Lingus and the pilots union Ialpa ratcheted up at the weekend with the airline accusing Ialpa of “blackmail” and the union…
- In The News
What is the EU migration pact and what will it mean for Ireland?
This week the Dáil will vote on the EU migration and asylum pact. Why is Ireland opting in to the EU-wide system of migration control? And how will it operate?…
- In The News
How Taylor Swift ushered in a new era of exorbitant ticket prices
“Slow ticketing”, VIP packages and platinum pricing - there's a new lexicon involved in buying concert tickets. But all of them involve forking out much more…
- In The News
Is Ireland on the brink of a Fentanyl crisis?
The global heroin supply is under threat. But observers of international narcotic trends warn that drugs addicts will replace heroin with - synthetic opioids…