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.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
- In The News
Why Dublin’s crack cocaine crisis is visible on the streets
The long-predicted crack cocaine epidemic is here and has been compared to the heroin epidemic that ravaged communities and destroyed lives in Dublin in the…
- In The News
Lost at sea on the ‘world’s deadliest migration route’
In the last week in June a boat set sail from The Gambia heading for the Canary Islands. On board were an estimated 200 people, made up mostly of men of all…
- In The News
Tracking down a romance scammer in Nigeria
This episode was originally published in June 2026. When Carlos Barragán discovered his mother was the victim of romance fraud, he flew to Lagos to find the…
- In The News
Why almost all Phoenix Park drivers break the speed limit
Every year, more than 10 million motorists drive through Dublin’s Phoenix Park. Almost all are breaking the speed limit. All of the park’s attractions…
- In The News
What does it take to win The Traitors?
By the time the final episode of The Traitors Ireland was aired last September, the nation was gripped. The RTÉ version of the gameshow was a hit with nearly…
- In The News
Who is the Swiss politician accused of drugging and sexually abusing an Irish girl and her mother?
Swiss media have compared what happened to Irish teenager Paula and her mother, Iwona, to the Pelicot case in France. Prosecutors allege that Patrick Frei, 57…
- In The News
Natalie Harp is devoted to Donald Trump. Why is that a problem?
For Washington insiders observing how the Trump administration conducts its business, Natalie Harp is an alarming figure. The 35-year-old White House aide…
- In The News
Inside the court: Why did Lindsay Clancy kill her three children?
Now in its fifth week, the trial of Lindsay Clancy in the US for the murder of her three children has been headline news, with blanket TV and press coverage…
- In The News
How the culture wars spread to Ireland
This episode was originally published in March 2026. In his new documentary Amplified: The Exportation of the Culture Wars, director Mike Sheridan explores the…
- In The News
How a tech savvy woman lost €30,000 in an invoice scam
This episode was originally published in March 2026. If you got an invoice you’d been waiting for from your builder for work done, you’d get ready to pay it…
- In The News
Why staff at Oberstown Children Detention Centre have had enough
Staff at Oberstown Children Detention Campus are set to strike again on Tuesday the 25th of August. It will be their fourth work stoppage this summer over…
- In The News
Who was Jason Arday and why are there calls for a public inquiry into his death?
On Monday evening, thousands of people took to the streets of central London to attend a vigil in memory of Jason Arday. The former Cambridge professor was…
- In The News
What is 'the Mecca pact' and could it change the Middle East?
Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey have signed a mutual defence pact that "echoes Nato’s article 5 in saying they will treat an attack on one as an attack on…
- In The News
How ‘wrong way’ motorway driving has become a dangerous trend
Five people are dead and four people - including a seven year old boy are seriously injured - after a stolen BMW was driven the wrong way on the M9 motorway in…
- In The News
Who is Fergie Chambers? The Dublin-based millionaire wanted by US authorities
For more than a year, Fergie Chambers, an American multi-millionaire and self-described communist, has called Ireland home. The 41-year-old who is heir to one…
- In The News
How an Irish building contractor conned US homeowners out of €1.3 million
This episode was originally published in April 2026. John O’Brien’s scam was simple. Arriving in the US on a tourist visa in 2021, he set himself up as a…
- In The News
What led to the mass migrant crossing in Ceuta and will it happen again?
The city of Ceuta - the Spanish territory on the north African coast – is preparing for another potential wave of migrants hoping to cross the border from…
- In The News
Who is the Irish man who helped shape FIFA's deal to sell the World Cup?
Last month, Fifa's President Gianni Infantino shocked football fans around the world when he announced plans to sell a slice of the World Cup’s business to…
- In The News
Daniel Kinahan is back in Ireland – what now?
Ten years after the Regency Hotel attack, and four years after the US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on the leaders of the Kinahan cartel, Daniel…
- In The News
‘Irish only or it burns’ - Why Ireland's far right is targeting vacant council houses
This episode was originally published in June 2026. For the past 18 months, Dublin City Council has been keeping track of a worrying trend: an increase in the…
- In The News
Dire reviews and controversy: Why the Michael Jackson movie broke box-office records
This episode was originally published in May 2026. Michael, the biopic tracking the early years of Michael Jackson, opened to dire reviews and criticism over…
- In The News
Was death of billionaire fashion mogul an accident or murder?
This episode was originally published in June 2026. When Isak Andic, who created the Mango clothes brand, died from a fall while our hiking with his only son…
- In The News
Modern slavery in Donegal: how gardaí saved seven victims
This episode was originally published in June 2026. For the six men and one woman trafficked to Donegal by Georgijs Poniza and Armen Pogosyan, life was…
- In The News
Why concern is growing around the 'free birth' movement in Ireland
This episode was originally published in June 2026. Naomi James (38) was pregnant with her fourth child when, disillusioned with Ireland's maternity services…
- In The News
Inside Andrew Tate's toxic world - Part 2
This episode was originally published in September 2024. In July 2026 Andrew and Tristan Tate were arrested in Florida. They are currently detained in prison…
- In The News
Inside Andrew Tate's toxic world - Part 1
This episode was originally published in September 2024. In July 2026 Andrew and Tristan Tate were arrested in Florida and are currently detained, awaiting…
- In The News
Did model scout Daniel Siad take Jeffrey Epstein’s secrets to the grave?
Daniel Siad’s thousands of emails and messages found in the Epstein Files show in grim detail both the depravity of the US fraudster and paedophile and how his…
- In The News
Will Dublin’s MetroLink really cost €19bn?
Dates for the arrival of Dublin’s MetroLink have changed wildly since the project was first suggested in 1975. So has the budget. The latest figure to emerge –…
- In The News
Glen Hansard: Remembering Ireland's ‘unofficial national bard’ with Patrick Freyne
Glen Hansard died in the early hours of Wednesday morning in a motorcycle crash in the Strawberry Beds area of Dublin. He was 56. He was one of Ireland’s most…
- In The News
Lorcan Murphy: Why covert filming can be a gateway to more serious offending
Lorcan Tadgh Murphy, who was earlier this month jailed for murdering US nurse Mackenzie Michalski in 2024 in Hungary, had obsessively tried to pick up women…
- In The News
Is Maura Higgins Ireland’s most successful reality star?
In 2019, Maura Higgins first arrived on our screens as a contestant on the reality show Love Island. She was a fan favourite from the get-go, with her longford…
- In The News
Why did President Zelenskiy fire his top military leaders?
In the days leading up to Taoiseach Micheál Martin’s visit to Ukraine, tensions were running high on the streets of Kyiv. Protesters marched over president…
- In The News
Jim O’Callaghan v solicitors on legal aid reform – who will blink first?
When a defendant in a court case is granted legal aid, the State pays. Before a reform of the payment system introduced on July 1st, solicitors could bill the…
- In The News
Why the fallout from Jeffrey Donaldson’s conviction keeps growing
Jeffrey Donaldson is in Maghaberry prison outside Belfast awaiting sentencing for 18 child sex offences, including rape. If the disgraced politician thought…
- In The News
Israeli election: Is Netanyahu’s time in power coming to an end?
Israel is on an election footing. Last week with his government having reached the end of its four-year term, prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu dissolved…
- In The News
Does Russia have access to Irish state passwords?
Employees of three key State agencies use a computer programme called Passwork to generate and protect their passwords. It’s a cybersecurity measure. But what…
- In The News
A life changing e-scooter accident: 'My son was in ICU for five weeks'
In recent weeks, the Irish Government has come under pressure to introduce a ban on e-scooters following a steep increase in the number of serious e-scooter…
- In The News
Paul Howard watched every World Cup game – here’s what he learned
For his hosting duties on America 2026, the Irish Times podcast, Paul Howard watched every World Cup single match, even it was on at 4am and featured a…
- In The News
Jamey Carney murder: How will Gardaì bring the chief suspect back to Ireland?
The body of Jamey Carney, a 43-year-old mother-of-one, was found by her teenage daughter at their home in Killarney last week. The American woman had suffered…
- In The News
Was Ann Widdecombe murdered for her political beliefs?
Former British government minister Ann Widdecombe (78) was found dead at her home in rural southwest England last Thursday with what police described as…
- In The News
What happened to Belfast teenager Noah Donohoe?
After three days of deliberations, the jury in the inquest into the death of Belfast teenager Noah Donohoe could not reach a verdict. They had sat in court…
- In The News
How black-market betting sites lure Irish punters
Online gambling on black-market betting sites is big business. One company, Soft2Bet, which has been licensed in Ireland since 2022, and its related entities…
- In The News
In court as Dublin man is found guilty of American nurse’s murder in Budapest
The details presented in court in the trial of a Dublin man for the killing of Mackenzie Michalski (31) were harrowing. The American nurse was travelling…
- In The News
Who is Marine Le Pen? The convicted criminal who wants to be the next President of France
Hard-right leader Marine Le Pen announced her candidacy in France’s 2027 presidential campaign in typically dramatic fashion on French TV this week. It came…
- In The News
Inside the court as George Gibney is found guilty
On Monday, George Gibney (77), former Irish Olympic swimming coach, was found guilty of sexually abusing four girls in the 1970s and 1980s. After a two-week…
- In The News
How Gardaí finally cracked the code to a multi-million bitcoin fortune
This episode was originally published in March 2026. Clifton Collins (55) had a thriving business growing cannabis in rented houses around the country. The…
- In The News
Why Zelenskiy’s nod to Aughinish Alumina puts pressure on Irish Government
On a visit to Dublin last week, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy briefly burst the upbeat mood of the EU presidency party by criticising companies based…
- In The News
Why our love of big cars is killing us
In the next 15 years an additional 400 pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists will be killed on European roads because of the increased average car size. The…
- In The News
Europe is bracing for another heatwave in July, what about Ireland?
Ireland was on the fringe of the heat dome that seared much of Europe for several days late last month. In some parts of the country temperatures exceeded an…
- In The News
Riad Bouchaker found guilty: what the jury heard
Riad Bouchaker (52), an Algerian native, has been found guilty of the attempted murder of two girls and a boy, as well as a further charge of assault causing…
- In The News
Why are ships still being targeted in the Strait of Hormuz?
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
- In The News
Modern slavery in Donegal: how gardaí saved seven victims
For the six men and one woman trafficked to Donegal by Georgijs Poniza and Armen Pogosyan, life was unimaginably harsh. They worked long, gruelling hours…
- In The News
Who is the millionaire fugitive arrested in Dublin?
American businessman Jason Cardiff has lived in Ireland with his wife and daughter since 2022. For anyone who has followed him on Facebook, he has been living…
- In The News
Inside Iceland trial of mother charged with murder in Dublin-based family’s suicide pact
On the morning of June 14th last year, Reykjavik police were called to the luxury 5-star Edition Hotel where the bodies of Emeric Mancel and his adult daughter…
- In The News
How child ‘skinfluencers’ became a toxic beauty trend
The beauty industry has found a new audience: children. And it is using other children online – so-called “child skinfluencers” – to promote all kinds of…
- In The News
What does Andy Burnham stand for?
Newly-elected Labour MP Andy Burnham has made no secret of his ambitions to become the next UK prime minister. Now, it looks as though his time has come. Keir…
- In The News
Jeffrey Donaldson found guilty: the full story
The former DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson has been found guilty of all 18 child sex abuse charges against him, including rape. His wife Eleanor was also found by…
- In The News
How the lives of primary schoolchildren changed during and after Covid
A new landmark study followed 4,000 primary school children, tracking everything from their education attainment to their wellbeing as they progressed through…
- In The News
Who is the Swedish hitman killed in a car crash in Limerick?
Late on a quiet Sunday night in May, gardaí in Limerick arrived on the scene of what they expected would be a routine call-out to a road traffic incident…
- In The News
Parnell Square attack trial: The evidence against Riad Bouchaker
In November 2023, a group of primary schoolchildren were lined up by the railings outside their school in Dublin city centre, ready to be brought to…