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
Will this ceasefire finally end the war in Gaza?
On Monday, more than two years after the conflict in Gaza began – a war which has killed tens of thousands, including an estimated 20,000 children – the…
- In The News
Has Michael D Higgins changed the presidency for ever?
Michael D Higgins will shortly finish his two terms as President of Ireland, having served 14 years as head of State. In 2011 he said his tenure would be “a…
- In The News
Will Jim Gavin controversy do lasting damage to Micheál Martin’s leadership of Fianna Fail?
It was Micheál Martin’s worst week in the job as leader of Fianna Fáil and it began on late on Sunday evening when the party’s campaign for the presidency…
- In The News
Budget 2026: Your questions answered
So now we know what’s in Budget 2026 but for most people, what’s not so clear is what’s in it for them. As he has done every year on the day after the budget…
- In The News
What's in the Budget for you?
What is in Budget 2026 for you? Not a lot, probably - as expected, Ministers Paschal Donohoe and Jack Chambers have delivered a much tighter package than…
- In The News
How Big Tobacco is going after illegal cigarette sellers in Ireland
It’s budget day and one thing we can almost certainly expect in Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe’s spending announcements is an increase in the price of…
- In The News
How Jim Gavin's presidential run ended in disaster for Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fail’s presidential candidate Jim Gavin's sensational withdrawal from the presidential race has plunged Fianna Fáil into crisis. There’s dismay among…
- In The News
Investigation: How doctors sanctioned abroad are still free to practise in Ireland
How can it happen that a doctor who has been sanctioned or even struck-off in one country can simply move to another and continue working? Shouldn’t the…
- In The News
MetroLink gets the green light: When will it arrive?
The long-awaited MetroLink line, which will finally connect Dublin Airport to the city by rail, has been approved by An Coimisiún Pleanála, three years after…
- In The News
'93 injuries on her body': Why the family of Kelly Lynch believe her death is suspicious
The body of 23-year-old Kelly Lynch was found in a canal in Monaghan on the morning of St Patrick’s Day 2024. For 30 hours, her mother Julieanne had been…
- In The News
Presidential election: where the candidates went wrong in Monday's debate
The Irish Times is continuing to develop its podcast offering and would like to invite some of our current listeners to take part in a research study to listen…
- In The News
Is Europe already at war with Russia?
The Irish Times is continuing to develop its podcast offering and would like to invite some of our current listeners to take part in a research study to listen…
- In The News
No cause of death: Where next for the Daniel Aruebose investigation?
On September 17th, partial skeletal remains of a child were discovered on waste ground in north Dublin following an extensive search by gardaí. While DNA…
- In The News
Billionaire John Magnier and the €15 million property deal that never was
When the owners of the 751-acre Barne Estate in Tipperary put the property on the market in 2023, billionaire businessman John Magnier thought he had struck a…
- In The News
Drone attacks: Gaza aid flotilla comes under fire
The aid flotilla which is attempting to break Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza has been attacked by drones in international waters off the coast of Greece. The…
- In The News
Temple Bar stabbings: How safe is Dublin city?
Last weekend, over the course of 24 hours, two men were stabbed and seriously injured in separate incidents in Dublin’s city centre. An English tourist was…
- In The News
Presidential election latest: attacks on Jim Gavin, Catherine Connolly's Hamas comments and Heather Humphrey's identity
Catherine Connolly, Jim Gavin, Heather Humphreys have secured their nominations for the campaign which will run for a month until the election is held on…
- In The News
Why were Irish language speakers protesting on the streets of Dublin?
Last Saturday, an estimated 25,000 people travelled from across the island of Ireland to gather in Dublin and march through the streets of the capital calling…
- In The News
What did the Gardaí buy from an Israeli spyware company?
Last year An Garda Síochána made payments totalling €278,000 to an Israeli company, Cognyte, which manufactures sophisticated surveillance software. It is not…
- In The News
Daniel Aruebose: Body found in north Dublin search for vanished boy
Gardaí searching for a child who went missing when he was three years old have found human remains at a site in Donabate, north Dublin. Confirming that…
- In The News
Eoin Hayes 'blackface' controversy: What can the Social Democrats do with him?
On Tuesday, Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns returned to the helm of her political party for a think-in dominated by the controversy over TD Eoin Hayes…
- In The News
Jair Bolsonaro's conviction: Will the disgraced former president of Brazil really do time?
Last week, Brazil made history when its supreme court convicted the country’s former far right president Jair Bolsonaro, and seven other defendants, of…
- In The News
From Gaza to AI, Pope Leo is taking the papacy in a different direction
As Pope Leo XIV turns 70 we look back at his first months in office, the messages he has been giving to his flock of 1.4 billion Catholics and what they reveal…
- In The News
Deep debt, political chaos, riots: Can Macron get France back on track?
In June 2024 French President Emmanuel Macron took a political gamble – and lost heavily. Hoping to strengthen his centrist alliance he dissolved the National…
- In The News
Charlie Kirk: Assassination of conservative activist leaves America in turmoil
At just 18 committed Christian and college drop out Charlie Kirk established Turning Point USA, an organisation with a mission to spread conservative ideals at…
- In The News
Violent threats to Irish politicians: how real is the risk and what can be done?
An escalating series of threats made to Tánaiste Simon Harris in recent weeks went from an online threat to kidnap his children to co-ordinated bomb warnings…
- In The News
RFK Jr: Will Trump stand by America’s vaccine-skeptic health chief?
Earlier this year, US president Donald Trump sent shock waves across America’s medical and scientific community by appointing Robert F Kennedy jnr, one of…
- In The News
Tom Phillips: How a fugitive took his kids and hid for years in the New Zealand wilderness
Tom Phillips, a fugitive father who spent four years hiding in New Zealand’s remote wilderness with his three children was shot dead on Monday by police…
- In The News
Sophie Toscan du Plantier: Could a new DNA technique finally identify her killer?
Could new technology help to finally reveal who killed Sophie Toscan du Plantier? After prime suspect Ian Bailey’s death last year, Sophie's uncle Jean-Pierre…
- In The News
Why everyone's watching The Traitors: “Crazy witchfinding bullshit. That’s why it’s fun"
Nearly half of everyone watching Irish TV on Sunday evening tuned in for the scheming, lying and game-playing on The Traitors Ireland. It’s a hit. RTÉ has…
- In The News
Missing, feared dead: unanswered questions as Gardaí search for vanished Dublin boy
Gardaí are attempting to unravel several conflicting witness accounts of what happened to a boy who went missing four years ago and is feared dead. Searches…
- In The News
The rise of Farage: can Keir Starmer do anything to halt Reform?
This week, Britain’s Labour Party returned to Westminster from a summer recess defined by anti-migrant protests, and during which, Nigel Farage’s Reform UK…
- In The News
Meadow's Law part 2: How a scientific breakthrough exonerated "Australia's worst female serial killer"
Kathleen Folbigg was convicted over the deaths of her four babies in 2003 in a case that shocked Australia. In 2023 a judicial review found that the babies may…
- In The News
Meadow's Law part 1: How an Australian mother was wrongfully jailed for killing her four children
Kathleen Folbigg was convicted over the deaths of her four babies in 2003 in a case that shocked Australia. The first three were treated as cases of Sudden…
- In The News
Evictions, random rules and overcrowding: Brazilian students on the reality of renting in Dublin
Brazilian couple Gil Rudge (39) and Natalia Bonadia (36) rented a room in a shared apartment from Eduardo Gonzaga’s company, Leevin Ireland. All was fine until…
- In The News
Presidential race: will GAA legend Jim Gavin run for Fianna Fáil?
Despite all the talk over the summer, the names that came and went, the speculation and supposition – there is still only one name confirmed for the…
- In The News
Will dodgy box users ever face consequences?
This podcast was first published in June 2025. The use of so-called 'dodgy box' technology to illegally stream television is widespread. Last week Mary…
- In The News
How the race for total AI domination is revisiting the worst of human history
In the space of a few short years, generative AI has exploded into our daily lives, impacting the way we learn, work and understand the world around us. Open…
- In The News
The new IRB: How a shadow 'government' is operating under the radar in Ireland
For years the Irish Republican Brotherhood – the IRB – was remembered annually in a curious ceremony at Dublin’s Mansion House when its self-styled president…
- In The News
Sally Rooney, Palestine Action and a row over the freedom to protest
The arrest of more than 500 people at a Palestine Action rally in London on August 9th did more than raise the profile of the little-known anti-war action…
- In The News
Tattle Life: How a gossip website ended up in court
This episode was originally published in June 2025. Tattle Life is a gossip site that many will have never heard of until a landmark defamation trial in…
- In The News
Three Irish emigrants on the highs and lows of returning home to Ireland
In the 12 months leading up to April 2024, 30,000 Irish citizens who had been living abroad returned to Ireland. A similar number of Irish emigrants returned…
- In The News
Is The Rose of Tralee 'uncancellable'?
The Rose of Tralee is one of the biggest events in Ireland’s cultural calendar. It pumps millions of euro into the local economy and pulls in well over half a…
In The NewsAn Irish doctor speaks out about his time working in Qatar
In 2021, GP Paddy Davern returned to Ireland after eight years working as a doctor in Qatar. Four years on, the Tipperary man is still struggling to come to…
- In The News
Is Ireland heading towards an opioid addiction crisis?
The prescription of pain medication among Irish patients, including highly addictive opioids, is rapidly rising, according to new research. The use of opioids…
- In The News
What happened to Martha Nolan O’Slattara? The Irish entrepreneur found dead in New York
Last week, in the early hours of Tuesday, August 5th, Martha Nolan-O’Slattara was found unconscious on a boat at an exclusive yacht club in the Hamptons. She…
- In The News
Why is Binyamin Netanyahu defying public opinion to expand the war in Gaza?
Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu has continued to defend his government’s plan to escalate the war in Gaza, despite widespread international…
- In The News
Why Limerick City has refused a €30 million gift from billionaire JP McManus
In the heart of Limerick city sits a newly-built six storey landmark, offered as a gift by JP McManus to Limerick City and County Council. The billionaire…
- In The News
Who is Seamus ‘Banty’ McEnaney and how did he make over €200 million from housing homeless people and refugees?
Seven years ago, in September 2018, the Government approached a company called Brimwood Ltd asking for help to secure extra accommodation in hotels and B & Bs…
- In The News
The Runaway Couple part 2: Inside the trial of Constance Marten and Mark Gordon
British socialite Constance Marten, 38, and her partner convicted rapist Mark Gordon, 51, prompted a 53-day police manhunt when they went on the run with their…
- In The News
The Runaway Couple part 1: The turbulent lives of Constance Marten and Mark Gordon
British socialite Constance Marten, 38, and her partner convicted rapist Mark Gordon, 51, prompted a 53-day police manhunt when they went on the run with their…
- In The News
Who is the American drifter questioned over Michael Gaine’s murder?
Kerry farmer Michael Gaine’s disappearance on March 20th was first treated as a missing person’s case. Soon though, it was upgraded to a murder investigation…
- In The News
Mister Mancave: How a conman made $350 million selling fake sports memorabilia
Sports memorabilia is big business in the United States. Exceptional athletes can attain God-like status very quickly there, and everybody wants a piece. The…
- In The News
Ukraine war: Is President Zelenskiy losing his people’s trust?
Last week, hundreds of Ukrainians took to the streets across the country protesting a government move to slash the independence of two anti-corruption…
- In The News
Famine unfolding in Gaza: ‘Children are eating grass and weeds at the side of the road'
On Tuesday, after weeks of warnings, and growing reports of young children dying from malnutrition and starvation, a famine alert was issued for Gaza…
- In The News
Trump's tariffs: could the EU and Ireland have got a better deal?
On Sunday, shortly after playing a round of golf at his luxury Turnberry resort in Scotland, US president Donald Trump agreed to a trade deal with the EU…
- In The News
Gang attacks Indian man in Dublin: ‘They took his trousers, his underwear and his shoes’
The attack on an Indian man on a suburban street in south Dublin two weeks ago by a gang of teenagers was fuelled by racism and online misinformation. The…
- In The News
Two names in the race for the Áras: early-mover advantage or risky tactic?
President Michael D Higgins’s 14-year term is in its final months with an election to decide his predecessor set to take place before November 11th. After…
- In The News
Bonus: will Donegal or Kerry prevail in the GAA football final? With Dean Rock and Conor McManus
The All-Ireland senior men's football final takes place on Sunday, and following last week's takeover of In the News by Malachy Clerkin to look at the hurling…
- In The News
Why has Trump accused Obama of treason?
On Tuesday, during a meeting at the White House with the president of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr, US president Donald Trump launched an incendiary…