The Hard Shoulder

Clare Daly, former MEP, joins The Hard Shoulder to share her strong opposition to Ireland’s involvement in the EU’s new €150 billion defence initiative.The bill looks to be a step in the direction away from Irish neutrality and something sure to come under much criticism in the Dáil.Listen here

To celebrate Lidl’s 25 years in Ireland, The Hard Shoulder hears from Newstalk reporter Sarah Madden, who asked shoppers about their weirdest and most wonderful middle aisle purchases. Conor Pope, consumer affairs correspondent with The Irish Times, and Hazel Chu, Green Party councillor, join to talk about how discount stores have changed the Irish retail landscape.Listen here

Mary McCarthy, columnist with the Irish Independent, joins The Hard Shoulder to discuss the rising trend of nicotine pouch use among young people. As these puches have seen such an explosion in popularity in the past few years, Mary is here to discuss why the rise in use by young people is quite disturbing.Listen here

Maria Walsh, Fine Gael MEP for Midlands North West, joins The Hard Shoulder from Hungary to explain why she’s travelling to attend Budapest’s now-banned Pride parade and what the law says about public LGBTQ+ expression in Viktor Orbán’s Hungary.Listen here

Grace Boland, Fine Gael TD for Dublin Fingal West, Sinead Ryan, consumer journalist and presenter of The Home Show, and Graeme McQueen, Media Relations Manager with the DAA, join Anton Savage for Kieran to explore why Ireland is lagging behind on contactless payments across buses, trains and the Luas — and what’s being done to change it.Listen here

Pharmacist Sheena Mitchell joins The Hard Shoulder with advice for allergy sufferers on how to manage hay fever and pollen season symptoms, especially as temperatures rise.Listen here to put your pollen woes to rest.

Jonathan Healy is joined by John Fardy, host of Screentime, and entertainment journalist Sarina Bellissimo to preview the weekend’s best film and streaming picks — from hidden gems to blockbuster releases.Listen here

Architect and conservationist, Roisin Murphy, and UCD history professor, Conor Mulvagh join The Hard Shoulder to discuss why so many of Ireland’s heritage buildings are deteriorating.This comes after a viscious row erupted in the Dáil between Simon Harris and Sinn Féin on plans to redevelop the GPO.Listen here to hear if these plans will be positive, or yet another failure in the state acknowledging the past and present.

Comedian Jason Byrne joins The Hard Shoulder for the Thursday Interview this week.Get all the latest from Jason's career, his early life doing gigs in England and what's coming next.Listen to it all here.

Sean Defoe, Newstalk’s Political Correspondent, joins The Hard Shoulder to break down the latest in the race for Áras an Uachtaráin - or lackthereof - and to analyse a fiery exchange in the Dáil involving Tánaiste Simon Harris.Listen here for all the lates.