The Hard Shoulder

Are you looking to give a helping hand to someone this year? Well, Le Chéile is a mentoring service that is looking for volunteers to make a difference in young people's lives.Cormac Ryan, Mentoring Programme Coordinator at Le Chéile, joins Kieran to discuss.

Donald Trump has reiterated his plan for a US "takeover" of Gaza.Trump's plan - first announced on Tuesday night - was rejected by Palestinians and leaders around the world on Wednesday, but he has taken to Truth Social to say that if Gaza was turned over to the US by Gaza then they “would actually have a chance to be happy, safe and free”.Meanwhile, Israeli Minister Israel Katz has said countries, including Ireland, should be obligated to take refugees affected.Jerry McDermott is Executive Director at the Irish Cultural Centre and former Sheriff of Norfolk County in Massachusetts, and joins Kieran to discuss.

Irish comedy Writer and Director Graham Linehan has his sights set on new horizons as he is planning a big move to the US to work on a new sitcom.Graham is leaving the UK for many reasons, but one he outlined in a video he streamed is that he feels “freedom of speech is in bad shape at the moment” in the UK, so he is embracing the United States…Graham joins Kieran from London to discuss.

New plans have suggested that Primary Teachers are set to get training in foreign languages such as French, Spanish and German in a hope to be introducing language classes from third class level in 2026.Is this a good idea, or are we putting too much on the plate of our primary teachers?Joining Kieran to discuss is Rachel Harper, Principal of St Patrick's National School, Greystones, Co Wicklow and Mick Culman, who is a Primary School Teacher in Dublin.

When you are playing games with your small ones, do you let them win? Is it unfair to let your kids never win when playing games, or is there a method to the madness?Niamh O’Reilly, Freelance Journalist and Writer and Jen Hogan, Irish Times Columnist join Kieran to discuss.

A medical panel of specialists have found that the "baby deaths" placed on Lucy Letby were due to natural causes or errors in medical care, they did not find any murders...Kieran is joined by John Sweeney, Host of 'Was There Ever A Crime? The Trials of Lucy Letby', to discuss.

Life can be full of confusing things, but no need to worry! Simon Tierney returns to the airwaves with his new series: ‘How to do Stuff’ - bringing his best tips for those things you might not think about.For the first edition, Simon joins Kieran to talk about urinals, and how to use them properly!

With the Dáil returning today, what were the main topics discussed and debated?Joining Kieran to go over what was covered is Craig Hughes, Political Editor at the Irish Daily Mail and Christina Finn, Political Editor at The Journal.

You may have heard of this ongoing row between ‘It Ends With Us’ co-stars Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively. Well, Blake Lively is suing Baldoni over harassment and emotional distress.Joining Kieran to discuss is Simon Thompson, Entertainment Journalist based in LA and PR Expert Mark Borowski.Image: Sony Pictures

For this week’s Tech Takeover, Newstalk’s Technology Correspondent Jess Kelly joins Kieran to talk all things The Sims as the first two games get re-released for the 25th anniversary of the series, along with her tech tips and recommendations!Image: EA