The Hard Shoulder

Disruption continues across the country thanks to the snow and cold weather.Newstalk Reporter Josh Crosbie joins Kieran to share what he’s seen and heard from mountain rescue services in Wicklow as well how passengers are dealing with train delays in Heuston Station.

Last week, it was agreed by stakeholders engaged in the construction of the national children’s hospital that it would be completed by June 2025. The project has been engulfed in controversy over its cost.Kevin Doyle, Group Head of News at the Irish independent has firsthand experience of how badly the children of Ireland need new healthcare facilities.He, as well as Paul Davis, Procurement Lecturer at the School of Business in DCU, join Kieran to discuss.

Following a conversation on the Pat Kenny Show last week on the European Commission tightening restrictions on Retinol, influencer Holly Carpenter hit back at host Jonathan Healy for saying that we were being “influenced by eejits”.So, what kind of advertising standards do influencers have? Joining Kieran to discuss is Holly Carpenter, Social Media Content Creator and Alexandra Ryan, CEO of Goss.ie.

This week guest host Adrian Kennedy was joined by the presenter of Fully Charged on Spin1038 Aisling Bonner and Saoirse Hanley, Features writer at the Independent to look back on the week that was, but with a few twists…

With the Christmas season over - you may find yourself with gifts that aren’t exactly to your liking. So, what do you do? Do you keep them out of politeness, or do you get rid of them?Henry McKean has been out asking the public, and joins guest host Adrian Kennedy to discuss.

A lot of people have been in and out of Dublin City the last few weeks, but does Dublin city need City Wardens, and what exactly would they do?Joining guest host Adrian Kennedy is Kevin Byrne, candidate for the Trinity Seanad Election.

In recent months, Elon Musk has been very vocal on X, formerly Twitter, about various political issues both in the US and Europe. But, is his behaviour on X dangerous?John O’Brennan, Professor in European Politics in Maynooth University and Eoin O’Malley, Associate Professor of Politics at DCU join guest host Adrian Kennedy to discuss.

It might be one of your New Year’s Resolutions to read more. Well, Ciara Treacy from Newstalk’s Digital Team joins guest host Adrian Kennedy to give her recommendations from books released in 2024!

Caroline Vakil, Campaign Reporter for The Hill, joins guest host Adrian Kennedy to discuss some of the biggest stories happening in the United States: the tragic attack in New Orleans, the Cybertruck explosion outside Trump’s Vegas hotel and the race for US House Speaker.Image: Reuters

Sexually Transmitted Infections, or STIs, were on the rise in 2024 – showing worrying signs. It follows a huge uptick the year before, with Ireland not set to reach its target of eliminating sexual diseases by 2030.Joining Adrian Kennedy to discuss the increase is Dr. Derek Freedman – a Specialist Consultant in Sexual Health and Sexually Transmitted Diseases based in Ranelagh.