The Hard Shoulder

Jessie Buckley won Best Actress at last night's Golden Globes. Newstalk’s Henry McKean visited Jessie's old school Ursuline Secondary School in Thurles and her home town of Killarney. Speaking to her old Principal, friends and even Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal themselves recently at the Hamnet Irish premiere.

The European Union is considering further sanctions against Iran in response to the violent crackdown against protesters.The EU has previously imposed numerous sanctions against Iran for human rights violations, selling drones and missiles to Russia, and its nuclear program.For more on this, Ciara is joined by Bel Trew, The Independent's Chief International Correspondent.

The Dáil resumes tomorrow with the first session of 2026.So time to mark our cards: what issues are the Government facing this term?Fionnan Sheahan is Ireland Editor with the Irish Independent, and joins Ciara to discuss.

For this week’s Kids Health Check, Ciara Doherty is joined by Psychologist Aisling O’Connor to discuss what to do when your child has a tantrum…

The first ever autistic Barbie doll to represent neurodivergent children has been launched by the toy giant Mattel.The Barbie features accessories like a fidget spinner, noise-cancelling headphones, and a communication tablet, but is this a positive move by the toy mogul or too generalised of a representation of autism?Joining Ciara to discuss is actor Brian Mulvey and Adam Harris, CEO and Founder of AsIAm.Image: Mattel

New figures are showing a significant increase on hospital waiting lists nationally.Figures from the National Treatment Purchase Fund for December show that there are 894,369 patients on hospital waiting lists across the country, an increase of more than 86,300 on the same time last year.Nearly 10 years ago the 2017 Sláintecare report, which was aimed at overhauling the health service, recommended maximum wait times of no more than 12 weeks for an inpatient/day case procedure and 10 weeks for a new outpatient appointment.Will we ever see that?Joining Ciara to discuss is Priscilla Lynch, Clinical Editor with the Medical Independent and Stephen McMahon Co-Founder and Director of the Irish Patients Association.

Shrinkflation is not only making our chocolate bars smaller, but our books too! However, unlike with chocolate, the reason your book is smaller is not down to the cost of producing it, but rather our decreasing attention spans.Joining Ciara to discuss Sarah Maria Griffin, author of ‘Eat the Ones You Love’.

The US is due to meet with Danish officials this week about Greenland.Joining Ciara to discuss this is Newstalk Reporter Josh Crosbie, who is speaking with locals in Greenland. Also joining to discuss is former US Diplomat, Policy Adviser and Analyst for Republican leadership in the US Senate, Jim Jatras.

A woman has admitted to banning her husband from picking a film on movie night due to the disturbing ones he picked that left her distraught every time she sat down to watch TV.It got us thinking, who should gain custody of the remote? Should it always be a 50-50 split or, if you don’t like your partner’s film of choice, is separate screens the most sensible option?Joining Ciara to discuss is Journalist and Sunday Independent Film Critic, Chris Wasser and Freelance Journalist, Niamh O’Reilly.

The Minister for Justice is expected to bring a bill to cabinet to overhaul the states' asylum system.One of the many new changes includes new plans proposed by Minister Jim O'Callaghan that will see refugee families having to wait three years before bringing spouses and children to Ireland.Aontú Leader Peadar Tóibín joins Ciara Doherty to discuss.