The Explainer

Our reporters Michelle Hennessy and Cónal Thomas bring up to date on the latest restrictions; the discussion over what led to the rocketing Covid-19 case numbers; how vaccination is going; and how the healthcare system is coping. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As this tumultuous year draws to a close, The Explainer team sits down to pick their favourite clips from the year. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sinéad O'Carroll chats to RTÉ Washington Correspondent Brian O'Donovan about reporting on the ground in Trump's America and how his achievements compare to his 2016 promises. We also look ahead to 2021 and the uphill battle Joe Biden faces one he enters the White House. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our senior reporter Michelle Hennessy shares all the detail you need on the plan to roll-out Covid-19 vaccines in Ireland, including who gets the first doses, who will be administering the vaccine, where you'll get it, and a rough idea of when it all might happen. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ireland could start its rollout of a Covid vaccine as soon as next month, but how exactly do they work? We're joined on this week's episode by head of the National Virus Reference Laboratory and NPHET member Dr Cillian De Gascun. We examine the main differences between the leading vaccine candidates, why mRNA could be a significant gamechanger in medicine, and more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

RTÉ legal affairs correspondent Órla O'Donnell and Fianna Fáil's Jim O'Callaghan join us on this week's episode to discuss a surprise ruling which means that Irish media can no longer report the names of children who have been murdered. We examine Section 252, and the impact it has both on reporting cases like this and on survivors of abuse who want to tell their story. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We speak to doctoral researcher Hilary Hogan to examine the 27th Amendment. Unanimously passed in 2004, it meant that children born to non-Irish citizens would no longer be entitled to birthright citizenship. New legislation proposed by Labour seeks to provide a path to citizenship for these children. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

NPHET's modelling expert Professor Philip Nolan joins us on this week's episode to discuss the recent trends in the Covid-19 cases at this halfway point in Ireland's second lockdown, as well as answering some of your questions. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dr Kevin Cunningham, lecturer in politics and in the School of Media at TU Dublin, as well as an independent pollster, joins us on this week's website episode to examine whether the polls accurately predicted the results of the US election - or whether that's even possible within the electoral college system. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sinéad O'Carroll is joined this by our reporter Órla Ryan, co-director of the Clann Project and NUI Galway lecturer in human rights Dr Maeve O’Rourke, as well as solicitor and director of Data Compliance Europe Simon McGarr.The government has received a copy of the findings from the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes, but it has already attracted significant controversy before it has even come near to being published, as fears were sparked among survivor and campaign groups that the records would be sealed for 30 years.We look at what exactly a mother and baby home was, what the Commission of Inquiry was investigating, how this spiraled into a controversy as well as what exactly the GDPR says about access to records like these. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.