The Explainer

On this week's episode, we look at the novel coronavirus outbreak and ask - how worried should we be in Ireland about it? What is a coronavirus? How can you stop its spread? And is the Irish health system prepared for a possible outbreak here?Joining Sinéad O'Carroll in studio are Noteworthy investigative journalist Maria Delaney and Nigel Stevenson, associate professor in immunology at Trinity College Dublin. We also hear from John Cuddihy, Director of the HSE's Health Protection Surveillance Centre, about how the Irish health system is dealing with the coronavirus threat. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Last year, we brought you the story behind the Drogheda feud. This week, we take another look at the feud, in the wake of the shocking death of teenager Keane Mulready-Woods.The young teen's remains were found in a holdall in Coolock on Monday 13 January. Two days later more remains were found in a burning car in Ballybough.The shocking discovery and subsequent garda investigation showed that the Drogheda feud had reached north Dublin. Keane disappeared on Sunday 12 January and gardaí described what happened to him as “a brutal and savage attack on a child and is completely unacceptable in any normal democratic society”. In this week's episode, TheJournal.ie reporters Garreth McNamee and Conal Thomas discuss with Sinéad O'Carroll the circumstances that could have led to this latest twist in the feud. They examine the response to gangland activity and how the garda investigation into Keane Mulready-Woods' death is going. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Update: Since we recorded this episode, it has been announced that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will no longer be working members of the royal family.This month is a significant one for the British Royal Family.In an almost unprecedented move, Prince Harry and Meghan announced on 8 January that they plan to step back as senior members of the family, removing themselves from frontline royal duties. They want to, they said, carve out a "progressive role" in the monarchy.The rest of the family were seemingly left in the dark over the decision, but Queen Elizabeth has confirmed that they will be 'entirely supportive' of the pair.But what happens now?In this week's episode of The Explainer, presenter Sinéad O'Carroll is joined by David McClure, royal finances expert and author of Royal Legacy, journalist and broadcaster Conor Behan and TheJournal.ie reporter Rónán Duffy to look what happened since 8 January, what the future holds for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, what money - public or otherwise - they currently receive, how they could grow Brand Harry and Meghan. They also look at the couple's fractious relationship with the media and how that could have played into their decision. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It was supposed to be fairly straightforward - a commemoration for those who served in the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) and the Dublin Metropolitan Police (DMP), to be held in Dublin Castle.But due to the varied complications of Irish history over the past centuries, as soon as the event was publicised the criticism and questions began to roll in for the government over the past week.We're joined by two experts to discuss what went wrong and what we can learn from it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In Ireland, we really do love talking about the weather - and often guiding the importance of these conversations is Met Éireann's colour coding system.It has been in use over the past decade, but it's often not that straight-forward. Some weather conditions with lower ratings have felt the same as others with higher ratings, sometimes they're announced at the last minute, or others seem to signal impending doom pass without incident.Joining us in studio is TheJournal.ie reporter Sean Murray, and we speak to the national meteorological service's head of forecasting Evelyn Cusack, who talks about what goes on behind the scenes when meteorologists are looking at looming bad weather, what considerations are made when deciding to alert the public on bad weather - and why Storm Lorenzo seemed like it was going to be worse than it actually was. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Earlier this year, TheJournal.ie launched a new podcast - The Explainer.Aimed at taking a deeper look at one big news story each week, we've now hit episode #44 and was named as one of the Best Listens of 2019 by Apple Podcasts.Since March we've covered everything from the trouble Prince Andrew has caused for the Royal Family to Patrick Nevin and the 'Tinder rape case', as well as looking at whether Ireland can grow its own medicinal cannabis and why exactly there's so much controversy over the Public Services Card.In today's special edition, the whole team sit down in studio - presenter Sinead O'Carroll and the show's producers Christine Bohan, Aoife Barry, and Nicky Ryan - to run through our favourite explanations, the moments from the past year when our expert contributors set something clear in our minds or offered a new piece of information that stuck with us. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How possible is it to have a green - or environmentally-friendly - Christmas? That's what we've been looking at in our Green Christmas series on TheJournal.ie over the past few weeks.In this week's episode of The Explainer, our producer Aoife Barry steps into Sinéad O'Carroll's shoes and presents the show. She interviews reporter Dominic McGrath and Pat Kane of Reuzi.ie about how listeners can have a 'green Christmas'. They examine what exactly 'green' means, and whether big changes are necessary at your dinner table this 25 December.Our Green Christmas series is supported by Volvo, a car manufacturer which has pledged to be carbon neutral by 2040. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Boris Johnson was in jubilant form after the election result. "We broke the deadlock," he told reporters early this morning. "We ended the gridlock. We smashed the roadblock."This was a momentous election for the future of the UK. Boris Johnson will be Prime Minister with a huge Conservative majority, and Brexit will almost certainly happen next month. Jeremy Corbyn will not lead Labour into another election after a disastrous defeat. But beyond the headlines, there is a lot more to unpack. In this week's episode of The Explainer, recorded this morning as the final results were coming in, we're joined by TUD lecturer and polling expert Dr Kevin Cunningham along with TheJournal.ie staff Ronan Duffy, Dominic McGrath and Christine Bohan, who were following the events overnight.We give you the low-down on everything you need to know about this election. We look at whether the polls got it right; how Northern Ireland now has more nationalist MPs than unionist MPs; and how this was an unusually siloed election, with the main parties focusing on the issues important to them rather than engaging with each other. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dublin is set to gain a new tourist attraction in the coming years, but it's one that caught many people by surprise.A white-water rafting facility was given the green light by councillors this week. It's expected to cost in the region of €22 million and take 18 months to complete.The location earmarked for the project is George's Dock in the city centre, adjacent to the CHQ building and a short walk from Connolly Station and Busarus.The facility has received support from athletes and emergency services who will be able to use it for training, as well as those who say it will attract thousands of visitors to Dublin, but has also been criticised as an outlandish project at a time when the country grapples with a homelessness crisis.In this week's episode of The Explainer, we're joined by TheJournal.ie reporter Conor McCrave, Green Party councillor Patrick Costello, and kayak slalom champion Samuel Curtis to discuss the ins and outs of this project - what the facility itself would consist of, its main benefits, how the scope for developing the site in other ways is somewhat limited, as well as the main criticisms it has faced. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week's episode, Sinéad O'Carroll is joined by Anton Savage of the Communications Clinic and reporter Rónán Duffy to discuss the recent news stories around Prince Andrew, and what impact they might have on the royal family. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.