In The News

This week, Fianna Fáil TDs, Senators and MEPs will gather in the town of Ballyconnell, Co Cavan to discuss the future of their political party. The two day think-in will also allow party members to analyse their disappointing election performances. So why is the party struggling to retain voters? What do the recent defeats mean for Micheál Martin's future as party leader and what does Fianna Fáil actually stand for in 2021?Guests: Jennifer Bray and Fintan O'TooleProduced by: Declan Conlon, Jennifer Ryan and Suzanne BrennanOpening music by Hugh Rodgers Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Less than a fortnight after the Taliban took control in Afghanistan, the country saw its first horrific terror attack. The suicide bombing near Kabul Airport, which killed more than 100 people, was claimed by a group of extremists known as the Islamic State in Khorasan. In recent years, ISIS-K has emerged in central Asia as an enemy of both the West and of the Taliban. Who are ISIS-K? What do they want? And how will the Taliban deal with the group?Guests: Chelsea Daymon, researcher and PHD candidate at American University in Washington DC, focusing on terrorist and extremist groups, and Dr. Roja Fazaeli, Associate Professor in Islamic Civilisations at Trinity College Dublin.Presenter: Conor PopeProduced by Declan Conlon, Jennifer Ryan and Suzanne BrennanOpening music by Hugh Rodgerswww.irishtimes.coms/podcasts Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As more and more people take to the outdoors to explore Ireland’s hiking trails and mountain paths, rescue services are experiencing an alarming rise in callouts. In the first 19 days of August, Kerry Mountain Rescue responded to one incident per day, stretching their volunteers and resources to the limit. So why have more people started hiking around Ireland and why are so many embarking on these adventures with zero preparation?Hosted by Sorcha PollakGuests: Harry McGee and Gerry CondonProduced by Declan Conlon, Jennifer Ryan and Suzanne BrennanOpening music by Hugh Rodgers Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nearly 100 years after his death, the truth about who assassinated Michael Collins remains one of the greatest unanswered questions in Irish history. Collins was murdered at Béal na mBláth in Cork on August 22nd, 1922. At the time he was chairman of the Provisional Government of the Irish Free State. Why then was his death never properly investigated? Over the last century there has been much speculation about who fired the single shot that killed him. Will we ever know who did it?Guests: Art historian and performer Paddy Cullivan and Irish Times reporter Ronan McGreevy.Host: Conor PopeProduced by Declan Conlon, Jennifer Ryan and Suzanne BrennanOpening music by Hugh Rodgers www.irishtimes.com/podcasts Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Just over a week ago, New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern put the country into lockdown after the first coronavirus case in six months was reported in the city of Auckland. Until now, New Zealand's 'Covid Zero' response to the pandemic had been lauded as the best in the world. Is the country with the pandemic success story now struggling? Can a policy of total elimination of the virus work when dealing with the Delta variant? And, how long can Ardern keep the country closed off to the rest of the world as it battles Covid-19?Guest: Cathy O'Sullivan, Director Digital News at Newshub NZHosted by Sorcha PollakProduced by Declan Conlon, Jennifer Ryan and Suzanne BrennanOpening music by Hugh Rodgers www.irishtimes.com/podcasts Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As birth rates continue to drop and people live longer, the world’s population is set to change dramatically over the coming decades. What will this demographic shift mean for society, the economy, and the climate?Presented by Sorcha PollakGuests: Stephanie Hegarty and Arthur BeesleyProduced by Declan Conlon, Jennifer Ryan and Suzanne BrennanOpening Music by Hugh Rodgers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Was the death of a woman in Dundalk in 2019 suspicious and was it investigated properly? And will her family ever find the answers they are searching for?Hosted by Conor PopeProduced by Declan Conlon, Jennifer Ryan and Suzanne BrennanOpening music by Hugh Rodgers Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When US forces began to withdraw from Afghanistan earlier this year, it didn’t take long for the Taliban to begin their takeover. One by one, cities around the country began to fall to the militant group and by last weekend, the Afghan capital of Kabul had been taken. What will the return of the Taliban mean for the people of Afghanistan, for the region and for the rest of the world?Hosted by Conor PopeGuests: Dr Frank Ledwige and Sharifa Wasie Producer by Declan Conlon, Jennifer Ryan and Suzanne BrennanOpening music by Hugh Rodgers Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s a quintessentially American institution, where kids battle it out to correctly spell ten-dollar words like 'querimonious' and 'solidungulate'. This year, the long dominance of Indian-American competitors was broken by the first ever black American winner, 14-year-old Zaila Avant-garde. Documentary filmmaker Sam Rega tells us the story of the National Spelling Bee. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When a restaurant complies with the law and asks indoor diners to show a Covid vaccine certificate, are they breaching the diner's human rights, or even betraying the Irish constitution? There are some who believe so. And some of those are willing to go to extreme lengths to make life difficult for anyone applying the rule. Crime correspondent Conor Gallagher on the increasingly dirty tactics being used by protestors who vow to "unleash hell". Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.