In The News

In the space of a few short years, generative AI has exploded into our daily lives, impacting the way we learn, work and understand the world around us.Open AI, the American artificial intelligence company cofounded by Sam Altman and Elon Musk in 2015 which runs ChatGPT, claims its non-profit “mission” is to ensure these systems “benefit all of humanity”.And while the launch of ChatGPT has undoubtedly lightened the workload of many, engineer, journalist and AI expert Karen Hao says the AI race for world domination carries a huge human and environmental cost.In 2019, Hao spent three days embedded in the offices of OpenAI and discovered this company, which claims to be transparent and operating “for the good of humanity”, was in fact highly secretive.In her bestselling book ‘Empire of AI: Inside the reckless race for total domination’, Hao warns that the world has entered a new and ominous age of empire, where a small handful of companies are writing the future of humanity.Today, on the In The News podcast, how the race for total AI domination is repeating the worst of human history.Karen Hao discusses the severe cost of the seemingly unstoppable growth of OpenAI.Presented by Sorcha Pollak. Produced by Aideen Finnegan.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For years the Irish Republican Brotherhood – the IRB – was remembered annually in a curious ceremony at Dublin’s Mansion House when its self-styled president Billy McGuire conducted a ritual that involved turning a golden harp to reaffirm the sovereignty of Ireland.The existence of an IRB will come as a surprise to historians who consider that the secret-oath-bound society of the same name was disbanded more than 100 years ago.But in recent years, a new cohort has taken over the IRB name, turning it into a growing organisation steeped in the pseudo-legal language of the sovereign citizen movement, which believes citizens are not subject to State laws.This has caused officials in Dublin and nationally to become increasingly nervous about the group’s intentions.The leaders of the modern IRB are in large part veterans of the Covid-19 anti-mask and anti-lockdown campaigns, along with property owners who turned to conspiracy theories after losing vast sums during the crash. Its leaders include a prominent Clare businessman, a teacher, a healthcare worker and a life coach.This version of the IRB has a shadow government, a nascent court system and a network of local government bodies. It has also adopted a new time zone, Irish Rising Time, which is 25 minutes slower and based on the time zone used in Dublin until the 1916 rising. It even claims control over Óglaigh na hÉireann.So is this fringe group like those harmless re-enactors who cosplay historical events or does it have the potential to go the way of some sovereign citizen groups in the US and Germany who have escalated their actions to include violence?Irish Times Crime and Security Correspondent Conor Gallagher explains.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The arrest of more than 500 people at a Palestine Action rally in London on August 9th did more than raise the profile of the little-known anti-war action group: it raised questions about the fundamental right of British people to engage in peaceful protest, and exactly what constitutes a terrorist organisation in the eyes of the government.The arrests were on foot of a ban in July under UK terrorism legislation which put the group in the same proscribed category as Islamic State, al-Qaeda, the IRA, the UVF and a long list of banned terror groups.In an essay in the Irish Times last weekend, novelist Sally Rooney made her position clear.In the piece which she says she could not legally publish in a British publication, she writes that she supports Palestine Action – including financially – and “If this makes me a ‘supporter of terror’ under UK law, so be it“.The images that emerged of the arrests at the rally included those of elderly men and women with home-made “Stop the Genocide” signs and of people wearing Palestine Action T-shirts and carrying banners.Since then, civil liberties groups have been vocal in what they say is the dangerous route the British government is following, appearing to conflate peaceful protest with terrorism.So what is Palestine Action? Irish Times London correspondent Mark Paul explains.And he describes the scenes inside and outside the court in London on Wednesday when Belfast rapper Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh was in court facing charges of supporting a proscribed organisation by allegedly displaying a flag in support of Hizbullah at a Kneecap gig in London gig last year.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Declan Conlon. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode was originally published in June 2025. Tattle Life is a gossip site that many will have never heard of until a landmark defamation trial in Belfast in June 2025.Donna and Neil Sands bought a defamation case against the site – and won. They were each awarded £150,000 (€176,000) in damages, with the court saying their costs should also be covered.The married couple who live in Northern Ireland said that cruel, untrue and hateful anonymous postings over several years on the site left them fearing for their safety, their businesses and their relationships and impacted on their mental health.Award-winning journalist Aoife Moore knows exactly how the Sands feel. She too has been the victim of an onslaught of online abuse on Tattle Life, with entirely untrue gossip spread about her personal and professional life.She tells In the News how that impacted on her and what the defamation case means for her. And while this is the first successful defamation case against the gossip site, she says it will not be the last.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the 12 months leading up to April 2024, 30,000 Irish citizens who had been living abroad returned to Ireland. A similar number of Irish emigrants returned to Irish shores the previous year, in the 12 months leading up to April 2023.Who are these people, why are they coming home and what do they think of the Ireland they've returned to? Today, on the In the News podcast, we speak to three Irish people who recently returned to Ireland after years of building a life overseas. Are Irish infrastructure and healthcare as bad as we believe when compared with other systems abroad? What is it that pulls people back? And are they back for the long haul, or is reintegration back into Irish society too difficult after a long stint overseas?Presented by Sorcha Pollak. Produced by Suzanne Brennan.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Rose of Tralee is one of the biggest events in Ireland’s cultural calendar.It pumps millions of euro into the local economy and pulls in well over half a million viewers; no mean feat in an age of dwindling linear TV viewership.Almost 30 years of being lampooned as a ‘Lovely Girls’ competition thanks to that Father Ted episode has seen its popularity undimmed.Albeit only relatively recently, it has evolved to permit married and transgender women enter the contest.However 29 is still the cut-off age, meaning you are officially too old for Rose of Tralee at the age of 30.The title is bestowed upon a young woman whom the judges think would be a good ‘cultural ambassador’ for Ireland for the following year.While the spirit of diversity has been embraced, with women of colour among those to don the sash, is the competition still overly focused on a narrow version of femininity?Last year, the documentary ‘Housewife of the Year’ highlighted the eponymous competition which ran from 1969 to 1995.In what seems utterly baffling now, married women were judged on their ability to “budget effectively and prepare a simple meal.”Eventually the competition was scrapped quietly; collapsing under the weight of public opinion which was rebelling against societal norms of the quiet homemaker.But the Rose of Tralee doesn’t appear to be in any such jeopardy, and is arguably as popular as ever.Reporter Niamh Browne joins the podcast from Tralee to ponder the question: Is the Rose of Tralee uncancellable?Presented by Aideen Finnegan. Produced by Declan Conlon and Andrew McNair. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 2021, GP Paddy Davern returned to Ireland after eight years working as a doctor in Qatar. Four years on, the Tipperary man is still struggling to come to terms with the time he spent working with the Special Operations Service (SOS), a specialist medical team treating the country’s royals and other VIPs.In today’s episode, Irish Times health correspondent Shauna Bowers shares Dr Davern's traumatic experience in Qatar and explains why he is now speaking out about the working conditions and ethical dilemmas he faced during his time there. Presented by Sorcha Pollak. Produced by Suzanne Brennan and Andrew McNair.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The prescription of pain medication among Irish patients, including highly addictive opioids, is rapidly rising, according to new research.The use of opioids has increased by 25 per cent in Ireland, while the prescription of paracetamol rose 50 per cent between 2014-2022, according to a study published last week in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology.The prescription of even stronger medication, like codeine and opioids including tapentadol and oxycodone, is rising even higher.This sharp increase in pain medication prescriptions by doctors in Ireland contrasts starkly with the approach in England, where the NHS is cracking down on the overuse of these potentially-addictive medicines.Why are so many doctors prescribing this heavy-dose medication?And is this growing reliance on opioids at risk of become an addiction crisis for patients seeking pain relief?Today, on In The News, is Ireland heading towards an opioid addiction crisis?Royal College of Surgeons Ireland (RCSI) associate professor Frank Moriarty, who co-authored the study into how pain is treated in Ireland, discusses the significant rise in opioid prescriptions.Presented by Sorcha Pollak. Produced by Andrew McNair. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Last week, in the early hours of Tuesday, August 5th, Martha Nolan-O’Slattara was found unconscious on a boat at an exclusive yacht club in the Hamptons. She was later pronounced dead by first responders.The 33-year-old entrepreneur from Co Carlow had been living in the United States for nearly a decade where she had set a series of pop-up clothes boutiques and lived in Manhattan’s upper east side.US police are now trying to piece together the events that led up to the death of this young Irish woman after the result of a preliminary examination were deemed inconclusive. A final postmortem report will reportedly take at least three months to complete.Irish Times reporter Niamh Browne discusses the Irish fashion entrepreneur’s life and untimely death.Presented by Sorcha Pollak. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu has continued to defend his government’s plan to escalate the war in Gaza, despite widespread international condemnation and outrage.The Israeli leader claims his security cabinet’s decision to capture Gaza City, which could mean months, possibly years, of combat ahead, is “the best way to end the war, and the best way to end it speedily”.The plan has resulted in protests across Israel with calls for a total end to the war and the release of hostages. Israeli military leaders have also opposed the plan.Meanwhile, starvation continues to spread across Gaza, with Israel permitting just a fraction of the aid needed to address the catastrophic levels of hunger into the strip.And this week, five journalists, including a prominent Al Jazeera reporter, were killed in a targeted Israeli air strike. Their deaths bring to 192 the total number of journalists who have died since the war in Gaza nearly two years ago, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.Why, in the face of all this, is Mr Netanyahu pushing ahead to reoccupy Gaza City, despite overwhelming opposition to his plan?Today, on In The News, Netanyahu says the plan to control Gaza city will end the war. But, is that what he really wants?Irish Times contributor Mark Weiss discusses the fallout from the Israeli Government’s decision to take control of Gaza city.Presented by Sorcha Pollak. Produced by Aideen Finnegan and Andrew Mc Nair.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.