In The News

With just two weeks to go until the 2022 midterm elections, all eyes are on Pennsylvania and the two nominees vying for the Senate seat, Republican celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz and Democrat John Fetterman. Whoever wins could have a huge impact on which party controls the chamber from next January. If the Republicans win it would spell disaster for President Biden’s ability to enact his agenda, with potentially global implications. Democrats had hoped the Supreme Court’s ruling on abortion would give them the fire power they need to get voters to turn out – but the cost of living crisis is giving their opponents the edge. Washington Correspondent Martin Wall speaks to Aideen Finnegan about the candidates and what is at stake when voters cast their ballots. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This month marks ten years since Savita Halappanavar died at Galway University Hospital. At seventeen weeks pregnant, she had presented to the hospital complaining of back pain, only to be told she was actively miscarrying. One week after she was admitted to hospital, she died from sepsis after her request for an abortion was denied on legal grounds. Protests and vigils were held across Ireland, remembering Savita and calling for changes to Ireland's strict abortion laws. Ten years on and Savita's name is recognised across the country. Her story, synonymous with the campaign to repeal the 8th Amendment. In this episode, Social Affairs correspondent Kitty Holland reflects on Savita's life, the circumstances around her death and how it changed the course of modern Irish history. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After just 45 days on the job, UK prime minister Liz Truss has resigned. The proximate cause of her political demise was her mishandling of the economy in the weeks since she took power. But to find the real cause of the constant chaos in British politics, we need to look further back, says Irish Times news editor Mark Hennessy.Plus: How and by whom will Truss be replaced? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

China’s Communist Party is holding its National Congress this week. The highly choreographed event sets out the party’s plans for the country over the next five years. But there are turbulent times ahead, as they continue their zero-Covid approach and face into a major property crisis. With President Xi Jinping now set for a third term in office, what will it mean for the country and for the world? Denis Staunton reports from Beijing. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There are lots of reasons why team sports are a great activity for children to be involved in. They offer kids a chance to improve fitness, make new friends and learn how to be part of a team. But, on many teams across the country, coaches are leaving less able children on the sidelines, because they value winning above everything else. Irish Times parenting columnist Jen Hogan talks to Conor Pope about the impact this can have on children and why she thinks the culture needs to change. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

***Please note this episode discusses sexual assault and violence which some listeners may find distressing***German prosecutors have filed new sexual assault charges against the man who's already under investigation for the disappearance of Madeleine McCann. Christian Brückner is accused of raping Irish woman Hazel Behan, who was 20 at the time of the attack in Portugal in 2004. The other indictments filed this week also include charges of child sex abuse. He is currently serving time in a German prison for the rape of an elderly American tourist in The Algarve in 2005. Who is Christian Brückner, what is his criminal history and how exactly is he connected to the McCann case? Berlin correspondent for The Irish Times, Derek Scally, brings us the details. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Iranian authorities are using increasingly violent force to suppress the female-led protests that are rocking the religious regime.Zahra Gholamvand is a research fellow at Trinity College Dublin who left Iran in 2010 after the failure of the Green Movement and violent crackdown on protest. She explains what life is like for women under the watch of Iran's morality police and why this time she believes the protests are not going away. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ten lives have been lost and many more irrevocably changed by the tragic events that took place last Friday in the small village of Creeslough, County Donegal. Kitty Holland is there, meeting the people of the area. She talks to producer Aideen Finnegan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Last week, former garda superintendent John Murphy was jailed for six and a half years after he was caught holding cannabis worth nearly €260,000 in his home in Dublin. He is also at the centre of an investigation into allegations that information held by the force was supplied to the Hutch criminal gang. But how does a senior garda become involved in the drugs trade and end up collaborating with criminals? And what kind of message does Murphy’s arrest and corruption within An Garda Síochána send to the general public? Security and Crime Editor Conor Lally reports. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rory Mason, the young man who died in combat in Ukraine this week, was one of thousands of young men from around the world who travelled to join Ukraine's "international legion" and help in the fight against Russia's invasion. But who was Rory Mason, and how important is the international legion to Ukraine's war effort? Ronan McGreevy and Dan McLaughlin report. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.