The BelTel

Allison Morris joins Ciarán Dunbar with the history of female republican prisoners, and how Christine Connor landed a 25-year sentence. There are more female republicans in prison now than at any time since the Good Friday Agreement. One of them is Christine Connor – the north Belfast woman used a fake profile picture – of a Swedish model – to lure two vulnerable men into helping with her one-woman campaign. Both later took their own lives.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

He was a household Brand; from MTV, Channel 4 and BBC, to a wild night in Dublin, and even conquering Hollywood. What next for Russell Brand after a spectacular fall from grace? Host: Tabitha Monahan. Guests: Allison Morris and Dee Molumby.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Wolfe Tones sing songs many interpret as pro-IRA. Commentators, politicians and victims of republican violence condemn them. But the Wolfe Tones seem to be getting more popular by the concert, packing out venues with thousands of fans. Ciarán Dunbar is joined by Irish Independent columnist Sarah Carey and Irish Independent John Meagher to try and make sense of the Wolfe Tones phenomenon, but he starts off by speaking to the band’s founder, Brian Warfield.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Putin welcomes Kim Jong Un and his “moving fortress” to Russia. How will this new friendship affect the war in Ukraine and Russian relations with western powers? Host: Kevin Doyle. Guest: Jason Corcoran.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Northern Ireland gets 40% of its drinking water from Lough Neagh but the lake has been polluted with deadly cyanobacteria. Both wildfire and pets died after being poisoned in the lake. We are advised not to eat fish caught recreationally in the lough – but despite that, commercial fishing continues. Whose fault is it? Sam McBride has been investigating this story, he joins Ciarán Dunbar.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Thomas Niedermayer was kidnapped from his Belfast home in 1973. There was no ransom demand, no information. But there couldn’t be, because he had been murdered soon after and his body dumped. Shockingly, the eventual discovery of his remains led to the death of his wife and two of his children. Author David Blake Knox spoke to Ciarán Dunbar.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Aoife Moore’s new book on Sinn Féin is on the shelves and in the headlines. The Derry-born journalist’s approach to Sinn Féin has drawn the ire of some in the media – accusing her of not being hard enough on what is now Ireland’s largest party. She tells Ciarán Dunbar how and why she wrote ‘The Long Game: Inside Sinn Féin’, whether Sinn Féin will be able to keep their list of promises in power and how Gerry Adams almost fell following the revelations his brother Liam had raped his own daughter. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Wallace Thompson was a founder member of the DUP and a loyal follower of the late Ian Paisley. Now he feels that some form of Irish Unity is inevitable – why? He spoke to Sam McBride.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tim McGarry and iconic on-screen character on screen 'Da', along with the likes of Uncle Andy and Billy the Peeler, has long been making fun of life and politics here. But it’s not all about comedy for Tim, he’s passionate about humanism and the cause of integrated education in Northern Ireland. He spoke to Ciarán Dunbar. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the end, Simon Byrne had to go. He had lost the confidence of the public and politicians – and above all, of his own officers. The final straw was a court ruling - that two junior officers were unlawfully disciplined. Where does this debacle leave the PSNI? Does Sinn Féin also have questions to answer? And what does this fiasco tell us about policing and politics in Northern Ireland? Sharon O’Neill, is joined by Allison Morris and Sam McBride See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.