The BelTel

A staggering 96% of the people in prison in NI are men. Why are men much more likely to turn to crime and end up in jail than women?Host: Ciarán Dunbar. Guests: Dr Michelle Butler, Prof David Canter.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Yevgeny Prigozhin marched his Wagner troops to Moscow, the world watched and waited for a showdown between the mercenary fighters and Vladimir Putin. But it never happened. A deal was done. What's next for Putin, and is Prigozhin a dead man walking? Host: Siobhán Maguire. Guest: Donnacha Ó Beacháin.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

RTÉ has released a statement finding there was "no illegality" involved in the undeclared payments to presenter Ryan Tubridy, but Dee Forbes was centrally involved in negotiations. Presenter Siobhán Maguire is joined by Irish Independent Ireland Editor Fionnán Sheahan to find out more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

China and the USA are world’s most powerful countries, both militarily and economically. Recent tensions between the two over the future of Taiwan, amongst a host of other issues are a concern for us all. Ciarán Dunbar is joined by international affairs expert, Angus Lambkin, who has lived in China, to get his analysis on the situation and whether he thinks it will result in conflict. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Thousands of paramilitary attacks have been carried out in NI since the Good Friday agreement. Often, they are attacked by appointment – people turn up to be shot. Sometimes children are even accompanied by their parents, drugged up to dull the pain. Youth worker Stephen Hughes is based in Divis in west Belfast, he is active in the pressure group Stop Attacks which works to end these attacks forever. He spoke to Ciaran Dunbar.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Yevgeny Prigozhin's Wagner group of mercenaries have rebelled against the Russian military. Putin called it “a stab in the back”. It is the biggest threat to his leadership in more than two decades in power.But who is he and what is the Wagner Group?This podcast was originally broadcast in February 2023.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It has been 25 years since the first Assembly election following the Belfast Agreement. David Trimble, later Lord Trimble, was one of the key architects of the Belfast agreement, leading the largest unionist party at the time, the UUP. He died in July in 2022. In this bonus episode of the BelTel – we broadcast a remarkable in-depth interview from 2015 in which David Trimble gives his take on what happened during the peace process to Alex Kane. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A chance meeting between loyalist activist Jamie Bryson and Tory Simon Hoare led to the MP meeting loyalist leaders in Belfast. Northern Ireland Affairs Committee chairperson Hoare denies the meetings were secret negotiations, but they came as the government is trying to get Loyalists to buy into the Windsor trade protocol to help get Stormont back up and running. Ciarán Dunbar is joined by our political editor Suzanne Breen – who broke this exclusive story.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Disaster at 13,000 feet below sea level. A trip to see the Titanic has gone horribly wrong for the occupants of a submersible that has now lost contact. The Titan vanished with five people on board during a dive to the Titanic wreck site in the North Atlantic on Sunday. Host: Fionnán Sheahan. Guest: Senan MolonySee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The BBC series Once Upon A Time in Northern Ireland has been hailed as the finest ever on the Troubles. Featuring contributions from loyalists, republicans, soldiers, police, victims and civilians who found themselves living in an acutely abnormal society, the impressionistic work evokes empathy for all sides. Sam McBride interviews directors James Bluemel and Sian McIlwaine. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.