Newstalk Daily

Inside the Noah Donohoe Inquest

06 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The inquest into the death of Belfast schoolboy Noah Donohoe continued this week, more than five years after he disappeared. Noah was 14 years old whe...

Peter Mandelson and Epstein: Britain’s Biggest Political Scandal?

05 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Peter Mandelson has weathered scandal before — but this time the reaction has been visceral. His resignation from the House of Lords follows intense...

The Triple Lock: What Happens If It Goes?

04 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The future of Ireland’s Triple Lock is moving from political argument to legislative reality. Following a Cabinet decision last week, the Government...

Ireland's Most Baffling Missing Persons Case

03 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

It’s one of Ireland’s most baffling missing persons cases.And it’s in the news again with Gardai confirming that they now believe the couple in ...

What is Imbolc and What Does It Have To Do With St. Brigid?

02 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Yesterday was, of course, St. Brigid’s day.But your ancestors would have known it as Imbolc.And in celtic countries like Ireland and Scotland there ...

50 Years of Punk

30 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

50 years ago this year a new genre of music was created.   Suddenly there was this strange and raw sound. Angry looking young people we...

Should All Politicians Leave X?

29 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

At what point do politicians decide X is no longer fit for purpose? Dublin City Council saw the writing on the wall and removed their account.&nb...

Would A Wealth Tax Work In Ireland?

28 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

“TAX THE RICH” — it’s a slogan we’ve heard shouted on streets and trending online  But it’s not a new idea.   Ire...

Commemorating The Holocaust In A Fraught Political Environment

27 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

A new survey shows Holocaust denial among young people in Ireland is rising — and it’s happening at a moment of extreme political tensio...

Gen Z and Political Revolution

26 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

It’s the dawn of the Age of Aquarius, and Gen Z are letting their voices be heard  From Bulgaria, to Bangladesh, From Nepal to Ecuador —...

Wood Quay: Why Is It Important and Why Is It In The News Again?

23 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

It is almost 50 years since major protests took place in Dublin against plans by the City Council to build new civic offices on a Viking settlement di...

10 Years on From The Peak Of The Migration Crisis in Europe

22 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

It's been 10 years since the peak of the migration crisis in Europe. January 2016 set a grim record for the number of migrants dying while attemp...

Division Among The Beckhams - The Psychology of Fame and Family

21 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

It’s the family feud everyone is talking about — Brooklyn Peltz Beckham and the very public breakdown within the Beckham dynasty. But is this...

Made in America: The Dark History that Led to Donald Trump

20 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

To say it’s been a tumultuous few weeks in American politics might be the understatement of the year. The kidnapping of the leader of another s...

Who Regulates Your Therapist? Inside the Battle Over Psychotherapy Standards

19 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Psychotherapy has moved from the margins to the mainstream in Ireland. More people are turning to therapy to deal with anxiety, grief, trauma, relatio...

Politics at AFCON, Politics in Sport

16 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Though it may not move the needle quite so much here in Ireland, the most watched sporting event worldwide this weekend will likely be the final of fo...

The Case for a Directly-Elected Mayor in Dublin

15 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The idea of a directly-elected mayor for Dublin has been circling Irish politics for decades — recommended by a Citizens’ Assembly, backed by some...

Can We Put a Price on Greenland?

14 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

When Donald Trump first floated the idea of buying Greenland and it was widely treated as a joke. Now it’s being discussed in far more concrete term...

Do Awards Shows Still Matter?

13 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Awards season is officially underway, and Ireland had plenty to celebrate after Jessie Buckley’s Golden Globe win for her performance in Hamnet, whi...

Inside a Hunger Strike: Laurence McKeown on Life, Death and Political Protest

12 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Inside a Hunger Strike: Laurence McKeown on Life, Death and Political Protest Hunger striking is one of the most extreme forms of political prote...

How Effective Is Ireland's "Soft Power"?

09 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Micheál Martin has just finished a four day official visit to China.  On Monday he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing and by all a...

Beef, Business and a Brussels Bust-Up

08 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

A long-running European trade deal is heading for a crunch moment, and it’s sparked one of the loudest rows in Irish politics in years. As EU a...

Is It Time to Move Shakespeare Off Centre Stage?

07 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

William Shakespeare is back in the cultural spotlight with the release of the film Hamnet, starring Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley. But while the film...

After the Jubilee: What Did the Catholic Church Actually Achieve?

06 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

January 6th marks Epiphany, Nollaig na mBan, and the official end of the Catholic Church’s Jubilee Year. It closes the door on a remarkable twelve m...

Ceasefire or Low-Intensity War? What’s Really Happening in Gaza

05 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On paper, Gaza is in a ceasefire. On the ground, Israeli military operations continue, borders inside the strip are shifting, aid access is tightening...

America250: Celebration or Culture War?

02 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

This year, the United States marks 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence. What was meant to be a sweeping national commemorat...

Best of: Why is Gen Z giving God a second look?

01 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

During 2025, the Catholic Church celebrated its Jubilee of Youth. At the same time, polling research in Ireland and the UK revealed growth in spiritua...

Best of: The Real House of Guinness

31 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

One of the biggest streaming hits of the year was The House of Guinness on Netflix. In this podcast from the Newstalk Daily archive, Ciara Doherty is ...

Best of: Golfgate

30 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Five years ago, the fallout from an Oireachtas Golf Society event at the Station House Hotel in Clifden, county Galway, became one of the most po...

In the Snug with Donal Fallon (Part 2)

29 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Irish pub has always been about more than drink. In part two of this conversation, Tara Duggan is joined by social historian Donal Fallon to explo...

In the Snug with Donal Fallon (Part 1)

26 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

On St Stephen’s Day, many of us gather in a particular social space — the pub. In this special edition of the podcast, Tara Duggan is joined in th...

A Quiet Christmas

25 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Christmas Day can be loud, busy, and full of expectations. But for some people — by choice, or by circumstance — it’s quiet. This Christmas Day ...

How 2025 Became the Year of the Bailout Babies

24 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

They were children when the Celtic Tiger collapsed. Teenagers when the IMF arrived. And now, they’re adults in an Ireland that in many ways sti...

Why Do People Love to Hate Meghan Markle?

23 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What happens when millions of people online seem to decide, almost overnight, that they don’t like you? A harmless Christmas special. Fifty-six minu...

When Did Irish Restaurants Get Really Good?

22 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

For decades, Irish food suffered from a reputation it struggled to shake. Overcooked vegetables, low expectations, and the idea that good eating was s...

Is There Still a Market for PD-Style Politics?

19 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This weekend marks forty years since the founding of the Progressive Democrats — the small, outspoken party that reshaped Irish politics, then vanis...

Could a Mass Shooting Happen in Ireland?

18 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Over the past week, the world has once again watched the horror of mass shootings unfold — from the United States to Australia — and the fear they...

What Will Happen to House Prices and Mortgage Rates in 2026?

17 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Trying to buy a home in Ireland can sometimes feel like a bad joke. Prices are still rising, and homes are still selling well above asking. Mortgage r...

Fianna Fáil’s Worst Election: What Will The Review Reveal?

16 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It’s the political mess Fianna Fáil can’t escape. Months after Jim Gavin’s presidential bid collapsed in spectacular fashion, the party is fina...

Politicians Have Podcasts Now... God Help Us

15 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Politicians used to fight elections on radio and in TV studios and newspaper columns. Now they’re doing it on YouTube, TikTok, Substack, and podcast...

What Happens When Netflix Eats Hollywood?

12 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Netflix wants to swallow-up Warner Bros — home to Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, DC, Barbie and HBO — in a deal so big it would reshape global ent...

Why Is Ireland So Bad at Building Big?

11 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Ireland doesn’t lack ambition. But from the National Children’s Hospital to Metrolink to housing targets nobody seems able to hit, our record on m...

Is It Right to Rewrite Dublin’s Place Names?

10 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A row about renaming Herzog Park in Rathgar turned into a much bigger national conversation about how Ireland remembers its past. Do we keep the ...

Intermittent Fasting vs Christmas: Who Wins?

09 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

December does strange things to us. One minute we’re “being good,” the next we’re knee-deep in tins of Celebrations, half a cheeseboard and so...

The GAA’s Hidden Crisis: Gambling in the Dressing Room

08 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Gambling was once the quiet background noise of Irish sport — a fiver on a match, a flutter at the weekend. But new research shows the problem is fa...

Is It Time to Put Jury Trials in the Dock?

05 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Across the water, the UK is swinging a hammer at one of the oldest pillars of the justice system — stripping thousands of cases a year of their righ...

Magic Mushrooms Go Mainstream — But Are They Safe?

04 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Psychedelics are everywhere right now. From celebrity confessions by Conor McGregor and Miley Cyrus, to Silicon Valley productivity hacks, and cu...

Does Irish Tourism Live Up to Its Luxury Prices?

03 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Ireland wants one million extra tourists every year. The Government’s new tourism strategy promises a foodie revolution, year-round stays, and a far...

Dublin on Lockdown: The Real Threats Behind Zelensky’s Visit

02 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Volodymyr Zelensky is in Dublin at a moment of extraordinary pressure — both for Ukraine and for Europe. The Ukrainian president arrives amid huge s...

Donald Trump Tries to Cancel World AIDS Day

01 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Donald Trump has done something no US president has tried in more than three decades: he's pulled the plug on World AIDS Day. No federal statement. No...

From Coppers to Committees: Ireland’s Young TDs

28 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Ireland’s political landscape is changing fast. Nowhere is that more obvious than in the age profile of the Dáil. One year on from the general elec...

The Cash Fightback Starts Here

27 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Ireland was all set for a tap-and-go future - card-only cafés, vanishing ATMs, entire towns losing bank branches. Then things flipped. The Government...

Why Is Ireland Still Avoiding a Statutory Covid Inquiry?

26 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The British Covid Inquiry has released another huge report. Hundreds of pages, years of testimony, and a stark conclusion: tens of thousands of lives ...

Why We Don’t Trust Estate Agents

25 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Estate agents sit at the very bottom of the national trust rankings. On today’s podcast, Tara Duggan asks why. Are estate agents being unfairly blam...

Human Safari? Inside the Claims of “Sniper Tourism” in Sarajevo

24 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

As Bosnia marks thirty years since the signing of the Dayton Agreement, a chilling allegation has resurfaced - one so grotesque it sounds almost unbel...

Line of Duty Is Coming Back — Mother of God!

21 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Line of Duty Is Coming Back — Mother of God! Line of Duty, one of the most-watched TV dramas of the century, is officially returning. After fou...

The Great Resignation Hits Leinster House

20 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The ‘Great Resignation’ has reached Irish politics. Paschal Donohoe is the latest big name to walk away from Leinster House — departing immediat...

Irish Boys versus the Manosphere: Who’s Winning?

19 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Ireland is in the middle of a masculinity reset. Andrew Tate’s influence hasn’t faded. The Conor McGregor civil rape verdict rattled classrooms wh...

The Multibillion Game Delay That Has Everyone Losing the Plot

18 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The release date for Grand Theft Auto VI has slipped again — it’s now not expected until late 2026 — and the fallout is ricocheting far beyond g...

Obesity, Stigma, Mounjaro and Me

17 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Weight loss injections were supposed to be for “other people” — the Hollywood elite, the super-rich, the anonymous “before and after” photos...

Should Irish Be the Working Language of Newstalk?

14 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

President Catherine Connolly wants to do something no Irish president has tried in a serious way before: make Irish the actual working language of her...

How to Solve the Housing Crisis

13 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Another housing plan. Another set of promises. Another “urgent” response to a crisis that’s now shaped more than a decade of Irish life. Today, ...

The Rise of the ‘Irish Defence Army’

12 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A Garda–PSNI investigation into an alleged terror plot has led to charges against two men and a warning that violent far-right extremism is no longe...

If You Build It, Will They Come? The Dalymount Redevelopment Saga

11 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

For decades, Irish football has survived on crumbling terraces and rusting floodlights, but change may finally be in the air. Dublin City Council has ...

Inside the Inauguration: Catherine Connolly’s Day at Dublin Castle

10 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Tomorrow, the red carpet will be rolled out at Dublin Castle as Catherine Connolly takes the oath as Ireland’s tenth president in a room once used t...

Kim Kardashian v the Moon Landing: Why We Fall for Conspiracies

07 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

When Kim Kardashian tells her 364 million followers she doesn’t believe in the moon landing, it’s tempting to roll your eyes. But in 2025, conspir...

Daniel Kinahan: Dubai’s Most Wanted Irishman

06 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

He’s the most wanted Irishman on Earth — a boxing promoter turned drug lord, living it up in the desert. Daniel Kinahan’s wedding at Dubai’s B...

My Property Tax Just Went Up €120 – Yours Might Too

05 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Shane Beatty’s had enough — his Local Property Tax bill has jumped by €120 after the latest revaluation. Across Ireland, 1.5 million homeowners ...

Can One Man Unite Palestine? The Story of Marwan Barghouti

04 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

For more than two decades, Marwan Barghouti has been locked in an Israeli prison — a man both revered and reviled, described by many as “the Pales...

Mind the (Pay) Gap: Why Women in Ireland Earn Less

03 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

For every euro a man earns in the EU, a woman earns just 87 cent. Here in Ireland, that gap is smaller, but it’s still there. Despite years of promi...

Ireland’s English, Colm O’Regan Style

31 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

From langers to gurriers, lads to ould wans, Ireland’s English is a carnival of colour — equal parts poetry, pub talk and pure mischief. Comedian ...

Zohran Mamdani: The Socialist Shaking Up New York

30 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It’s the campaign that’s electrified New York and unsettled Washington. Zohran Mamdani, the 33-year-old democratic socialist from Queens, has beco...

Can Micheál Martin Hang On?

29 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Fianna Fáil is reeling — again. The bruising fallout from the presidential election has left Micheál Martin fighting for his political life. His h...

The Irish Crown Jewels: Ireland’s Greatest Unsolved Heist

28 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In Paris last week, thieves pulled off an audacious €88 million heist at the Louvre — but it’s not the first time priceless crown jewels have va...

Footballers’ Wives: The Trashy TV Reboot We Need

27 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It was the show that defined an era — all fake tans, stilettos and scandals. Footballers’ Wives turned early-2000s celebrity life into high-camp a...

Ireland, the Triple Lock, and the Broken United Nations

24 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

As Ireland goes to the polls to elect a new President, politicians, military leaders and foreign policy wonks are wondering if the next Commander-in-C...

Extra: How to Vote in the Presidential Election

23 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This Friday, more than 3.6 million Irish citizens are registered to vote in the presidential election — but what actually happens when you walk into...

The Rise and Fall of Nicolas Sarkozy

23 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

When Nicolas Sarkozy swept to power in 2007, he promised to modernise France — fast. He married a supermodel, courted the cameras, and ruled wi...

Inside Ireland’s Witness Protection Programme

22 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Ireland’s Witness Protection Programme has always operated in the dark. Created in 1997 after the murder of journalist Veronica Guerin, it was desig...

Would the Real Victoria Beckham Please Stand Up?

21 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Victoria Beckham has been in the public eye for almost 30 years - from Spice Girl to fashion powerhouse, celebrity wife to business mogul - yet she re...

Two Fathers, One Grief: The Friendship That Defied Their Daughters' Murders

20 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Two fathers from opposite sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict - Rami Elhanan, an Israeli Jew, and Bassam Aramin, a Palestinian - lost their daug...

The Rare Earth Wars

17 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Most of us have never heard of them, but rare earth elements quietly power almost everything we touch. From your phone to your electric car to the ver...

Olympics on Steroids: Why Shane Ryan Joined the Enhanced Games

16 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

When Irish Olympic swimmer Shane Ryan announced he would compete in the Enhanced Games, it sent a shockwave through the Irish sporting world. The...

How Tommy Robinson’s Message Took Root in Ireland

15 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Tommy Robinson — the self-styled “patriot” and founder of the English Defence League — was back before the courts this week, this time facing ...

Extra: Newstalk Presidential Debate Review

14 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this special extra edition of the podcast, Ciara Doherty is joined by political commentator and columnist for the Times, Alison O'Connor, to review...

Could Dead Cat Diplomacy Actually Work?

14 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It was an extraordinary day in the Middle East. Hostages returned home to scenes of jubilation and relief — the sound of their families’ cries ech...

Who is Luke Combs and Why is Ireland So Crazy For Country?

13 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

He’s the biggest country star in the world, the best-selling artist in the genre’s history, and next summer he’s headlining Slane Castle. Yet wh...

Robin Williams Back From the Dead? AI Slop Takes Over the Algorithm

10 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

From AI-generated stand-up routines by Robin Williams to fake livestreams of Kobe Bryant, social media is being flooded with so-called “AI slop” —...

Ten Years From Carrickmines

09 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

On October 10th, 2015, a fire tore through a halting site in Carrickmines, claiming ten lives — five of them children and one unborn child. The trag...

Motor Neurone Disease: What Do We Really Know?

08 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

When former England rugby captain Lewis Moody revealed he’d been diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease, he joined a heartbreaking list of athletes, l...

When Budgets Go Bad

07 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Some budgets deliver stability — others end in political disaster. Ireland’s history is full of both. With Budget 2026 about to be unveiled, Ciara...

Spy Games in Space: Is a New Cold War Being Fought Above Our Heads?

06 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The space race didn’t end with Apollo. It just changed rivals. This Space Week, the podcast dives into the new contest playing out far above our hea...

Inside Ireland’s Freemasons

03 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Ask anyone in Ireland about the Freemasons and you’ll probably hear the same three words: secrecy, symbols and myth. The so-called “secret society...

Does Tony Blair Have Clean Hands in the Middle East?

02 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Earlier this week, US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu unveiled a sweeping 20-point plan they say could end the wa...

Katie Amess: Four Years After Her Father’s Murder, the Attacks Keep Coming

01 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The threats are no longer abstract. In recent weeks, Tánaiste Simon Harris and his family were targeted with bomb hoaxes, kidnap threats and explicit...

Border Poll: Who Decides and When?

30 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Taoiseach has poured cold water on the idea of a border poll by 2030, but the debate about when — and how — such a vote might happen isn’t g...

Free Speech or Censorship? The Fight for Control of American Television

29 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Comedian Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension from his late-night slot on American network ABC sparked outrage, boycotts, and furious claims of censorship. His...

The Real House of Guinness: Separating Fact from Fiction

26 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Guinness is back in the spotlight - not for what’s in the glass, but for the family saga now streaming on Netflix. House of Guinness tells the story...

Is the NFL in Dublin a Trojan Horse for American Empire?

25 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The NFL comes to Dublin this weekend, but this event is about more than helmets and touchdowns. When the Pittsburgh Steelers face the Minnesota Viking...

Your Essential Guide to the Presidential Election

24 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The line-up is set and the race for the Áras is officially on. The three contenders – Catherine Connolly, Heather Humphreys and Jim Gavin – now f...