Newstalk Daily

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...

When is the Right Time to Teach Kids About Sex And Sexuality?

23 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It’s been more than a quarter of a century since Ireland’s primary school curriculum was last overhauled. Now, from next year, a new syllabus will...

Mocktails, Brewery Closures and Sober-Curiosity: Are We Losing Our Taste for Booze?

22 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Ireland has always had a reputation for raising a glass — but something is changing. More and more of us are saying “not tonight,” as drinking h...

Why can’t every night be Culture Night?

19 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Every September, more than a million people step out to celebrate Culture Night — an evening that transforms Ireland into a giant stage for music, t...

Occupied Territories Bill: Ireland Hesitates on Services as Gaza Suffers

18 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

As Europe sharpens sanctions on Israel and the Dáil returns to debate the Occupied Territories Bill, the political and emotional stakes have never be...

How Many Orangemen Are There in the Republic of Ireland?

17 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

How many Orangemen live in the Republic of Ireland today? It’s a question thrust into political debate with the news that Fine Gael’s presidential...

Constance Marten and Mark Gordon: the Manhunt, the Trial, the Sentence

16 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This week, a case that gripped Britain for nearly two years reached its conclusion. Constance Marten — the aristocrat who vanished with her partner,...

How to unmask a Traitor (and why the Faithful are terrible at spotting lies)

15 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Everyone is talking about The Traitors — the hit reality TV series where deception is currency and trust is constantly under threat. But what happen...

Invasion of the Killer Hornets

12 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

They’re big, they’re bold, and they’ve crash-landed in Cork. The Asian hornet - an uninvited tourist with a sting in its tail - officially arriv...

Enoch Burke v The State: Can One Man Defy the Courts Forever?

11 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Enoch Burke has become one of the most talked-about figures in Ireland’s courts - a teacher turned serial litigant whose refusal to accept rulings h...

Why Supporting Palestine Action Could Land You in a British Jail

10 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A Banksy mural appeared outside London’s Royal Courts of Justice this week, depicting a judge in full wig, striking down a protester with his gavel....

The Race for the Áras Gets Real

09 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The presidential race has kicked up a gear and, this week, the contest takes centre stage. Fianna Fáil is preparing to unveil its candidate for the Á...

Is Trump Behaving Like a Dictator — or Just Testing Democracy’s Limits?

08 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Donald Trump’s second term as U.S. President has been marked by mass firings, loyalty displays, and the use of federal power in ways that critics sa...

Claire Irwin on What It Really Costs to Build a Home in Ireland

05 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

How much does it really cost to build or rebuild a home in Ireland? The answer might shock you. On today’s podcast, Ciara Doherty is joined by quant...

How can a child in Ireland just disappear?

04 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Every year, thousands of children in Ireland are reported missing. Most are found, but a troubling number remain unaccounted for. In today’s Newstal...

Whose Flag Is It Anyway?

03 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Irish flags have appeared on streets across Dublin in recent weeks - not for football, not for celebration, but as part of an anti-immigrant campaign....

Autocrats Assemble: Kim Takes the Slow Train to Beijing

02 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Three of the world’s most controversial leaders are meeting in Beijing this week - North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, Russia’s Vladimir Putin, and China...

Back to School 2.0: How Tech is Rewriting the Classroom

01 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The new school term is here, but is technology really making our kids smarter, or just more distracted? In 2025, “back to school” means iPads inst...

The Prince in Disgrace and the Duchess Who Won’t Stay Quiet

29 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Once untouchable, now sidelined, Britain’s most infamous royals are facing a season of scrutiny like no other. Virginia Giuffre’s posthumous memoi...

Cracks in the System: The Human and Financial Cost of Ireland’s Defective Block Crisis

28 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In Donegal and across Ireland, families are still living in homes that are literally falling apart, victims of a defective block crisis that shows lit...

Erin Patterson and the Mushroom Murders Part 2: The Explosive Evidence the Jury Never Heard

27 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

When Erin Patterson was found guilty of murdering three family members with a mushroom-laced beef Wellington, the story gripped not just Australia but...

Is Homeschooling Ireland’s Quiet Education Revolution?

26 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Today on Newstalk Daily, Ciara Doherty explores a fast-growing alternative to traditional education in Ireland: homeschooling. With more parents askin...

Why the Anti-Woke Warrior Can’t Make Her Mark

25 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

She arrived as a disruptor, a self-styled “anti-woke warrior,” poised to revive one of the world’s oldest political parties. Nine months into he...

Ink and Identity: The Healing Power of Tattoos After Cancer

22 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What if a tattoo could help you heal? Not just physically, but emotionally - restoring confidence, reclaiming identity, and transforming the way you s...

The O’Callaghans: A Family at War

21 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The O’Callaghan name is one of the most prominent in Irish hospitality, synonymous with landmark hotels across Dublin and beyond. But behind the doo...

OK Boomer? Why Ireland’s Young Feel Poorer Than Their Parents

20 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Ireland’s economic story looks dazzling on paper but dig a little deeper and you find a very different picture. A huge share of the country’s asse...

Golfgate: Fallout

19 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

By the morning of August 21st, 2020, Golfgate was no longer just a story - it was a political earthquake. The Irish Examiner’s front-page splash had...

Golfgate: Anatomy of a Scoop

18 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Five years ago this summer, Ireland was just five months into the Covid-19 crisis. Daily case numbers were climbing again, new restrictions had just b...

Are Groceries Really Cheaper Up North? Barry Finds Out

15 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In July, Newstalk Daily asked a big question: Can we fix Ireland’s crippling grocery prices? The response from listeners was huge – and many of yo...

Should Paddy in Glasgow Pick the Next President?

14 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

For more than a decade, the question has lingered: should Irish citizens living overseas, and those in Northern Ireland, get to vote for the president...

Summitology: Trump, Putin and the High-Stakes Alaska Meeting

13 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This Friday, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin will meet in Alaska, a setting that’s far from the marble halls of Brussels or the media glare of Genev...

What Katie Did: How Katie Taylor Changed Irish Sport - and What Comes Next

12 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Katie Taylor has done it again. Weeks after her masterful victory over Amanda Serrano at Madison Square Garden - the third and decisive chapter in one...

Profiting from Protection: Who’s Made Millions from Refugee Housing?

11 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Ireland’s refugee and asylum seeker accommodation system has transformed into a multi-billion-euro industry, one increasingly dominated by a small c...

Pamela Anderson and Liam Neeson: The Romance We’re Willing into Existence

08 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

From red carpets to red swimsuits, from action films to heartfelt comebacks, today’s podcast is all about two of the most surprising stars caught in...