Episodes
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The global heroin supply is under threat. But observers of international narcotic trends warn that drugs addicts will replace heroin with - synthetic opioids including Fentanyl and nitazenes - are even worse. Crime Editor Conor Lally explains why these drugs may soon be making headlines in Ireland.
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The Green Party leader, Eamon Ryan, is stepping down after 13 years at the helm. However, the Transport Minister is staying on as a member of the Cabinet, as the government enters its final phase in power. He says it will be up to the next leader of the party to decide if he remains in that role. The Greens lost their European seats and half their councillors in the local and European elections earlier this month. It was a poor result but it wasn’t quite the collapse that had been speculated upon. After Leo Varadkar’s shock departure in March as the leader of Fine Gael, and this latest announcement, is the prospect of an early general election even closer? And who is likely to succeed Ryan as the party leader?
Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Aideen Finnegan.
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Last April, Jonathan Creswell’s trial for the rape and murder of 21-year-old Katie Simpson opened in Derry’s Crown Court.
But as we heard in yesterday’s episode, it only sat for one day.
In today's episode, part 2, journalist Tanya Fowles explains how the prosecution's opening statements painted a terrifying picture of what really happened to Katie Simpson at the hands of her sister's long term boyfriend. And we also hear how Creswell, a manipulator and serial abuser, used the women in his life to help cover up his crimes.
Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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In August 2020, in a small housing estate in Derry, 21-year-old Katie Simpson was found in a critical condition. According to the man who discovered her, her brother-in-law Jonathan Creswell, the young woman had attempted suicide.
Six days later, Katie died in hospital from her injuries. The community was shocked that this outgoing and talented showjumper had taken her own life.
But all was not as it seemed. The publicly charismatic and well-connected Creswell, a jockey and former showjumper, had a dark and violent past.
Although the PSNI were quick to treat this case as suicide, news of Katie’s death raised suspicions within the community.
Journalist Tanya Fowles tells In the News how she tried again and again to raise the alarm about Creswell – but it took until March 2024 for the violent abuser to appear in court in Derry to face charges of rape and murder.
Why did it take so long to bring him to justice and why did the trial end after just one day?
Presented by Bernice Harrison, produced by Suzanne Brennan.
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When the UK banned ownership of XL Bully dogs – with certain exemptions – on February 1st, In The News explored whether Ireland should also consider a similar ban, particularly in the wake of the disfiguring of a nine year old boy in Co. Wexford. But authorities were slow to act, until this week which saw the funeral of 23-year-old Nicole Morey in Limerick. She died having been attacked at her hall door by one of her four pets, a massive XL Bully. This episode is an edited version of our February podcast. Listen to dog behaviour expert Nanci Creedon explaining how, where and crucially, why this relatively new type of dog was bred. She now says that it is time for a ban, until more data is gathered.
Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Aideen Finnegan and Suzanne Brennan.
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As the fast fashion behemoth, Shein, prepares to float on the London Stock Exchange, there's renewed focus on the company's sustainability credentials and conditions for garment workers. Undercover footage from last year's Channel 4 documentary 'Untold: Inside the Shein machine' exposed breaches of Chinese labour laws and Shein's own code of conduct.
The company insists it is "investing tens of millions of dollars in strengthening governance and compliance" across its supply chain. But despite concerns, budget-conscious Shein shoppers are enticed by the low prices and highly sophisticated algorithm. We speak to Irish consumers Isobel and Rosie, as well as British journalist Iman Amrani who fronted the Channel 4 programme.
Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan and Aideen Finnegan.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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It's all over bar the shouting in the local elections while in the European elections, counting is continuing in centres around the country. Sinn Féin has been left licking its wounds after a poor showing while Independents are the big winners in local government. Members of the far-right have made a foothold in mainstream politics for the first time and there appear to be more floating voters than ever before. Irish Times political correspondent, Jennifer Bray, has described the local elections as some of the most intense she's ever covered. She breaks down the five key messages we can take from Friday's vote.
For an even deeper dive into how MEPs might shape European policy over the next five years, check out last week's explainer with Europe Correspondent Jack Power.
Presented by Sorcha Pollak. Produced by Aideen Finnegan.
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Israeli forces rescued four hostages captured by Hamas and held since October in a raid in Gaza on Saturday that Palestinian officials said resulted in the death of more than 200 people, one of the single bloodiest Israeli assaults of the eight-month-old war.
The Israeli military claimed that less than 100 people died during the operation - still a significant death toll.
Meanwhile, on Sunday, Israeli minister Benny Gantz announced his resignation from prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s emergency government, withdrawing the only centrist power in the embattled leader’s far-right coalition, amid the months-long war in Gaza.
Today on In the News we talk to Sky News Middle East correspondent Alistair Bunkall about the impact of the raid and Gantz's exit on the situation in Israel and Palestine.
Hosted by Sorcha Pollak. Produced by John Casey.
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What happened on day two of the local and European election count? Yesterday evening on The Irish Times Inside Politics podcast, host Hugh Linehan talked to Jack Horgan-Jones and Harry McGee about the latest news from count centres, and also to Taoiseach Simon Harris about his reaction to better than expected results for Fine Gael and its coalition partners. Will Harris now be tempted to call an early general election? We play that conversation for you this morning. In the News will be back tomorrow.
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Today and tomorrow voters will find out who will fill council seats up and down the country and who Ireland will send to Europe to represent its interests. In most constituencies the ballot papers facing voters were longer than ever – with candidates from new parties with far-right policy platforms, as well as many independents who broadly share the same views, seeking election. Forceful anti-immigration sentiment is a common thread. But who are they, and what are their chances? Conor Gallagher has been tracing the rise of these would-be political representatives and has reported how their calls to action and anti-immigrant messaging has crossed over from the virtual world on social media where they are most active, to real life. Will their followers now also move offline and into the voting booth? Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by John Casey and Aideen Finnegan
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Sophie Power has just done something extraordinary – she ran 563km from Malin Head to Mizen Head in record time.
It took her a record-breaking three days, 12 hours and eight minutes and she beat the existing record by an astonishing three hours. And it’s not even her most gruelling run – not by long way.
The 41 year-old mother to Donnacha, Cormac and Saoirse is an ultra runner and the morning after she finished running the length of Ireland she posted on social media: “My body had about 2 hrs sleep over 3 nights so is still in shock. Finally in a proper bed I still woke up last night every 30 minutes thinking it was time to go running again.”
She tells In the News how on the first two days she ran in driving rain, on the last day, heading into Cork she got heatstroke. She injured her knee less than half-way through but she kept running and outside Longford she started hallucinating.
An unsporty child she took up running at 26 and astonishingly her first race was the infamous Marathon des Sables, a seven-day, 250km run in the Sahara. She has run while pregnant and a photo of her breastfeeding mid-race went viral. She founded SheRaces, an organisation to encourage women of all ages and abilities to run.
Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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With a landslide victory for Keir Starmer’s Labour Party predicted, the UK general election looks to be all over bar the shouting.
But then this week the shoutiest voice in British politics, Nigel Farage, announced he is to run for Reform UK.
Mark Paul explains why that’s more bad news for the Tories – and a jolt of excitement in what has been a dull run up to the July 4th election.
Also on Tuesday, Rishi Sunak was judged to have won the first televised leaders debate. The Irish Times London correspondent was in “the spin room” afterwards – upstairs in the Coronation Street visitors’ centre – with party advisers, media and politicians, and he says the Sunak side took the (slight) win as a glimmer of hope.
But why, when he’s so far behind?
Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Have you ever shared a photo of your child wearing her Halloween costume on Instagram? Or, perhaps you’ve uploaded a video of your nephew dancing to TikTok. We live in a world where sharing images of our lives, and in turn the lives of our children, has become completely normalised. But there are serious safety risks and privacy concerns around this type of content. Deepfakes using a child's image and / or voice, identity theft and abusive material are just some of the frightening ways in which young people are at risk when their data is shared, either on an open forum or a messaging app. Leah Plunkett, author of ‘Sharenthood’ and faculty at Harvard law school, explains the pitfalls of sharing images of kids online, the ethical quandary we may unwittingly find ourselves in and how we can protect the young people in our lives.
Presented by Sorcha Pollak. Produced by Aideen Finnegan.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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On Friday 7th June, the country will go to the polls to decide who should represent us at a local and European level. Voters will elect 14 MEPs to the European Parliament and 949 councillors to 31 local authorities.
While it’s easier to feel the tangible changes that are made by city and county councillors, it’s perhaps harder to get a handle on what exactly our MEPs do for us.
So what is the role of the MEP and can they make any difference at a European level?
And how did our outgoing MEPs fare over the last five years?
Jack Power reports from Brussels.
Presented by Aideen Finnegan, produced by Suzanne Brennan.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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This week, father and daughter Tom and Molly Martens will be released from prison after serving just over six months for killing Jason Corbett in 2015. The pair were sentenced last November, following their guilty plea of involuntary manslaughter.
Following the sentencing hearing last year, documentary maker and journalist Brian Carroll spoke to In the News, about the Marten’s case and the Corbett family’s long fight for justice.
This is the first of a two-part episode on the case, originally published in November 2023. In the first part, Caroll explains how the Marten’s used the sentencing hearing to completely annihilate Jason’s Corbett’s character.
In episode two, available here, we hear how the Limerick man’s family, including his two children, finally had their day in court to tell the world about their loving father and what their lives were like with their manipulative stepmother.
Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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A plan to reintroduce National Service in Britain has been roundly criticised by former military personnel and opposition parties alike. But serving your country militarily is an accepted part of life in many countries like Finland, Sweden and Israel. Security analyst, Declan Power, explains how people in Scandinavia are predisposed to the idea because it's woven into their life in the same way Gaelic games, our literary history and the 1916 Rising are in this country. The former Irish solder also explains how the same concept wouldn't fly in Ireland and what we need to do instead to beef up our Defence Forces. Power also posits how the military offensive in Gaza may well turn out to expose the flaws in Israel's national service model.
Presented by Sorcha Pollak. Produced by Aideen Finnegan.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Earlier this month, Google launched AI Overviews – software which uses artificial intelligence to answer people’s questions quickly, skipping the step of scrolling through links. The new search system has made headlines for generating hilariously incorrect answers, a glitch Google says it is taking swift action to remedy. But this bumpy start will quickly be ironed out, says Irish Times writer Hugh Linehan who wrote this week about the “Googlepocalypse” sweeping the United States. The introduction of this pilot version of Google’s AI Overviews tool has already “significantly harmed” small businesses and content creators who have seen a collapse in web site traffic, and has been described as an extinction-level event for news media. These “devastating effects” are heading quickly our way, says Linehan. So, what is the Googlepocalypse and how will it change how the average person searches the internet? And will a reliance on AI to answer our questions only further enhance the misinformation plaguing the online world?
Presented by Sorcha Pollak. Produced by Aideen Finnegan.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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In the past week, two incidences of severe air turbulence have made international headlines.
More than 100 people were injured and one man died last week when a Singapore Airlines plane flying from London to Singapore hit an unexpected air pocket, forcing the plane to make an emergency landing in Bangkok.
Five days later, on Sunday, six passengers and six crew members were injured following turbulence on a flight from Doha, Qatar to Ireland.
Turbulence has always a been a risk factor in aviation, but the ferocity of the sudden extreme turbulence experience on the Singapore Airlines flight was out of the ordinary.
However, is this type of extreme, clear-air turbulence becoming more common? And are climate change and warming air currents making turbulence worse?
Irish Times environment and science editor Kevin O’Sullivan joins the podcast to discuss the impact of climate change on air travel, while flight attendant Paula Gahan reflects on why she thinks severe flight turbulence is becoming more common.
Presented by Sorcha Pollak. Produced by John Casey.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Malachy Browne heads up the New York Times’s visual investigations unit where he and his team investigate key events, from breaking news at home to war atrocities abroad, to piece together second-by-second what really happened.
The work exposes the truth of events, particularly ones that are shrouded in misinformation, conspiracy theories and official denials. He and his team have won two Pulitzer Prizes.
Investigations, presented on the New York Times website, range from uncovering the devastating sequence of events of the atrocity at Bucha in the early days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine to plotting exactly happened in 2017 when a gunman opened fire at a concert in Las Vegas killing 60 people.
On In the News he talks about these projects and more while explaining just how his team works, from 3D modelling and AI to painstakingly exploring satellite images and mining phone records, and how the Limerick man who began his career in Dublin before moving to New York works to stay one step ahead in a media landscape flooded with fake news.
Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Declan Conlon.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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On Wednesday, British prime minister Rishi Sunak stood in the rain outside 10 Downing Street and called a general election. But why? The Tories are performing poorly in the polls and his party is divided.
Six weeks out from election day on July 4th, the odds of him winning look slim. By Irish standards, the campaign is long, so is there anything he can do in the run up to election day to change the hearts and minds of British voters or has Labour leader Keir Starmer’s time come?
Irish Times London correspondent Mark Paul went to Derby to see Sunak in action on Thursday on his first day of campaigning and he tells In the News about the timing of the election, the disarray in the Tory party and why Sunak is taking the chance of going to the country after less than two years in office.
Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan and Declan Conlon.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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