In The News

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  Belfast’s race riots: what happened next? 22.09.2026 31นาที

  The scenes of violence and rampant destruction on the streets of Belfast on June 9th  were reminiscent of disorder we’ve seen before.But these were not sectarian-motivated attacks, instead they were race riots, with mobs of young men attacking migrants.When calm was restored, at least 88 migrant families had been made homeless, either because their home had been attacked or burned out, or because the threats were so terrifying they are too fearful to return.The riots had been sparked by a brutal knife attack earlier that day; a Sudanese national has since been charged with the crime.Why has there been a resurgence of anti-immigration sentiment in Northern Ireland? Who were the rioters on June 9th? And what does it mean for future peace and stability that anti-immigrant violence has replaced sectarian attacks in Northern Ireland?Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Andrew McNair.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  50 years on, the story of how Ireland's biggest band was born 21.09.2026 56นาที

  Today we're sharing the opening episode of a three-part series by Róisín Ingle that tells the untold origin story of U2. We hope you enjoy it. The full series can be found on irishtimes.com, or wherever you get your podcasts. Just search for Drummer Seeks Musicians: The Making of U2.It is 50 years this month since 14-year-old drummer Larry Mullen stuck a note on a school noticeboard looking for fellow musicians to form a band. That note led to U2.In this three-part podcast series to mark the 50th anniversary, Róisín Ingle traces the formation of the band in a school on the northside of Dublin through interviews with their classmates, teachers, friends, family and band members.Why did U2 happen in Mount Temple? And how are Bono, Edge, Larry Mullen and Adam Clayton still friends and still making music together fifty years later? Drummer Seeks Musicians is a remarkable origin story, told by the people who were there from the very beginning. From Mount Temple Comprehensive to the world stage, this is the story of how U2 began.Episode one goes back to the radical experiment that was Mount Temple Comprehensive School on Dublin’s northside in 1976, where fifty years ago 14-year-old Larry Mullen pinned a note on the school bulletin board. That note brought together Larry, Adam Clayton, Dave ‘The Edge’ Evans and Paul ‘Bono’ Hewson of U2, four teenagers who were destined to become one of the world's biggest bands. Róisín talks to the people who were there - the ones who nearly made the band, the teachers who supported them and the classmates who watched it happen. We hear about the architect of a remarkable school and discover the back stories of Paul 'Bono' Hewson and Larry Mullen Jr. Drummer Seeks Musicians: The Making of U2 is presented, written, researched and produced by Róisín Ingle. Editing by Rob Sutton.Additional production by Suzanne Brennan. The podcast is dedicated to Donald Moxham.Thanks to the staff at Mount Temple, to U2 and to everyone who took part in the podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  How Irish scientists are fighting sophisticated drug gangs 21.09.2026 23นาที

  Staying ahead of organised drug gangs is the daily challenge facing the scientists and analysts at Forensic Science Ireland (FSI).And with criminal organisations having their own sophisticated labs to make new drugs, genetically engineer existing ones and disguise drugs in all manner of inventive ways to avoid customs detection, it requires considerable expertise.“Camouflaged cocaine” blended with coal or soaked in plywood are increasingly common.In labs across FSI’s new 13,000sqm base near Celbridge, Co Kildare scientists analyse fingerprints, bodily fluids, chemicals and exhibits, including murder weapons and victims’ clothing. It is their evidence that is used in court.Irish Times security and crime editor Conor Lally speaks to the In The News podcast about his wide-ranging interview with FSI boss Ciarán Seoighe.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Andrew McNair. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  What does Canada want from the EU? 18.09.2026 25นาที

  In her speech to MEPs on Wednesday, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen spoke about Canada becoming an “associate” member of the EU in future, a concept that does not exist in the union’s governing treaties.The following day Canadian prime minister Mark Carney spoke to the same group of MEPs about wanting to be closer to the bloc during the “ferocious” storm that had ruptured alliances underpinning the previous world order.Carney sketched out the possible parameters of a new “alliance”, but what does “associate” membership mean? Is it all about trade?And what might the implications be for Ireland?Jack Power, Irish Times Brussels-based Europe correspondent explains.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by John Casey.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  Is it time to rein in the data centre boom? 17.09.2026 28นาที

  It seems incredible that no one knows how many data centres there are in Ireland. It could be as many as 100, it could be more. Whatever the number there are several others in the planning stages.What we do know is that energy consumed by these vast buildings accounted for almost a quarter of the electricity consumed in Ireland last year, up from 5 per cent in 2015.And, during the long hot summer when domestic water restrictions were imposed, it appeared to be water usage as usual for data centres.Questions about how they operate are growing. Do they pay less than households for electricity? With the national grid creaking from decades of underinvestment do they even pay enough to cover their costs?And why is the Government so keen to have them?Irish Times climate and science correspondent Caroline O’Doherty explains the many questions around data centres while political correspondent Jack Horgan Jones looks at how Government defends the explosion of these vast resource-sapping structures against mounting criticism.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced Aideen Finnegan and Declan Conlon.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  Could AI really wipe out humanity? 16.09.2026 25นาที

  It has long been known that AI poses risks to humanity, but the scale of them is only starting to become clear. And those risks are terrifying.This month Evan Hubinger, a top scientist at Anthropic, said AI is advancing so quickly he believes there is a greater than 10 per cent chance it “could kill all humans” within the next decade.Jacob Coxon, an AI researcher who has just quit Anthropic and previously worked at OpenAI, has warned of “superhuman systems that can hack anything, revolutionise any field overnight, and acquire real power and resources”.AI is a multibillion business that’s moving at a speed no one could have predicted. But can it be regulated – and who would actually carry out that function effectively? Are these dire predictions realistic?Seán Ó hÉigeartaigh, director of the AI: Futures and Responsibility Programme at the Centre for the Future of Intelligence at the University of Cambridge, explains the current thinking on AI threats.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Declan Conlon. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  What happens to stolen art? 15.09.2026 19นาที

  Thieves who broke into the Renoir Museum in the south of France escaped with two paintings, having dropped two others as they fled the building.The value of the works has been estimated at €9 million, but what are they worth now?Were the thieves stealing to order? And if not, what are they going to do with them?In a world where provenance dictates price, who would buy a stolen piece of art by one of the most famous and collectible painters?The theft is just the latest in a series of high-profile art thefts. In March 2026, an organised crime gang stole a Renoir, Matisse and Cézanne from a private museum in Italy, while last year thieves broke into the Louvre in Paris and took jewels worth an estimated €100 million.Art crime investigator and historian Arthur Brand explains the planning, execution and aftermath of the Renoir thefts.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Andrew McNair. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  How ‘assassin wanted’ ad links a Cyprus murder plot with Kinahan cartel 14.09.2026 20นาที

  In late summer, a criminal using the name “SpongeJob” posted a wanted ad on Telegram, an the encrypted messaging service.He was looking for a hitman to travel to Cyprus to kill two men, twins from the UK. Everything would be supplied, including a gun, for a fee of about €60,000.His ad was answered, but unbeknown to SpongeJob, the willing gun for hire was the Danish police, who then sent an undercover officer to Cyprus to pose as the hitman and to foil the murders.That Danish officer was able to tip off the Cypriot police, who arrested three men, two Norwegians and an Irish man who had travelled from Limerick. It is now believed that the hit on the twins was commissioned by veteran criminals with close links to the Kinahan cartel.For Europol, the Cyprus contract is a prime example of the growing underworld phenomenon of international “violence as a service” (VAAS).Irish Times investigative reporter Conor Gallagher explains how the hit was planned – and how it then fell apart.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Declan Conlon.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  9/11: Could its disastrous legacy have been avoided? 11.09.2026 22นาที

  Twenty five years ago al-Qaeda militants hijacked four commercial planes in the US and flew two into the World Trade Center in New York and one into the Pentagon, while the fourth crash-landed in a Pennsylvania field.Almost 3,000 people were killed on that day and the world was changed forever.How the US responded to that attack on home soil reverberates still - through everything from airport security to geopolitics – and above all, America’s place in the world. The attack also prompted a rise in Islamophobia.Denis Staunton, Irish Times correspondent and author of the daily Global Briefing newsletter, explores how the world changed after 9/11 and what might have happened if the US had responded to the attacks in a different way.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Declan Conlon.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  Two days of Trump – what to expect in Dublin and Doonbeg 10.09.2026 23นาที

  No one doubts that it is the Irish Open at Trump International Golf Links & Hotel at Doonbeg that is bringing US president Donald Trump back to Ireland.It has attracted some of golf’s biggest stars to Trump’s golf course in Co Clare and the sold-out event promises spectacular golf – with the chance that the president will present the trophy to the winner on Sunday.But before that on his overnight stay in Ireland he has some house calls to make in Dublin, all conveniently located in Phoenix Park.On Saturday he will visit his ambassador Edward Walsh; drop in on President Catherine Connolly in Aras an Uachtarain and meet Taoiseach Micheál Martin in Farmleigh the official State guest house.All the while the press pack will be hoping for impromptu comments.Irish Times journalists political correspondent Jack Horgan Jones and sportswriter Gavin Cooney tell us what to expect.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by John Casey.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  Why did Germans vote for the far-right AfD party? 09.09.2026 30นาที

  It’s not just the win, but the landslide scale of the win that has shocked Germany – and sent ripples throughout Europe.The Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has been growing in popularity but no one anticipated the election result in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt where the far-right party won 44 per cent of the vote on a record turnout of 76 per cent.The party’s manifesto promises several anti-immigration measures including mass deportations and separate schools for refugees; its education plan emphasises a new curriculum based on traditional German values, while it proudly proclaims itself pro-Russian.German chancellor Friedrich Merz took office a year ago promising to “halve” AfD support. Instead he has watched that fate befall his own party, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). So how compromised is he by this result?The AfD vote signals a clear direction of travel in German politics but as Irish Times Berlin correspondent Derek Scally reports, it is also a country that understands its history and the task of defeating extremism.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Declan Conlon and Andrew McNair.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  Why can’t Ireland defend itself? 08.09.2026 26นาที

  Minister for Defence Helen McEntee said that a “significant security operation” has been been put in place for Ireland’s presidency of the Council of the European Union.She didn’t elaborate on exaclty who would be providing that security but since long before the presidency began in July, military analsyts were able to easily predict security wouldn’t come soley from the State’s underfunded Defence Forces.The Government would need help - but from where? The meetings last week in Druid’s Glen in Wicklow of all the EU’s defence ministers showed the extent of that help as Irish Times investigative journalist Conor Gallagher has been reporting.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Declan Conlon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  How much rain will supersized El Niño bring to Ireland this winter? 07.09.2026 24นาที

  As autumn arrives and the supersized El Niño develops, global temperatures will rise, rainfall patterns will radically change and the number of extreme weather events will increase.But what does that mean for Ireland? After the hottest summer on record, predictions of an unusually mild and wet autumn might sound benign, but persistent rain prompts fears of a repeat of last winter’s flooding in the east and southeast.Ireland wasn’t alone in feeling the heat from unusual summer heat patterns driven by climate change.As an island that imports 80 per cent of its food, there are warnings of higher food prices.And what did the UN’s warning last week about Earth surpassing 1.5 degrees mean?Caroline O’Doherty The Irish Times, climate and science correspondent, explains.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Andrew McNair.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  How Katie Taylor revolutionised women’s sport 04.09.2026 25นาที

  On Saturday, Katie Taylor will fight for the last time as a professional boxer.If she wins against France’s Flora Pili, she will bow out as undisputed light-welterweight champion, a title to add to all the others she has accumulated during a stellar career that changed women’s boxing forever.At a press conference this week she imagined what it will be like: “Walking down in front of 80,000 people, hearing the Olé, Olé, Olés one last time, seeing the Tricolours around the place.” It’s emotional stuff from a woman who is famously reserved, and who, says Irish Times sportswriter Malachy Clerkin, keeps her talking for the ring.Now 40 she has been boxing for 30 years, as a child fighting to even join a club, as an amateur, an Olympian and for the past 10 years, a professional.The 80,000-seater Croke Park match sold out in 30 minutes and as he details Taylor’s astonishing success, Clerkin explains why he first thought she’d struggle to sell tickets.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by John Casey.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  Why Dublin’s crack cocaine crisis is visible on the streets 03.09.2026 24นาที

  The long-predicted crack cocaine epidemic is here and has been compared to the heroin epidemic that ravaged communities and destroyed lives in Dublin in the 1980s. It’s cheap at as little as €10 for a “rock”, though for users smoking that will last just minutes and they’ll spend the rest of their day focused on getting the drug, while eating and self-care become secondary concerns. It makes users agitated, paranoid and aggressive – with predictable results. Unlike powder cocaine, Ireland’s crack cocaine problem is not distributed evenly across society. Why and how has the crisis developed? And why is crack addiction such a difficult drug to treat? And why are homeless women turning to crack cocaine in such numbers?Eddie Mullins, who spent his career working in the prison service becoming the governor of Mountjoy jail, now heads up Merchants Quay Ireland, the Dublin-based charity offering services to homeless people and drug users. He describes the impact of the surging crack cocaine crisis on users and the wider community.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  Lost at sea on the ‘world’s deadliest migration route’ 02.09.2026 20นาที

  In the last week in June a boat set sail from The Gambia heading for the Canary Islands. On board were an estimated 200 people, made up mostly of men of all ages as well as about 20 women and five children.Within weeks, only 36 would be alive; the rest killed by starvation and thirst as the engine failed and the boat got lost on the Atlantic migration route, now regarded as the deadliest in the world.As the days went on, bodies were thrown overboard and tension rose between the remaining desperate travellers who had paid traffickers to take them from impoverishment in west Africa to what they hoped would be a better life in Europe.A fishing boat found the distressed vessel in July, alerted authorities and the survivors were given medical attention in Mauritania before being returned home.It is estimated that since 2022 more than 20,000 people have died on this route.Sally Hayden, Irish Times reporter who specialises in migration, travelled to The Gambia and spoke to two of the survivors Alhagie Ngie (27) and Mustapha Secka (29) who gave eyewitness accounts.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan.Sally Hayden’s reporting was supported by the Simon Cumbers Media Fund Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  Tracking down a romance scammer in Nigeria 01.09.2026 29นาที

  This episode was originally published in June 2026.When Carlos Barragán discovered his mother was the victim of romance fraud, he flew to Lagos to find the con man – and found the Yahoo Boys, young men whose job it is to rip off westerners. The name comes from the old email platform, first used by the Nigerian scammers decades ago.His mother, Silvia, had fallen in love online with flirtatious, sincere, handsome Brian; she bought rings, planned a future and was convinced that they would one day live together – when he was free to travel to Spain.Her sons though, suspected something sinister was afoot, especially when “Brian” started to make financial demands.Over the course of three years Carlos, a journalist, visited Nigeria multiple times to see the Yahoo Boys in action and to try to understand why this particularly cruel, exploitative form of online fraud has become such an earner for so many young men in Lagos. He also discovered a romance scam involving an Irish woman.His compelling book, The Yahoo Boys: Real Life with the Love Scammers of Lagos by Carlos Barragán is published this week.He talks about the experience on In the News.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by John Casey.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  Why almost all Phoenix Park drivers break the speed limit 31.08.2026 21นาที

  Every year, more than 10 million motorists drive through Dublin’s Phoenix Park. Almost all are breaking the speed limit.All of the park’s attractions, including Dublin Zoo, the People’s Gardens, the Ashtown Castle Visitor Centre, Farmleigh House and almost 2,300 parking spaces, are accessed from Chesterfield Avenue, the main road that bisects the park. Yet there is no dedicated way for pedestrians to cross this 4km-long road.And even if there were, crossing might still be perilous, as more than 95 per cent of motorists exceed the speed limit. And despite the addition of cycle lanes on some of the park’s roads, poor design and maintenance render many unfit for purpose.It’s a problem that has been recognised for years, so why haven’t speeding motorists been stopped? And how Dublin’s biggest park become a commuter rat run?Olivia Kelly, Irish Times Dublin editor and daily park user, explains.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Andrew McNair. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  What does it take to win The Traitors? 29.08.2026 18นาที

  By the time the final episode of The Traitors Ireland was aired last September, the nation was gripped.The RTÉ version of the gameshow was a hit with nearly three quarters of a million people tuning in to see a trio of “Faithfuls”, Oyin, Vanessa and Kelly bag the prize.It’s been quite the year for Vanessa Ogbonna and Oyin Adeyemi.They came into the In the News studio to talk about their time in the castle under the watchful eye of Siobhán McSweeney; how they won and what the spent the prize on; how they dealt with social media trolls, and their fun new podcast, Oya C’mere.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  Who is the Swiss politician accused of drugging and sexually abusing an Irish girl and her mother? 28.08.2026 24นาที

  Swiss media have compared what happened to Irish teenager Paula and her mother, Iwona, to the Pelicot case in France.Prosecutors allege that Patrick Frei, 57, drugged and raped both Paula, then aged 14, and her mother, Iwona while they were living with him in the Swiss town of Untersiggenthal. It is also alleged that he filmed the assaults.Paula and Iwona had moved from their home in Sligo in 2022 to live with Frei, a high-profile right-wing politician, a year after Iwona and Frei had begun a long-distance relationship.So how did the case come to light and when did the alleged abuse begin? How did police build their case? And why did Swiss authorities move to deport Paula and Iwona while the investigation was under way?Frei is due to stand trial in February 2027. His lawyer says he “disputes substantial parts of the allegations and, in particular, the legal characterisation of several of the charges”.Conor Gallagher of The Irish Times investigations team travelled to Switzerland to speak with Paula and her mother, Iwona.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by John Casey.Support services: Freephone 24-Hour DRCC National Helpline, 1800 77 8888; One in Four, 01-662 4070 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.