Today Hugh speaks to Michael Brendan Dougherty, a senior writer with New York-based conservative magazine National Review. Dougherty is also the author of the 2019 memoir, My Father Left Me Ireland. In this episode, they discuss the ongoing realignment of the American electorate, the recent appointment of Kamala Harris as Joe Biden’s running mate and how the Republicans will contend with Trump’s legacy after the upcoming election. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Aug 14, 2020•50 min
Health editor Paul Cullen joins Hugh, Jennifer Bray and Jack Horgan-Jones to talk about an eventful week in Ireland's Covid-19 battle. Does the outbreak in the Midlands signal a major problem and a failure of governance, or is it a blip in an otherwise effective response?What is the thinking behind the proposed new colour-code system? And will the Leaving Cert blow up as a political issue, as adjusted exam results have in Scotland? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Aug 12, 2020•35 min
Hugh talks to journalist Peter Geoghegan about the murky world of political think-tanks and pressure groups that he writes about in a new book, Democracy for Sale. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Aug 07, 2020•44 min
SDLP MP for South Belfast Claire Hanna joins Hugh to look back on the life and legacy of John Hume, who died on Sunday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Aug 05, 2020•31 min
It's been another extraordinary week for the new government and a very uncomfortable one for Micheal Martin and some of his ministers, as stumbles over Pandemic Unemployment Payments and ministerial pay have undermined more positive messages on the reopening of schools and measures to stimulate the economy. Jennifer Bray and Harry McGee join Hugh to discuss the week in politics as we stumble toward the Dail's delayed summer recess. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Jul 29, 2020•35 min
Author Michael Lewis (Moneyball, The Big Short, The Undoing Project)talks to Hugh about his new book 'The Fifth Risk'. The book concerns the Trump Administration and what Lewis says are astounding levels of cronyism and corruption in the appointments it has made in key government organisations with responsibility for everything from nuclear weapons to weather forecasting. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jul 24, 2020•35 min
In today’s episode Hugh is joined by Pat Leahy and the newest member of the politics team, Jack Horgan-Jones to dissect the events of this week, including the mixed messages surrounding the newly published green list, the EU recovery deal and the eagerly awaited July stimulus package. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jul 22, 2020•49 min
This week The Irish Times ran its "Summer Nights" online festival, featuring conversations with guests like Samantha Power, Anne Enright, Imelda May, Paul O'Connell, Dermot Bannon and David McWilliams. As part of the festival, the politics team got together to discuss, well a lot of things really. They started with what's been another horrible week for new Taoiseach Micheál Martin. How much harm has the Barry Cowen controversy done to his leadership?The Irish Times Summer Nights festival is spon...
Jul 17, 2020•1 hr 1 min
President Donald Trump is clearly behind in the polls, but is it too late for him to claw it back? What kind of campaigns will he and his rival Joe Biden need to run to secure victory? To talk about the 2020 race Hugh is joined by columnist Fintan O'Toole and Washington correspondent Suzanne Lynch. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jul 15, 2020•48 min
Micheál Martin took hist first leaders' questions as Taoiseach this week, however much of the focus was on Agriculture Minister Barry Cowen and his drink driving apology. Jen Bray has the latest developments from the Dáil. Economics columnist Cliff Taylor and Europe correspondent Naomi O’Leary join Pat Leahy to discuss the EU’s path to economic recovery from the impact of Covid-19. Plus, a potential new position this week for Paschal Donohue? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more infor...
Jul 08, 2020•36 min
Brexit is still going and is still as infuriating as ever. With Britain now locked into a complete and final exit from the EU at the end of the year, London editor Denis Staunton updates us on the slow progress being made in negotiations on the future trade relationship, and helps us understand Boris Johnson's position. But first, Jennifer Bray recaps a fairly miserable week for the new leadership of both the Government and the opposition. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more informat...
Jul 03, 2020•42 min
Academic and political analyst Kevin Cunningham joins Pat and Fiach to talk about the first week of the new coalition, new analysis of the source of Sinn Féin's support in #GE2020 and the difficult next stage in dealing with Covid-19. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jul 01, 2020•45 min
Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and the Green Party have voted overwhelmingly to enter into government together . Pat Leahy is joined by Jennifer Bray, Harry McGee and Fiach Kelly to discuss this historic three-party coalition. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jun 26, 2020•18 min
Masha Gessen is a Russian-American author, activist and journalist. In their new book, Surviving Autocracy, Gessen provides a punchy and persuasive analysis of the destruction the Trump administration has waged on US institutions, culture and sense of identity. In this episode, the author speaks to Hugh Linehan about the parallels between the US and Russia under Putin. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jun 24, 2020•40 min
Green Party leader Eamon Ryan joins Hugh Linehan and Irish Times political correspondent Harry McGee to discuss yesterday’s marathon Green Party convention, the divisions amongst party members and the outlook for the new programme for government. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jun 19, 2020•45 min
What's in the FF-FG-Green programme for government, how is it going down with the grassroots, and what about that Irish Times / Ipsos-MRBI poll? Discussing it all are Pat, Fiach and Jen with host Hugh Linehan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jun 16, 2020•52 min
First Harry McGee and Mary Minihan talk about the sticking points in negotiations between Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party to form a government, and a bit of Green Party history that casts light on the awkward phase it is going through. In part two, academic Liam Thornton joins in to discuss the fate of Direct Provision. The ending of the controversial system for dealing with those applying for asylum now seems all but certain. How did it come to this, and what comes next? Hosted on Ac...
Jun 10, 2020•51 min
Ireland is about to enter the next phase of the roadmap out of lockdown. 'Phase two plus' as coined by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar earlier today. Pat Leahy and Fiach Kelly speak to Hugh Linehan about the accelerated lifting of restrictions and discuss where we stand on this long and winding road to government formation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jun 05, 2020•30 min
The size of the #BlackLivesMatter demonstration in Dublin at the weekend took some by surprise, but it shouldn't have. Musician Sallay Garnett, also known as Loah, who has recently spoken out about her experience of racism in Ireland on social media, joins Irish Times journalists Fintan O'Toole and Sorcha Pollak to talk about the source of the energy behind the protest and whether Ireland is embarking on a reckoning with its own racism. After that: Washington correspondent Suzanne Lynch on the p...
Jun 03, 2020•54 min
Robert Reich is an economist, professor, author, and political commentator who served as Secretary of Labour in the Clinton administration. Hugh talks to Robert about American society today, his contention that the US has become an oligarchy serving a select few, and how Donald Trump is a symptom of this decline.His latest book "The System: Who Rigged It, How We Fix" It is out now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
May 29, 2020•32 min
London editor Denis Staunton joins Hugh, Fiach and Jennifer to talk about the gripping story that has dominated UK politics for many straight days: Dominic Cummings' road trip (20.34). But first on today's podcast the team look at our own lockdown etiquette mini-scandal involving Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, revelations at the Covid committee hearings on the state's assistance to nursing homes at the start of the outbreak and those slow-moving government formation talks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.co...
May 27, 2020•41 min
"Once taboos are broken, it's quite hard to reinstate them".A German court ruling challenging the primacy of European Court of Justice in EU matters poses a threat to the EU that even it can't fudge. The case hinged on the right of the European Central Bank to engage in bond-buying to support the EU economy. The top German court has ruled that the ECB hasn't sufficiently explained why the measures are necessary. But more importantly, it also ruled that its view is supreme over the ruling of the ...
May 22, 2020•28 min
A move to challenge Eamon Ryan as Green leader is under way among a cohort within the party, with deputy leader Catherine Martin being urged to stand against him. That's the first topic on today's podcast with Irish Times politics team Pat Leahy, Jennifer Bray and Harry McGee which also takes in government formation talks, a strange spat between Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, the first hearing of the Covid-19 committee and how politics will handle the pressure to return public life to normality. Hos...
May 20, 2020•36 min
It's been a difficult path for Eamon Ryan and the Green Party since the dark period following 2011, when the party lost all its seats and state funding. His stewardship of the party has earned him respect, particularly among the old guard. But do the fast-growing Greens' new recruits give him the same credit? Fiach Kelly writes about Ryan in this weekend's edition of The Irish Times and here he talks to Hugh about Ryan's leadership style and his party's difficult return to the government negotia...
May 15, 2020•29 min
Different countries are taking different approaches at different speeds as they move to reopen their economies. London Editor Denis Staunton and Berlin Correspondent Derek Scally talk to Hugh Linehan about the politics of pandemic in the UK and Germany respectively. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
May 13, 2020•37 min
As Ireland moves into the next, more complex phase of the Covid-19 pandemic, how can we hold the authorities to account? Is the current government being transparent enough about the decisions it is making and the rationale which underpins them? What happens when a new government is finally formed? And how well is the media covering the crisis? Hugh Linehan talks to columnist Fintan O’Toole and political editor Pat Leahy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
May 06, 2020•45 min
The Green Party has demanded that any government it joins implements cuts of 7 per cent each year to our national carbon emissions. Where does that figure come from, and is it achievable? We ask climate researcher Hannah Daly. Then Fiach Kelly explains how the overtures from Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil are going down with the Greens, and what we know about plans to ease the Coronavirus lockdown.Dr Hannah Daly lectures in energy systems modelling at University College Cork. Hosted on Acast. See aca...
Apr 30, 2020•44 min
Phillipe Sands is a barrister, author and broadcaster. His new book The Ratline tells the story of Nazi war criminal and fugitive Otto Wachter, about whom Sands has already produced a popular podcast, also called The Ratline, for the BBC. Sands talks to Hugh about how he encountered Wachter's son, the nature of evil and the remembrance of the Holocaust. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Apr 24, 2020•49 min
This week the Government published the worst economic projections since the financial crisis of 2008-11. Finance minister, Paschal Donohue, issued a bleak warning that Ireland is now in “severe recession”. How will the next government deal with the economic and fiscal challenges that lie ahead? Is there anything in the joint framework from Fine Gael and Fine Fail that can weather the storm? Michael Taft, a researcher for SIPTU and the man behind the blog ‘Notes on the Front’ joins Hugh and Pat t...
Apr 22, 2020•46 min
This week, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael's historic agreement to form a government together didn't make much of a splash among the distracted public. There are difficult decisions ahead, but no sign of them in the joint framework document that accompanied the agreement. Will a smaller party bet on going into government with FF and FG in a time of unprecedented uncertainty? And can Sinn Féin be ignored for much longer? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Apr 17, 2020•34 min
