Crucial midterm elections for the US Congress will take place in the autumn, with the Democratic Party predicted to lose one or both houses to a resurgent Republican Party. But the recent overturning of the Roe v Wade case by the US Supreme Court, ending the constitutional right to abortion, has angered Democratic pro-choice activists and spurred them into action. Can that translate into a reversal of fortunes for Democrats at the ballot box? Washington correspondent Martin Wall reports. Hosted ...
Jul 11, 2022•19 min
With Boris Johnson on his way, however slowly, out the door, the Conservatives face a challenge to find a leader who can unite the party and retain its electoral support. Who will it be? And how will that person handle the issue of most importance to Ireland: The Northern Ireland Protocol? Host Pat Leahy and London editor Denis Staunton are joined today by Patrick Maguire, a political journalist with The Times. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Jul 08, 2022•27 min
It seems to be a question of when, not if, for UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, whose mishandling of sexual misconduct allegations against an MP has turned his party against him. But how can the party get rid of the stubborn PM? Denis Staunton reports. But first: To talk about this week's summer economic statement and the choices that Ministers Donohoe and McGrath must make to alleviate the pain of the cost of living crisis, Pat Leahy is joined by Labour Senator Marie Sherlock and political corr...
Jul 06, 2022•36 min
Fine Gael under leader Leo Varadkar are hopelessly out of touch with young voters, says Irish Times columnist Una Mullally. Her criticisms are unfounded and unnecessarily personal, says Fine Gael TD for Dublin Rathdown Neale Richmond. They talk to Pat Leahy about whether Fine Gael get it and what "it" is. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jun 29, 2022•40 min
Jennifer Bray, Jack Horgan-Jones and Irish Times Economics Correspondent Eoin Burke-Kennedy join Pat Leahy to discuss the long wait until October's budget and the mounting pressure on political leaders to ease the cost of living for Irish households. The group also discuss the proposed pay rises for top earning public servants, which is expected to provoke a strong backlash from Opposition politicians and the public. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Jun 22, 2022•41 min
The rising cost of living is the most immediate issue facing governments all over the world. The Central Statistics Office reports Inflation at a 40-year high, but is the worst yet to come? UCC Economist Seamus Coffey and Irish Times Political Correspondent Jennifer Bray join Pat Leahy to discuss what to expect economically and politically over the coming months. But first, Pat is joined by London Editor Denis Staunton and David O’Sullivan, Director General of the International Institute of Inte...
Jun 15, 2022•44 min
Jack Horgan-Jones is one of many parents paying through the nose for childcare. The Government wants to take some of the financial pain out of early years education and care - will its plan work? Harry McGee plugs his new podcast GUBU, a seven-part thriller about a series of grisly murders in the 1980s and how they impacted the government of Charles Haughey. And Denis Staunton has the latest from London where PM Boris Johnson lives to fight another day after winning a confidence vote. Hosted on ...
Jun 08, 2022•42 min
Not without difficulty, EU member states reached an agreement on new sanctions against Russia, this time banning most oil imports. Pat Leahy and Naomi O'Leary were at the summit. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jun 01, 2022•40 min
Celebrated author and podcaster Jon Ronson talks to Hugh about his recent BBC podcast series Things Fell Apart which explores the origins of the culture wars through several unique stories. Jon Ronson will be bringing his live show about Things Fell Apart to Liberty Hall Theatre, on 10th June. You can buy tickets here . Jon will also be appearing at the Festival of Writing & Ideas, Borris House on the 11th & 12th of June. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
May 27, 2022•36 min
If Sinn Féin fulfils its ambition to be the first party other than Fine Gael or Fianna Fáil to form a government in the Republic, what challenges will it face to implement its ambitious agenda? That question is the subject of this week’s opinion piece by former political advisor Gerard Howlin. He joins Jennifer Bray, Harry McGee and Cormac McQuinn on today’s Inside Politics podcast. Plus: a new study shows trust in politics here is at an all-time low. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for m...
May 25, 2022•41 min
Part one: Following two weeks of intense debate and discussion on the relocation of the National Maternity Hospital, the plan has finally been approved by Cabinet. But at what political cost? Pat and Jen join Hugh to discuss. In part two, London Editor Denis Staunton and Northern Editor Freya McClements assess the Stormont stalemate and the latest on the Protocol. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
May 18, 2022•54 min
Pandemonium: Power, Politics and Ireland’s Pandemic, is the new book by Irish Times political reporter Jack Horgan-Jones and Hugh O’Connell, political correspondent for the Irish Independent. It examines the government handling of the coronavirus pandemic, revealing the moves, power-plays and tactics of those in charge. The co-authors join Pat Leahy, to discuss the extensive work and research that went into the book, the pivotal moments along the way and what lessons can be learned by the state’...
May 11, 2022•50 min
Freya McClements, Mary Minihan and Pat Leahy join Hugh to analyse the results of last week's Northern Ireland Assembly elections. The major talking point is Sinn Féin taking the largest number of seats for the first time, while the Alliance Party's unprecedented success signals the importance of the middle ground in Northern Ireland. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
May 09, 2022•49 min
Tomorrow Northern Ireland goes to the polls, in what’s been dubbed the most important vote in a generation. For the first time in more than a century, there is the prospect of a nationalist being elected to the top job in government. What could that mean for power sharing? In the rest of the United Kingdom, local elections are taking place. Will disgruntled Tory backbenchers use the results as an excuse to get rid of Boris Johnson? Hugh talks to our London Editor Denis Staunton and Mick Fealty, ...
May 04, 2022•41 min
Pat and Jen join Hugh to talk about all the political stories of the past week including tension within the coalition over a proposed ban on the sale of turf, the prospect of an increased number of TDs due to a growing population and what that will mean for politics, and an argument in the Seanad over remarks by one Senator during a debate on surrogacy legislation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Apr 27, 2022•45 min
Next weekend, French voters decide whether Emmanuel Macron should remain president or Marine Le Pen should replace him. The latter result would transform France and Europe. Next month, Northern Irish voters elect their MLAs in a vote that could see a Sinn Féin First Minister appointed for the first time. Freya McClements and Lara Marlowe report on these two consequential campaigns. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Apr 20, 2022•43 min
There is overwhelming support for a retention of Ireland’s current model of military neutrality, according to the latest Irish Times/Ipsos poll. Two- thirds of voters do not want to see any change in neutrality, with less than a quarter (24 per cent) saying they wanted to see a change. Pat Leahy explains the poll results in detail. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Apr 15, 2022•21 min
Part one: The political controversy over the appointment of Dr Tony Holohan to a position in Trinity College has raised some awkward questions for Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly and his departmental Secretary General extraordinaire Robert Watt. Part two: The Dáil is in recess this week - time to run the rule over the performance of the various political parties and the challenges that lie before them in the rest of 2022. Guests: Harry McGee and Cormac McQuinn Hosted on Acast. See acast.com...
Apr 13, 2022•46 min
Neoliberalism means different things to different people. As a set of economic policies it is mainly associated with reducing state intervention in commerce and society. In the course of its late 20th century heyday, neoliberalism transformed the world - for better or worse. But now its dominance is challenged by different models, such as the authoritarian capitalism of China. In his new book The Rise and Fall of the Neoliberal Order, Gary Gerstle looks at how neoliberalism took hold, how it sha...
Apr 08, 2022•53 min
Hugh is joined by Jennifer Bray, Cormac McQuinn and Harry McGee to discuss the big political stories of the week, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s historic address to a joint sitting of the Oireachtas earlier this morning, the debate surrounding the impending carbon tax increase and the result of the recent Seanad by-election. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Apr 06, 2022•40 min
Ivana Bacik’s uncontested election as Labour Party leader came after the swift removal of Alan Kelly from the role and her own relatively recent appointment as a TD in the Dublin Bay South by-election. She talks to Hugh and Pat about her recent elevation, her vision for the future of the Labour Party and the challenges it faces in re-establishing itself as a medium-sized force in national politics. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Mar 30, 2022•48 min
Hugh catches up with Pat Leahy, fresh from his trip to Washington for Micheál Martin’s ill-fated St Patrick’s Day visit. They’re also joined by Jennifer Bray to discuss the future of the coalition and the big political challenges it faces, including the resurgence of Covid, the war in Ukraine and inflation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mar 23, 2022•40 min
As Russia’s brutal assault on Ukraine enters its fourth week, with little sign of an outcome, the question of what an endgame of this war might look like is increasingly the subject of international debate. Former editor of the Financial Times, Lionel Barber, is one of the few Western journalists to have conducted an in-depth interview with Vladimir Putin. He talks to Hugh about Putin’s motivations, how this war could end and what the geopolitical consequences of it may be. Hosted on Acast. See ...
Mar 16, 2022•37 min
In her new book Disorder: Hard Times in the 21st Century, Helen Thompson, a professor of political economy at Cambridge University, gets to grips with the overlapping geopolitical, economic, and political crises faced by Western democratic societies in the 2020s. She talks to Hugh about some of these moments and the disorder that emerged from them. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mar 11, 2022•59 min
Sinn Féin finance spokesperson Pearse Doherty joins Hugh and Pat to discuss what his party's priorities and policies would be, if they were to lead the next government. They also discuss Ireland’s neutrality and security into the future, in light of the war in Ukraine, and whether cuts to excise duties on fuel, announced by the Government today, go far enough. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mar 09, 2022•57 min
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has brought about enormous changes in European policy in an incredibly short space of time. To discuss how it happened, what it means and what happens next, Hugh is joined by Europe correspondent Naomi O'Leary and Berlin correspondent Derek Scally. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mar 02, 2022•41 min
Businessman-turned-campaigner Bill Browder returns to the podcast to talk to Hugh about Russian president Vladimir Putin's actions and motivations, the impact of sanctions and other measures on him and his inner circle as well as the outlook for Ukraine as it fights back against invasion. Browder has spearheaded a campaign against Putin and other Russian officials whom he blames for the death in 2009 of his lawyer Sergei Magnitsky in a Moscow prison. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for mo...
Feb 28, 2022•28 min
Professor Jane Suiter and political correspondent Harry McGee join Hugh to talk about the week's political stories. The National Women's Council of Ireland annoyed some government politicians by failing to invite them to an International Women's Day event. The row raised interesting questions about the role of civic bodies like the NCWI and their relationship with politics. Citizens' Assemblies were designed to help the political system digest divisive societal issues. But are they working as we...
Feb 23, 2022•56 min
Academic and author Lea Ypi talks to Hugh about her unique and insightful memoir Free, in which she recalls her youth in Albania under communism, the regime's economic and political downfall and the disappointment of what came after. Lea Ypi is professor of political theory at the London School of Economics. Free is published by Penguin. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Feb 18, 2022•47 min
Jennifer Bray and Pat Leahy join Hugh to talk about how a relaxation of the remaining Covid restrictions might play out, the merits of Ireland’s Defence Forces and the new statutory agency for domestic and gender-based violence. They also discuss Helen McEntee’s ministerial performance and how government policy is preventing local authorities from limiting Buy To Rent. www.irishtimes.com/podcasts Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Feb 16, 2022•44 min
