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The Explainer

The Journal

The Explainer is a weekly podcast from The Journal that takes a deeper look at one big news story you need to know about. What's the background? Why is this in the news? Get the facts behind the story from Ireland's biggest news website.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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  • 28 episodes
  • Avg 21 min
  • English

Episodes 28

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Counted on this page — what you have heard stays on this device, so it is not something the list can be paged by.
  • September 16 · 22 min

    Why are artists walking away from Ed Sheeran’s tour?

    Music and politics have always shared a stage, but the fallout from Macklemore’s removal from Ed Sheeran’s United States tour has made clear how that can be an uneasy relationship. Zara Hedderman, music and arts journalist and author of the Bad Arts newsletter, joins us to examine who gets to decide what can be said on stage, and what happens when artists stand together and say no. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • September 8 · 19 min

    How did the AfD become so powerful in Germany?

    The far-right Alternative for Germany party won almost 44% of the vote in Saxony-Anhalt on Sunday, more than doubling its support and delivering its strongest ever result in a German state election. The result has shaken Chancellor Friedrich Merz's CDU and brought the AfD closer than ever to taking power at state level. Who is voting for the party, why is it particularly strong in eastern Germany, and what could its rise mean for the country as a whole? Deutsche Welle political correspondent and AfD specialist Matthew Moore joins us. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • September 4 · 11 min

    Who’s after 14,000 hectares of Ireland’s coast?

    More than 14,000 hectares of Ireland’s coastline are covered by applications to commercially harvest seaweed, with four companies seeking to take almost 51,000 wet tonnes a year if their licences are approved. At the same time, the maritime regulator is investigating claims of potentially unauthorised harvesting in protected areas, while traditional harvesters and environmental campaigners are raising concerns about the industry’s rapid commercialisation. So who gets access to Ireland’s seaweed, how do historical harvesting rights fit into the licensing system, and can the regulator keep up? The Journal Investigates reporter Conor O’Carroll joins us. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • August 27 · 16 min

    Can the new series of Traitors live up to the hype?

    Last autumn, RTÉ’s unscripted hit took the country by storm, drawing over 800,000 viewers, turning retired prison officers into household names, and proving that psychological deceit makes for irresistible television. Now, twenty-four new players are stepping into Slane Castle under the watchful eye of Siobhán McSweeney for season two of The Traitors Ireland. But what happens when a new cast arrives having studied every trick in the book? Assistant News Editor Lauren Boland joins us. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • August 18 · 19 min

    How can dangerous driving for social media likes be stopped?

    Five teenage boys were killed when the BMW they were travelling in was driven the wrong way on the M9 in Kildare and collided with a car carrying three women and a seven-year-old boy. It came just over a week after a similar wrong-way crash on the M50 injured nine people. Videos have meanwhile spread on social media of teenagers in stolen cars driving at speed. What is behind this behaviour, why are gardaí so limited in how they can respond, and what would it take to stop it? Our own News Correspondent Niall O’Connor joins us. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • August 13 · 21 min

    Could Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez be the next US president?

    The US midterm elections are still months away, but attention is already turning to the 2028 presidential race. Speculation about Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has grown after the New York congresswoman said she was not ruling out a run and topped an early poll of Democratic voters in New Hampshire. Could AOC win the Democratic nomination, would she stand a chance in a general election, or would a run for the Senate make more sense? University of Galway law lecturer and The Journal political columnist Larry Donnelly joins us. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • August 6 · 20 min

    How did 72,000 people cross into Ceuta?

    More than 70,000 people crossed from Morocco into Ceuta last week, overwhelming the small Spanish territory on the North African coast. Dozens died, while thousands remain, and questions are mounting about the online rumours that fuelled the rush and Morocco’s role in the breakdown of border controls. How did it happen, why does Spain have territory in Africa, and what does the crisis mean for Europe’s borders? We're joined by Eoghan Gilmartin a freelance journalist based in Madrid. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • July 29 · 25 min

    Could nature itself help stop Ireland's wildfires?

    Wildfires have burned across Tipperary, Wicklow, Cork and Kerry over the past fortnight, during one of the driest spells in years. Almost none start naturally. But how far a fire spreads depends on what's growing on the land, and how wet or dry the ground is. More than half the land burned here over the past decade overlapped protected nature sites, according to analysis by The Journal Investigates. So why is our landscape so flammable, and would native woodland and rewetted peatland reduce the risk? Ecologist and environmental campaigner Pádraic Fogarty joins us. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • July 22 · 26 min

    Who is Andy Burnham?

    Britain has a new prime minister (again): Andy Burnham, the "King of the North", its seventh in ten years and the first to take office openly Catholic. What kind of leader is he, how did he get here, and what does his rise mean for Ireland? Dominic McGrath, UK correspondent with the Business Post, joins us to break it down. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • July 13 · 17 min

    Are Ireland's new community safety partnerships working?

    Last autumn, the old Joint Policing Committees were replaced with new Local Community Safety Partnerships. All 36 are now up and running, and the first public meetings are happening. Are they any more open than the structure they replaced, and are they actually making communities safer? This week, The Journal's Eoghan Dalton takes stock of what's working, what's stalling, and what still needs to be proved. Our reporting of the new Local Community Safety Partnerships is supported by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • July 8 · 19 min

    What was it like inside the George Gibney trial?

    For decades, George Gibney was one of the biggest names in Irish swimming. The 77-year-old was convicted this week of 40 counts of sexually abusing four girls in the 1970s and 80s, after an 11-day trial at the Central Criminal Court. The Journal's Jane Moore takes us inside the courtroom. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • July 3 · 24 min

    Ireland just took over the EU presidency, but what does that actually mean?

    Ireland has taken over the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union, but does that mean we're suddenly in charge of Europe? Over the next six months, Ireland will have to broker deals among 27 governments on some thorny issues, from a contested €2 trillion budget to big tech regulation and children's online safety, all while holding onto our traditional stance on military neutrality. We're joined by Barry Colfer, director of research at the Institute of International and European Affairs (IIEA), to examine what Ireland's EU presidency actually entails, and what it means for us at home. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • June 22 · 13 min

    Why do so many speeding cases never end in a conviction?

    If you're caught speeding in Ireland, you'd be forgiven for assuming a fine and penalty points are all but inevitable. But a new investigation by The Journal Investigates has found that almost one in every two speeding cases before the District Courts doesn't result in a conviction. we're joined by Patricia Devlin, journalist with The Journal Investigates. Patricia’s reporting on this topic was supported by the Courts Reporting Scheme. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • June 17 · 15 min

    Why is crack cocaine use soaring in Ireland?

    For years, the conversation around problem drug use in Ireland centred on heroin. But on the streets of Dublin and beyond, a different drug has taken hold. Treatment demand for crack cocaine rose by 31% in a single year - and by more than 900% over the last decade - according to the latest figures from the Health Research Board. Those working on the frontline say the drug's cheap price and sheer availability are driving the increase, with a single rock selling for as little as €10. But behind the statistics are people, and the question of how someone caught in the grip of one of the most addictive drugs out there finds their way back out. Dawn Russell, chief executive of Ana Liffey, one of Ireland's leading harm reduction organisations, joins us to explain what's driving the surge, and what recovery actually looks like. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Showing 1–20 of 28 episodes