The posters have been printed, the canvassing routes worked out. The Taoiseach has made the call, the Dail has risen. Here comes general election 20204 with a handful of questions. How is everybody fixed? Who is going to win, who is going to lose and who will surprise us all. Irish Examiner political editor Elaine Loughlin joins the podcast to take a look at how the runners and riders at looking at the starting gun.    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Donald Trump won the US presidential election in what many are describing as the greatest comeback in US political history. But how did he, a convicted felon, a man deemed by a civil court as sex abuser, a politician who induced multitudes to falsely believe that the electoral system in the USA was rigged. And what will a Trump presidency bring to the country and the wider world. Scott Lucas, Professor of International Politics at the Clinton Institute in UCD joins the podcast. Hosted on...

The Mick Clifford Podcast: US election on a knife edge - but who will win? Having gauged the temperature on both sides heading into next week's US presidential election, Mick Clifford tells Sean Murray about his experience at rallies for both Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, rates both their chances and describes where this most pivotal of ballots could be won and lost.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week’s podcast comes from Pennsylvania, where Mick has gone to take the temperature and see what makes MAGA tick. We have contributions from some of those who attended a major Trump rally last Saturday in the crucial state and we also have an interview with Ray Wrabley, Professor and Vice President of Academic Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh, Johnstown, that gives a fascinating insight into what has changed in US politics in recent decades to an extent that a huge opening has...

Catherine Cleary had spent her working life in journalism when in 2020 she gave it all up to grow trees. With a friend she set up a company called pocket forests, a social enterprise which caters for planting native trees and shrubs in small urban areas. She and her family also began looking for land in the west of Ireland where it might be possible to grow a forest. Her journey over the last four years has now been documented in a film, The Forest Midwife. Catherine is this week’s guest on...

In this week’s podcast focusing on the US election we look at whether having other candidates or issues on the ballot paper can impact on the vote for those running for president. Senate and House of Representative seats are up for grabs in this election and the party that emerges with the majority in each house will be in the driving seat for the next term. Also the issue of abortion is on the ballot paper in some states. Will this help Kamala Harris of Donald Trump? Joining us to read the...

Irish peacekeeping troops in south Lebanon are coming under pressure from Israeli defence forces as Israel moves into its neighbouring country, ostensibly to protect itself but actually killing indiscriminately as it goes. But what are the Irish soldiers doing there, what connection do they have to the local area and people and should they remain in situ. Irish Examiner journalist Colin Sheridan previously served in the country as part of the UN peacekeeping forces. He has been writing...

The phenomenon of Donald Trump is often associated with the rust belt states and among those who have been economically left behind in the USA. Not so, according to the experience of the Irish Examiner’s Michael Moynihan who recently went in search of MAGA (Make America Great Again) on the east coast of the USA and found them in the unlikeliest of places. Michael Moynihan is this week’s guest on the podcast’s US Presidential Election special editions. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy...

A recent report that the Russian agents have recruited a source in the Oireachtas has led to concerns about the state’s security apparatus and the interest of foreign actors. Are we a target for spies? Are we capable of repelling any such threats. This week’s guest Cathal Berry is an Independent TD and formerly a long standing member of the defence forces. He retains a major interest in the security services and he also reveals whether or not he is the Oireachtas spy in question. Hosted on...

The first our US presidential election podcasts hears from Bob Schmuhl. Bob, a professor emeritus of American Studies at the University of Notre Dame is a keen student of the history of American presidents and he has never seen anything like this campaign. He believes that the election will be the most consequential in US history whomever wins. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The budget was delivered this week and the general consensus was that it was a precursor to a general election, possibly to be announced in the weeks to come. So who are the winners on paper and who might be the real winner. Irish Examiner Political Correspondent Elaine Loughlin provides a global view of the big event and the fall-out. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The budget was delivered this week and the general consensus was that it was a precursor to a general election, possibly to be announced in the weeks to come. So who are the winners on paper and who might be the real winner. Irish Examiner Political Correspondent Elaine Loughlin provides a global view of the big event and the fall-out. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When he isn’t lecturing on history in UCD or presenting the Irish Examiner football podcast, Professor Paul Rouse mulls over how our world has become so susceptible to lies, spin and misinformation. He has now developed a module called Manufacturing Truth that looks at how there have always been attempts to sell lies in pursuit of political or financial gain and why that has gone into overdrive in the current digital age. Paul Rouse is this week’s guest on the podcast. Hosted on Acast. See...

As the campaign rhetoric ramps up and the polls continue to fluctuate, another would be assassin has been arrested in the USA. Senior CNN correspondent Donie O’Sullivan talks to us about the current temperature in the USA, while it is lazy to label all Trump supporters as bigots and why violence is an increasing feature of this election. And he also wonders aloud on what may happen after the polls close and the votes are counted. Donie O’Sullivan is this week’s guest. Hosted on Acast. See...

With the Dail returning next week and the budget on the horizon the expectation is that all politicians will have their eyes firmly focused on a November election. But will it come to pass? And what else can we expect from the coming political season in the wake of bicycle shed-gate (sorry), the Apple billions and Sinn Fein’s recently publishing housing plan. Irish Examiner Political Editor Elaine Loughlin reviews the last week and reads the runes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for...

A new book details the fascinating stories of Irish people who joined resistance organisations in occupied Europe during the Second World War. Some are well known and have been recognised for their contribution to fighting Nazism under the most dangerous circumstances, others have not had their bravery recognised properly until now. The Untold Stories of the Ordinary Heroes Who Resisted Hitler is written by John Morgan and Irish Examiner columnist Clodagh Finn. And Clodagh is this week’s...

Six and a half years after Jimmy Loughlin was beaten to death in Sligo by a highly disturbed individual the HSE has yet to conduct an inquiry into a series of red flags about the danger to the public of the man in question. This is in sharp contrast to the recent publication of a report in Nottingham thirteen months after a violently disturbed man stabbed three people to death. Michael and Paula Loughlin have lots of questions for the health service, but nobody is willing to contemplate some...

A topic that is attracting increasing attention is whether or not the state is equipped enough to defend itself from all manner of attack, on land and on sea. This comes at a time when another aspectof military force is being discussed, that of neutrality. To separate the wheat from the chaff on these matters we are joined today by defence analyst Declan Power. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Writer Donal Ryan talk to Mick Clifford about his latest book. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s no exaggeration to say the last fortnight in Irish sport has been among the best and most successful we’ve ever seen. We’ve had four Olympic gold medals across four separate sports, and a few bronze to go along with it. And there may yet be more to come.  The events in Paris have captured the imagination back home on what has been the country’s best ever Olympic games. But what it all down to? And is something we can replicate in four years’ time in Los Angeles and beyond?  The Irish...

In the space of just a few weeks, the race for the White House has been turned on its head.   It’s now Kamala Harris who will take on Donald Trump in November’s US Presidential election, presenting a very different rival for the presidency than Joe Biden would have. She’s fundraising in huge numbers and gaining on Trump in many polls, while Trump is facing sharp criticism for his remarks about Harris at an event on Wednesday 31st July. With things still all to play for, we talk to Larry...

Martin McGuinness assured Rose Hegarty repeatedly that her son Frank would be unharmed if he returned to Derry. Rose believed him and Frank came back. It was a fateful decision and that fate is explored in a new book about spies in the North during the Troubles. Four Shots in the Night examines the Hegarty case and puts it in the context of the intelligence war that played a vital role in bringing the violence to an end. Author Henry Hemming is this week’s guest on the podcast. Hosted on...

A tumultuous week in US politics saw an assassination attempt on Donald Trump and his subsequent victory march through the Republican party’s convention in which the party threw itself at his feet. Meanwhile, Joe Biden candidacy continues to raise doubts. Professor Scott Lucas of the Clinton Institute in UCD looks back at the week and forward towards a hugely significant election for the next president of the USA. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Arthur Matthews is a well-known comedy writer whose work includes Father Ted and the musical I Keano. Now he has taken a very different turn and written about a polarizing figure in Irish history, Kevin O’Higgins, the man many associate with the policy of executions during the Civil War. Arthur talks to the podcast about his book, Walled In By Hate, Kevin O’Higgins, His Friends and Enemies Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.