Audio Podcasts

Join Niall Boylan and his good friend and former producer AJ Walsh for their weekly catch-up as they take a look at some of the biggest, strangest and most talked-about stories making headlines this week. From the shocking stabbing in Belfast that left a man with life-changing injuries and sparked public disorder, to a car mysteriously ending up in the pond at St Stephen’s Green, Niall and AJ discuss the stories that have dominated the news cycle and social media feeds over the past few days.

The UK Government has announced plans to spend £3.7 billion on immigration enforcement over the next three years as it attempts to tackle illegal immigration, strengthen border security and speed up removals. The announcement comes amid growing public concern about migration levels and follows recent unrest in parts of the UK where immigration has become a major political issue.

Social Democrats TD Sinéad Gibney has called for much stronger action against social media platforms, arguing that harmful and dangerous content is spreading online with little accountability. She has repeatedly criticised what she sees as failures by governments and regulators to properly control Big Tech and has advocated stronger regulation of online platforms and algorithms.

What would you do if the person you loved was being slowly destroyed by their job? On this episode of the podcast, Niall talks to callers about a dilemma sent in by a listener who says she is at breaking point watching her husband suffer at work. According to her email, her husband is constantly bullied, belittled and disrespected by his boss. She says he works long hours, is underpaid for the work he does and comes home exhausted, stressed and increasingly unhappy. The strain is now affecting his mental health and she fears things will only get worse.

Former Channel 4 News presenter Jon Snow has revealed that he has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease at the age of 78. The announcement has reignited a debate that many people find uncomfortable but increasingly relevant in a world where more people are becoming parents later in life.

The brutal stabbing of a man on the streets of Belfast has shocked people right across Ireland and the UK. Graphic footage of the attack spread rapidly online, sparking outrage, fear and anger among many members of the public. The suspect, a Sudanese national who had leave to remain in the UK, has since been charged by police and the victim remains seriously injured.

Ireland’s €5.5 Billion Gambling Habit: Entertainment Or Exploitation? Ireland’s appetite for gambling has reached staggering levels, with online betting exceeding €1 billion in a single quarter for the first time ever. Overall, people in Ireland are now estimated to gamble around €5.5 billion every year, making us one of the biggest gambling nations in the world on a per-person basis.

Formula One superstar Lewis Hamilton has sparked a fierce debate after declaring that billionaires simply shouldn’t exist. Hamilton, whose own fortune is estimated at around $550 million, said there should be a limit to how much wealth one person can accumulate. The comments immediately raised eyebrows, not least because his girlfriend, Kim Kardashian, is reportedly worth close to $1.9 billion.

On this episode, Niall talks to journalist and commentator Laura Perrins about the murder of Henry Nowak, the public reaction to the case, and the growing political controversy that has followed. Laura recently wrote a strongly worded piece on Substack criticising media coverage of the case, particularly an Irish Times editorial that described the public response to Henry Nowak’s murder as “a rallying cry for the far-right.” Laura argues that the language used by some media outlets has focused more on the politics surrounding the case than on the brutal murder itself.