Opinions Matter with Adrian & Jeremy

TRIGGER WARNING FOR THIS EPISODE. Elaine’s heartbroken and terrified: her 17-year-old son has started drinking heavily, turning aggressive and verbally abusive at home. He hasn’t hit her, but he has shoved her against a wall demanding money for drink — and the names he calls her are vile.

A Catholic primary school sends a note to parents: this year’s Christmas show has a Christian theme (the Nativity), and if you’d prefer your child not to take part, you can opt out. Simple… or is it?

Tracy is disgusted, saying it’s “watering down” traditions and that if you choose a Catholic school, you know what you’re signing up for. Katie argues the letter is unnecessary “virtue signalling” and could actually create more division.

Should everyone on the dole be drug tested to get their payment?

A listener called Val is raging about a 26-year-old neighbour she says has been on jobseekers for three years, spending his €254 a week on weed. Jeremy says it’s “my tax money” and wants monthly drug tests — fail it and you’re cut off. Adrian says it’s a dangerous road: once you start policing weed, where does it stop… drink, cigarettes, vapes?

Live callers go at it: vouchers instead of cash, pin-protected cards, targeting repeat offenders, disability payments, and the bigger “where are our taxes going?” argument — with Ukraine and immigration dragged into it too.

Russell Brand has been jailed for 10 years and 6 months for rape and sexual assault — and Adrian and Jeremy are raging at the amount of people still backing him online, calling it a “stitch-up” because he “spoke out against the establishment”.

The lads dig into how conspiracy culture, anti-vax bandwagons and the sudden “found God” act can whip up a loyal fanbase — even when the evidence is overwhelming.

Live callers clash hard: some demand supporters be named and shamed, others question the timing, while women ring in furious about victim-blaming, weak sentences, and the madness of defending a convicted rapist.

The guys debate the huge backlash over Simon Harris saying the dole is a safety net, not a way of life — and ask straight out: why should anyone be on the live register year after year when there’s jobs everywhere?