The BelTel

After the abduction of the Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro the US now openly seeks to dominate the western hemisphere and to control its wealth. JD Vance says the US will now control Venezuela’s natural resources for its own benefit. Now the White house is considering seizing Greenland by force leaving Europe in a very awkward place. Ciarán Dunbar is joined by Danish journalist Tom Carstensen and by former journalist and RAF reservist Michael Cairns to discuss the impact on Europe. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

UK government policy says it does talk to terrorists - but it was directly meeting loyalist ‘brigadiers’ - newly declassified files reveal. Revelations revealed in this year’s batch of files include that whilst the Government claimed not be talking to terrorists, they were happy to meet the UDA’s leadership in their capacity as so-called 'brigadiers’, how continuing IRA activity held back the peace process and who the DUP wanted to become a Lord. Sam McBride joins Ciarán Dunbar. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

At 34, Phillip Brett is one of Stormont’s younger MLAs and the North Belfast Assembly man has seen his profile grow since being elected to Stormont in 2022. He says much of his politics has been shaped by his close relationship with Nigel and Dianne Dodds, who he calls his ‘political mum and dad’. Philip Brett’s family life was torn asunder when his 19-year-old brother Gavin was murdered by the UDA in 2001 – he says he wants justice for his mum. In an exclusive interview with The BelTel podcast, the MLA joined Ciarán Dunbar in the studio to talk politics, ambition and the work involved in being an MLA. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The morning after a dance in a Newry Orange hall, 19-year-old Pearl Gamble’s body is found at the end of a trail of blood. Suspicion immediately falls on 25-year-old Robert McGladdery, known locally for his predatorial behaviour. Less than a year later, McGladdery is the last man to be hanged on the island of Ireland. Historian Joe Baker and Charlie McSherry, a neighbour of Pearl Gamble, join Ciarán Dunbar to tell the story of her vicious murder. This podcast was first broadcast in February 2024. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Martin O’Hagan was a former IRA prisoner who eventually rejected violence and became an investigative reporter with the Sunday World. He was murdered by the LVF in Lurgan on 28th of September 2001. No-one has ever been convicted of the killing. The National Union of Journalists wants an independent inquiry into the killing and the subsequent investigation into it. Ciarán Dunbar is by joined by Anton McCabe, Seamus Dooley, and by Jim McDowell, Martin O’Hagan’s editor at the Sunday World.This episode was first broadcast in November 2024. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.