The Explainer

The warnings are getting louder, and we're hearing more and more often that Europe is in the grips of a hybrid war. But is the rhetoric matching the reality and the actions being taken by EU countries in the face of this? News Correspondent Niall O'Connor joins us to share insights from his recent sit-down interview with Sean Clancy, an Irish general who is heading up the bloc's defence strategy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We’ve all seen the headlines about "celebrity family feuds" before, but Brooklyn Beckham’s unprecedented six-page Instagram statement attacking his parents, David and Victoria, feels different. Kate Demolder, arts and culture journalist and co-host of the Culture Pigs podcast, examines this calculated demolition of one of the world's most carefully curated family brands. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It began with anger over soaring prices, but it has spiralled into what may be the most serious challenge to the Iranian regime since the 1979 revolution. Crucially, this uprising began not with students or dissidents, but with the bazaari, Tehran's merchants and shopkeepers, long considered pillars of the Islamic Republic. We're joined by DCU's Paola Rivetti to ask: is the Islamic Republic finally on the brink?

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

The events of Saturday night in Caracas saw Donald Trump rip up the international rulebook again, if there even was any of it left to begin with.

With a new national security strategy dubbed the "Don-roe Doctrine", the US is aggressively reasserting dominance over the Western Hemisphere and beyond. Threats have already been levelled at Colombia and Mexico, while tensions over Greenland have reignited a diplomatic firestorm with Denmark. Is this just rhetoric, or renewed American imperialism? We're joined by Larry Donnelly, law lecturer at the University of Galway and a political columnist with The Journal.

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This week, we look back at some of our best episodes from the past year. What did we learn about how drugs like Ozempic actually work? Why are companies so determined to get people back to the office, even if the evidence shows remote work is as productive? And what happened when unknown drones were spotted over the Irish Sea? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.