The Explainer

You likely saw the images from Dublin city centre last week: hundreds of people lining O’Connell Street on Halloween night, all eagerly awaiting a promised parade. It soon became apparent that something was amiss… there was no parade and these people had been duped by online misinformation. The Journal’s FactCheck Editor Stephen McDermott joins us to examine how this happened, and how the rise of 'AI slop' has created a breeding ground for this type of content. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We’re joined by our own political columnist, Larry Donnelly who is a law lecturer at the University of Galway, to check in on the final days of the race for the White House. Trump and Harris have duked it out across the US in recent weeks in an attempt to woo voters, but the polls continue to indicate that this race is closer than ever. So what is making voters tick right now? What do they want to see in a candidate, and what will be on their minds as they cast their votes? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're joined by Dr Shelley Deane, researcher at DCU’s School of Law and Government, to examine the deepening crisis in southern Lebanon following Israel's invasion. The UN has maintained a presence in the region since the late 1970s and members of the Irish Defence Forces continue to play a significant role in that mission. They are now under almost unprecedented threat. Israel's focus is on eliminating Hezbollah, but in doing so has launched a series of attacks on UN peacekeeping positions. What is happening on the ground? How could the international community response? And is all this becoming a distraction from what's still happening in Gaza? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If asked to name some things we know about Nepal, most of us would probably say Mount Everest. The next might actually be landslides. The country is plagued by them. They can often be deadly, killing people, destroying homes and villages and disappearing entire road networks. Because of their prevalence in Nepal, there has to be constant vigilance and massive preparedness for when they actually happen.On this week's episode — supported by the European Union’s Department for Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations — we're looking at not only how Nepal navigates this, but also the complex job of work that is disaster preparedness across the Asia Pacific region, and how EU Humanitarian Aid is lending its expertise to help with this.We're joined by Sanchita Neupane, People In Need's programme manager for EU Humanitarian Aid, and Davide Zappa, a regional thematic expert on disaster preparedness from EU Humanitarian Aid. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.