Inside Politics with Hugh Linehan – Details, episodes & analysis

What was it about Ireland in the 1970s and 1980s that a man like Charles Haughey could become its leader? Did he improve the country, despite the corruption? And how did Garrett FitzGerald make such a mess of the abortion question?

Following our recent podcast series on the era-defining rivalry between Charlie Haughey and Garrett FitzGerald, Hugh Linehan and Pat Leahy return to the subject one last time, taking on listener questions they received via email and social media. They also unashamedly wallow in listener praise for their depth of knowledge, skilful storytelling and Pat's uncanny impersonations.

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

Host Hugh Linehan is joined by Pat Leahy and Jennifer Bray to take stock as the political system cranks back into gear. With frequent political signals being sent about what should be in the upcoming budget, tensions within the coalition are growing.

And it wouldn't be the Inside Politics podcast without some speculation on the timing of the next general election. Whenever it comes, this election will see many new faces fighting for seats. The panel talks about some of them.

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

After depicting the musical culture of Dublin's northside in his acclaimed documentary North Circular, director Luke McManus is now looking at the area's politics.

His new documentary The Locals follows a range of candidates in the run-up to the June 2024 local elections, painting a picture of a diverse area and an equally diverse group of politicians.

Luke talks to Hugh Linehan about making the documentary, the people it portrays and the issues they care about.

The Locals is on RTÉ One on Monday, July 15th at 9:35pm and will also be available on the RTÉ player.

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

The horrific events this week in Israel and the Gaza Strip are the subject of part one of today's podcast. Harry McGee has been watching the conflict, and Ireland's political response to it, unfold.

In part two Jack Horgan-Jones talks about ongoing reaction to this week's Budget. With Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael working together in harmony as they control the State's finances, how can the parties differentiate themselves at the next election?

Plus the panel pick their favourite articles of the week from irishtimes.com:

• Gordon Manning on the unlikely childhood GAA experience of a family of All Black rugby stars

• Mark Paul on signs that next year's UK election could be nasty

• Remembering a legendary Irish philanthropist

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

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

Cormac McQuinn and Pat Leahy join Hugh Linehan to look at the week in politics:

• If past years are anything to go by, most of the Budget 2024 measures will have been leaked by next Tuesday. The fact they haven't yet been shows how difficult negotiations are this year, with Ministers competing for cash to spend on pet projects.

• Labour TD for Wexford Brendan Howlin announced he will retire at the next election. We look back on the former party leader and minister for public expenditure's long career.

• UK Labour leader Keir Starmer cast doubt on the prospect of a vote on reunification, should he succeed in becoming Prime Minister.

Plus our panellists pick their favourite Irish Times journalism from this week:

• Finn McRedmond isn’t into a proposed National Women’s Museum.

• Martin Wall reports from Washington on the dramatic ouster of Kevin McCarthy.

• Mark Paul on Rishi Sunak’ attempt to portray himself as a change-maker after his party’s 13-year reign.

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

On today's podcast:

Jack Horgan-Jones on the darkening economic backdrop to next week's delivery of Budget 2024.

Mark Paul reports from the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester where Prime Minister Rushi Sunak delivered some headline-grabbing 'common sense' pledges. But throughout the week he was overshadowed by those with an eye on replacing him.

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

Today’s guest is Canadian academic and author Naomi Klein. Klein shot to fame with her first book, No Logo, which offered an acute critique of how powerful corporations in the 1990s had profited off exploitation in a globalizing world. 

Her later books have examined a range of subjects including crisis capitalism, militarism, and the climate crisis. 

In her new book Doppelganger Klein uses the fact that she is commonly confused online for a very different writer, Naomi Wolf, who has called Covid-19 vaccine programmes ‘mass murder’, as a device to explore modern themes including online identity, conspiracy theories and the 21st Century supremacy of the ‘personal brand’. 

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

Harry McGee and Pat Leahy join Hugh Linehan to discuss the week in politics:

• The latest Irish Times / Ipsos opinion poll shows Sinn Féin continuing to gain. Other poll results foreshadow the potential for difficult negotiations if the party needs to form a coalition with Fianna Fáil.

• Beyond the next election, the poll shows long term problems for Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael when it comes to attracting young voters.

• Budget 2024 is just over a week away and for now the message is that this will not be a pre-election giveaway - but will that hold?

• Taoiseach Leo Varadkar dropped an unusual and somewhat controversial reference this week, prompting our panel to speculate about his TV viewing habits.

Plus the panel select their favourite reads of the week:

• Without even mentioning the song, Diarmaid Ferriter has (hopefully) the last work on Zombiegate.

• Michael McDowell calls for a new agency to reverse Dublin's decline

• And Pat commends our reporters' wide coverage of this week's historic drugs bust.

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

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