Behind the Story

The Government is hoping to attract more tourists here from India, the UAE and the Asia-Pacific region as part of a new strategic investment plan of €4.7 billion across a range of sectors. 

Political Correspondent Mícheál Lehane joined Evelyn and Karen to outline what's in the plan and looks at the changing political mood around climate targets. 

Later, teacher and researcher Eoghan Cleary explains the growing concern around Grok AI's feature that 'undresses' people and the rise of so called 'nudification apps'.  

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Ousted President Maduro was brought to court in New York this afternoon to face drugs and weapons charges. Meanwhile, it remains unclear who is really running Venezuela amidst claims by President Trump that the US is in charge. 

The UN Security Council is meeting in an emergency session as the American administration continues to threaten other countries including Greenland saying it needs to annex the country for 'national security' reasons. 

Host Karen Creed is joined by Assistant Professor in the History of War at UCD, Ed Burke to discuss the unprecedented situation. 

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With less than six months to the kick off of the World Cup, Fran is joined by sports reporter, Miguel Delaney for a deep dive into how FIFA operates and asks who is Gianni Infantino. 

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Kneecap, Traitors, Adolescence and the Eurovision, just some of the big entertainment stories that hit the headlines this year.

Streaming continues to grow and threatens to upend how we watch and enjoy movies. Actors unions and the big studios are concern about the future. Despite this, it was a good year for Irish musicians, actors and production companies.

Fran talks to Arts and Media Correspondent Evelyn O’Rourke and Entertainment Journalist Alan Corr as they pick out their highs and lows of 2025. 

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Concerns around US tariffs dominated the first half of the year in 2025. While on the domestic front, the debate around working from home continued as many businesses insisted their employees return to the workplace.

The school secretaries strike was one of the year's big industrial actions and the challenges of meeting housing targets were never far from the headlines. 

RTÉ's Brian O’Donovan and David Murphy sit down with Fran McNulty to tease out the stories that shaped the economic and  business this year. 

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As the year comes to an end, Fran takes a look back at some of the stories on artificial intelligence that were covered on the podcast. 

From new guidelines, AI music, technology in schools and AI therapy chatbots, the technology continues to challenge and upend many industries. 

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Dáil rows, Trump's tariff threats and a Presidential campaign: Professor Gary Murphy of DCU and political reporter Sandra Hurley join Fran to dissect and analyse the year in politics. The trio discuss the emergence of Michael Lowry TD as a power broker in government formation and the decision by Sinn Féin to back Independent TD Catherine Connolly for the run at the Áras which she ultimately won. 

The trio also take a look into the new year and the prospect to two by-elections. 

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Twenty four hours on from the publication of the Fianna Fáil report into their Presidential campaign, Fran and Barry dissect the reaction to the report and examine the pressure on Party leader Michéal Martin. 

Later, reporter Kate Varley joins the duo and chats about her recent trip to Bangladesh. Kate visited Cox's Bazaar, home to 1.3million Rohinyga refugees and explains how recent aid cuts are beginning to take effect. 

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Pressure is mounting on Fianna Fáil to release the report into the Jim Gavin Presidential campaign. Three senior party members said today that the report must come out this week. Joe Mag Raollaigh joins Fran to tease out the timeframe around the report and explain why the pressure is building inside the party. 

Later, Fran is joined by Europe reporter for Euronews, Shona Murray to discuss the ongoing talks around the Ukraine war and the positive noise coming from the Ukraine side in Berlin. 

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Uisce Éireann announced that it will submit plans for the country's largest ever water project next week. The plan involves building a 170km underground pipe to take water from the Shannon and bring it to Dublin and surrounding counties. Environment correspondent, George Lee joins Fran to explain the project, why it's necessary and why there is opposition to it. 

Later, Fran is joined by reporter, Catherine Eillis who discusses what's happening in Venezuela and outlines some of the detail of the opposition leader María Corina Machado daring escape to collect the Nobel Peace Prize. 

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