As one of the new intake of Welsh parliamentarians who were elected in the 2021 election, Sam Rowlands MS represents a new generation of Welsh Conservatives in the Senedd and combines his role as regional MS for North Wales with a shadow ministerial brief of local government and the role of policy director for the party.

In our first interview with Sam, we discuss everything from the importance of local government, Senedd reform and regional representation, trying to enact members’ bills in the Senedd, and the consequences of nearly 25 years of continuous Labour-led governments.

Given Sam’s remit representing a sprawling constituency stretching from the broder to the sea in the North, we also discuss the ongoing issues at the Betsi Cadwaladr Health Board which appears to be struggling with strategy, delivery, and culture that has led it to be in Special Measures again.

You can find Sam on X/Twitter here: https://twitter.com/SamRowlands_

You can find us @HiraethPod on most social networks and find the latest on our X-Twitter page: https://twitter.com/HiraethPod

If you're enjoying the pod, please leave us a rating or review on your podcast app or on YouTube and, if you are able to do so, please consider supporting us from just £3/month: http://www.patreon.com/hiraethpod

For some it’s a sign of Wales leading the way on the international stage, making us the first country in the world to legislate to consider the wellbeing of future generations at all tiers of government. For others it can be seen as a well-intentioned idea that has yet to really deliver or challenge the status quo. As the term of first incumbent of the role, Sophie Howe, has finished and her successor appointed, the office Future Generations Commissioner is starting a new era.

Is this a difficult second album or is it an opportunity to take the delivery and implementation of this innovative legislation to a new level? We discuss with our guests:

Derek Walker, Future Generations Commissioner 2.0: https://twitter.com/derekwalker_https://twitter.com/derekwalker_

Arpana Chunilal, member of the Future Generations Academy and forestry advisor at Natural Resources Wales: https://twitter.com/Arpana_Lili

The Office of the Future Generations Commissioner: https://twitter.com/futuregencymru

You can find us @HiraethPod on most social networks and find the latest on our X-Twitter page: https://twitter.com/HiraethPod

If you're enjoying the pod, please leave us a rating or review on your podcast app or on YouTube and, if you are able to do so, please consider supporting us from just £3/month: http://www.patreon.com/hiraethpod

We are a month into a new political season like no other. There has been an enormously popular petition against legislation that previously appeared to have wide cross-party support, and resultantly Wales may now be more visible than ever in the next UK-wide election. It has also challenged the concept of democratic legitimacy in our representative democracy as the minister responsible found himself in the unusual position of facing a vote of no confidence because he *had* delivered on a manifesto commitment.

The launchpads for that very election are the party conferences, which are up and running while the union parliament is in recess. What will this mean for Wales? We discuss this and much more with our special guests, the current and former heads of Oxfam Cymru, Sarah Rees and Stephen Brooks.

Our guests:

Sarah Rees, Head of Oxfam Cymru

https://twitter.com/OxfamCymru

Stephen Brooks, policy, strategy, and communications consultant

https://twitter.com/stephenbrooksUK

You can find us @HiraethPod on most social networks and find the latest on our X-Twitter page: https://twitter.com/HiraethPod

If you're enjoying the pod, please leave us a rating or review on your podcast app or on YouTube and, if you are able to do so, please consider supporting us from just £3/month: http://www.patreon.com/hiraethpod

Recorded during Adult Learners’ Week, the campaign that seeks to promote learning opportunities for everyone post-compulsory education, we take a deep dive into the state of life-long learning in Wales.

We discuss the Welsh Government's recent 'Tertiary Education and Research Act' and the impact it will have on the tertiary education sector. We also discuss the role and priorities for skills training across the country and the reality of university funding for both full-time and part-time students.

Our guests:

Joshua Miles - Director for Wales at the Learning and Work Institute

Learninng and Work Institute Wales: https://twitter.com/LearnWorkCymru

Michelle Matheron, Assistant Director for External Affairs at The Open University in Wales

The Open University Cymru: https://twitter.com/OUCymru

You can find us @HiraethPod on most social networks and find the latest on our X-Twitter page: https://twitter.com/HiraethPod

If you're enjoying the pod, please leave us a rating or review on your podcast app or on YouTube and, if you are able to do so, please consider supporting us from just £3/month: http://www.patreon.com/hiraethpod

As the new parliamentary term begins, we sit down with leader of the Plaid Cymru group in Westminster, Liz Saville Roberts MP to discuss the realities of operating in Westminster as one of the smaller parties, cross-party working, and how well scrutiny of law and government affecting Wales can (or can’t) be done in the union parliament.

We also cover the new political map of Wales, the priorities for Plaid Cymru in the coming year, and the experience of being elected to represent Dwyfor Meirionydd in the era of Brexit, the subsequent Brexit Wars in UK Parliament, the chaos of Johnson and Truss Governments, and the current cost of living crisis.

You can find & follow Liz on the platform formerly known as Twitter: https://twitter.com/LSRPlaid

Despite everything, we are also still there with our latest updates: https://twitter.com/HiraethPod

And if you are enjoying the pod, please leave us a rating and review in your podcast app or on YouTube. If you are able to do so, please also consider supporting us on Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/hiraethpod

Dyma ein podlediad Cymraeg cyntaf erioed, recordiwyd yn fyw ar faes yr Eisteddfod ym Moduan. This is our first ever Welsh language podcast, recorded live at the National Eisteddfod in Boduan.

Ysbrydolwyd gan y cerdd ‘Hon’ gan T H Parry Williams ac y llinell enwog ‘Beth yw ots gennyf i am Gymru?’ rydyn ni’n gofyn - ar ôl bron chwarter canrif o ddatganoli a 99 mlynedd o’i bodolaeth - beth yw ots gennyf i am Blaid Cymru? Beth yw rôl y blaid yng gwleidyddiaeth Cymru, pa fath o blaid yw e, a beth yw’r dyhead y blaid ar gyfer yr etholiadau i ddod?

Inspired by the poem ‘Hon’ by T H Parry Williams and its famous first line ‘What do I care for Wales?’, we ask - after nearly a quarter century of devolution and after 99 years of its existence - what do I care for the Party of Wales?. What is the role of the party in Welsh politics, what sort of party is it, and what are its aspirations for the coming elections?

Ein Panel / Our panel:

Sioned Williams AS - Aelod Plaid Cymru dros Gorllewin De Cymru / Plaid Cymru MS for South Wales West

Yr Athro Richard Wyn Jones - Cyfarwyddwr, Canolfan Llywodraethiant Cymru / Director, Wales Governance Centre

Diolch yn fawr i Brifysgol Caerdydd am cynnal y digwyddiad / Thanks to Cardiff University for hosting the event.

Os ti'n joia'r pod yma, tanysgrifiwch yn dy hoff app podlediadau neu YouTube i derbyn y pods i ddod yn awtomatig.

Recorded live at the 2023 Royal Welsh Show, in partnership with the Farmers' Union of Wales, this podcast takes a look at the challenges facing Wales's agricultural communities.

We discuss the UK Government's handling of Brexit, the first tranche of trade deals it signed (in haste) with New Zealand and Australia, the voice of Wales in negotiations, the Welsh Government's farming support scheme (including its 10% tree target), and ongoing animal health measures.

Our Partners, the FUW: https://twitter.com/FUWpress

Guto Bebb: https://twitter.com/GutoAberconwy

Former Member of the UK Parliament for Aberconwy and UK Government Minister

Samuel Kurtz: https://twitter.com/SKurtzCWSP

Member of the Senedd for Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire

Caryl Hughes: A fifth generation farmer from just outside Llangollen and current Regional Vice-Chair of the National Sheep Association

A video version of this podcast will soon be available on our YouTube Channel.

We can be found @HiraethPod on most social platforms and would love to hear from you, including over Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/HiraethPod

If you're enjoying the pod, please leave us a rating or review in your podcast app or on YouTube and, if you are able to do so, please consider joining our Patreon from just £3/month: http://www.patreon.com/hiraethpod

Recorded live from the Senedd (the Welsh Parliament) and sponsored by Mark Drakeford MS in the week that the NHSs of the UK celebrate their 75th anniversary, we partnered with Cardiff University’s Wales Governance Centre to organise a live event to mark the publication of Dr Nye Davies’s new book ‘This is My Truth: Aneurin Bevan in Tribune’, which collates the various contributions this totemic figure of Welsh and Labour politics made in Tribune.

Our panel includes Nye himself (Davies, that is), Shavanah Taj (General Secretary of the Wales TUC), and Beth Winter (Member of the UK Parliament for Cynon Valley) and we reflect on Bevans writings on diverse subjects such as the relationship between UK Labour and trade unions, the status of Wales and devolution, the ongoing pragmatism debate in Labour Party policy and how Bevan himself would (or wouldn’t) fit into Keir Starmer’s party in 2023.

We hope you enjoy this live event podcast, a video is also available on our YouTube Channel here: https://youtu.be/9fsSYnlMwsM

We are also hosting two further live events this summer. Firstly at the Farmers Union of Wales stand at the Royal Welsh Show (1100-1200 on 27 July 2023) and 1200-1245 at the Cardiff University stand at the National Eisteddfod (in Welsh only, 11 August). Please join us if you can.

Our guests:

Dr Nye Davies: https://twitter.com/Nye_Davies

Shavanah Taj: https://twitter.com/shavtaj

Beth Winter MP: https://twitter.com/BethWinterMP

You can buy Nye’s book here (please do!): https://www.uwp.co.uk/book/this-is-my-truth/

And our event partners the Wales Governance Centre are here: https://twitter.com/WalesGovernance

We can be found @HiraethPod on most social platforms and would love to hear from you, including over Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/HiraethPod

If you're enjoying the pod, please leave us a rating or review in your podcast app or on YouTube and, if you are able to do so, please consider joining our Patreon from just £3/month: http://www.patreon.com/hiraethpod

Just a couple of months ago it looked like the Senedd Member for Ynys Môn, Rhun ap Iorwerth, could be leaving the Welsh Parliament and seeking to dislodge Virginia Crosbie to be the island’s MP in the union parliament in Westminster in 2024.

However, in light of the revelations disclosed in Plaid Cymru’s ‘Prosiect Pawb’ report into allegations of bullying, sexual harassment, and misogyny, a vacancy arose at the top of the party and Rhun was elected leader, unopposed.

So what does a change in leader mean for Plaid Cymru, its ‘Cooperation Agreement’ with the Welsh Government, the independence movement, and much more? We find out!

You can find Rhun on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/RhunapIorwerth

A video version of this interview can be found on our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/HiraethWelshPolitics

And all the latest from Hiraeth on most social platforms @hiraethpod , including Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/HiraethPod

If you're enjoying the pod, please leave us a rating or review in your podcast app or on YouTube and, if you are able to do so, please consider joining our Patreon from just £3/month: http://www.patreon.com/hiraethpod

As you will have likely heard, the NHS in Wales (and elsewhere across the union) is celebrating its 75th birthday this week.

For all the phenomenal work its staff have done over the years and the challenges it has faced, there are those beginning to question whether it's time to retire this institution and consider replacing it with a different model. Others continue to champion its foundational principles as the best way to deliver health and other care across the spectrum of the population.

In this pod our great panel of guests triage the patient and suggest whether it needs social prescribing or emergency surgery.

We are joined by:

Will Hayward - Award winning journalist for Wales online

Jen Rankin - a practicing GP in Cardiff

Gemma Roberts - Public affairs professional with the British Heart Foundation

You can find Will on Twitter: https://twitter.com/WillHayCardiff

We can be found @HiraethPod on most social platforms and would love to hear from you, including over Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/HiraethPod

If you're enjoying the pod, please leave us a rating or review in your podcast app or on YouTube and, if you are able to do so, please consider joining our Patreon from just £3/month: http://www.patreon.com/hiraethpod