How do we make sense of geopolitical upheaval?  The ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine has highlighted radical changes in international affairs but the nature of a new global political order is far from clear; with complex crises of energy and food security bubbling under shifts of strategic power alliances.

John Kampfner has covered international  politics for more than 35 years. He reported on the fall of the Berlin wall and the dissolution of the soviet union for the Daily Telegraph before working as chief political correspondent for the Financial Times. At the BBC he covered politics for  The Today programme and Newsnight and later edited the New Statesman. His books on Russia, Germany, capitalism and democracy have become bestsellers and he currently serves as Executive Director of the U.K in the World Project at Chatham House, Britain’s leading  foreign policy Think Tank. 

In front of a live audience at Ireland’s Edge in Dingle, John spoke to Murieann Kelliehr about a world in flux.

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"Russia’s invasion of Ukraine today is a neo-colonial war, it’s an attempt to restore their imperial geopolitical blueprint" - Olesya Zdorovetska 

On this episode, the Home Font of the Russian invasion of Ukrainians in Ireland. Just over a year ago, Russia launched an imperialist invasion of Ukraine. The brutal effects of Russian aggression have forced millions of Ukrainian refugees to flee their home country and there are now tens of thousands of Ukrainians here in Ireland. Singer and composer Olesya Zdorovetska has lived here for over a decade, while academic Larysa Samosonok arrived in the early weeks of the war.  In front of a live audience at Irelands’ Edge in Dingle, Olesya and Larysa spoke to Muireann Kelliher about experiencing the invasion of their homeland from Ireland, and what we all need to understand about Ukraines fight  for survival.

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What is the price of holding power to account?

Carole Cadwalladr won the Orwell prize for her investigation of the shadowy role of data and donors in the 2016 Brexit Referendum. Her reporting on the damaging influence of big tech and big money in  our democracies has won her admirers and enemies all around the world. Since her last appearance at Ireland’s Edge in 2019 she has fought a landmark libel case against Brexit donor Aaron Banks, and has played a key  role in founding a new public service journalism group, The Citizens. In front of a live audience at Ireland’s Edge she joined Muireann Kelliher to discuss the personal and the political.  

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On today’s episode, is there hope in the atom?

We live in an energy crisis, with environmental catastrophe and war questioning our reliance on fossil fuels. Nuclear power was once the great green hope, but decades of concerns about accidents and radioactive waste have turned much of Europe off.

 

But were those concerns overblown, and have they blinded us to a vital source of clean energy? In their new film, Atomic Hope, filmmakers Frankie Fenton and Kathryn Kennedy have collaborated with Finnish scientist Iida Ruishalme to explore the environmentalist pro-nuclear movement.

At Ireland’s Edge in Dingle they spoke with Emmy award-winning filmmaker and Ireland’s Edge founder, Nuala O’Connor.

Atomic Hope is out in select cinemas now. 

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What a year it has been! From pandemic, to war, to political upheaval, the news just never seemed to stop in 2022. On today's special episode we take a step back to reflect on it all with two of Ireland’s most engaging journalists, Séamas O'Reilly of the Observer and Irish Examiner, and Aoife Moore, political correspondent with the Sunday Times and Irish journalist of the year 2021. In front of a live audience at Ireland’s Edge in Dingle, Aoife and Séamas reeled in 2022 to look back on the year that was with a slight satirical glint in their eyes..

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"Being Irish now is the thing"

One of Ireland’s most exciting voices right now is Sello, who has been making waves at home and abroad with his infectious mix of rap and trad samples that he calls ‘Gaelic drill’. Hailing from Clondalkin in southwest Dublin, Sello has been collaborating with traditional musician and producer AyoMax to produce a unique sound that’s brand new but also rooted in Ireland’s rich musical past. On today’s episode Sello and Max speak to music journalist Andrea Cleary about their backgrounds and collaboration. This conversation was recorded with a live audience at Hen’s Teeth in Dublin, and begins with Max treating us to a performance on the uileann pipes. 

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Malcolm X once called the media 'the most powerful entity on earth', with 'the power to make the innocent guilty and the guilty innocent'. Social media, 'fake news', and political and corporate propaganda have all shaken trust in the news media, while disinformation about vaccinations and climate change have revealed limits to its power to inform. Christopher Kissane speaks with leading figures about the future of the media in an age of 'alternative facts'.

 

• John Mulholland, Editor, The Guardian US
• Áine Kerr, COO and Co-Founder, Kinzen 
• Brian MacCraith, Chair of the Covid-19 Vaccination Task Force and Future of Media Commission 
• Moderated by Christopher Kissane, Ireland’s Edge 

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Once regarded as breakthrough drugs in the treatment of a wide range of psychiatric illnesses and addictive conditions, psychedelics were the subject of a major moral panic in the sixties because of their counter cultural associations. Research and treatment centres were shut down and the drugs relegated to Class A illegal substances. The last ten years have seen renewed and growing interest and research into the therapeutic benefits of psychedelics.

 

Dr Roberta Murphy is an Irish psychiatrist working in the Department of Brain Sciences at Imperial College London.  In conversation with Nuala O’Connor she talks about her work in Imperial’s Centre for Psychedelic Research and ‘PSILODEP 2’, the clinical trial set up to test the potential of psilocybin (magic mushrooms) in the treatment of depression.

Dr Roberta Murphy | Imperial Centre for Psychedelic Research 

In conversation with Nuala O’Connor | Ireland’s Edge

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Critically acclaimed auteur Gaika speaks with Síobhra Quinlan about his work with GKZ, Nine Nights Collective, The Spectacular Empire, and his NFT collection in collaboration with Voice, ‘Live From War Island.’ In considering technology as a tool to be ethically and creatively harnessed by the artist, how can such a tool be leveraged for liberation, empowerment and expression by both the individual and the collective? This discussion will explore decentralised platforms for underground artists, new forms of artist ownership and audience engagement, and ways in which access to technology can foster community in both our virtual and physical worlds.

Gaika | Multidisciplinary Artist. Experimental rapper, producer, visual and performance artist.

In conversation with Síobhra Quinlan | Ireland’s Edge

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The use of data has become one of this century's most contentious legal and moral issues. But while the GDPR was designed to give citizens control of their own personal data in a world of Big Tech and intrusive states, issues from police surveillance to the "right to be forgotten" have shown how such control can have unintended social consequences. Christopher Kissane speaks with Dr David Kenny, Associate Professor of Law at Trinity College Dublin.

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