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The state has quietly become the biggest buyer of new homes. In fact, builders like Cairn Homes now have forward sales of nearly €946 million, much of it locked in by government deals. That means up to 80–85% of new builds are being bought by the state, at an average price of €382,000 per unit, while wages lag far behind rising house prices, which jumped 7.8% last year. So who’s being pushed out? First-time buyers. Instead of solving the housing crisis, the state is inflating prices, nationalising the property market by stealth, and creating what could be the most expensive council houses in the world. In this episode, we join the dots between Dutch disease, tax windfalls, political PR, and the future of Irish society. Why are nurses, teachers and young couples emigrating when billions are gushing into Ireland? And how did estate agents, once kings of the market, become an endangered species? We break it all down, numbers, history, and politics, to show why the government itself is now the main culprit behind Ireland’s housing mess.

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(00:00) – Clíona Ní Ríordáin and Patrick Cotter discussion
(11:24) – Traci Brimhall interview
(57:24) – Southword poem, The Orange by Viviana Fiorentino

Traci Brimhall is a professor of creative writing and narrative medicine at Kansas State University. She is the author of five collections of poetry, including Love Prodigal (published November 2024 by Copper Canyon). Her poems have appeared in publications such as The New Yorker, The Nation, The New Republic, Poetry, The New York Times Magazine, and Best American Poetry. She’s received fellowships from National Endowment for the Arts, the National Parks Service, the Academy of American Poets, and Purdue Archives and Special Collections to study the lost poem drafts of Amelia Earhart. She’s the current poet laureate for the State of Kansas.

This week's Southword poem is 'The Orange' by Viviana Fiorentino, shortlisted for the Gregory O'Donoghue International Poetry Competition, which appears in issue 46. You can buy single issues, subscribe, or find out how to submit to Southword here.

Have you ever had a disturbing thought pop up into your head? Thoughts that are distressing, repetitive and unwanted are called intrusive thoughts. NPR's senior Visuals producer LA Johnson talks with a therapist and a researcher to figure out what these thoughts mean, where they come from and how best to handle them. 

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A touch of levity can help us navigate awkward or painful situations by making it easier for people to hear difficult things—as illustrated by a funny moment from the popular TV show Friends.

Resources & links related to this episode:

• The One Where Monica and Richard Are Friends

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Visit Gretchen's website to learn more about Gretchen's best-selling books, products from The Happiness Project Collection, and the Happier app.

Find the transcript for this episode on the episode details page in the Apple Podcasts app. 

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In 1998, at a conference organised by the United Nations, a blueprint was devised for what would be the world's first permanent International Criminal Court.

Judge Phillipe Kirsch chaired the Rome conference that led to the formation of the court. He tells Gill Kearsley about the negotiations, which he describes as the most difficult professional thing he ever did.

Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there.

(Photo: International Criminal Court. Credit: Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

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In Your Nature returns with a thought-provoking new episode featuring Ricky in conversation with Pádraic Fogarty—ecologist, author, and one of Ireland’s most influential voices for nature. The discussion centres on Pádraic’s long-standing work advocating for more ambitious and meaningful conservation efforts across Ireland, from rewilding landscapes to reforming environmental policy.

Together, they explore the state of Irish biodiversity, the systemic challenges facing conservation, and the urgent need to restore ecological integrity. Pádraic shares insights from his time with the Irish Wildlife Trust, his writing, and his vision for a future where nature is prioritised and protected. The episode offers a compelling look at how Ireland can move beyond token gestures and embrace real change for its wild places and species.

The Gannet is the featured Bird of the Week—an iconic seabird known for its spectacular plunge-diving and striking appearance. Nesting in dramatic cliff colonies around Ireland’s coasts, the Gannet is a powerful symbol of our marine heritage and a reminder of the richness that lies just offshore.

In Your Nature features Ricky Whelan, Biodiversity Officer with Offaly County Council, and Niall Hatch of BirdWatch Ireland, and is edited by Ann-Marie Kelly.

The series is supported by Laois, Offaly, and Westmeath County Councils, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, and the Heritage Council.

For more about BirdWatch Ireland, visit www.birdwatchireland.ie.

A tub-thumping, snare-cracking, cymbal-simmering, two-way backbeat to this week’s rock and roll news, the on-beats including …

… “Trauma-bonding?” Why being ‘a fan’ is like a love affair

… Ian Brown, Morrissey, Siouxsie, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison … why singers who don’t play an instrument are a different species

… the stadium-rock drummer transfer window

… Sigourney Weaver at Shea Stadium in ’65

… singers who don’t sound like their personalities

… what can a singer-songwriter write about if they get famous at 18?

… the unreleased Beatles Holy Grail?

… can you be a fan of someone younger than you are?

Find out more about how to help us to keep the conversation going: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear

… how do you know a drummer’s knocking on your door?

… plus Leonard Cohen, Phil Oakey and are you ever too old to be wearing a Libertines military tunic?

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In this podcast, recorded in August 2013 during the Edinburgh International Book Festival, Glyn Maxwell reads poems from his collection Pluto (Picador) and talks with Jennifer Williams about the breath and blood of poetry, how actors are the best first readers, why Auden is so important to his work and much more.

Photo by David Shankbone.

Rachel Cusk reads her story “Project,” from the September 1 & 8, 2025, issue of the magazine. Cusk is the author of several works of nonfiction and twelve novels, including “Outline,” “Transit,” “Kudos,” and, most recently, “Parade,” which won the 2024 Goldsmiths Prize.

How did wind and solar become a matter of anti-wokism?

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