How did an Irish student end up building one of the biggest home-services startups in the US?

Irish entrepreneur Oisín Hanrahan joins Adrian Weckler on The Big Tech Show to discuss his path from buying property in Budapest as a student to dropping out of Harvard Business School to launch Handy.

He also talks about startup co-founder dynamics and his latest venture, Keychain, which connects food brands with manufacturers.

Listen on the Irish Independent website or wherever you get your podcasts.

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Is Anthropic emerging as the “good guy” of artificial intelligence? And do ethics in AI actually matter to users? Veteran tech journalist Rupert Goodwins joins Adrian Weckler on The Big Tech Show to discuss the rivalry between Anthropic, OpenAI and Google, and whether AI companies should decide how their technology is used. They also look at the shifting social media landscape, from Bluesky to X. Listen on the Irish Independent website or wherever you get your podcasts.

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Is Apple’s MacBook Neo the best value laptop ever? Can it match a MacBook Air? And is €699 all you need for the Mac experience? Darragh Nolan, multimedia reporter at the Irish Independent, joins Adrian on this week’s episode of The Big Tech Show.

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Who is Sam Altman and why does he matter so much to artificial intelligence? What do we really know about his views on risk, control and power in the AI race? Ellen Huet, features writer with Bloomberg News and host of the Foundering podcast, joins Adrian Weckler on The Big Tech Show this week. Altman, CEO of OpenAI, runs the company behind ChatGPT. The episode explores his rise, his warnings about AI dangers and the controversies surrounding OpenAI. Listen on the Irish Independent website or wherever you get your podcasts.

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How safe is your crypto really? And what happens when your private keys fall into the wrong hands? Journalist and crypto commentator Monty Munford joins Adrian on this week’s episode of the Big Tech Show. Adrian and Monty talk about how he first got into cryptocurrency, why he chose Ethereum over Bitcoin, and the moment he discovered £25,000 worth of crypto had vanished from his wallet. Monty explains the mistakes he made storing his private keys, how hackers may have accessed them, and what the loss taught him about online security. They also discuss how that stolen crypto would be worth far more today — and why his story is a cautionary tale for anyone dabbling in digital assets. You can listen to the full episode here, on the Irish Independent website or wherever you get your podcasts.

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What tech habits drive us absolutely bonkers? Is it a generation gap? And how do we combat it? Saoirse Hanley, journalist at the Irish Independent, joins Adrian on this week’s episode of The Big Tech Show.

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What happens when your electric car breaks down away from home? Do they have technicians to deal with them? And if you're in a very rural area, can you rely on breakdown services or might you be stranded? Darragh Nolan, multimedia reporter at the Irish Independent, joins Adrian on this week’s episode of The Big Tech Show.

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What is the future of AI in Ireland? Do we have digital sovereignty? And should social media be banned for under sixteens?   James Lawless, Minister for further and higher education, research, innovation and science, joins Adrian on this week’s episode of The Big Tech Show.  

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What is a recommender algorithm? Should they be switched off? And how do they create toxic narrative bubbles? Johnny Ryan, digital rights campaigner and director of Enforce at the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, joins Adrian on this week’s episode of The Big Tech Show.

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Is the world of espionage now online? Are the Irish the cyber weak link in Europe? And how is digital sabotage being used today? Richard Aldrich, professor of International Security at the University of Warwick and leading expert on intelligence, espionage and cybersecurity. The security expert explained how bad-acters can hack into the back of the internet connected fridges and get them to overheat on a windy day. Getting fridges to catch fire simultaneously is a contingency that the UK government is just starting to consider as a threat. You can listen to the full episode here, on the Irish Independent website or wherever you get your podcasts.

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