The Explainer

By The Journal

The Explainer is a weekly podcast from The Journal that takes a deeper look at one big news story you need to know about. What's the background? Why is this in the news? Get the facts behind the sto... more

· News

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FAQs about The Explainer:

How many episodes does The Explainer have?

The podcast currently has 332 episodes available.

The Explainer episodes:

November 27, 2024 How exactly does Ireland's system of voting work?
With the 2024 general election just around the corner, we're revisiting a valuable episode from earlier this year: Virgin Media's political correspondent Gavan Reilly sits down with us to explain what exactly proportional representation with a single transferable vote (PR-STV) is all about. Do you need to give a preference to every candidate listed on a ballot paper? How and when do preferences beyond your first come into play? How do transfers work, and what is the quota?
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26min
November 21, 2024 Are we about to see a further escalation in the Ukraine war?
It's now more than 1,000 days after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and there are signs that the conflict is taking on a new dimension. The use of Western-supplied long-range missiles by Ukraine on targets within Russia led to renewed sabre-rattling from Vladimir Putin, sparking questions over whether Moscow could consider using nuclear weapons. But how much has actually changed on the ground? What are North Korean troops doing? And is just endgame, and we're counting down to some compromise? To examine all this, Laura Byrne is joined by Donnacha Ó Beacháin, professor of politics at Dublin City University.
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32min
November 14, 2024 The general election campaign is now underway — what happens next?
After weeks of what felt like endless speculation, the Taoiseach Simon Harris finally put us out of our misery last week (with a bit of a jump on him by Micheál Martin) and announced that the election will take place on Friday 29 November. Since then, the posters went up in jig time and every party has been out campaigning with gusto. There’s not a baby not kissed or a chance to jive missed since last week. We're joined by Dr Brendan Flynn, assistant professor and head of discipline in Political Science at the University of Galway, to look at what can we expect between now and the vote itself, what the polls are telling us, and when we might have a new government.
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37min
November 05, 2024 What is AI slop and did it lead to a Halloween parade hoax in Dublin?
You likely saw the images from Dublin city centre last week: hundreds of people lining O’Connell Street on Halloween night, all eagerly awaiting a promised parade. It soon became apparent that something was amiss… there was no parade and these people had been duped by online misinformation. The Journal’s FactCheck Editor Stephen McDermott joins us to examine how this happened, and how the rise of 'AI slop' has created a breeding ground for this type of content.
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23min
October 31, 2024 What will win or lose the US election for Harris and Trump?
We’re joined by our own political columnist, Larry Donnelly who is a law lecturer at the University of Galway, to check in on the final days of the race for the White House. Trump and Harris have duked it out across the US in recent weeks in an attempt to woo voters, but the polls continue to indicate that this race is closer than ever. So what is making voters tick right now? What do they want to see in a candidate, and what will be on their minds as they cast their votes?
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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28min
October 25, 2024 Why is Israel targeting peacekeepers in Lebanon?
We're joined by Dr Shelley Deane, researcher at DCU’s School of Law and Government, to examine the deepening crisis in southern Lebanon following Israel's invasion. The UN has maintained a presence in the region since the late 1970s and members of the Irish Defence Forces continue to play a significant role in that mission. They are now under almost unprecedented threat. Israel's focus is on eliminating Hezbollah, but in doing so has launched a series of attacks on UN peacekeeping positions. What is happening on the ground? How could the international community response? And is all this becoming a distraction from what's still happening in Gaza?
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35min
October 15, 2024 How does Nepal deal with hundreds of landslides every year?
If asked to name some things we know about Nepal, most of us would probably say Mount Everest. The next might actually be landslides. The country is plagued by them. They can often be deadly, killing people, destroying homes and villages and disappearing entire road networks. Because of their prevalence in Nepal, there has to be constant vigilance and massive preparedness for when they actually happen.

On this week's episode — supported by the European Union’s Department for Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations — we're looking at not only how Nepal navigates this, but also the complex job of work that is disaster preparedness across the Asia Pacific region, and how EU Humanitarian Aid is lending its expertise to help with this.

We're joined by Sanchita Neupane, People In Need's programme manager for EU Humanitarian Aid, and Davide Zappa, a regional thematic expert on disaster preparedness from EU Humanitarian Aid.

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36min
October 10, 2024 What does the Strictly scandal mean for the future of British TV?
One of the most successful BBC TV shows, Strictly Come Dancing, is back on air for its 20th year after it was rocked by a summer of in-house scandals. An investigation into harmful work practices was launched by the BBC when two of Strictly's two professional dancers, Italians Giovanni Pernice and Graziano Di Prima, were accused of bullying and inappropriate behaviour during rehearsal sessions. Both men denied the accusations, but pressure mounted on the BBC to take action after other former celebrity contestants shared their concerns over treatment they received while they competed. So what does this latest scandal at the BBC mean for British TV in general and can Strictly come back from this one? Chatting to The Explainer today are Hannah Hope and Alex Doyle of The Sun UK's Showbiz section.
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19min
October 03, 2024 How much of a difference will the Budget really make?
The Budget has been dubbed a giveaway — but will it really make that much of a difference to your pocket? Barra Roantree from TCD's Department of Economics joins us to examine whether the tax decreases and once-off payments will help those who need it the most and how there is a chance it could add fuel to an overheating economy. Who stands to gain from the changes, and what were the most interesting new measures introduced?
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20min
September 27, 2024 What is happening with rapper Sean 'Diddy' Combs?
Puff Daddy, P Diddy, Diddy, Love or Sean Combs — many of us would have grown up with the numerous names of that rapper over the last 30 years or so. The 54-year-old music producer, businessman and global celebrity is in federal custody in the United States, awaiting trial for a number of serious charges, including sex trafficking and racketeering. The charges come on the back of a broad federal investigation of Combs and his associates over a number of years. To look at what exactly the charges are and how they form part of the wider Combs story, we're joined by journalist and author Aoife Barry.

The Explainer is brought to you by The Journal. Providing open access to valuable journalism in Ireland has been the aim of The Journal for a decade. You can contribute to ensure we can keep questioning, investigating, debunking, explaining and informing at www.thejournal.ie/contribute/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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24min

FAQs about The Explainer:

How many episodes does The Explainer have?

The podcast currently has 332 episodes available.

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