The Explainer

By The JournalNews

The Explainer episodes

September 30 Why is Drumcree back in the headlines, and what happens next?
For almost 30 years, the violent confrontations that once defined the Drumcree marching dispute had disappeared from the streets of Portadown. But a procedural error by the Parades Commission and a series of court challenges have reopened the dispute, with protesters blocking a heavily restricted Orange Order parade from passing along the Garvaghy Road. So how did Drumcree become one of Northern Ireland’s most contentious flashpoints, why has the dispute returned now, and how might the current standoff end? The Journal's reporter Diarmuid Pepper joins us after spending several days reporting on the ground.
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21 min
September 23 Why are new mothers struggling to get mental health care?
Women can develop serious mental health difficulties at any point in the year after giving birth. But new reporting from The Journal Investigates has found that five of Ireland’s six specialist perinatal mental health hubs have stopped accepting new referrals after six months postpartum, while women outside major cities can face major barriers to accessing care. So why are services tightening access as demand rises, what happens to women who fall through the gaps, and will promised reforms make a difference? The Journal Investigates reporter Conor O’Carroll joins us.

This episode was created with support from the News Reporting Scheme.
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16 min
September 16 Why are artists walking away from Ed Sheeran’s tour?
Music and politics have always shared a stage, but the fallout from Macklemore’s removal from Ed Sheeran’s United States tour has made clear how that can be an uneasy relationship. Zara Hedderman, music and arts journalist and author of the Bad Arts newsletter, joins us to examine who gets to decide what can be said on stage, and what happens when artists stand together and say no.
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23 min
September 08 How did the AfD become so powerful in Germany?
The far-right Alternative for Germany party won almost 44% of the vote in Saxony-Anhalt on Sunday, more than doubling its support and delivering its strongest ever result in a German state election. The result has shaken Chancellor Friedrich Merz's CDU and brought the AfD closer than ever to taking power at state level. Who is voting for the party, why is it particularly strong in eastern Germany, and what could its rise mean for the country as a whole? Deutsche Welle political correspondent and AfD specialist Matthew Moore joins us.
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20 min
September 06 An mbeidh an Ghaeilge mar mír mhargántaíochta in Éirinn Aontaithe?
The Journal is releasing a six-part series of The Explainer podcast through Irish, focusing on some of the biggest stories affecting the language and the Gaeltacht areas. In this final episode, journalist Laura Ní Aoidhne joins us to break down new cross-border surveys, exploring whether attitudes toward the Irish language are truly warming North and South and what role the language might play in a united Ireland.

De réir taighde uile-Éireann a foilsíodh ag Foras na Gaeilge i mbliana, tá dearchtaí ag athrú i leith na Gaeilge ó thuaidh agus ó dheas, agus tá tuairimí ag éirí níos dearfaí i leith na teanga ná mar a bhí.

Nochtaítear é sin freisin nuair a foilsíodh The Northern Ireland Life and Times survey i mí Mheitheamh.

Chomh maith leis sin, de réir taighde a bhí coimisiúnaithe ag Conradh na Gaeilge, beidh an Ghaeilge mar chuid lárnach d’Éirinn nua aontaithe.

Ach an bhfuil codarsnacht ann idir na tuairimí faoin nGaeilge ó thuaidh agus ó dheas? Cad atá ráite sna tuarascálacha ar fad a fhoilsíodh i mbliana? Agus an bhfuil muid níos cóngaraí d’Éirinn Aontaithe ná riamh?

Tá Laura Ní Aoidhne, iriseoir le The Irish News agus aisteoir ar Ros na Rún, ar The Explainer chun iniúch a dhéanamh ar na ceisteanna agus na tuarascálacha seo ar fad.
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25 min
September 04 Who’s after 14,000 hectares of Ireland’s coast?
More than 14,000 hectares of Ireland’s coastline are covered by applications to commercially harvest seaweed, with four companies seeking to take almost 51,000 wet tonnes a year if their licences are approved. At the same time, the maritime regulator is investigating claims of potentially unauthorised harvesting in protected areas, while traditional harvesters and environmental campaigners are raising concerns about the industry’s rapid commercialisation. So who gets access to Ireland’s seaweed, how do historical harvesting rights fit into the licensing system, and can the regulator keep up? The Journal Investigates reporter Conor O’Carroll joins us.
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12 min
August 29 Cén fáth go bhfuil nasc láidir idir Ghaeilge agus spórt in Éirinn?
The Journal is releasing a six-part series of The Explainer through Irish, focusing on some of the biggest stories affecting the language and the Gaeltacht areas. This week, commentator Cárthach Bán Breathnach joins us to explore the deep relationship between sport and the Irish language, and how Irish commentary found its place on our screens and airwaves.

Ní haon breág é go bhfuil muintir na hÉireann gafa leis an spórt.

Cloistear go minic go háirithe faoi TG4 agus an beart atá déanta acu gach cineál spóirt a chur chun cinn, ón rugbaí reigiúnach go hiománaíocht go sport na mban.

Ach céard é an caidreamh atá ann idir an spórt agus an Ghaeilge, agus cén fáth go cloistear tráchtaireacht Gaeilge ar na haerthonnta go minic?

Chun na ceisteanna seo a phlé, tá an tráchtaire Cárthach Bán Breathnach le The Journal faoin spórt agus an chaoi ina mbíonn an Ghaeilge fite fuaite leis an spórt.
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35 min
August 27 Can the new series of Traitors live up to the hype?
Last autumn, RTÉ’s unscripted hit took the country by storm, drawing over 800,000 viewers, turning retired prison officers into household names, and proving that psychological deceit makes for irresistible television. Now, twenty-four new players are stepping into Slane Castle under the watchful eye of Siobhán McSweeney for season two of The Traitors Ireland. But what happens when a new cast arrives having studied every trick in the book? Assistant News Editor Lauren Boland joins us.
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17 min
August 19 An bhfuil oideachas trí Ghaeilge i mbaol?
This summer, The Journal is releasing a six-part series of The Explainer podcast through Irish, focusing on some of the biggest stories affecting the language and the Gaeltacht areas. This week, we look at the state of Irish language education in Ireland, including calls to reform the school curriculum to focus on spoken Irish, the lack of government plans for new all-Irish schools, and the rising number of students securing exemptions from the subject.

Déantar gearáin go minic faoi chaighdeán an oideachais Ghaeilge in Éirinn.

Iarrtar ar an rialtas an Ghaeilge mar ábhar a athrú as éadan sna scoileanna agus níos mó béime a chur ar an labhairt seachas próslitríocht, filíocht agus an gramadach le haidhm go mbeadh níos mó daoine níos cumasaí ó thaobh na labhartha de.

Bíonn brúghrúpaí ag iarraidh go mbeadh tuilleadh gaelscoileanna agus gaelcholáistí tógtha thar timpeall na tíre, ach níl plean ag an rialtas aon scoil lán-Ghaeilge a thógáil laistigh de chúig bliana.

Chomh maith leis sin, tugadh le fios i mbliana go bhfuil 60,000 dalta in Éirinn díolúine ón nGaeilge ar scoil, agus mura dtagann feabhas ar ráta na ndíolúintí, beidh 20% de dhaltaí in Éirinn díolúine ón nGaeilge faoi 2030.

Labhair muid leis an Léachtóir Emeritus Pádraig Ó Duibhir ón ionad taighde SEALBHÚ in Ollscoil Bhaile Átha Cliath faoi stad an ghaeloideachas in Éirinn.
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23 min
August 18 How can dangerous driving for social media likes be stopped?
Five teenage boys were killed when the BMW they were travelling in was driven the wrong way on the M9 in Kildare and collided with a car carrying three women and a seven-year-old boy. It came just over a week after a similar wrong-way crash on the M50 injured nine people.

Videos have meanwhile spread on social media of teenagers in stolen cars driving at speed. What is behind this behaviour, why are gardaí so limited in how they can respond, and what would it take to stop it? Our own News Correspondent Niall O’Connor joins us.

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20 min

About The Explainer

From the publisher's feed

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…