Mike McCartney talks to Roísín Ingle about life in the shadow of his Beatle brother. He is joined by journalist and Ross O'Carroll Kelly creator (and friend of the show) Paul Howard. Paul has written a new book about McCartney's friend, the Guinness heir Tara Browne, who died in 1966 at the height of the Swinging Sixties. You can hear the full podcast here: http://iti.ms/RoisinMeetsIT

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Inside Politics: Who's to blame if your house is broken into on a strike day? Irish Times Industrial Affairs Correspondent Martin Wall talks to Hugh LinehanFull episode: http://iti.ms/InsidePoliticsIT

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There has always been a creative tension between philosophers and scientists and for the past 30 years Susan Haack has followed the currents of that debate, playing the role - in her own words - of “the cannibal among the missionaries”.Haack, an English-born philosopher now based at the University of Miami, has little patience for those in the humanities who see the rise of the STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and maths) as a threat. But she also warns of the modern trend towards scientism – an undue deference to all things scientific.The tension arises acutely in investigations of the mind. Can the mind be understood purely through neuroscience, or do other disciplines have a role to play?

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Ismail says Aleppo is like nowhere else in the world. The people are scared and desperate and they wonder why the international community won't help them.

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'I see the people around me getting thinner and thinner': Wissam describes what he has seen a in Aleppo, including a bomb attack on his apartment building.

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"Was it for this? This State is not worthy of the sacrifices of the men and women of 1916" was the provocative title of a discussion in The Irish Times' tent at this year's Electric Picnic. MCing was Irish Times journalist Ronan McGreevy, editor of Was it for this? Reflections on the Easter Rising, a book compiling Irish Times writings on 1916 and its aftermath, from that fateful year right up to the present day. Running the rule on the country 100 years after the Easter Rising was musician and writer Paddy Cullivan, the creator of The Ten Dark Secrets of 1916, and columnist turned election candidate Carol Hunt.

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Why laugher is a serious business: TCD Prof Eric Weitz of the International Society for Humor Studies discusses the intellectual and psychological benefits of jokes.

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Joe Humphreys meets Prof Tom Inglis of University College Dublin, whose latest book, Meanings of Life in Contemporary Ireland, tests the long-standing church theory that you need faith to provide ballast, or a purpose, to your life. He interviewed 100 people for the book, exploring what gave their life meaning, and while he doesn’t claim the study is representative, he says it is illustrative of the way in which Ireland is going.

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At the Electric Picnic, Una Mullally interviewed Jonny Beauchamp and Seana Kerslake on what it takes to make it in the most mysterious of jobs - acting. In this clip, Jonny gives a rapid-fire account of how he won his role in the hit show. Here be mild profanities. The clip ends abruptly to spare you a Penny Dreadful spoiler.Check irishtimes.com for more from our spoken word events at Electric Picnic soon.

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Irish Times sports journalists Malachy Clerkin and Gavin Cummisky and thejournal.ie news editor Sinead O'Carroll (who got a taste of covering sport in Rio) discussed the hidden side of their envied trade at The Irish Times tent at Electric Picnic today. In this clip they talk about one of their biggest challenges: getting sports stars to say anything revealing. Check irishtimes.com for more from our spoken word events at Electric Picnic soon.

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