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In The News
In The News is a daily podcast from The Irish Times that takes a close look at the stories that matter, in Ireland and around the world. Hosted by Sorcha Pollak and Conor Pope.
Latest episode
Is Keir Starmer on the way out?
25:16|The Irish Times wants to hear listener feedback on our two news podcasts: In The News and Early Edition.This survey is open to anyone who has listened to either In The News or Early Edition – whether you listen regularly, occasionally, or have listened in the past.On Monday, British prime minister Keir Starmer survived a day that could have ended his political career. The momentum against him had grown from Westminster whispers to the leader of Scottish Labour Anas Sarwar coming straight out and calling for him to step down. The release of the Epstein Files - which showed deeply damaging evidence against Starmer’s ambassadorial appointment to Washington, Peter Mandelson - was the excuse for the move against the prime minister, not the cause. His party has deep divisions. But Starmer rallied his party who publicly pledged support.So he has survived – for now. But as Irish Times London correspondent Mark Paul explains there are several pitfalls ahead that may prove fatal for his leadership. Coming up as key days in Starmer’s diary are the release of the so-called “Mandelson Files”; the byelection on February 26th in Manchester and most dangerous for him according to Paul, the Scottish and Welsh parliamentary elections on May 7th when Labour is expected to get an electoral drubbing. So if by the summer Starmer is forced out, what will it mean for Ireland and its relationship with the UK? And who might succeed him?Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan and Declan Conlon.
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What next for Enoch Burke?
20:10|Teacher Enoch Burke has been in and out of court – and of prison – over his refusal to stay away from the school he once worked for.His legal challenges have clogged up the courts, but he is also involved in another process – an appeal against his dismissal before a disciplinary appeal panel.Last month that panel fell apart when two of its three members stood down. But the courts need the disciplinary panel to finish its work before Burke’s case can be resolved.So how is this new delay being viewed by the lawyers attempting to bring this long running saga to an end?And how does the panel work? What is the holdup and why has their been two panels so far with a third one now likely?Irish Times legal affairs correspondent Mary Carolan explains this new twist in the Enoch Burke affair.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Declan Conlon and Suzanne Brennan.The Irish Times wants to hear listener feedback on our two news podcasts: In The News and Early Edition.This survey is open to anyone who has listened to either In The News or Early Edition – whether you listen regularly, occasionally, or have listened in the past.The son of killer dentist Colin Howell tells his story
27:29|On the night of his second birthday in May 1991, Seamus Daniel Howell’s mother Lesley was murdered by his father, Colin Howell, and his father’s lover, Hazel Stewart.The pair also killed Stewart’s husband Trevor Buchanan.They left the two bodies in a garage in Castlerock, Co Derry, staging the scene to make it look as if they had taken their own lives.The pair had committed the perfect murder so they could be together. And they had got away with it.That is until 2009 when Colin Howell, a respected dentist and devout evangelical Christian, walked into a police station out of the blue and confessed to the killings. He and Stewart were convicted of the murders and jailed for a minimum of 21 years and 18 years respectively.Seamus grew up being told that his mother had killed herself, until the truth came out. By then he was a medical student in England. Now a doctor in New York he tells In the News what it was like growing up in the Howell house and how his discovered that his father was a murderer. He explains how it impacted on his life, and how it has made him acutely aware of injustice which now for him includes advocating for Palestine.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Aideen Finnegan and Suzanne Brennan.The Irish Times wants to hear listener feedback on our two news podcasts: In The News and Early Edition.This survey is open to anyone who has listened to either In The News or Early Edition - whether you listen regularly, occasionally, or have listened in the past.Could an Irish restaurant finally win the ultimate prize?
26:21|There’s a rough rule of thumb when it comes to paying to dine at a Michelin-starred restaurant: stars cost around €100 each. That’s according to Irish Times restaurant reviewer Corinna Hardgrave, who explains what it takes for a restaurant to win a Michelin star and what it means for them when they do.Ireland has 18 one-star and five two-star restaurants – but no three stars.For the first time the Michelin Guide is holding its awards ceremony in Dublin, on Monday, and Hardgrave gives her predictions on who might get a new star and who might be awarded an extra one. However she says nothing is predictable with the highly secretive Michelin.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by John Casey.The Irish Times wants to hear listener feedback on our two news podcasts: In The News and Early Edition.This survey is open to anyone who has listened to either In The News or Early Edition - whether you listen regularly, occasionally, or have listened in the past.Epstein files: What’s in the latest release and what’s missing?
23:46|The US justice department has made public more than three million pages of records related to the late financier Jeffrey Epstein - and the fallout has dominated global headlines.Much of the content was redacted, sparking accusations of a cover-up designed to protect US president Donald Trump, although authorities claim they were protecting victims.Just what is contained in them – and who is named or seen in the emails and videos – is slowly emerging as reporters sift through the vast data dump.What is clear is that Epstein was a trafficker and abuser of children and young women and that he maintained a transactional friendship with wealthy and influential men. The emails reveal a pattern of disgusting misogyny and depravity.Academic and political commentator Scott Lucas explains the timing of the data release and what’s next.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan.‘Melania’: grift and greed on the big screen
25:26|‘Melania’, the documentary about US first lady Melania Trump, took in an estimated $7m when it hit US cinema screens at the weekend making it the highest debut by a non-music documentary or concert film in more than a decade. These are the sort of figures other documentaries can only dream of, so it’s a hit? Far from it says Irish Times journalist Hugh Linehan who points out that it cost Amazon $45 million to make plus a reported $35 million in marketing costs so financially it makes no sense. And critically? Well “boring” is probably the nicest thing reviewers have said. Over nearly two hours it reveals very little about the former Slovenian model other than she wears nice clothes and even nicer shoes. For Linehan, it’s a classic Trump family grift, this time with Melania making the money. She is expected to be paid $28 million for the documentary which charts the 20 days in the lead-up to her husband’s 2025 inauguration. Presented by Bernice Harrison.Bruna Fonseca’s life and death: Inside the Cork murder trial
23:15|“I don’t love you and I can’t be with someone out of pity,” Bruna Fonseca (28), a Brazilian woman living in Cork, texted her ex-boyfriend Miller Pacheco (32) on December 18th, 2022.Two weeks later, on New Year’s Day, 2023, gardaí would discover her body in Pacheco’s apartment. She had been strangled.At Pacheco’s trial for her murder at the Central Criminal Court in Cork, this and many other texts, voice messages and recorded conversations were read out in court.As Irish Times Southern correspondent Barry Roche who attended the trial explains, they paint a picture of an angry man, full of self-pity, who could not accept that his former girlfriend who he had followed to Ireland from their native Brazil no longer wanted to be in a relationship with him.He put forward a plea of self-defence but the evidence proved otherwise and he was found guilty of her murder. On January 23rd last he was sentenced to life in prison. Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan.