In The News

Democrats have swept key US midterm races, flipping long-held Republican seats and securing a majority in the House and Senate. The results are a wipeout for president Donald Trump’s Republican party and a rejection of his policies.As formally red states fell to the Democrats, it’s been called a blue wave or a “bluenami” but what will it mean for how the US is governed in the next two years? How will US foreign policy be impacted? And what might it mean for the next presidential election?Scott Lucas, professor of international politics at UCD’s Clinton Institute, explains.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Declan Conlon and Andrew McNair.

On Monday, hackers launched a cyberattack on SuperValu stores, remotely changing the temperature settings in fridges and freezer units in 13 branches.The immediate result was the mass dumping of tens of thousands of euro worth of food as the retailer sought to protect the public from potentially spoiled goods.The broader impact – and one that will prove longer lasting – is the knowledge that no one is immune. With what seems like relatively little effort, hackers can hit us where we are most vulnerable: our food supplies.The hack appears limited to a specific model of fridge but it is part of a growing, terrifying pattern. Reports of similar incidents at supermarkets throughout Europe emerged on Monday, with overheating fridges in Sweden, Belgium, Luxembourg, Finland and Estonia ruining millions of euro worth of food.A hack on some French supermarkets took place last month and in the US in August the Pentagon believe hackers shut down fridges in six US military bases.So who are the hackers? And why target supermarket shelves? And in a world of appliance connectivity how worried should people be that the next hack could be even closer to home?Irish Times business and technology reporter Ciara O’Brien and business reporter Ian Curran explain.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan.

Voting is underway in the US midterm elections, the results of which will decide which party controls Congress, and whether Donald Trump can advance his agenda for the remaining two years of his presidency. Democrats are expected to flip the House of Representatives but the Senate race is much tighter. Host of the Inside Politics podcast Hugh Linehan explains the outcome is likely to hinge on eight seats: Alaska, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, New Hampshire, Ohio and Texas. Some of these haven’t elected a statewide Democratic senator in decades. In the case of Kansas, it hasn’t returned one since 1932. But with voting booths closing at around 11pm Irish time, the results probably won’t be known until Wednesday morning. Linehan outlines what the polls have been saying, what the biggest dramas of the campaigns have been and when we might expect the first tallies. You can listen to the conversation on the player above or search for In the News wherever you get your podcasts.Presented by Aideen Finnegan. Produced by Declan Conlon.

Before her running career was cruelly cut short, Ciara Mageean managed to break the Irish record for the 800 metres, 1000 metres, 1500 metres, and the mile; all records that had previously been held by Sonia O’Sullivan.But in a life absurdly extinguished by bowel cancer at the age of 34, Mageean is remembered as having “grace, wit and a fundamental beauty of the soul” by Irish Times sports writer Malachy Clerkin.“You can kind of assume that people know, just take it for granted that she was this amazing athlete. And because the force of her personality and the sort of the special human that she was, [that] kind of takes precedence.”Clerkin tells the In the News podcast that Mageean was an outlier in every sense. Not just because of her athletic prowess, but in her mindset, her compassion for other people, and sadly in the fact she had almost none of the known risk factors for bowel cancer.“She has no family history. She was an incredibly fit and healthy human being. Her diet was - like she had a nutritionist for over a decade.”Mageean died on Sunday morning surrounded by family and friends. She is survived by her husband Thomas Moran, who she married in October and who’s wedding they celebrated just a week before her death.You can listen to the conversation on the player above or search for In the News wherever you get your podcasts.Presented by Aideen Finnegan. Produced by John Casey.

Last week, the EU’s Energy Commissioner, Dan Jorgensøn, warned that Europeans could be facing another winter of painfully high energy bills. The commissioner delivered this stark warning ahead of a meeting with other EU ministers, aimed at reducing fuel and energy bills for consumers.But as winter rapidly approaches, is enough being done by policy makers to really make a difference? And what will it mean for our energy and gas bills or the cost of running a car? To find out what to expect in the months ahead, Irish Times consumer affairs correspondent Conor Pope joins podcast presenter Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan

Defying pre-election predictions, and even exit polls, Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud and his right-wing ultra nationalist bloc is set to have the biggest number of seats in the 120 seat Knesset but will not reach a majority.In this week’s Israel election, with few votes yet to be counted, he has 54 seats, while newcomer Gadi Eisenkot’s opposition bloc has 49.Neither is on track to reach the 61 seats needed for a majority government.But post-election negotiations to create a coalition are the norm in Israel – no party has ever won a majority – and there is a bloc of seats that would get either party over the line. Arab parties have won an unprecedented 17 seats following a surge in voting.In many other countries, as coalition horse trading commences, they would now be kingmakers.But both Netanyahu and Eisenkot made it a firm pre-election promise that they wouldn’t go into coalition with an Arab party so does that make an election re-rerun inevitable and who would that suit?Why was there an historically large turnout? Why were the polls so wrong about Netanyahu’s prospects? And what difference would it make to the world if either Netanyahu or Eisenkot were able to cobble together a new government for Isreal?Mark Weiss reports from Jerusalem.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by John Casey.

Liberty Recycling is a well-known Irish charity associated with second-hand clothes and the bulk export of rags, not luxury goods.But all that changed last week when the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau revealed that it had carried out raids on several premises associated with people involved with the charity and seized Rolex watches, jewellery, luxury cars and Louis Vuitton handbags.It emerged that the raids were part of an extensive investigation into allegations of money laundering at the Dublin-headquartered charity.The long-established social enterprise, founded to help former addicts enter employment, is big business. In 2024, the last year for which figures are available, its income from charity shop sales and the bulk export sale of textiles was €3.6 million.With its accounts now frozen, the High Court on Tuesday appointed a provisional liquidator in an effort to keep the business going and secure the jobs, at least in the short term, of its more than 60 employees.Now, as Irish Times crime and security editor Conor Lally explains, a criminal investigation into the alleged misappropriation of funds held by the charity is expected to involve arrests.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan.

It’s been a week of dramatic electoral upsets that show that right-wing waves moving across Latin America and Europe can be stopped.Lula’s dramatic comeback to win Sunday’s presidential election in Brazil has put a halt to the right-wing advance across Latin America. At the same time in Serbia, what started as a student protest against corruption, became a political force capable of toppling Aleksandar Vucic in a parliamentary election.Both wins offer lessons to progressive movements around the world, changing a growing narrative that a tilt to the right is inevitable.But what are those lessons? How did Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva come from behind in the first round of Brazil’s elections to put paid to Jair Bolsonaro’s ambitions and how did student protesters in Serbia manage in a few years to turn angry street protests into a cool and effective political machine capable of toppling the long-time incumbent?Denis Staunton, author of The Irish Times Global Briefing newsletter, explains.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Declan Conlon.

On the morning of Monday, March 31st, 2003, a woman answered the door of her house in south Dublin. A man purporting to work as a TV technician was standing on the doorstep. The attack that followed shocked the city and prompted a lengthy Garda investigation. But it has remained unsolved.Earlier this month, a man was arrested and charged with rape, aggravated burglary and false imprisonment.Conor Lally covered the story in 2003. He tells Aideen Finnegan about what was reported about these events at the time and what we know about the new case.