In The News

2024 had the hottest March ever recorded. And it was the 10th month in a row to break its record.On one day in March, the Antarctic was 38.5 degrees warmer than the average. Climate change is a terrifying reality.Even if that heat measure proves to be an anomaly we’re still in big trouble – because of the level of emissions we pump into the atmosphere.As climatologist and director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies Gavin Schmidt tells In the News, we’re in uncharted waters because climate models can’t explain the huge heat anomaly in 2023 – and now 2024 with the impact of El Nino to be factored in, sure outcomes look even more difficult to predict.We’re on course for catastrophic warming, one way or the other, unless radical changes are made.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Declan Conlon.

Last weekend, the Amy Winehouse biopic ‘Back to Black’ jumped straight to the top of the Irish and UK box office. The release of the movie’s trailer earlier this year prompted immediate backlash from fans who argued the biopic had come too soon after the British singer’s death and risked exploiting her story.However, in reality, most of the viewing public just can’t seem to get enough of musical biopics. Following the success of Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody and the Elton John film Rocketman, studios are confident of a return-on-investment on these pictures. And audiences even love the satirical movies that mock the genre.The problem is, they can be tricky to get right. You need great acting, singing or miming – and clever storytelling if you’re diverging from the truth.Today, on In the News, Irish Times film correspondent Donald Clarke discusses why audiences love musical biopics and what separates a show-stopper from a bum note?Presented by Sorcha Pollak. Produced by Aideen Finnegan, Suzanne Brennan and John Casey.

The jury in the Stardust inquests has returned a verdict of unlawful killing in the cases of each of the 48 young people who died in the fire at the Artane nightclub 43 years ago.That means the survivors and the families of those who lost their lives have been vindicated in their long search for justice and accountability. But why did it take so long - and what happens next?We hear from Stardust families, who spoke to Aideen Finnegan just after the verdict was read out.And Irish Times social affairs correspondent Kitty Holland, who covered the inquest for the past year, talks about the meaning of the verdict and why this final official say on the tragedy was long coming.Presented by Aideen Finnegan and Sorcha Pollak. Produced by Declan Conlon and Aideen Finnegan.

In 2022 Paola Sanchez, wanting to check out men she met online, created a Facebook group called “Are We Dating the Same Guy”. Its sisterhood-fuelled goal was to create a private space where women could “empower each other and keep each other safe from dangerous and/or toxic men”.It quickly grew. Most US cities now have their own Are We Dating the Same Guy group and it has spread outside the US with a reported 3.5 million members in more than 200 groups sharing red flags about men. The group for Dublin has nearly 50,000 members.Lawsuits have followed with men claiming they have been defamed, and in the latest one, in LA, Stewart Lucas Murrey is suing more than 50 women saying they “conspired to harm [his] reputation”.Brittany Shammas and Marisa Iati, from The Washington Post, reported on the impact of the group; on some of the men featured, and on what happens when the rules of the group are broken.They tell In the News about the ongoing court cases and the value of such a site in a world where women report feeling frightened while engaging with online dating apps.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan.

On Monday, Taoiseach Simon Harris called a meeting the Road Safety Authority (RSA) to discuss the rising number of deaths on Irish roads.Mr Harris said road safety was a “top priority” and announced actions to crackdown on careless and dangerous driving and additional RSA funding.So far this year, sixty-three people have died in road accidents across the country, an increase of 14 on the same period last year.And while the RSA has welcomed the new 30 minute mandatory road safety policing directive, questions remain as to why road-related deaths are going in the wrong direction.Have Irish attitudes towards road safety and drink driving changed in recent years? And, is the RSA campaign aiming for no road-related deaths or serious injuries by 2050 actually achievable?Irish Times head of audience David Labanyi and reporter Mark Hilliard join the podcast to discuss the RSA’s legacy and the steps needed to make Irish roads safer.Presented by Sorcha Pollak.

A training manual provided to eir employees by parent company Eircom warned them that they would face disciplinary proceedings if they obeyed Irish laws covering customer complaints.The same manual also outlined a series of “trigger words” that would allow people calling the company with complaints to have their concerns dealt with in an expeditious fashion. If those words were not used, the concerns raised by customers frequently went nowhere.In a case taken against the company by the communications watchdog ComReg before Dublin District Court, the telecommunications company pleaded guilty to 10 breaches of the law related to its failures to acknowledge customer complaints, to provide a complaint response within 10 working days, and to provide an email address to progress a complaint after 10 working days. These are requirements of regulations governing the telecoms sector.But now eir says the documents were taken out of context and that ComReg made 'incorrect claims'. What is not in doubt is that customer mistreatment by telecoms companies is nothing new, says Consumer Affairs Correspondent Conor Pope.

In 2016 US diplomats in Cuba’s capital reported a range of mysterious symptoms that were soon experienced by colleagues in other parts of the world.Staff reported bloody noses, headaches, stomach issues, vision problems and hearing strange sounds. The phenomenon was quickly dubbed the Havana Syndrome and investigations began to try to ascertain its origin – or if it was a real illness at all.Now, a new report led by US TV investigative show 60 Minutes has said Russian intelligence is responsible, that it is a hybrid warfare tactic.The finding contradicts a US government report last year which suggested that the “anomalous health incidents” were not caused by an energy weapon or foreign enemy.Julian Borger, Guardian world affairs editor tells In the News how the latest report is being received in the US – and Moscow.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by John Casey.

In the most recent murder case where cannabis use was judged to be a factor, the court ruled that Diego Costa Silva killed his wife while in a state of cannabis-induced psychosis at their home in Finglas, Dublin on November 4th, 2021. A jury found him not guilty of Fabiola De Campos Silva’s murder, by reason of insanity. His was one of a number of murder cases to come before Irish courts in the past year where cannabis-use was judged to be a factor.Dr Colin O’Gara, head of addiction services at St John of God Hospital in Dublin, tells In the News about the dangers of new, more potent strains of cannabis, what is cannabis-induced psychosis and the link between use of the drug and existing mental health issues.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by John Casey.

In August two more sections of the quays in Dublin will become no-go areas for private cars. When the “bus gates” open on Aston Quay on the southside of the river, and Bachelor’s Walk on the northside, private cars will no longer be able to complete their journey from one of end of the city’s quays to the other. They are the first measures of the Dublin City Centre Transport Plan, which will restrict motorists driving “through” instead of “to” the city centre.Some knotty problems still need to be ironed out - most notably how will Diageo transport Guinness from where it is made at St James’s Gate to the port for export if it can’t use the straightest route down the quays. And what is a bus gate anyway? Are taxis allowed use them? And cyclists? Dublin Editor Olivia Kelly explains the plan - and how it is a key part of a strategy to make Dublin a move liveable city.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Aideen Finnegan.