IRELAND'S EDGE

The internet has become a very different place thanks to the rise of AI, with automated content, generative bots, and dynamic algorithms changing the nature of our online world. For many, 'artificial intelligence' is the route to a better future, but for others, it is a regulatory nightmare metastasizing toxic bias. So are new technologies improving our online world, or contributing to its 'enshittification', and how do their effects filter through to our offline real lives?

With nearly half the Irish population living within a few miles of the coast, rising sea levels and extreme weather are putting our coastal areas at risk. Both coastal erosion and urban flooding are increasing dangers for these communities, many of which also face challenges of economic and demographic sustainability.How can we prepare our coasts for the decades ahead?Featuring Martha Farrell, co-founder of the Maharees Conservation Association CLG, and Mary Bourke, Professor of Geomorphology at Trinity College Dublin, this episode considers how science can be utilised to support sustainable communities and prepare our coasts for the future.

As the horrors of the genocide in Palestine have unfolded, the reaction from policy-makers and the international community has not matched the will of ordinary people to respond. Humanitarian workers and activists have gone to extraordinary lengths to make a difference, but after decades of violence, many feel little hope for the prospects of peace and justice.As a country with a deep commitment to both peace and solidarity, how can we both bear witness to the suffering and further the cause of a just peace?In this week's episode of the podcast, we hear from Caoimhe Butterly, Human Rights Activist and Global Samud Flotilla Organiser, and Dr. Mohammed Abu Mughaisib, Deputy Medical Coordinator of Médecins Sans Frontières's operations in Palestine, both having devoted much of their lives to this cause as an activist and advocate and as a doctor and witness. We are deeply grateful to them for joining us in Dingle to share their experiences and perspectives with us.

In our age of ever-shorter attention spans, long-form reporting has become an endangered art. But some stories require months and years of investigation and thought to be told properly.Ed Caesar is a Staff Writer for The New Yorker Magazine, whose recent feature essay, ‘The Irishman’, offered the most in-depth look yet into Daniel Kinahan and his criminal empire. He has previously been named Journalist of the Year by the Foreign Press Association of London for his coverage of the civil war in the Central African Republic, alongside other investigations of diamonds, money laundering, and sinking ships, while his most recent book The Moth and the Mountain was a Telegraph Sports Book of the Year.He speaks with Christopher Kissane about the process and importance of deep reporting and long-form storytelling.

Host Christopher Kissane is joined by Aoife Gallagher (Institute for Strategic Dialogue, author of Web of Lies) and journalist Una Mullally (The Irish Times) to unpack the rise of far-right extremism and online disinformation in Ireland. From viral conspiracy theories to foreign interference and the 2023 Dublin riots, they explore how social media is fueling hate—and what can be done about it. Recorded live at Ireland’s Edge in Dingle.

Can Ireland’s newest national park protect the sea and the people who depend on it — or is conservation becoming a top-down photo op?Last year, the Irish government established Páirc Náisiúnta na Mara, Ciarraí (Kerry Marine National Park), a vast national park that includes many of West Kerry's most iconic locations—Mount Brandon, the Conor Pass, and a large stretch of ocean off the Kerry coast.While Ireland has been shamefully slow to protect its marine ecosystems, the creation of this park has raised concerns among fishing communities about the impact on their livelihoods and the lack of consultation in the planning process. So how do we strike a balance between conservation and community—and ensure this new national park is more than just a box-ticking photo op?Today, Chris is joined by three expert voices:Ella McSweeney, award-winning journalist and presenter of RTÉ’s Ear to the Ground. Her reporting for The Irish Times, The Guardian, and others has helped shape national conversations on farming, fishing, and the environment.Aodh Ó Domhnaill, CEO of the Irish Fish Producers Organisation and a veteran advocate for Ireland’s fishing industry, originally from Donegal.Olive Heffernan, award-winning marine science journalist and author of The High Seas: Ambition, Power and Greed on the Unclaimed Ocean.This episode was recorded live at Ireland’s Edge in Dingle