The Explainer

Another year coming to an end means another year of explanations to look back on. This week on The Explainer, presenter Laura Byrne takes a look back at what we've covered over the past 12 months, where our reporters and guests have demonstrated their eye for detail and ability to break down complex stories in a clear and easy-to-understand way. That ranges from Israel's attacks on Lebanon to gender controversies in the Olympics — and even a fake parade in Dublin, which duped hundreds.Thanks to all our listeners over the past year. If you have any feedback on the podcast, drop our producer Nicky an email on nicky@thejournal.ie.

Counselling psychologist and lecturer in TU Dublin Leslie Shoemaker joins us to examine how we can make this busy time of the year less of a handful. What are the best ways of taking some of the pressure off yourself? How do you navigate around those tricky family tensions? And how can parents manage the expectations of children?

Homes built near the sea have always been at risk as coastlines moves closer and closer — and in our warming climate, rising sea levels will become an increasing reality. The Journal Investigates has examined the scale of this in Ireland, revealing that the number of homes at risk of falling into the sea due to coastal erosion has increased 173% in just five years. Reporter Patricia Devlin joins us to look at why the numbers are increasing at such speed, and what can be done.To read the full report and to find out more about how to support this type of investigative journalism, click here.

Dr Cara Augustenborg, assistant professor in Environmental Policy at UCD, joins us to look at the fallout from the Green Party's collapse in the 2024 general election. Roderic O'Gorman survived as the party's sole TD in the Dáil. How did this happen to a party when the climate is at the forefront of so many people's minds? Which party is best placed to fill that void and take the action that is needed? And why don't we see more parties which focus on climate and environmental issues?

With the 2024 general election just around the corner, we're revisiting a valuable episode from earlier this year: Virgin Media's political correspondent Gavan Reilly sits down with us to explain what exactly proportional representation with a single transferable vote (PR-STV) is all about. Do you need to give a preference to every candidate listed on a ballot paper? How and when do preferences beyond your first come into play? How do transfers work, and what is the quota?

It's now more than 1,000 days after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and there are signs that the conflict is taking on a new dimension. The use of Western-supplied long-range missiles by Ukraine on targets within Russia led to renewed sabre-rattling from Vladimir Putin, sparking questions over whether Moscow could consider using nuclear weapons. But how much has actually changed on the ground? What are North Korean troops doing? And is just endgame, and we're counting down to some compromise? To examine all this, Laura Byrne is joined by Donnacha Ó Beacháin, professor of politics at Dublin City University.

After weeks of what felt like endless speculation, the Taoiseach Simon Harris finally put us out of our misery last week (with a bit of a jump on him by Micheál Martin) and announced that the election will take place on Friday 29 November. Since then, the posters went up in jig time and every party has been out campaigning with gusto. There’s not a baby not kissed or a chance to jive missed since last week. We're joined by Dr Brendan Flynn, assistant professor and head of discipline in Political Science at the University of Galway, to look at what can we expect between now and the vote itself, what the polls are telling us, and when we might have a new government.

You likely saw the images from Dublin city centre last week: hundreds of people lining O’Connell Street on Halloween night, all eagerly awaiting a promised parade. It soon became apparent that something was amiss… there was no parade and these people had been duped by online misinformation. The Journal’s FactCheck Editor Stephen McDermott joins us to examine how this happened, and how the rise of 'AI slop' has created a breeding ground for this type of content.