Highlights From Moncrieff

According to Grindr’s end of year ‘Unwrapped’ data, Ireland has the highest percentage of bears in the world. No, not the ones that eat honey.Joining Seán to discuss is Neal O’Hara, Chairman of Dublin Bears!

Seán is joined by one of Ireland’s most influential poets, Paula Meehan. With a career spanning decades, Paula’s work has consistently explored themes of home, belonging, and marginalisation, speaking for those often left unheard.Born in Dublin, she grew up in the tenements and has used her poetry to give voice to the dispossessed.Paula is speaking at Other Voices, held in the Guiness storehouse on Tuesday the 16th of December: an evening of songs, stories and spoken word, all curated around the theme of ‘Home’.

Christmas time wouldn’t be complete without the festive shop window displays. Seán’s guest’s grandfather led the design and construction of Gimbel’s Christmas window displays in the 1940s. The department store has become a hallmark of the holiday season, featured in classics like ‘Elf’, and ‘Miracle on 34th Street'.Emer Roche joins to discuss!

A group of locals on Valentia Island are seeking permission to refurbish the old First Message Building and Cable Station in order to strengthen their case for it to be a UNESCO World Heritage site.Lucian Horvat, from the Valentia Island Development Company, joins to discuss.

According to a piece in the Huffington Post, American tourists can be spotted abroad because they are the ones scoffing at their food and not sitting down to relax while enjoying a meal in a restaurant...But, are we as bad here, are we all wolfing down our food way too fast?Registered Dietician Aoife Quinn joins Seán to discuss.

As energy prices continue to rise and questions are raised over energy supply, it’s being wondered if Ireland should explore nuclear power. To discuss this, Seán is joined by Co-Founder of 18 for 0, Denis Duff, and Barrister and Environmental Campaigner, Neil McCann.

Is it better to get no present than to get a bad one? What's the drama behind Kris Kindle?Henry McKean has been asking the public about the politics of gift giving, and joins Seán to discuss.

Author Glenn Kurtz is out with a brand-new book chronicling the lives of the men who built the Empire State Building: ‘Men at Work: The Empire State Building and the Untold Story of the Craftsmen who Built It’.He joins Seán to discuss!

With drink-spiking incidents expected to rise over the Christmas party season, the Government is considering new hospital testing protocols. Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan says talks with the Health Minister will focus on ensuring suspected cases are quickly identified, tested, and properly investigated.Joining Seán to discuss this is Dola Twomey of Safe Gigs Ireland.

When was the last time you backed up your data?New research shows that the majority of small businesses in Ireland don’t have any plan in place to avoid or deal with a cyberhack, and with all of us booking GP and hair appointments online, should we be worried? Dr Hazel Murray, Chair of Cybersecurity at Munster Technical University, joins Seán to discuss.

Fianna Fáil TD, Peter ‘Chap’ Cleere, joins Seán to discuss his new proposal to give 18-year-olds access to a ‘culture card’, allowing them to spend €100 on cultural and sporting events.

Eileen Harkin has fostered 27 children so far. This remarkable woman became involved in foster care as a child, when her own mother began taking in children. Eileen joins Seán to tell more about her experience.

Renewed fighting on the Cambodian-Thai border has displaced thousands and shut down schools in some of Cambodia’s poorest provinces. Irish development workers warn that the unrest threatens decades of progress, and the education of the country’s most vulnerable children…Colm Byrne, CEO of Irish-Cambodian education development NGO, SeeBeyondBorders Ireland and former teacher from Portmarnock joins Seán to discuss.Image: Reuters

There are now a number of organisations across Ireland providing professional Christmas tree styling services. But, how does it work?Joining guest host Fionnuala Jones to discuss is Arlene McIntyre, Creative Director of Ventura Design in Dublin…

Bobbie Hickey is fully blind, and she has been writing about the simple things that make the world more accessible, and actually improve things for all of us whether you’ve got additional needs or not, like dipped curbs on pavements...Yesterday, she had surgery to begin the process of receiving an artificial eye…She joins Seán from hospital to discuss.

Have young people’s addiction to their phone gone too far? As Australia prepares to remove access to social media for anyone under the age of 16, several countries are reckoning with dangers of unsupervised internet access. Thus, the ‘Smartphone Free Childhood Ireland’ association was born. Starter phones, location tracking devices and even landlines, anything goes to stall the arrival of the smartphone into their lives.Dave Corkery, Marketer, Podcaster and member of Smartphone Free Childhood Ireland has yet to introduce his children to smartphones and welcomes this new movement. He joins Seán to discuss.

Irish dance halls have been a cornerstone of social life, bringing communities together and sometimes sparking generational debate.The 1935 Public Dance Hall Act formalised these spaces, placing them under state and Church oversight.In Donegal, Edwina Guckian’s ‘The Devil’s in the Dancehall’ brings this history to life, blending theatre with traditional dance and inviting audiences to take part in an immersive experience. She joins Seán to discuss.

Over the past year or two there has been an enormous increase in religious AI chatbots, some even taking on the role of an Almighty. But, what are the ethical implications of this type of technology?Joining Seán to discuss this is Dr. Lyndon Drake, a research fellow at the University of Oxford, who studies theological ethics and artificial intelligence…

The Director of the Heritage Foundation, the group responsible for much of Trump’s agenda, says in the Telegraph today “There’s sure as hell not going to be a return to old Republicanism…”So, is Trumpism here to stay? Or will the GOP revert to old-fashioned Republicanism once Trump leaves office in 2029?Joining Seán to discuss is Scott Lucas, Professor of International Politics at the Clinton Institute, University College Dublin.Image: Reuters

Where did the staple of modern Irish cuisine, the spice bag, come from? And, where is it going? Dr. John Mulcahy, from Technological University Dublin, School of Culinary Arts & Food Technology, joins guest host Fionnuala Jones to discuss!