Highlights From Moncrieff

Hollywood movie Director Chris Columbus has revealed this week that he would like to digitally remove Donald Trump from Home Alone 2. But, is there a precedent for removing certain scenes from films, years after they’ve been released?Joining Tom Dunne to discuss is Brian Lloyd, Film Critic and Movies & Booze Panelist…

A new adventure challenge that has been popularised over the past few years is called ‘Straight Line Missioning’, and requires participants to travel over long distances, as the crow flies, so to speak. But, how does it work?Joining Tom Dunne to discuss is Adventurer and YouTuber, Tom Davies…Image: @GeoWizard on YouTube

Most of us probably don’t have to scroll far down our social media feeds to find something about the war in Gaza or Ukraine, or perhaps Sudan or Yemen. Raising awareness of the suffering of others is, of course, a good thing, but a new type of activism has emerged that perhaps isn’t quite as constructive.Jennifer Horgan is a Columnist with the Irish Examiner and she’s been writing about the prevalence of “guiltivism”. She joins Tom Dunne to discuss.

The Thermomix is a state-of-the-art kitchen companion that offers to make life easier in the kitchen. But at almost €1,500, the efficiency, creativity and convenience it promises come at a hefty price. Lidl have recently introduced a more pocket friendly version, but is it any good?Digital Journalist with the Irish Times Niamh Browne spent a week with Monsieur Cuisine Smart and she joins Tom Dunne to discuss how she got on.

The story of Irish Captain James Fitzmaurice from Laois, who piloted the first east-west Atlantic crossing in April 1928, is a fascinating one.Joining Tom Dunne to discuss the background of this achievement is Dr Patrick McGarty, Senior Lecturer in Public Policy at Munster Technological University.

If you’ve ever fancied seeing film classics such as ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ & ’Ryan’s Daughter’ in their full wide-screen glory, The Irish Film Institute is offering you the opportunity to do so. They are holding a 2-month, 16-film celebration of ’The Films of David Lean’ this April and May.Dr Ruth Barton is a Professor of Film Studies in Trinity College, and joins Seán to discuss.

For some people, sitting down to watch TV is the most relaxing thing, but now millions of people are taking this one step further and embracing a trend called ‘Slow TV’.And this week, ‘The Great Moose Migration’ from Sweden is proving to be wildly popular with viewers across the world tuning in to the livestream to see how the moose are getting on in Northern Sweden.Stefan Edlund is the Producer on this project and joins Tom Dunne to tell more.

A new sculpture of Gerry Adams is currently on exhibit at the Kilkenny Portrait Show. But, how do you go about creating the likeness of a living person in clay? It turns out the process of making a bust of someone is almost as interesting as the product itself!Joining Tom Dunne to discuss is Sculptor Aidan Harte…Image: @HarteAidan on Twitter

In this country we are only too familiar with the problems that can occur when someone draws a new line on the map between two nations, but ours is far from the only complicated border in Europe.Lewis Baston has walked many of them for his book ‘Borderlines: A History of Europe in 29 Borders’ and joins Tom Dunne to discuss.Image: Hodder & Stoughton

What makes a winning cat?Over one hundred cats took part in the GCCFI Supreme Cat Show on Sunday, but only one cat was crowned the overall winner and that was five and a half year old Quevaga, a Maine Coon cat.Her owner, Claudia Wagner, joins Tom Dunne to tell more.Image: Friendly Ghosts

Do you find conversations boring to the point that you are constantly reaching for your phone?Research shows that within two minutes of chatting Gen Z are bored and turning to their phones for entertainment.But are we all as bad as each other?Journalist with the Irish Independent, Saoirse Hanley, joins us now…

As European nations rearm at a rate not seen since the Cold War, one commentator believes that a more insidious actor needs to be addressed first: the algorithms pushing egregious content on social media platforms.Joining guest host Tom Dunne to discuss this is Dr Johnny Ryan, Director of Enforce, a unit of the Irish Council for Civil Liberties.

If you’ve been lucky enough to visit Newgrange, you can attest to the fact that it’s a pretty impressive structure - so you can imagine just how impressive it was when first constructed over 5000 years ago.Accordingly, it has often been assumed that those who were buried there were part of some sort of ruling class, but new research from UCD suggests that rather than being a grave for an elite family, the tomb was a social hub for the people, frequented by travellers coming from as far away as Sligo.Dr Neil Carlin is a Lecturer in the School of Archaeology at UCD who was involved in the research. He joins guest host Tom Dunne to discuss.

More and more middle-aged Irish men are investigating the possibility of testosterone therapy, motivated by social media and podcasters such as Joe Rogan. But, can it work?Joining Tom Dunne to discuss is Dr. Emmet Byrne, a GP with a special interest in men’s health, based at the Optiman Clinic in Bray…

While there has been a rise in interest in employees bringing their dogs to the office, should workplaces have a pet policy in place to ensure that everything runs smoothly?Joining guest host Tom Dunne to discuss is Stephanie Rousseau, Dog Behaviour Consultant, Founder of Happy Office Dogs and author of ‘Office Dogs: The Manual’...

How should workplaces manage when an employee has been bereaved, and what supports should be in place to allow those in mourning to deal with their work-life balance?Niamh Finucane is the Coordinator of Social Work and Bereavement Services at St Francis Hospice in Dublin’s Raheny and Blanchardstown, and joins guest host Tom Dunne to discuss.

He finally did it!Rory McIlroy completed a career grand slam in Augusta after coming out victorious in the Masters after a nail-biting play off.But what kind of mental toughness did the golfer need to find to finally secure the win that has been elusive in his rollercoaster career?Sports Psychologist and Lecturer in TUD, Dr Stephen McIvor, joins guest host Tom Dunne to weigh in.Image: Reuters

By choosing his groceries very carefully, and scanning them in a certain order at the supermarket till, a man has managed to get a perfectly alphabetical shopping receipt.Joining Seán to discuss is shopper Graeme Bowman.

What’s the last record you bought?And do you own a vinyl record player?Taylor Swift is once again proving to be the most popular artist of her generation with three of the top ten best-selling vinyl albums of the last decade being released by the pop superstar.So with World Record Store Day tomorrow, what is driving the surge in vinyl?Music Journalist Louise Bruton joins Seán to discuss.

An unhoused Irish-American man is currently running for Mayor of Seattle, in order to raise awareness of the significant housing issues facing the population of the Pacific NorthWest.Joining Seán to discuss is Mayoral Candidate, Joe Molloy…Image: Amy Radil