Highlights From Moncrieff

Michelle Lawlor, Brian Lloyd and Fionnuala Jones join Moncrieff for your weekly dose of wine, film, and showbiz. This week it's F1: The Movie, Ran — Akira Kurosawa’s epic retelling of King Lear with wines from the Penedès region of Spain — including Pardas 'Negre Franc' and Maria Casanovas Cava Gran Reserva.Plus; Beyoncé in Paris, celebrity break-ups, and other weekend streaming picks.Listen here.

Mark Greenhill, Mayor of the Blue Mountains in Australia, joins Moncrieff to explain how robotic cats are being used in the Blue Mountains library — offering comfort and companionship to dementia patients, and helping kids stay calm in cases of anxiety.A novel solution to help with loneliness and isolation too, could we see it rolled out elsewhere?Listen here.

With Wimbledon just around the corner, former amateur tennis player Liam Hoctor joins Moncrieff to relive an epic 55-hour tennis marathon in Tullamore Tennis Club.Listen here

Jen Sheahan, former Home of the Year winner and columnist with the Irish Examiner, joins Moncrieff with practical and aesthetic advice on adding an outdoor shower to your home.Could this be a new trend taking over in the coming years? Get your dos and don'ts here.

Francis Nesbitt, joins Moncrieff to share stories from being a best man five times — the pressure, the speeches, the stag dos (and don'ts)Get all the inside knowledge here.

Nick Davis, neuroscientist and psychologist at Manchester Metropolitan University, joins Moncrieff to explain why our fingers get wrinkly in water — and why it might actually be a useful evolutionary trick.Listen here

Fiona Staunton, Director of Early Onset Parkinson’s Disease Ireland, joins Moncrieff to argue why younger people with early onset or chronic illness need specialised housing and care, not placement in nursing homes alongside the elderly.People as young as 30 are being placed in nursing homes where the needs of their illnesses are not being met.Listen here.

Declan Buckley and Barbara Scully join Moncrieff to tackle your adult dilemmas.From a 'too' secretive partner to a new man that announces himself "too loudly" in the group -- so to speak.Listen here.

Has Ireland's love for pets has gone too far?With insights from pet owners, kids, a vet and even a pet bonding specialist, NewsTalk's Henry McKean reports on if our obsession with animals is bordering on 'too much.'Listen here

Dr Ciaran Feighan, civil engineer and consultant with Pavement Management Services Ltd. joins Moncrieff to explain how potholes really form, why Ireland struggles with them, and what we should be doing differently to maintain our roads.Listen here

Author Colum McCann, joins Moncrieff to talk about his latest book American Mother -- the true story of a woman whose life was transformed by grief and forgiveness in the aftermath of her son’s murder.The novel is now being turned into an opera and joins Moncrieff to tell the story.Listen here

How does the brain perceive a situation which is new to us? A newly-released book explores how the mind fills in the gaps.Joining Seán to discuss is Daniel Yon, Director of the Uncertainty Lab at Birkbeck University in London and author of ‘A Trick of the Mind: How the Brain Invents Your Reality’...Image: Cornerstone Press

According to an Al Jazeera report, Ireland is the second biggest importer of Israeli products.And, with the Tánaiste bringing the outline of the Occupied Territories Bill to Cabinet yesterday, is our government's talk over Israeli actions in Gaza at odds with our actual economic relationship with the country?Joining Seán to discuss is Dr. Patrick Brodie, Assistant Professor at the School of Information and Communication Studies at UCD.Image: Reuters

The chances of an asteroid hitting the Moon in 2032 have been ratcheted upwards as new data becomes available.Joining Seán to discuss this is Space Commentator, Leo Enright…

Given recent events and the bombing of Iran by Israel and the United States, we can have a tendency to let headlines dominate our perception of these countries and their people.Tomás Mac an t-Saoir is a touring cyclist who has cycled all around the world.Last year he cycled around Iran and found the experience profoundly insightful.He joins Seán to discuss.

How often do you hear the words "I love you"? Previously heard in a more romantic context, it seems to be used more and more in daily life, and is it losing meaning because of that?Joining Seán to discuss is Céire Sadlier, Contributor to the Irish Times.

Would you take an AI tour of Dublin? What even is that, and is it any good compared to having a real tour guide?Joining Seán to discuss is Liam Coates, Local Democracy Reporter with the Irish Independent.

While us humans are busy plastering on the suncream when the weather is good, spare a thought for our bovine friends who are just as vulnerable.Joining Seán to discuss this is Eamon O’Connell, Vet at Summerhill Vet Clinic in Nenagh and Columnist with the Farming Independent…

In light of the recent successful defamation case against the online gossip site Tattle Life, the owner of the site has finally been revealed. But, what effect has it had on the people it targeted?Journalist Aoife Moore has been covering the story, and has herself been a victim of abuse on the site. She joins Séan to discuss…

When you think of America, you generally think of bigger, louder and more brash - and such is the case often when we reflect on US cuisine; super-sized burgers, stacks of waffles dripping in maple syrup and adorned by battered and deep-fried buffalo chicken strips. But, what really is the staple food of our US cousins, and how much of it is influenced by immigrant cultures?Felicity Cloake, is a foodwriter and author of the book, ‘Peach Street to Lobster Lane: Coast to Coast in Search of American Cuisine’. She joins Seán to discuss.