Taking Stock

This week on Taking Stock Mandy Johnston is joined by the author and financial journalist Philip Coggan who has just written a new book called Surviving the Daily Grind’ and he’ll give us all the tips on how to get through your working week. Twitter is back in the headlines as a whistle-blower emerges and Elon Musk is still creating impossible levels of drama for the company. Mandy talks to the technology correspondent with the Guardian Kari Paul Comeback Kings – Dara Calleary is back in Government. But who else has made it back from the political wilderness in Irish politics? Journalist John Downing chats some of the great comebacks.

This week on Taking Stock Mandy Johnston analyses what was left in the wake of the departure of Ulster Bank and KBC and is joined by Sean Keyes from the Currency who takes a deep-dive into the state of Ireland’s Banking Sector. As Dublin Airport opened its third runway The Shannon Airport Group had a big rebrand this week and Mandy talks to CEO Mary Considine about the possibility for Shannon in a post-Covid economy Hope or hype? This week the Tánaiste said it will be about a decade before Hydrogen energy is a fuel source in Ireland. Mandy is joined by Hydrogen Ireland to give us their view on how long it will be before expectations meet reality

How does a novel set in 1860s, and published in the 1930s relate to America in 2022? This week on Taking Stock Mandy Johnson talks to author Sarah Churchwell about her new book ‘The Wrath to Come’ which looks at the mythmaking that sprung up following the Civil War right through to the current debates about racism and the far right in the United States. Just how many people find feedback in the workplace helpful, and does it work? Mandy talks to The Deputy Editor of the Financial Times Magazine, Esther Bintliff. And Mandy chats to Tax Expert Marian Ryan of 'Taxback' about what a new 30% Tax Band would mean for people and politics.

This week on Taking Stock Mandy explores the complexities of university life both inside and outside of the lecture hall by getting the perspective of those that run our third-level institutions, as well as those that study there. Mandy speaks with Ciarán Ó hÓgartaigh, President of Galway University to get his insights into the Irish University landscape as a whole. Dr. Declan Raftery, Chief Operations Officer at Dublin City University, and Lewis Purser, Director of Teaching, Learning, and Academic Affairs from the Irish Universities Association, discuss the key issues facing universities going into the next academic year. Míde Nic Fhionnlaoich, who is graduating from UCD in September and studied law and Social Justice, as well as Aisling Maloney, who just finished her first year at UCD, join Mandy to give their perspective on what being a university student in Ireland is like in 2022.

A new report by PwC looks into whether old media is on the way out as the competition for our attention sends advertisers over the top and into the palms of our hands. Brianna Parkins of TheJournal.ie and Conor Forde, Director of Technology, Media, and Telecommunications at PwC join Mandy to discuss. Taking a sabbatical from work? Author of 'Radical Sabbatical', Emma Rosen joins Mandy to explain why more people are taking time out to find the answers to deeper career questions. And, the President of Italian soccer’s league Serie A, Lorenzo Casini, joins Mandy to explain exactly why there is a huge flood of international investors into Italian Football Clubs at the minute.

This week on Taking Stock Mandy Johnston talks to Sabah Meddings of the Sunday Times about the history of Starbucks and why it’s rumoured that it may be selling up its UK operation. Mandy is also joined by Thomas Hubert of the Currency who tells us how Multinationals here in Ireland are starting to prepare for the change in Corporation Tax Plus Mandy is joined by Professor John Doyle of DCU and by Senator Mark Daly to look at the possible costs of Irish Unification.

This week on Taking Stock Mandy Johnston discusses the dichotomy of dealing with climate change during a global energy war with Prof Michael Grubb from ULC in London Have you ever thought about getting in on ‘crypto’? The online currency is a risky business, but Sean Keyes from the Currency tells us all about it – and why investing in it is not for the faint-hearted. Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi has resigned, throwing Italy into political chaos. What might it also mean for the EU? Mandy discusses who is to blame for the resignation with Hugo McCafferty an Irish journalist based in Italy

As the Euro fell below parity with the dollar for the first time in twenty years on this week’s Taking Stock Mandy Johnston talks to Cliff Taylor of the Irish Times about what that means for the ECB’s approach to raising interests’ rates. Commercial property in Ireland has bounced back to almost pre-Covid levels. Shane Duffy of Savills explains exactly why commercial and office space in Ireland is still in high demand - despite all of the fundamental changes to our working lives. Plus Mandy looks at QAnon; the strange and subterranean group and why after two years of silence Q is back. Mandy talks to Margi Murphy from Bloomberg and Larry Donnelly Law Lecturer in NUI Galway

This week the massive spike in the rate of inflation has meant the Government has had to revise its plans for Budget 2023. Their own spending guidelines have now been set aside –– and it is clear that the budget will involve a big increase in spending. But is pumping so much into the economy at a time of such high inflation the right thing to do? This week on Taking Stock Mandy Johnston will be asking economist Austin Hughes for his views. Mandy is also joined by ICTU General Secretary Patricia King to look at union membership here in Ireland and around the world in a time of great change and uncertainty for workers. Plus following the strangest week in UK Politics Mandy talks to Political Commentator Will Hutton about how it all finally went wrong for Boris.

Concerns for Ireland’s energy security gather apace with some ominous reports this week that Britain may stop supplying gas to mainland Europe if the country is hit by extreme shortages in the coming months and this week on Taking Stock Mandy Johnston will be discussing the potential implications of this and the wider issues with Paul Deane from UCC & Mark Varian, Chair of the Energy & Environment Committee with the British Irish Chamber of Commerce. PwC has called for greater clarity on new rules that oblige larger companies to report and publicly explain their gender pay gap. Mandy is joined by Doone O’Doherty to examine what’s happening Plus it’s been another eventful week for UK politics and Mandy takes stock of recent developments and what it all means for Boris Johnson's leadership with political scientist Sir John Curtice.