The Hard Shoulder

Over the last few weeks, several Irish citizens have been detained in Israel after the flotilla they were on was intercepted on their way to deliver aid in Gaza.One of those was Irish author and activist Naoise Dolan who was aboard one of the Thousands Madleens vessels.She joins Ciara Doherty to discuss her experience on the Flotilla, her detainment by Israel and the current peace deal in place.

With many homes having their Halloween decorations up and festivities ready to get underway, we’re going to look at the connection between Halloween and Ireland.To discuss, Ciara Doherty is joined by Brinsley McNamara of Weird Ireland.

Speaking today, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that the EU will look to relax state-aid rules to increase the supply of affordable housing.In her speech, she highlighted the number of EU countries experiencing housing crises, and said they will begin working on the first ever European Affordable Housing Plan.But, how would a plan like this be implemented across such different countries with such different issues?Joining Ciara Doherty to discuss is Senior Housing Lecturer at Technological University Dublin, Lorcan Sirr.

Henry's Front Bench is back! Henry McKean meets the Presidential election candidates on a park bench and tries to get to know them behind the politics.Today, Henry meets independent candidate Catherine Connolly, and sends in this report…

There has been a lot of talk over the proposed speed reduction in urban areas from 50km/hr down to 30km/hr. What was originally going to be a directive from the government implemented nationwide, now looks to be left to each county and city council to decide upon.To discuss this, Ciara Doherty is joined by Fine Gael Cllr for Galway City Council, Shane Forde, and Labour Cllr for Cork City Council, Peter Horgan.

Life can be full of confusing things, but no need to worry! Every Wednesday, Simon Tierney will be showing you ‘How to do Stuff’ - bringing his best tips for those things you might not think about.This week, Simon joins Jonathan to discuss how you can quit smoking!

Henry's Front Bench is back! Henry McKean meets the Presidential election candidates on a park bench and tries to get to know them behind the politics.Today, Henry meets Fine Gael candidate Heather Humphreys, and sends in this report…

Israel says one of four bodies handed over by Hamas overnight "does not match any of the hostages". Hamas was required to return all 48 remaining hostages as part of the first phase of the Gaza peace plan.For more on this and the opening of the Rafah crossing, Jonathan is joined by Bel Trew, Chief International Correspondent with Independent.

For this week’s Tech Takeover, Jess Kelly, Newstalk’s Technology Correspondent joins Jonathan to discuss how OpenAI, the parent company of ChatGPT, will be relaxing restrictions on its AI chatbot, allowing adult users to engage in more graphic or erotic feautres…

From sleeping with your pets in the bed, to having your shoes on the coffee table and generally leaving your phone on any surface in between: what causes the most household germs?Joining Jonathan to discuss is Dr Primrose Freestone, Associate Professor of Clinical Microbiology at the University of Leicester.