The Last Word with Matt Cooper

Elon Musk has denied that he engaged in heavy ketamine consumption while working as one of Donald Trump’s advisers on the presidential campaign last year, following a report in the New York Times in recent days.Marion McKeone and Larry Donnelly, Law Lecturer at University of Galway & Columnist with TheJournal.ie, spoke to Matt on Tuesday’s US slot.Hit the ‘Play’ button on this page to hear the conversation.

The Nakba, also known as 'Catastrophe', occurred between 1947 and 1949, and saw 15,000 Palestinians killed and more than 700,000 displaced from their homes by Israel. On Tuesday, Matt was joined by author Fintan Drury to discuss his new book ‘Catastrophe: Nakba II’.The book is an analysis of the oppression that Palestinians have faced for decades, and argues that Israel’s retaliation to the Hamas attack in October 2023 has been disproportionate.Hit the ‘Play’ button on this page to hear the conversation.

An Irish MEP used AI to write a letter about Gaza which quoted Swedish House Mafia. Why are we seeing more bad behaviour at airports? Should smoking be banned in parks and on beaches?Sarah McGuinness, political correspondent with the Irish Daily Mail, and Dave Hanratty, host of the No Encore podcast, join The Last Word to discuss the week's trending stories.Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page!

On Friday, Richard Satchwell was found guilty of the murder of his wife Tina Satchwell in 2017.Ms. Satchwell’s skeletal remains were found in their home in October 2023. Mr. Satchwell had pleaded not guilty to murdering her at Grattan Street, Youghal, Co. Cork in March 2017.Jamie O’Hara, Today FM Court Reporter and Brenda Power, columnist with the Irish Daily Mail and the Sunday Times, spoke to Matt after the verdict.Hit the ‘Play’ button on this page to hear the piece.

Political journalist Gavan Reilly joins The Last Word to chat all about how Irish politics really works, as outlined in his new book 'The Secret Life of Leinster House'. Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button!

Irish company Brightflag, which uses artificial intelligence to help legal firms manage their finances, has been sold.Founded by Ian Nolan and Alex Kelly, it has been sold for €425m cash.Ian Guider, columnist with the Business Post, joined Matt on The Last Word.Hit the ‘Play’ button on this page to hear the chat.

Environmental groups have raised concerns about plans to lower the environmental standards of hundreds of rivers across Ireland.This would mean that over 400 stretches of water would be classified as “heavily modified water bodies”John Gibbons explained the significance of this on Thursday.Hit the ‘Play’ button on this page to hear the chat.

Writer Andrew Meehan, author of Best Friends, joins The Last Word for the Culture Club. Hear all about his favourite music, movies, tv shows and more by pressing the 'Play' button on this page!

The Trump administration has suspended new visa applications for foreign students to give US embassies around the world more time to vet applicants and also prepare to carry out deeper checks on their social media history.Larry Donnelly, law lecturer at the University of Galway, and Chris Clifford, president of AMLÉ, the union of students in Ireland, join The Last Word to discuss this latest news and what it could mean for Irish students heading to the US. Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page!

Donald Trump is considering imposing further sanctions on Russia as it continues its large scale attack on Ukraine.The US President's relationship with Russian leader Vladimir Putin appears to have soured with Trump saying that the Russian president has 'gone absolutely crazy'.Cal Thomas and Marion McKeone join The Last Word to discuss Trump's changing attitude toward Putin and more of the latest news from the United States.Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page!