Moncrieff Highlights

Child safety online is a big issue and as such it is also big business. Accordingly, a lot of tech companies have made much of their safer offerings for kids and teenagers, but do they actually work?Alex Cooney is Chief Executive of Ireland’s online safety charity, CyberSafeKids. She joins Tom Dunne to discuss.

What has height got to do with looking for love?Well now on dating apps, users are being invited to filter by height…Tinder looks set to allow people paying for their premium service to search for partners who are over or under a certain height, with the move likely to see short men and taller women struggle online...So, why are we so obsessed with height? And does a man really need to be tall, dark and handsome to be successful on online dating apps?Matchmaker Sharon Kenny joins guest host Tom Dunne to discuss.

As festival season kicks off, thousands of Irish people will be hauling their tents to various sites across the country. But, will they bring them home afterwards? Every year, countless tents are left abandoned across the country.One man was so astonished by this level of waste that he now salvages them himself. Joining guest host Tom Dunne to discuss is Pip Sheridan, who runs Found in a Field…

The French are, of course, famous for their cheese, and for good reason! They make some of the tastiest and often smelliest cheeses on the planet.But, are they on the brink of some sorted existential cheesy crisis?It would seem that young French people are losing their love for pungent cheese and cheese in general, as a recent survey found that 18 to 24 year olds there were distinctly unenthusiastic about some of the country’s most odorous dairy products.Kevin Sheridan is the owner of Sheridans Cheese, and joins guest host Tom Dunne to discuss.

How long does it really take to build muscle?And is there such a thing as a quick fix when it comes to exercise and getting healthier?Should you really be pushing yourself in the gym to do more reps, or is it a case of just extending your evening stroll?Joining guest host Tom Dunne to discuss is Fiona Skelly, Lecturer in Physical Activity and Health.

Tom Dunne’s guest has been instrumental in the development of ‘Luna’, an artificially created simulation of the moon. This Saturday, June 7th, Dr Aidan Cowley from the European Space Agency’s Astronaut Centre in Germany will be leading a conversation called “Keeping Astronauts Alive on the Moon”. The event is part of the annual UCD Festival.Aidan joins to discuss.

What is ‘Corkness’?With Cork due to take on Limerick in the Munster Hurling final, the idea of ‘Corkness’ and that swagger has come up again, but what is it really? And, are Cork people actually special?Editor of CorkBeo.ie, Joe O’Shea, joins guest host Tom Dunne to discuss.

You might have heard of ‘Ballerina Cappuccina’ or ‘Chimpanzini Bananini’ on your TikTok feed, and if you haven’t, well then that's a good sign. It means you’ve escaped ‘Italian Brainrot’... for now anyways.These characters are as silly as they sound. They come from the new generative AI meme that is sweeping across social media and being consumed by children. But, is a ballerina with a cappuccino as a head really that innocent?Guest host Tom Dunne is joined by Catherine Prasifka, author and writer-in-residence for Maynooth University to discuss.

A new book explores the intersection between Irish Republicanism and music, a very timely publication in the context of the rise of Kneecap and others. Joining guest host Tom Dunne to discuss is Stan Erraught, Music lecturer at the University of Leeds and author of ‘Rebel Notes: Popular Music and Conflict in Ireland’…

Have you ever wondered why enough or through are spelled completely differently to how they are pronounced?This is not just something that has troubled you, but has also been a bugbear for millions, perhaps billions, of English speakers stretching all the way back to the 12th century.So, why have these odd spellings and others like them persisted?Gabe Henry is the Author of ‘Enough Is Enuf: Our Failed Attempts to Make English Easier to Spell’. He joins Seán to discuss.Image: HarperCollins Publishing