

Moncrieff
Newstalk
The daily dose of madness and intrigue from Sean Moncrieff and his rebel radio crew. Listen and subscribe to Moncrieff on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Download, listen and subscribe on the Newstalk App. You can also listen to Newstalk live on newstalk.com or on Alexa, by and asking: 'Alexa, play Newstalk'
Episodes
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Apr 10, 2025 • 8min
What is Syria like right now?
It’s the nature of news that once a conflict has ended, that country seems to slip out of our news feed, as if everything has been resolved and nothing remains to be decided.But, of course, that is far from the truth…Journalist Sally Hayden has visited Syria to see how things are playing out on the ground in the aftermath of the revolution. She joins Seán to discuss.

Apr 10, 2025 • 23min
Admitting when you are wrong - Henry McKean Reports
How do we try to save face when we’ve lost an argument or made a fool of yourself? After Trump’s tariff u-turn, do you apologise? Do you try to change the goalposts or pretend it never happened?Henry McKean has been out asking the public, and joins Seán to discuss.Image: Reuters

Apr 9, 2025 • 7min
Why ‘speedcubing’ is growing in popularity
Are you any good at solving a Rubik’s cube?And have you heard of speedcubing?The new competition seems to be taking over the country as interest soars in the sport, with children keen to take part and solve rubix cubes as quickly as possible.For more on this, Seán is joined by Kevin Timmons from Speedcubing Ireland…

Apr 9, 2025 • 7min
New documentary examines John Lennon and Yoko Ono charity concerts
A new documentary film examines two charity concerts that John Lennon and Yoko Ono organised in the early 1970s, using a treasure trove of contemporary footage. Joining Seán to discuss more is Sam Rice-Edwards, Co-Director of One to One: John & Yoko…

Apr 9, 2025 • 8min
Why do writers have so many superstitions?
Author Anthony Horowitz has revealed that he writes a letter to his wife with details of how his book ends, just in case he gets hit by a bus before finishing it.The novelist doesn’t want to leave his readers in suspense if anything happened to him, and confessed to this habit. So, what other weird and wacky writer superstitions do authors follow?Bestselling novelist Liz Nugent joins Seán to discuss.

Apr 9, 2025 • 9min
Should the definition of a rat change?
Whether you blame them for the black death, or you just think they’re a bit gross, rats don’t have a fantastic reputation among us humans.And maybe that’s part of the problem.In an effort to rehabilitate the image of the humble rodent, PETA have written to the Cambridge dictionary asking for them to change the definition of “Rat”...Jennifer White from PETA joins Seán to discuss.

Apr 9, 2025 • 9min
Could AI help us become more emotionally intelligent?
If you’ve spent any time on the internet, you may have noticed that emotional intelligence is in short supply, and apparently only 36% of us actually qualify as emotionally intelligent.It seems an unlikely solution, but could AI help us to empathise better with our fellow humans?MarieToft is a Generative AI Thought Leader and Consultant and Founder of Emotionise AI. She joins Seán to discuss.

Apr 9, 2025 • 9min
Why talking about periods shouldn’t be taboo
Are misinformation and body shaming continuing to cause problems for women and their menstrual cycle? Máire Treasa Ní Cheallaigh, Doctor and Columnist with the Irish Independent, has been writing about her thoughts on this in the newspaper and she joins me now…

Apr 8, 2025 • 10min
The work behind celebrity prosthetic teeth
Teeth are all anybody is talking about these days when it comes to TV and film, thanks in part to the fascination with Aimee Lou Wood in The White Lotus... but, for many years, we have seen actors get a set of false teeth and transform into new characters.Remember Mike Myers in Austin Powers and Jonah Hill in Wolf of Wall Street?The man behind those teeth is Leading Dental Technician and creator of SPFX Teeth, Gary Archer. He joins Seán to discuss.

Apr 8, 2025 • 13min
Finding comedy in grief - and oversharing online
Life has a funny way of working out, but if you’ve just been dumped, lost your job and have nowhere to live, things can feel pretty miserable.Aoife Dunne came to terms with the grief of losing her mother and built a loyal following online sharing the highs and lows of navigating life in your late thirties when you’re still just figuring it out...She joins Seán to discuss.