Inside Politics with Hugh Linehan

Keith Duggan, The Irish Times’ Washington correspondent, reports from America’s crucial midterm battlegrounds. They explore whether Democrats are heading for a “blue wave,” Trump’s push to make the vote a referendum on him, and Republican troubles in Ohio. The conversation also visits Springfield’s anxious Haitian community, immigration enforcement, Michigan’s Democratic dilemmas, and the party’s fight over moderation versus a leftward turn.

Pat Leahy, The Irish Times’ political editor, and Harry McGee, its political correspondent, examine Patrick O’Donovan’s €20 million RTÉ funding row and Ireland’s flawed budget process. They discuss Jack Chambers’ spending discipline, looming public-sector strikes, and Simon Coveney’s lobbying over Dublin’s Glass Bottle site. The conversation also turns to antisemitism fears, France’s political turmoil, and Ireland’s vulnerability as Europe reindustrialises.

Ireland is politically and economically stable, as Simon Harris pointed out in his Budget speech yesterday. But keeping it that way is getting more expensive. Increased capital spending, increased day-to-day spending, tax cuts - yesterday’s Budget delivered the lot. Is this sustainable, with our reliance on multinational tax receipts? Or wise, with our healthy level of economic growth? To look at the big picture, Hugh and Pat are joined by Barra Roantree of Trinity College Dublin.Barra Roantree is an Assistant Professor in Economics at TCD.Would you like to receive daily insights into world events delivered to your inbox? Sign up for Denis Staunton's Global Briefing newsletter here: irishtimes.com/newsletters/global-briefing/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Naomi Klein, acclaimed Canadian author of The Shock Doctrine, and Astra Taylor, filmmaker and Debt Collective co-founder, discuss their new book, End Times Fascism. They examine the alliance linking Christian apocalypticism, Silicon Valley’s AI ambitions and far-right ethnonationalism. The conversation explores climate fortress politics, anti-democratic power and how broad, joyful movements can resist political loneliness and fatalism.

Irish Times correspondents Jack Horgan-Jones, who covers government and public spending, and Cormac McQuinn, a specialist in Irish politics and policy, unpack a budget heading for the wire. They examine departmental overspending, stalled public-sector pay talks and looming strikes. A Garvaghy Road parade revives Northern tensions, while the panel remembers Miriam Lord and debates Europe’s rightward shift, Mark Zuckerberg’s GAA gift and Ireland’s Israel fixture.

Sinn Fein emerged from 2020's general election in pole position to challenge Fine Gael and Fianna Fail and potentially take power next time around. That didn't happen, with support ebbing away as a series of events, both internal and external, shook the party's confidence. That's the picture painted by Siobhán Fenton, a journalist who worked in Sinn Féin's press office from 2020 to 2024, in her book Ourselves Alone. Hugh interviews Siobhán about why she joined Sinn Fein and what she learned about the inner workings of a cross-border party. They look back on a series of missteps made by the party and its leader Mary Lou McDonald, including the response to the 2023 Dublin riot and McDonald's gaffe when speaking to Pat Leahy on Inside Politics about reducing the price of houses. Would you like to receive daily insights into world events delivered to your inbox? Sign up for Denis Staunton's Global Briefing newsletter here: irishtimes.com/newsletters/global-briefing/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today anxiety over how the digital world has evolved is greater than ever. Trust in information found online is low, the business models driving tech platforms reward outrage over wellbeing and vast power lies in the hands of a few oligarchs. The arrival of AI may bring even greater problems. But what can be done?On today's podcast Hugh interviews Mark Little about his book The Last Good Day on the Internet. Little is a former RTÉ correspondent, the founder of Storyful and co-founder with Aine Kerr of Kinzen. He has also had roles with Twitter and Spotify.Part memoir, part work of philosophy, part rethinking of how the internet has developed over the last 20 years, Little's thoughtful book prescribes some solutions for our current predicaments.Would you like to receive daily insights into world events delivered to your inbox? Sign up for Denis Staunton's Global Briefing newsletter here: irishtimes.com/newsletters/global-briefing/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cormac McQuinn, The Irish Times’ political correspondent, and Pat Leahy, a veteran political journalist, examine a static poll where voters seem unenthused by both Government and Opposition. They discuss preparations for Irish unity, reluctance over symbolic change, Sinn Féin’s stalled momentum, coalition tensions over sports grants, and what energy costs could mean for Budget 2027. Plus, Labour-Green merger talk and U2 nostalgia.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping lands in Washington later this evening for a three-day state visit, his first to Washington since 2015. The Trump White House is rolling out the red carpet and laying on the full ceremonial treatment for a leader who currently still faces American tariffs, sanctions and export controls. Irish Times China correspondent Dennis Staunton joins Hugh from Hong Kong to explain what both men want out of the meeting and what it will tell us about the balance of power between the world's two superpowers. They also talk about the race for AI supremacy and China's economic challenges. Would you like to receive daily insights into world events delivered to your inbox? Sign up for Denis Staunton's Global Briefing newsletter here: irishtimes.com/newsletters/global-briefing/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Anthony Scaramucci, financier, author and former Trump communications director, reflects on America’s political crisis. He examines the policy choices that fueled populist anger, the wars and economic pressures that alienated working people, and his own misjudgment in joining Trump. He also explores polarization, corruption, presidential power and the risks of a second Trump term.