Newstalk Daily

It's meant to be a celebration of music spectacle and European unity but as the Eurovision Song Contest marks its 70th anniversary this year, the atmosphere surrounding the competition is more complicated than ever.What does the future hold for the Eurovision?Ciara is joined by Johnny Fallon, Director at Carr communications and Eurovision analyst,  and Mara Hvistendahl, author of a recently published piece in the New York Times about how Israel has turned the Eurovision into a soft power tool.

Fuel prices… cost of living pressure… and protests that, at first glance, looked like they were coming straight from the ground up.  But online, there was a different conversation being had...  Some were amplified… shaped… and pushed by voices far outside Ireland.  So, how much of what we saw was actually homegrown and who is attempting to control to narrative? Ciara is joined by Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs, Neale Richmond and by Aidan O’Brien, analyst with the European Digital Media Observatory Ireland, which is part of the FuJo institute. 

In August, 2020, 21 year old Katie Simpson was rushed to hospital in Derry with severe injuries. The explanation given at the time was that she had tried to take her own life, but almost immediately, there were questions. Quiet ones at first from those who knew her, from people who felt that something about the story didn't sit right.What followed was a case that would unravel layer by layer, exposing inconsistencies, missed opportunities, and one that would become the focus of a murder investigation and ultimately a damning review of the PSNI's handling of the case.Ciara is joined by Allison Morris from the Belfast Telegraph and Katie's aunt Paula Mullan

They’re everywhere again… baggy jeans, low-rise fits, VHS filters… even Italia ’90 references creeping back into everyday life.From TikTok trends to pop music and fashion, the 1990s revival is in full swing.It's a longing for a simpler time… When we weren’t so chronically online.Our nostalgia paints the time as carefree and cool…The reality was more complicated — from extreme body standards to a culture that wasn’t always as liberating as it looked.So why are Gen Z and millennials so obsessed with 90s culture right now?And what are we choosing to remember — or forget?Ciara is joined by journalist Kate Henshaw and broadcaster Sarina Bellissimo to separate the aesthetic from the reality — from 90s fashion trends and Y2K style… to diet culture, “heroin chic,” and the return of low-rise jeans.

A drug feud.A chase.A discarded gun found and subsequently fired by an 11 year old.What is going on, on the streets of Dublin?Ciara is joined by Stephen Breen, the Irish Sun’s Crime Editor

Tina Satchwell went missing from her home in March 2017.  In the months that followed, there were appeals, media interviews, and repeated searches of the house that she shared with her husband Richard in Youghal.  He spoke publicly... Spoke to journalists... He even invited them into the home.  And for a long time, the case remained officially one of a missing person.  In 2023, that all changed, and a missing person was found dead in her own home.Ciara is joined by journalist and author of Buried Secrets: The Murder of Tina Satchwell and a Journalist’s Journey into Ireland’s Most Chilling Cold Case, Barry Cummins.

At least 10 scientists... dead or missing... with access to sensitive US nuclear and aerospace research.  And a conspiracy theory that they’re all connected that’s gone all the way to the White House.   Is this just another day in the Trump presidency, or might there be something deeper happening in the United States? Is the truth really out there? 

Ireland’s approach to drugs has shifted — toward harm reduction, treating addiction as a public health issue rather than a criminal one.  But as drug-related violence and intimidation come more into focus, there are questions about whether that balance is right.  And whether compassion for addiction is coming at a cost to wider public safety.Ciara is joined by Dr Chris Luke, a retired consultant in emergency medicine who worked within the system for years and author of Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs, Johann Hari.  

The Kinahan cartel is facing its most serious pressure in years After the arrest of Daniel Kinahan, questions are growing about where the organisation goes next  And whether its leadership can even continue to operate from Dubai.Ciara is joined by Connor Plunkett from Bellingcat

There are thousands of Irish artefacts sitting inside the British Museum.  Some are on display… But many more are locked away in archives — rarely, if ever, seen.  From ancient art… and religious relics… to objects tied to deeply local Irish stories.  They’ve been in London for decades — in some cases, centuries.  But now, the question is getting louder again… Should we be asking for them back? Ciara is joined by Professor Laura McAtackney from the School of the Human Environment at UCC

For decades, support for Israel in the US felt locked in.  But after the latest escalation involving Iran… and now the war in Lebanon… that certainty might be starting to slip  So, is the great friendship between these two nations built to last, or will this current conflict prove its demise? Ciara is joined by Freddie Hayward, US Correspondent for the New Statesman and by Public opinion researcher and columnist at Haaretz newspaper, Dahlia Scheindlin 

A young woman… a burnt-out mobile home… and a disappearance that still doesn’t add up, more than two decades on This week, Gardaí have renewed their appeal for information into the killing of Emer O’Loughlin... A case that continues to haunt the family in the small Clare community of Ennistymon.Ciara is joined by Páraic McMahon, Head of News and Sport with The Clare Echo