Red Lines
The back-stop’s here? Bad puns with top political coverage from Northern Ireland. Red Lines brings you essential analysis and commentary by BBC NI’s politics team.
Insights from recent episode analysis
On the show
- Suzanne Breen5 eps
- David McCann4 eps
- Gareth Gordon4 eps
Also: Tim Cairns, Linzi McLaren, Iain Dale, James Hawe, Paul Johnston, Mark Hennessey, Brigid Laffan, Enda McClafferty, Caitriona Perry, Louise Burne, Liam Kennedy, John Taylor, Alex Kane, Wallace Thompson, John Campbell, Jodie Carson, Andrew Webb
Audience Interest
Podcast Focus
Publishing Consistency
Insights are generated by CastFox AI using publicly available data, episode content, and proprietary models.
Most discussed topics
Brands & references
Total monthly reach
Based on 1 signal.
Built from
By chart position
- 🇬🇧United Kingdom · GovernmentHOME#1545K to 239K
- 🇮🇪Ireland · Government#49.0K to 48K
- 🇯🇵Japan · Government#195.8K to 31K
- 🇰🇷South Korea · Government#282.7K to 14K
- 🇪🇸Spain · Government#591.1K to 5.9K
- Per-Episode Audience
Est. listeners per new episode within ~30 days
67K to 353K🎙 Weekly cadence·251 episodes·Last published 1w ago - Monthly Reach
Unique listeners across all episodes (30 days)
133K to 705K🇬🇧68%🇮🇪13%🇯🇵9%+3 more - Active Followers
Loyal subscribers who consistently listen
73K to 388K
Market Insights
Platform Distribution
Reach across major podcast platforms, updated hourly
Total Followers
—
Total Plays
—
Total Reviews
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* Data sourced directly from platform APIs and aggregated hourly across all major podcast directories.
| Date | Episode | Topics | Guests | Brands | Places | Keywords | Sponsor | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10/14/26 | Drumcree: The political fallout | Mark Carruthers is joined by Gareth Gordon, Sam McBride and David McCann to discuss the political ramifications of the Drumcree saga. | 37m 55s | ||||||
| 9/30/26 | Drumcree: The Winners? | Who are the political winners and losers from the Drumcree dispute? Mark Carruthers chats to Gareth Gordon, Sam McBride & David McCann | 38m 08s | ||||||
| 9/16/26 | Trump: Orange is the new Green | Mark Carruthers discusses the recent comments on Irish unity by US President Donald Trump with David Young, Ben Lowry and Diarmaid Ferriter. | 34m 27s | ||||||
| 9/2/26 | interviewNorthern Ireland+3 | Adrian Dunbar | Line of Duty | Northern Ireland | Adrian DunbarMark Carruthers+4 | — | 47m 00s | ||
| 8/19/26 | politicsinterview+3 | Kate Nicholl | AllianceBBC Radio Ulster | — | Kate NichollMark Carruthers+3 | — | 44m 37s | ||
| 8/5/26 | politicsinterview+3 | Martina Anderson | Sinn FéinIRA | — | Martina AndersonSinn Féin+3 | — | 52m 47s | ||
| 7/21/26 | politicsinterview+3 | Emma Little-Pengelly | BBC Radio Ulster | — | Emma Little-PengellyMark Carruthers+3 | — | 49m 37s | ||
| 6/24/26 | politicsDUP+3 | Gareth GordonSuzanne Breen+1 | DUP | — | DonaldsonDUP+3 | — | 34m 42s | ||
| 6/11/26 | politicsNorthern Ireland+3 | Adam PayneJohn Rentoul+2 | — | — | Andy BurnhamDowning Street+3 | — | 33m 39s | ||
| 5/27/26 | Assembly electionpolitics+3 | Suzanne BreenDavid McCann+1 | BBC Radio Ulster | — | Assembly electionpolitics+3 | — | 42m 40s | ||
Want analysis for the episodes below?Free for Pro Submit a request, we'll have your selected episodes analyzed within an hour. Free, at no cost to you, for Pro users. | |||||||||
| 5/13/26 | nationalismUK politics+3 | Tom KellyProf Jon Tonge+1 | — | UKCeltic | nationalistfirst ministers+3 | — | 32m 05s | ||
| 4/29/26 | politicsDUP+4 | Gareth GordonSuzanne Breen+1 | DUP | — | Arlene FosterDUP+3 | — | 38m 06s | ||
| 4/15/26 | IrelandBritish writers+1 | Iain DaleJames Hawe | — | Ireland | Anglo-Irishdiscussion+1 | — | 35m 07s | ||
| 4/1/26 | Irelanddiplomacy+2 | Paul JohnstonMark Hennessey+1 | The Irish Timesthe European University Institute | Ireland | British AmbassadorThe Irish Times+1 | — | 37m 18s | ||
| 3/18/26 | St Patrick's DayWashington+1 | Enda McClaffertyCaitriona Perry+2 | — | West WingingWashington | WashingtonSt Patrick's Day+1 | — | 37m 08s | ||
| 3/4/26 | Irish unificationUnionism+1 | John TaylorAlex Kane+2 | Unionists for UnityUUP | — | UUPpolitical commentary+1 | — | 37m 05s | ||
| 2/18/26 | Stormontfinancial challenges+1 | John CampbellJodie Carson+1 | Stormont | Stormont | Stormontfinance+2 | — | 35m 44s | ||
| 2/4/26 | St Patrick's DayWashington+1 | Paul ColganShane Greer+1 | — | Washington | travelimportance+1 | — | 34m 31s | ||
| 1/30/26 | devolutionindependence debate+1 | Nicola Sturgeon | The Nicola Sturgeon Interview | Scotland | — | — | 24m 34s | ||
| 1/21/26 | Northern IrelandReform UK+1 | Suzanne BreenBen Lowry+2 | — | Northern IrelandUK | politicsgovernment reform | — | 34m 26s | ||
| 1/7/26 | UUP leadershippolitics+1 | Gareth GordonDavid McCann+2 | UUP | — | leadershipUUP+1 | — | 40m 05s | ||
| 12/17/25 | politicsevents+1 | Gareth GordonSuzanne Breen+2 | The Review of 2025 | — | political review2025 events | — | 51m 29s | ||
| 12/10/25 | Stormont: A bicker a day? | Mark chats to Jayne McCormack, David Sterling & Jodie Carson about Stormont's plan for a multi-year budget. What are relations like in the Executive and within the parties? | 36m 32s | ||||||
| 11/26/25 | The One Where Rachel Increased Tax on Lattes. | Mark and guests digest the Chancellor's budget and the implications for Northern Ireland. With Secretary of State Hilary Benn, Prof Jodie Carson, Caroline Keenan & Andrew Webb. | 41m 54s | ||||||
| 11/12/25 | Stormont 2.0 | Mark Carruthers asks Dr Sean Haughey, Professor Duncan Morrow, Chris Donnelly and Tim Cairns if Stormont must reform to survive. | 38m 01s | ||||||
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Chart history for Red Lines
Peaked at #4 in Ireland, top 10 in 1 of 19 tracked markets, currently #4 in Ireland.
| Market | Genre | Peak | Current | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ireland | — | #4 | #4 | — |
| United Kingdom | — | #15 | #15 | — |
| Japan | — | #19 | #19 | — |
| South Korea | — | #28 | #28 | — |
| CZ | — | #42 | #42 | — |
| SG | — | #44 | #44 | — |
| AE | — | #46 | #46 | — |
| Spain | — | #59 | #59 | — |
| Denmark | — | #59 | #59 | — |
| New Zealand | — | #77 | #77 | — |
| BE | — | #81 | #81 | — |
| Australia | — | #101 | #101 | — |
| CH | — | #103 | #103 | — |
| Norway | — | #107 | #107 | — |
| AT | — | #140 | #140 | — |
| Sweden | — | #160 | #160 | — |
| Canada | — | #174 | #174 | — |
| Mexico | — | #184 | #184 | — |
| Netherlands | — | #191 | #191 | — |
Chart Positions
19 placements across 19 markets.
Chart Positions
19 placements across 19 markets.