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The Explainer

The Explainer is a weekly podcast from The Journal that takes a deeper look at one big news story you need to know about. What's the background? Why is this in the news? Get the facts behind the story from Ireland's biggest news website. Hosted on Acast.

Podcast · By The Journal · English · IE · Official site

Indexed episodes, last 90 days
18
Latest publication
Sep 23, 2026
Audience
Checking…
Earliest in this view
Jul 8, 2026

Latest episodes

  1. Episode · Sep 23, 2026

    Why are new mothers struggling to get mental health care? (opens the original)

    Episode notes · Critical tone

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    Women can develop serious mental health difficulties at any point in the year after giving birth. But new reporting from The Journal Investigates has found that five of Ireland’s six specialist perinatal mental health hubs have stopped accepting new referrals after six months postpartum, while women outside major cities can face major barriers to accessing care. So why are services tightening access as demand rises, what happens to women who fall through the gaps, and will promised reforms make

  2. Episode · Sep 16, 2026

    Why are artists walking away from Ed Sheeran’s tour? (opens the original)

    Episode notes

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    Music and politics have always shared a stage, but the fallout from Macklemore’s removal from Ed Sheeran’s United States tour has made clear how that can be an uneasy relationship. Zara Hedderman, music and arts journalist and author of the Bad Arts newsletter, joins us to examine who gets to decide what can be said on stage, and what happens when artists stand together and say no. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  3. Episode · Sep 8, 2026

    How did the AfD become so powerful in Germany? (opens the original)

    Episode notes

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    The far-right Alternative for Germany party won almost 44% of the vote in Saxony-Anhalt on Sunday, more than doubling its support and delivering its strongest ever result in a German state election. The result has shaken Chancellor Friedrich Merz's CDU and brought the AfD closer than ever to taking power at state level. Who is voting for the party, why is it particularly strong in eastern Germany, and what could its rise mean for the country as a whole? Deutsche Welle political correspondent and

  4. Episode · Sep 6, 2026

    An mbeidh an Ghaeilge mar mír mhargántaíochta in Éirinn Aontaithe? (opens the original)

    Episode notes

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    The Journal is releasing a six-part series of The Explainer podcast through Irish, focusing on some of the biggest stories affecting the language and the Gaeltacht areas. In this final episode, journalist Laura Ní Aoidhne joins us to break down new cross-border surveys, exploring whether attitudes toward the Irish language are truly warming North and South and what role the language might play in a united Ireland. De réir taighde uile-Éireann a foilsíodh ag Foras na Gaeilge i mbliana, tá dearcht

  5. Episode · Sep 4, 2026

    Who’s after 14,000 hectares of Ireland’s coast? (opens the original)

    Episode notes

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    More than 14,000 hectares of Ireland’s coastline are covered by applications to commercially harvest seaweed, with four companies seeking to take almost 51,000 wet tonnes a year if their licences are approved. At the same time, the maritime regulator is investigating claims of potentially unauthorised harvesting in protected areas, while traditional harvesters and environmental campaigners are raising concerns about the industry’s rapid commercialisation. So who gets access to Ireland’s seaweed,

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