Highlights from Moncrieff

It will (apparently) change your life according to TikTok: double cleansing involves washing yourself with soap, rinsing off, and doing it all over again.What's the point of this, and is it actually harmful for your skin?Caitriona Ryan, Consultant Dermatologist with the Institute of Dermatology joins Seán to discuss.

Most of us have had a time in a house share, or will if rent comes down and you can finally move out of your parents house. But, how do you cope living in a shared house? What are your experiences of it ,and how do you handle bad housemates? Henry McKean went to ask, and sent in this report.

There's a story in the Irish Times today about members of Oireachtas having to repay expenses. In one case, a Senator was on sick leave, but was paid expenses anyway, and another situation for a TD who was on maternity leave.So, what is the confusion here, and how does payment and expenses work for TDs and Senators?Joanna Tuffy, Labour Party Councillor for Dublin Mid-West and a former TD and Senator has been writing about this, and joins Seán to discuss.

As part of the EU Presidency, the Irish Museum of Modern Art is hosting an exhibition featuring work from 17 countries with the theme of states in post-conflict situations, including Northern Ireland. One of the artists featured is Amanda Dunsmore, Artist and Lecturer in Fine Art at Limerick School of Art & Design, who in the 1990s was artist in residence in the Maze prison, and worked with both Loyalist and Republican prisoners.She joins Seán to discuss the experience.

The restaurant Al Condominio in Verona, Italy is offering customers a free bottle of wine if they surrender their phones before their meal. What is the benefit of a phone-free restaurant, and should it be done here?Joining Seán to discuss is Luca Di Marzio, owner of Rosa Madre Restaurant in Dublin.

This Saturday, the National Epilepsy Conference will take place in Cork. One of its speakers is Labour TD for Cork North, Eoghan Kenny, who joins Seán to discuss his own experience of living with epilepsy.

The Ploughing Championships are on this week, and while that is usually a celebrated event, there was one year where it was embroiled in international politics and controversy…Joining Seán to discuss is Melissa Baird, Assistant Editor of ‘Documents on Irish Foreign Policy'.

Every Wednesday, Seán will be joined by someone to hear unusual stories on heinous crimes…This week, Cassie Delaney joins to discuss cases where the perpetrator was hiding in plain sight…

In this morning's Irish Independent, Brian W Higgins is arguing that there is too much paperwork involved in a Catholic wedding, and that all this red tape is putting people off and is actually contributing to the decrease in people choosing a Catholic wedding over a secular wedding…Is it true, should the Catholic Church reexamine how much paperwork is involved with the ceremony?Sara, Wedding Expert with ‘The Aisle', has had her own experience with this and joins Seán to discuss.

Nearly every day, you can learn of some new way climate change is impacting our lives. Today: it's conkers. The World Conker Championships has been running for 60 years in the UK, raising over £400,000 for charity may not go ahead because of climate change…StJohn Burkett, World Conker Championships organiser and Anorak of the Year (as bestowed by the Dull Men's Club), joins Seán to discuss.

The actress Sydney Sweeney has come under fire for a recent advert she has taken part in, representing a sports gambling website, while only wearing sports equipment for clothes.This has particularly garnered negative attention from female athletes, who have said she has demanded and sexualised women's sports. Despite all of the lip service, sex still sells (at least to men) - which begs the question: is there some sexual hypocrisy at play?Nadia Adan, owner of Ashford Motors, joins Seán to discuss.

If you're on LinkedIn, and you hope your presence there might lead to a new job, be very careful: a new scam going around involves false job offers being sent by scammers. What do you need to look out for?Dr Stephen Treacy, Lecturer in Digital Transformation in UCC, joins Seán to discuss.

If you open a young bottle of wine, the general advice is to put it in a decanter. Some people are taking this to an extreme with ‘hyper-decanting' - which includes putting wine in a blender! So, how does it all work?John Wilson, wine critic and contributor to the Irish Times joins Seán to discuss.

While it's impossible to pinpoint the exact causes of cancer, most of us know the basics when it comes to reducing our risk: eat plenty of fruit and vegetables, exercise regularly, stop smoking, wear sunscreen...But recent research is suggesting that there are other habits that might reduce our cancer risk. So, what are these habits?Joining Seán to discuss is Consultant Oncologist, Professor of Nutrition and author of ‘Keep Healthy.com', Professor Robert Thomas…

People are often baffled as to why countries not in Europe join Eurovision, including Canada, who will be taking part in the competition from 2027. That's not all, with Canada and US relations not being as strong, it seems like Canada is looking towards the EU for a stronger relationship…Graham Finlay, Lecturer in the School of Politics and International Relations, University College Dublin joins Seán to discuss.

A month can't just be a month - this month is apparently ‘Self-Care September', something Oprah, who is appearing in the 3Arena this evening, might be prescribing to.Jennifer Horgan, columnist with the Irish Examiner, is having none of it, and joins Seán to discuss.

Have we lost the art of conversation? Is it just a one sided rant? Have you heard of the serial mono-loguists, the trauma dumper, the boomer-asker, and the classic interrupter?Henry McKean visited a cafe in West Clare and interrupted conversations. He sent this report!

Last week, thieves broke into a French museum and escaped with four paintings by Renoir worth millions of euro, but why? It's not exactly easy to sell stolen and famous art, so why go through the trouble?Anja Shortland, Professor in Political Economy at Kings College London, joins Seán to discuss.

We're looking back on the weekend and looking forward to the week ahead through the lens of these four questions:What delighted you over the weekend? What annoyed you over the weekend? What did you learn over the weekend? What are you looking forward to this week?Joining Seán to discuss is Maia Dunphy and Donal O'Donoghue!

When someone says something was harder ‘back in their day' - how often is that true? For example, was the Leaving Cert maths paper in 1986 harder than the one in 2026?Brendan Guildea, Maths Teacher, author and Maths Consultant joins Seán to discuss.

The Irish Hot Air Balloon Championships take place on Saturday next week in Lough Key Forest Park, where an attempt at a new world record will be made.Frank Meldon, Director of the Irish Hot Air Balloon Championships, and one of eight balloon pilots in Ireland, joins Seán to discuss.

Today Colm O'Regan has a column in the Irish Examiner which, if he wrote it 40 years ago, would've made it to print with a very different method. What's changed, and why should the old method not die out?The Comedian, best-selling author, broadcaster and podcaster from Cork joins Seán to discuss.

Weather forecasting played a very important role, particularly in advance of the D-Day landings. So, what methods were used to predict the weather?Dr. Stephen Burt, Department of Meteorology at the University of Reading and advisor for the film 'Pressure' joins Seán to discuss.

Service stations are curious places, as why they all seem the same on the surface, but have their own little differences. This is something Rich Cross has been covering on social media as ‘The Service King' - and has visited every single service station in Britain!He joins Seán to discuss.

Donald Trump will be in Ireland very soon, mostly to watch the Irish Open in Doonbeg. He's known for many things, and according to himself, he's won dozens of club championships. Definitely.Rick Reilly, author of ‘Commander in Cheat: How Golf Explains Trump', has been examining all of these claims, and joins Seán to discuss.

It's becoming more of the case that when someone dies, their desire is to be buried in a more sustainable way. In a first for the country, a woman in Australia has been buried in a coffin made entirely out of mushrooms. So, how does it work?Bob Hendrikx, Founder of Loop Biotech, joins Seán to discuss.

Recent research from the University of Glasgow examined different baby foods sold in six supermarkets, and found that some products contained surprisingly high levels of sugar for children. So, how bad are these baby foods, and what should we be giving kids instead?Joining Seán to discuss is Dietician and Founder of Eatwell.ie, Sarah Keogh…

In January 1965, Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon visited his sister's home in Abbleyleix, County Laois. This visit did not go unnoticed: a bomb went off outside, leaving the group trapped without electricity…This is the basis for Emily Hourican's new novel ‘A House in Winter', and she joins Seán to discuss.

Tánaiste Simon Harris has said Budget 2027 will back hard pressed workers who “get up early every morning” and head off to their job, but is it true? Do people who get up early work harder, and does it make any difference to productivity?Henry McKean has been asking the public, and joins Seán to discuss.

In the United States, today is National Teddy Bear Day. What makes them so beloved, and why do some adults still have theirs from childhood?Amanda Middleditch, one of the Teddy Bear Ladies from ‘The Repair Shop' on BBC joins Seán to discuss.

Ireland in the 1970's and 80's could feel a bit grim, and the country could feel a bit stuck - and the media was often too nervous to push against the norm. That is, of course, an exception with the publication Magill and Journalist Vincent Browne, who helped change journalism and the country itself.Kevin Rafter, author of ‘Fearless! Vincent Browne's Magill and Ireland in the 1980s', joins Seán to discuss.

Haircuts 4 Homeless was set up by veteran hairdresser Stewart Roberts in England, who brought the concept to Ireland where skilled hairdresser volunteers give haircuts to homeless people. Once a month in the Capuchin Day Centre, Peter Mark hairdresser Trevor Hynes leads a team of stylists, hairdressers and barbers with Haircuts 4 Homeless Ireland - giving stylish haircuts, bringing back dignity and putting a smile back on their faces.Henry McKean went out to see the process, and sent in this report.

Every Wednesday, Seán will be joined by someone to hear unusual stories on heinous crimes…This week, Cassie Delaney joins to discuss cases involving weird and unlikely accomplices!

The kids are back in secondary school, and the fact that free secondary school education exists in the first place is because of Donogh O'Malley, who introduced this 60 years ago…Michael O'Dwyer, co-ordinator of the Remembering Donogh O'Malley Programme, joins Seán to discuss.

As part of its continued budget cuts, the BBC has announced that it has axed Ski Sunday, a show dedicated to winter sports, which has been airing since the 1970's.Joining Seán to discuss this is Eddie Edwards, AKA ‘Eddie the Eagle'.

For various reasons, Ian Smith, Journalist with the Irish Independent, left Ireland and for about 8 years lived in different European cities. When he eventually returned, he wondered if that was the right choice…He has been writing about his experience, and joins Seán to discuss.

Many people enjoy shopping, many people enjoy alcohol. Mix the two: what could possibly go wrong?One US survey estimated that the drunk shopping industry is worth about €38 billion a year! Eoin McGee, Presenter of the ‘Understanding Money' podcast, joins Seán to discuss.

A number of students from Gaza hoping to study here have had their visas refused for a multitude of complicated reasons. For Seán's guest, he was lucky enough to receive an education in Ireland.Abdallah Aljazzar, English Literature Student originally from Gaza, joins to share his story.

If you live in a town or city and regularly walk through it, are there things about the experience that annoy you? People walking with their heads in their phones, and, god forbid, tourists?Kelly Earley, columnist with The Journal and co-host of the ‘For Tech's Sake' podcast, joins Seán to discuss.

Every year, the likes of Vanity Fair and Vogue publish a list of the best dressed celebrities. This year, Pope Leo XIV was featured for his wearing of runners and a baseball cap. So, is the Pope trying to become a new fashion icon? And how has Pope fashion changed over the years?Patsy McGarry, Journalist with the Irish Times, joins Seán to discuss.

In Ireland and in many other countries around the world, birth rates are dropping. Singapore, which has one of the lowest rates, is throwing grants and increased parental leave in an attempt to boost this. But, what is the right answer here?Joining Seán to discuss is Ellen Coyne, Political Correspondent with the Irish Times.

For the first time in 40 years, the Annals of Inisfallen will go on display in UCC. At nearly a thousand years old, it is an account of the history of Ireland.Pádraig Ó Macháin, Professor of Modern Irish at UCC, joins Seán to discuss.Image: University College Cork