Highlights from Moncrieff

As we prepare to turn back the clocks this weekend, you might be surprised to discover the history of Daylight Savings Time and how it all began during World War One. Joining me now to discuss this is David Malone, Professor in Maths and Statistics at Maynooth University...

The Booker Prize has announced that, for the very first time, they will be including a category for Children's Fiction, with authors eligible to win fifty thousand pounds in prize money from 2027.Author Sarah Webb joins Seán to discuss this.

When approaching a milestone birthday, many of us do take time to reflect on life and maybe plan something special to celebrate. For most seventy year olds, it could be a party or a big cruise ship, but for Gail Rice she wanted more... so she decided to hire an escort!Gail, who is a Registered Psychologist in the process of writing her memoir, joins Seán to discuss.

What makes a culchie, and is there such a thing as culchie culture? Writer and Irish Times journalist Patrick Freyne has been musing on this matter and joins Seán to discuss.

More than 30 life-sized animatronic dinosaurs in New Jersey are up for grabs on Facebook Marketplace.It follows the imminent closure of the Field Station: Dinosaurs theme park in New Jersey in three weeks' time.Opened in 2012 by dinosaur enthusiast Guy Gsell, the park has attracted thousands of children and adults along its adventure trails, theme shows and workshops.From as little as $700, you can buy your very own scientifically accurate dino, that can move and even roar.To discuss, Executive Producer of the theme park, Guy Gsell, joins Seán.

While the men's shed concept has been an enormous success around the country, there is now a growing trend for women's sheds, but what's the difference and would it make sense just to join them up?Joining Seán to discuss is RoseMarie Dempsey, Chairperson of Clonakilty Women's Shed…

You have probably seen ads for hair care products that make huge promises, with ingredients you've never heard of. What should you actually do with your hair, and what separates hair care fact from fiction?Joining Seán to discuss is Claire Fulham, Tricologist, and owner of Trua Tricology Clinic.

As the wrecking ball eviscerated the East Wing of the White House this week, concern is growing about Trump's plans for the historic compound.Joining Seán to discuss is Niall Palmer, Senior Lecturer in U.S. Politics at Brunel University in London…Image: Reuters

The former British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg recently shared a story of his first day working at Meta. He told employees not to bring their 'authentic self' to work - an apparent joke that did not go down well. But, is there a point to this? Should you leave your authentic self at home?Henry McKean has been investigating, and joins Seán to discuss.

You might have spent hours raking leaves this week, but from an environmental perspective, should we even touch the fallen leaves?Dr Michelle McKeown is an Environmental Geographer at University College Cork, and she joins Seán to discuss.

A new film on Gerry Adams' life has hit the silver screen in Irish cinemas.‘Gerry Adams: A Ballymurphy Man', created and produced by Trisha Ziff, aims to recapture the life of the former Sinn Féin President.Filmmaker Trisha Ziff is based in Mexico and has previously created films on the Spanish Civil War and Che Guevara.She spent over five years working on this movie with Gerry Adams and a mostly Mexican crew, with a vision to give Adams a ‘simple platform' to retell his story.She joins Seán to discuss.Image: Wildcard Distribution

Next summer, you may have a teenager in the house worried sick over their Leaving Cert results. If that's the case, you can tell them about Séamus Boland.Séamus dropped out of school at 13, and today is the incoming President of the European Economic and Social Committee. He joins Seán to discuss his journey.

With a ceasefire ongoing in Gaza, there are questions asked as to why the conflict in Sudan has been largely ignored... So, what is next on the world's moral compass, and as the humanitarian crisis deepens, just why should focus turn to Sudan?Senior Reporter with the Guardian Mark Townsend has been reporting on the situation, and joins Seán to discuss.Image: Reuters

Do you know how to identify a deepfake video?With AI technology now so advanced, the chances are that you have fallen for something online which actually is not real...With a fake video circulating online of Presidential candidate Catherine Connolly purporting to withdraw from the election, attention has turned to what role these videos play...Host of the ‘For Tech Sake Podcast', Elaine Burke, joins Séan to discuss.

Some of us are night owls, some of us are early birds. But, is it better to be one or the other, can you change your circadian rhythm, and why does this division even exist in the first place?Professor Andrew Coogan is a Behavioural Neuroscientist and Director of the Chronobiology and Sleep Research Laboratory at Maynooth University. He joins Seán to discuss.

Dr. Neil Kenny, Associate Professor and researcher at the School of Inclusive and Special Education at DCU joined Sean to chat about the progress being made in diagnosing and understanding autism.

An Irish academic has become the first person since the 19th century to translate the dialogues of Plato. Dr. David Horan, Trinity College Dublin Academic of Philosophy, joined Sean on the show to discuss his work

Did you know that Parks are where many people in China are finding love? Sean was joined by Mairead Loughman Matchmaker at Love HQ Matchmaking to discuss.

Author of ‘The Hypocrisy Trap', Michael Hallsworth, chatted to Sean about his new book

Sean was joined by, Dr Sarah Cleary, Horror consultant and writer of the myth of harm, to discuss whether the Gen Z generation abhors horror movies

Sean was joined by Valesca Lima Assistant professor at Dublin City University, researching housing policy and governance, to discuss the need for greater protection for those living in informal rent arrangements

The fragility of the Gaza ceasefire was all too evident over the weekend, and it's just the latest incident in the seemingly interminable conflict that has afflicted the beleaguered region since most of us can remember.But, has it always been like this?William Dalrymple is Historian and Co-Host of the ‘Empire Podcast', which is currently running a series on the History of Gaza. He joins Seán to discuss…Image: Reuters

Seven minutes is all it took for thieves to steal “priceless” jewels from the Louvre Museum in Paris, but now as the hours go by - what are the chances of ever recovering these pieces?Christopher A. Marinello, Esq is a Lawyer and Founder of Art Recovery International. He joins Seán to discuss.

Should we be teaching personal finance in school?Experiences shared by people looking back on their school days reveal that most students of business and economics were still not financially literate, and clueless on basic topics such as salaries and pensions…Joining Seán to discuss is Personal Finance Journalist and Presenter of The Home Show on Newstalk, Sinead Ryan.

In an interview this weekend, Colin Farrell described his forties as his most meaningful and beautiful decade.For most people, what is the best decade, or even year, of their life? Or should we even think about our lives in that way?Newstalk's Henry McKean has been investigating, and joins Seán to discuss.

A new service has launched which allows you to see the world like an astronaut. With three cameras installed on the International Space Station, you can now watch live footage of the Earth from 400km high.Joining Seán to discuss this is Charles Black, Founder of Sen…

Seán's guest grew up surrounded by ghost stories, and has now written one for kids. But, can spooky tales be good for children, and what role do these stories actually play in our lives?Eilish Fisher, author of ‘The Waters and the Wild', joins to discuss.

Fossilized remains can tell us all sorts of things about the anatomy of the great beasts of the past like dinosaurs, but they don't really tell us much about how they acted.However, a remarkable discovery made this summer in Oxfordshire is giving scientists insights into the behaviour of these great beasts.Kirsty Edgar is Professor of Palaeontology at the University of Birmingham, and joins Seán to discuss.

Have you thought about changing your name?Laurence Watkins from New Zealand is the Guinness World Record Holder for the longest name, which takes longer than twenty minutes to say…He joins Seán to discuss!

Today is World Anaesthesia Day, which marks the first successful demonstration of the inhalation of ether vapour as a means of overcoming pain of surgery.It happened on October 16th, 1846 at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, during a surgery performed by dentist William T. G. Morton.Ireland followed suit with a second successful trial, which was administered on an 18-year-old girl during the famine.Consultant Anaesthesiologist Dr. Patrick Seigne says today is an important opportunity to celebrate a practice that is often taken for granted, as well as Ireland's contribution to the field. He joins Seán to discuss.

While we may say that we love and treasure old buildings, the reality is that many of these are torn down and demolished with new, better fit-for-purpose office buildings or build-to-rent blocks built instead.So, as one building per minute is demolished in Europe, just why is this the go-to strategy?Futurist and Urbanist Ludwig Engels is involved with HouseEurope, a European Citizens' Initiative dedicated to refurbishment over demolition, and he joins Seán to discuss ahead of his Open House architecture talk…

Is there any escape from charity chuggers or energy switchers showing up at your door?Doctor and Columnist with the Irish Independent, Máire Treasa Ní Cheallaigh, says that people in Ireland find it easier to spend an hour entertaining salespeople or fundraisers rather than simply saying “No”...Irish generosity is world-renowned, but must we be pestered into giving?Máire joins Seán to discuss.

The Government is being called on to create a National Wills Register, in line with the policies of some other EU countries. But, what would be the point of this, and would it help to make the retrieval and division of assets easier, or is it just more unnecessary bureaucracy?Joining Seán to discuss this is John Lowe, from MoneyDoctors.ie…

Are you in a family WhatsApp group? If so, what are the criterias to be included? Is there a group for the core family, one for extended relatives and one for the annoying ones you put up with? And, what happens when those annoying people find out about your hidden chats?Newstalk's Henry McKean has been out in the public investigating, and joins Seán to discuss.

While every Irish schoolchild has traditionally been taught that our most famous book originated on the island of Iona, an argument has now been put forward that challenges this assumption…Joining Seán to discuss is Victoria Whitworth, author of ‘The Book of Kells: Unlocking the Enigma'...

Around Ireland and in Europe, the gay rights movement has had extraordinary success. Many would argue that there is more work to be done.However, Ronan McCrea, Professor of Constitutional and European Law at University College London argues that it's time for the movement to possibly take a step back, or risk unravelling all that's been achieved…He is author of ‘The End of the Gay Rights Revolution: How Hubris and Overreach Threaten Gay Freedom', and joins Seán to discuss.

Roughly 30,000 Irish emigrants return to Ireland each year to live. But, this process is both bureaucratically and emotionally challenging. Now, there are calls for a dedicated government agency to be established to help the diaspora return.Joining Seán to discuss is Karen McHugh, Chief Executive of Safe Home Ireland…

We're all well used to being told what we should and shouldn't be eating, and the latest food boogeyman is UPFs, or Ultra Processed Foods.You likely won't have to spend too long on social media to come across an influencer in a supermarket telling you why eating one product or another would be terrible for your health.But, could the fear mongering itself be even more harmful?Richie Kirwan is Senior Lecturer in Nutrition and Exercise Physiology at Liverpool John Moores University. He joins Seán to discuss.

While plastic surgery and other tweaks to the human anatomy seem par for the course nowadays, it can be easy to forget that these groundbreaking surgeries began with some rather hairy experimentation.Joining me now is Mary Roach, Author of ‘Replaceable You: Adventures in Human Anatomy'...

Is that photo of Trump on the cover of Time magazine really ‘the worst of all time'?The US President certainly seems to think so, and has been hitting out about the unflattering picture…But, what does it take to make a cover photo, and was this one deliberately uncomplimentary?James Crombie is the 2025 Irish Press Photographer of the Year and his photograph is on the front page of the Irish Times today. He joins Seán to discuss.Image: TIME

Unless you're the Rolling Stones or you've been on the road for decades, the music business is generally something people try to make a career of in their twenties.Not so for Seán's guest. Linda Lamon is 75 and has four grandchildren, but that hasn't stopped her from getting radio play in the UK and celebrity endorsements from the likes of Queen's Brian May since she decided to make a go of it in 2020. She joins to discuss!

You may have been listening to the Pat Kenny show this morning as Catherine Connolly and Heather Humphreys continued to make their respective cases to be Ireland's next President.On Friday the 24th of October, we will go to the polls to elect our 10th Head of State, but how will they compare to their predecessors? Who was our best and who was our worst?Kevin Rafter is Full Professor of Political Communication at DCU and Co-Editor of ‘The Irish Presidency: Power, Ceremony and Politics'. He's been ranking our former presidents from 1 to 9, and joins Seán to discuss.