The Irish Times World View Podcast

May 20 2021 432 ep. 28 mins 9.6k
The Irish Times World View Podcast artwork

The Irish Times' unrivalled foreign affairs coverage, now brought to you in weekly podcast form. Hosted by Chris Dooley with regular contributors Patrick Smyth, Denis Staunton, Lara Marlowe, Suzanne Lynch, Derek Scally, Tom Hennigan, Clifford Coonan and Ruadhan Mac Cormaic.

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A ceasefire in the Middle East?

May 20 2021 23 mins  
Mark Weiss reports from Jerusalem where there is a possibility of a ceasefire between Hamas militants in Gaza and Israel. What needs to happen to make a ceasefire work, and how do Israelis feel about the conflict that has claimed many more Palestinian than Israeli lives and been met with widespread condemnation as disproportionate?

UK election: can things get better for Labour?

May 13 2021 33 mins  
Are the UK's Labour Party facing an existential crisis? Is there a way back to power for the party - for example, by following the advice of its last successful leader Tony Blair? We talk to Denis Staunton.

Looking back at Biden’s first 100 days

May 06 2021 28 mins  
Joe Biden has spent his first 100 days as US president powering through an ambitious agenda and tackling issues on the economy, coronavirus and climate policy. What are the key actions he has taken thus far and where has he fallen short? Washington correspondent Suzanne Lynch joins Chris Dooley to take a look back at the start of his presidency.

India's covid catastrophe

Apr 29 2021 25 mins  
In the Indian capital of New Delhi, one person is reportedly dying of Covid-19 every four minutes. With a population of 1.3 billion, the surge in new infections has pushed the country’s health system to breaking point, with hospitals running out of critical supplies of oxygen and available beds to treat the seriously ill. In this episode Irish Times India correspondent Rahul Bedi

Could Welsh Independence actually happen?

Apr 22 2021 25 mins  
Recent polls of Welsh voters show growing support for the idea. To find out what's behind the trend and what it would take for it to become a reality, we talk to Denis Staunton.

Merkel succession battle threatens CDU/CSU alliance

Apr 15 2021 19 mins  
Angela Merkel is on her last lap as German Chancellor and will stand down when September’s federal election ends her fourth and final term in office. Meanwhile her party, the ruling Christian Democratic Union, is trapped in a high-stakes stand-off with its Bavarian ally, the Christian Social Union. The impasse? Which of their leaders should guide their centre-right alliance throu

Why is Russia sending troops to the border with Ukraine?

Apr 08 2021 19 mins  
Dan McLaughlin explains the background to a new flare-up in the war in eastern Ukraine between the government in Kiev and Russian-backed separatists, and the news that Russia has sent troops and tanks to its border with Ukraine for what it insists are military exercises. Why is trouble in the region increasing now, and is the threat of a major escalation real?

Brazil's health and democracy are both on the brink

Apr 01 2021 27 mins  
Brazil's Covid-19 case numbers and deaths have hit staggering new highs in the past month: over 60,000 died in March alone. Now it is facing a political crisis to match its health crisis. President Jair Bolsonaro, his authority undermined by the raging pandemic, sacked his defence minister and three top military chiefs in what looks like a struggle for control over the armed forces

Israel's election leaves Netanyahu needing unlikely allies

Mar 25 2021 18 mins  
Voters in Israel went to the polls this week in a bid to free the country of the political stalemate that has seen it hold four elections in two years. But after another cliffhanger result, the deadlock continues and it may be weeks before it becomes clear if prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu will be able to form another government. Exit polls after Tuesday’s vote indicated it

Will Lula's return to Brazilian politics end Bolsonaro's reign?

Mar 18 2021 32 mins  
Brazil's often chaotic political scene got even more complex recently when former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's conviction for corruption was suddenly overturned. Will Lula's expected return to politics, combined with the government's disastrous pandemic response, spell the end for current right-wing president Jair Bolsonaro?