It’s been an eventful week geopolitically with Donald Trump and Nicolás Maduro making most of the headlines.

But quietly beavering away in the background was Micheál Martin as he pressed the flesh in Beijing.

The trip came off the back of an internal study by the Department of Foreign Affairs into the Government’s diplomatic soft power and included a notable non-answer to a question on the events in Venezuela from the Taoiseach.

So just how much is achieved by these visits? To what degree is the off camera dialogue reflected by the on the record rhetoric?

And does Ireland’s soft power pack much of a punch internationally?

Today on the podcast, Shane Beatty speaks with former Irish Ambassador to France, Rory Montgomery about diplomacy, soft power and what really goes on behind the scenes on these state visits.

A long-running European trade deal is heading for a crunch moment, and it’s sparked one of the loudest rows in Irish politics in years.

As EU ambassadors prepare to move on the EU–Mercosur agreement, farmers are warning it could flood the market with cheaper meat – especially beef and poultry from Brazil – and undermine rural livelihoods. A major protest is planned in Athlone this weekend, with farming groups urging the government to stand firm.

But Irish business sees a very different picture, arguing the deal could open doors for exporters and protect Ireland’s place in a volatile global economy.

Today on the podcast, Shane Beatty hears both sides of the argument. First, Agriland editor Stella Meehan explains why farmers are so deeply opposed. Then, Chambers Ireland CEO Ian Talbot makes the case for why business wants the deal done.

And along the way, we ask a question many listeners are quietly thinking about: could more competition actually help hard-pressed shoppers?

A trade deal, a political headache — and a country divided.

William Shakespeare is back in the cultural spotlight with the release of the film Hamnet, starring Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley. But while the film renews interest in the playwright’s life and legacy, it also raises an awkward question closer to home: why does Shakespeare still hold such a dominant, compulsory place in Irish schools?

English teacher Conor Murphy joins Shane Beatty on the podcast to argue that while Shakespeare’s brilliance is not in doubt, his privileged position in the curriculum is. Conor suggests that making Shakespeare mandatory crowds out other voices — including Irish writers and dramatists — and reinforces the idea that English literature has a fixed centre with the Bard permanently at its core.

They discuss whether students are engaging meaningfully with Shakespeare or simply learning how to “pass” him for exams, whether plays are being taught in the wrong way, and how much space is left for writers like James Joyce, John McGahern, Marina Carr, or Doireann Ní Ghríofa. With curriculum reform on the horizon, the conversation asks whether it’s finally time to rebalance what — and who — we value in Irish classrooms.

Hamnet opens in Irish cinemas this Friday. If you go to see the film, we’d love to hear your reviews! Send us an email to newstalkdaily@newstalk.com.

January 6th marks Epiphany, Nollaig na mBan, and the official end of the Catholic Church’s Jubilee Year. It closes the door on a remarkable twelve months that included the death of Pope Francis, the election of Pope Leo, and a renewed push to reconnect with young people.

On today’s Newstalk Daily, we look back at what the Jubilee was meant to achieve — and whether it worked. From the million-strong Jubilee of Youth in Rome to the quieter reality of declining Mass attendance at home, what does success look like for the modern Church?

We also examine the early signals from Pope Leo XVI: a calm, methodical leader described as a “centrist dad Pope,” favouring order and tradition over disruption, and taking a cautious approach to reform.

Joining Shane Beatty on the podcast is Michael Kelly, Director of Public Affairs at Aid To The Church In Need and author of a recent biography of Pope Leo, on where the Church stands as 2026 begins — in Ireland and across the world.

You can find out more about the work of Aid To The Church In Need Ireland here:
👉 https://www.acnireland.org/

On paper, Gaza is in a ceasefire. On the ground, Israeli military operations continue, borders inside the strip are shifting, aid access is tightening, and more than 400 people have been killed since the agreement came into effect last year.

Humanitarian organisations, including Doctors Without Borders, have been suspended from operating in Gaza under new Israeli registration rules, while reconstruction remains blocked and civilians are being killed near expanding control lines. At the same time, new Israeli settlements have been approved in the occupied West Bank, raising further questions about whether the ceasefire is stabilising the region or quietly storing up the conditions for more violence.

Professor Fawaz Gerges of the London School of Economics argues that what now exists is not a ceasefire at all, but a region-wide low-intensity war. He joins Shane Beatty on the podcast to assess whether the current arrangement was ever designed to hold, how credible the US role as mediator really is, and why the risk of renewed conflict between Israel and Iran in 2026 may be higher than many are willing to acknowledge.

Is this a genuine pause on the road to peace, or simply a different phase of the same conflict?

This year, the United States marks 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence. What was meant to be a sweeping national commemoration — exhibitions, reenactments and reflection — has instead become a flashpoint for political and cultural conflict, with funding rows, museum controversies and a White House determined to shape how the story is told.

On today’s podcast, Sean Defoe is joined by Dr Sandra Scanlon, lecturer in American history at University College Dublin, to ask what the American Revolution was really about — and why its legacy is proving so contested 250 years on.

They discuss the Declaration of Independence, mythmaking around 1776, how anniversaries shape national identity, the challenge of commemoration, and whether it’s possible to celebrate the founding of the United States while confronting slavery, exclusion, and inequality.

They also explore Donald Trump’s policing of “patriotic history,” the fallout from statue debates and Black Lives Matter, and what a genuinely successful 250th anniversary might look like.

During 2025, the Catholic Church celebrated its Jubilee of Youth. At the same time, polling research in Ireland and the UK revealed growth in spirituality and religious practice among young people. In this podcast from the Newstalk Daily archive, Ciara Doherty is joined by Colm Flynn, Vatican correspondent with EWTN.

One of the biggest streaming hits of the year was The House of Guinness on Netflix. In this podcast from the Newstalk Daily archive, Ciara Doherty is joined by journalist and author Emily Hourican, whose The Guinness Girls novels also fictionalise characters from the famous Dublin dynasty.