In today’s episode, Róisín Ingle is joined by award-winning Northern Irish writer Jan Carson, who has just released her ninth book, Few and Far Between. Set on a fictional archipelago in Lough Neagh, the novel blends history, realism and the surreal, drawing on themes of community, belonging and generational trauma. In this conversation, Carson explains how a historic plan to drain Lough Neagh and create a seventh county in the north, inspired the book. She also reflects on her childhood growing up in a Presbyterian fundamentalist family - where attending church six days a week was the norm - and what her faith means to her now.

But first, freelance journalist Kate Lynch is here to discuss some of the biggest stories of the week, including the racial abuse experienced by newly chosen Dublin Rose, Saud Mooge, plus the rise in popularity of Nigel Farage’s Reform UK and what the party’s policies mean for women.

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Fifty-year-old mother of two and stylist Jan Brierton became an accidental poet during the pandemic and has since become a regular on The Women’s Podcast. Her bestselling collections, What Day Is It? and Everybody is a Poem, struck a chord with readers, while a recent appearance on The Tommy Tiernan Show introduced her to an even wider audience.

Fresh from a UK tour with Henry Normal, Brierton joined podcast host Róisín Ingle to talk about life on the road, caring for her father and the unexpected joy of intergenerational friendships. She is now bringing her trademark wit and warmth to stages across Belfast, Galway, Limerick, Cork and Dublin. More details are available on her Instagram page, @jbgoodtome.

Also on this week’s episode, Jennifer O’Connell, Opinion Editor at The Irish Times, returned to discuss some of the stories of the week including the continuing decline in marriage rates in Ireland. New data from the Central Statistics Office shows that Catholic weddings have more than halved over the past decade, with overall marriage numbers also falling despite increases in civil and humanist ceremonies. Jennifer and Róisín explore what is driving the shift. They also discuss the latest chapter in the long-running legal dispute involving Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni and share their favourite looks from this year’s controversial, Bezos-sponsored Met Gala.

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While the war in the Middle East dominates the daily headlines - from peace talks to the price of oil - far less attention is given to the lived experiences of ordinary Iranians. These are the people who are living among the conflict and under the rule of a heavy-handed Islamic regime.

It is the less-heard voices and experiences that Iranian activists, Mahya Ostovar and Nasim Soleimanian want to amplify and as a result, they have set up the Iranian Democratic Diaspora Network in Ireland (IDDNI). In today’s episode, the pair join Róisín Ingle to discuss the goals of IDDNI, what they are hearing from friends and family in Iran and their hopes for a secular democracy and a peaceful future for their country.

But first, freelance journalist Kate Lynch is here to discuss some of the biggest stories of the week, including the death of Holocaust survivor and psychologist Edith Eger at the age of 99, plus the new government initiative which will allow victims of domestic abuse to travel on public transport for free.

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