“I had a very frank discussion with McGuinness and I told him that I couldn’t ever square the application of violence for political reasons”
Northern Ireland journalist Eamonn Mallie has just released a memoir, Eyewitness to War and Peace, and his interview with Dion Fanning explores the upheaval he has witnessed through a career covering the Troubles and the peace process, as well as the process of reporting on it. "With Michelle O’Neill and Emma Little-Pengelly at the helm, I’m hopeful that we’re on the right track again," Mallie says, and he explains why.
“This is a story of how power is wielded in the 21st century. And we are going to see more sagas like this.”
In 2017, Sideways Labs, an affiliate of the multinational giant Google, won a contract to design and build a neighbourhood on a prime 12-acre waterfront site in Toronto. It was to be a city based around tech: from autonomous garbage collection to a "digital layer" to monitor everything from street crossings to park bench usage. By May 2020, the project had collapsed. In Sideways: The City Google Couldn’t Buy, award winning reporter Josh O’Kane investigates how Google moved into the physical world, and how the project came unstuck. In this episode of The Context, O’Kane also explains to Sinead what it means for tech, city planning, and democracy.
“From an Ireland Inc perspective, even if there wasn’t a climate emergency, a lot of what we need to do around energy makes sense for the country anyway”
William Walsh has seen the evolution of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) from an offshoot of Enterprise Ireland to a 250-strong state agency tasked with rolling out retrofits and electric cars to Irish households and businesses - among many other tasks. Now the head of the agency, Walsh joins Chief Economics Writer Stephen Kinsella to discuss the challenges of the energy transition, its benefits beyond climate change obligations, and the long-term political backing he needs to deliver change from a €600 million annual budget.
“Commodity traders were at the forefront of lots of major geopolitical moments and events – be it the Arab oil embargo, be it the collapse of the soviet Union or the rise of China”
In The World for Sale, journalists Javier Blas and Jack Farchy chronicle the secret influence that a small number of giant commodity traders have on the world we live in, and how they use that influence on global politics to pursue massive profits. In this episode of The Context, Farchy talks to Sinead O’Sullivan about his efforts to unlock the secrets of the industry, and explains the inner workings of the billionaire commodity traders who buy and sell the planet's resources.
“Sometimes the lines become blurred and people think the law doesn’t apply because they’re family”
Family businesses can carry along successfully until they hit the skids and lawyers are called in. Emma Richmond and Cillian Balfe, partners at Whitney Moore, talk to Alison Cowzer for this episode of Family Matters about how legal services can benefit the structure and management of family businesses. Family Matters is sponsored by Whitney Moore law firm.
“There’s many on the far left who will always be in permanent opposition because they will never want to compromise the purity of principle in order to deliver change.”
Ivana Bacik has been leader of the Labour Party for eighteen months but what has she achieved? She talks to Dion Fanning about trying to revitalise the Labour Party, why she felt she had to take on the leadership and her determination to go into government only if her party can make a difference.
“The Chinese Communist Party’s influence all over the world is massive, relentless, and in many places, misunderstood.”
In his 2018 book, Silent Invasion, Clive Hamiton investigated the influence of the Chinese Communist Party in Australia. It led to a significant push back from vested interests and he was barred from entering China. Undeterred, the respected academic and author began to investigate the silent control that China exerts over the rest of the work, an investigation that led to Hidden Hand, a groundbreaking book recently published and co-authored by Hamilton and Mareike Ohlberg. “I wrote the book to show I would not be intimidated” he told Sinead O'Sullivan in this week’s episode of The Context. In the podcast, he takes Sinead through the journey of writing the book and explains how the Chinese Communist Party is exerting influence across the globe on a level few appreciate or truly understand.
The first Rugby World Cup in 1987 had gross revenues of just €4 million. In Japan four years ago, it was around €550 million. This time around, it will breach the €700 million mark. So, what is driving the commercial growth of the game, and how will it expand in the future?
In this podcast, Ian Kehoe talks to former Irish rugby player Rob Kearney and to Robert Brophy, the former CFO of World Rugby and now the Lead Adviser for Sports, Media & Leisure of Interpath Advisory. They discuss Ireland’s progress in the current World Cup, the opportunities for rugby to grow commercially and to expand into new markets, and the role of sponsorship in rugby. They also analyse the growth of the female game, the future of rugby, and whether Ireland can win the World Cup. The Currency’s Rugby World Cup coverage is in association with Interpath Advisory.
“A family business is not the industry you’re in, it’s a passion for business within the family
Vincent Carton’s family business Manor Farm is unique in Ireland. Eight generations of men led it one after another until it was sold to a Swedish PLC for €70 million. The question of what the ninth generation will do has taken years to determine. Carton shares some of the greatest lessons the process has taught him with Alison Cowzer on this week’s Family Matters podcast, sponsored by Whitney Moore law firm.
“The aim of the book is to help understand the virtues of Carlos Ghosn so you can understand how shocking the vices were.”
To understand how Carlos Ghosn rose so meteorically to the top of the global automotive industry, Wall Street Journal reporters Nick Kostov and Sean McLain begin their book 'Boundless' on the banks of the Amazon in Brazil.
It was from those humble beginnings that Ghosn, armed with a deep intellect and a brilliance for seeing the future, emerged with a determination to succeed. In this episode of The Context, McLain talks to Sinead O’Sullivan about the extraordinary rise, fall and escape of the former Nissan boss. It is a story of unfettered ambition, of shadowy financial manoeuvrings, of a daring escape, and of the seedy underbelly of international wealth.
“There’s no point in having a family business if the family ends up not having a business at all”
Family businesses are run on a special sauce of commitment but all too often the intensity means isolation. In this episode of the Family Matters series, sponsored by Whitney Moore, Alison Cowzer speaks to John McGrane, director general of the Family Business Network about confronting the big problems head on with the help of those who have walked the path before.