Brendan O'Connor

Brendan O'Connor

Brendan O'Connor has all you need for the weekend with time to pause and reflect on the week just gone. Featuring a selection of human interest, consumer and lifestyle stories, as well as keeping you up to date on the news stories that matter. Listen live Saturday and Sunday at 11am - 1pm on RTÉ Radio 1.

Episodes

The Watchlist

November 16, 2025 • 12 mins
Nadine O'Regan, Irish Times Arts journalist, and Andy McCarroll, Host of the Extra Vison Podcast talk Brendan through the best TV and Cinema this week.
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Your guide to (finally!) buying a proper raincoat

November 16, 2025 • 9 mins
Matthew McConnell, Editor of Outsider.ie, tells Brendan everything you need to know about buying an effective raincoat AND maintaining its waterproofing
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"Could AI have a goal to destroy us?" "Yes"

November 16, 2025 • 26 mins
"Godfather of AI" Professor Geoffrey Hinton won a Nobel Prize for his early work on machine learning which were the foundations for modern Artificial Intelligence today. He left his role with Google to free him up to talk about his safety concerns around AI. He told Brendan why he thinks AI is now at a point where it can think and understand.
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Newspaper Panel

November 16, 2025 • 53 mins
Joining Brendan to talk through what's making the news today are: Tabitha Monahan, Political Reporter at the Irish Independent; Oisin Coghlan, Public Policy Advisor; Susanne Rogers from Social Justice Ireland and Seán O'Neill McPartlin, Director of Housing Policy at Progress Ireland. RTÉ Sport's Tony O'Donoghue previews Ireland v Hungary
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A Roast Chicken Masterclass with Chef Rory O'Connell

November 15, 2025 • 10 mins
Most of us can roast a chicken, but how can we make it next level? Chef, teacher, TV presenter and co-founder of Ballymaloe Cookery School, Rory O'Connell, shared his tips on gravy, spuds, and the veg too, to make tomorrow's roast extra special.
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"Acne affects 35% of women and 20% of men"

November 15, 2025 • 8 mins
Prof Caitríona Ryan, from the Institute of Dermatologists explains the causes and treatments for acne, why it's not just a teenage phenomenon and why you should never squeeze a spot!
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Navigating the Momosphere - "The mums DO say it's all on them"

November 15, 2025 • 27 mins
The new Sky show, 'All Her Fault', shines a light on marraige, motherhood, judgement and who-does-what around the house. Author Edel Coffey, and Kara Heriot Co-founder of Mum Talks have watched it and talk about navigating the momosphere, the schoolgates, the WhatsApp groups and how the demands of motherhood have changed over the years.
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"Obesity stigma is rising due to new weight-loss drugs" - Prof. Donal O'Shea

November 15, 2025 • 17 mins
The continuing explosion in demand for new wight-loss drugs is raising difficult questions about how society talks about weight, and how it treats people with weight loss. Professor Donal O'Shea, endocrinologist and HSE Clinical Lead for Obesity, brings Brendan up to date.
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"I fell asleep during my love scene with Roger Moore" - Jane Seymour

November 15, 2025 • 30 mins
Hollywood actor, Jane Seymour, and her partner of two years, musician and producer, John Zambetti, are back living in Ireland this winter, so they dropped in to talk Brendan through the music that has soundtracked each of their lives. Their choices included Fleetwood Mac, Paul McCartney, and Johnny Cash.
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The Watchlist

November 9, 2025 • 11 mins
John Maguire, film critic with The Sunday Business Post and Grainne Humphries, Director of the Dublin International Film Festival give us the definitive TV and movie watchlist for the week ahead.
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You’ve Still Got a Friend in Me – Toy Story turns 30

November 9, 2025 • 6 mins
The Disney – Pixar classis first premiered on November 22nd, 1995, starring the voices of Tom Hanks and Tim Allen, as Sherrif Woody and Buzz Lightyear. Toy Story 5 is due for release next year but Sinead Fox, Parenting Blogger was in studio to mark the animation classic on its 30th anniversary.
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“I almost stole Bowie’s stubbed out cigarette!” - Ian Dempsey

November 9, 2025 • 28 mins
Ultra cool and charming radio icon Ian Dempsey talks Brendan through his life in five songs, from his early days working in pirate radio, his imminent 65th birthday to giving up smoking 6 months ago, and his eclectic music taste which includes David Bowie, Paul Brady and Supertramp.
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The Newspaper Panel

November 9, 2025 • 53 mins
Joining Brendan to talk through what’s making the news today are Louise Bayliss, Head of Social Justice and Policy at Saint Vincent de Paul, Dr Aman de Sondy, Head of Department and Senior Lecturer in Contemporary Islam at UCC, Ellen Coyne, Political Correspondent with the Irish Times and Sarah Carey, Columnist with the Irish Independent.
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The soup recipes you need for cold dark winter days

November 8, 2025 • 7 mins
Need a comforting warming soup recipe? Chef Domini Kemp can deliver. From home-made stock and an easy fish soup to a vegan friendly red pepper soup and leak and chicken soup, these hugs in a bowl will set you up on cold winter days.
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How to look after your microbiome while it looks after you.

November 8, 2025 • 8 mins
The Gut is the "second brain" with the biggest collection of nerve cells outside of the brain itself. Registered Dietician Sarah Keogh talks to Brendan about the community of bacteria and viruses living in your gastrointestinal tract that make up your microbiome and how to make them work for us.
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Farewell Uachtarán Michael D Higgins!

November 8, 2025 • 29 mins
Singer Songwriter, Dermot Kennedy, Poet, Rita-Ann Higgins, Professor of Politics at DCU Gary Murphy, and Social Justice Campaigner Ruairí McKiernan look back at the two terms of Michael D Higgins’ presidency as he prepares to depart the Áras next week.
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“At 30, the last thing I thought was happening to me was a stroke” - influencer Shauna Lindsay

November 8, 2025 • 13 mins
Influencer and model Shauna Lindsay talks to Brendan about experiencing a stroke at the age of 30. She describes how she was doing boxing work in the gym when her entire left arm went numb when she punched the boxing pad.
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Does COP30 have a marketing problem?

November 8, 2025 • 7 mins
David Robbins, Co-director of the Institute for Climate and Society gives his take on why the messaging around climate change is not working and explains why it needs to move away from jargon and acronyms towards solutions.
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“I had a deep fear that I would be a bad dad because of my childhood” - Richard Hogan

November 8, 2025 • 28 mins
Psychotherapist and author Richard Hogan joins Brendan to talk about how to be a good dad, how the job has changed through the generations, how to change the cycle if you grew up in dysfunction and why today’s parents are over-correcting the mistakes of their own parents.
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The Watchlist

November 2, 2025 • 9 mins
Brian Lloyd, Freelance entertainment journalist and broadcaster, and Sarina Bellisimo, Broadcaster and entertainment journalist review the best of this week's TV and cinema.
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