The ancient festival of Samhain (mini episode)

Topics covered: Nature, belonging, grief, childhood loss, the Whiddy Island disaster, family, fatherhood, night fishing, love, mortality, the healing power of nature, wildlife encounters, biodiversity...

4 Nov 50min

In this special Oíche Shamhna Real Take, I'm revisiting a conversation I had this time last year with musician, broadcaster and academic Doireann Ní Ghlacáin.We spoke the day after I'd seen her perfor...

31 Okt 11min

Topics covered: Conscious parenting, raising daughters and sons, childhood conditioning, patriarchy, people-pleasing, strong-willed girls, self-worth, body image, modelling, boundaries, boys' emotiona...

28 Okt 49min

How often do we push ourselves to the point of exhaustion, trying to do everything and keep everyone happy?For this week's Real Take, I'm dipping into the Ready to Be Real archive to revisit a convers...

24 Okt 8min

Topics covered: Family, childhood, emigration, love, fatherhood, masculinity, patriarchy, Palestine, empathy, apathy, humanity, community, collective action, LSD, anxiety, panic attacks, creativity an...

20 Okt 1h 7min

Topics covered: Adolescence, preteens, parenting, boundaries, connection, communication, friendships, resilience, smartphones, internet access, childhood development and growing independence.For this ...

16 Okt 19min

Topics covered: Online safety, childhood, parenting, smartphones, social media, gaming, Roblox, algorithms, manipulation, digital autonomy, grooming, sextortion, exploitation, CSAM, pornography, harmf...

13 Okt 1h 20min

In this week's Real Take, Majella O'Donnell shares her personal experience of the ten weeks she spent as an inpatient in St John of God Hospital in 2024, when she became seriously unwell with depressi...

9 Okt 18min