Highlights From The Pat Kenny Show

Start the New Year with Henry McKean and special guests!

Dee Reddy Entertainment Journalist and Podcaster joined Emmet this morning to recommend some of the best podcasts of 2025.

Emmet was joined on the show this morning by Colin O'Byrne Spokesperson for VOICE who gave advice on handling all the waste from the Christmas season. 

Electoral changes and the political temperature heading into 2026. Emmet discuss this and more with Art O’Leary CEO of Electoral Commission.  

With January just a couple of days away, this is the time when many people are set to renew their health insurance. Companies are set to hike up premiums from later this week which is expected to impact over one point two million people. With advice on getting the best deal on health insurance Emmet spoke to Dermot Goode from Health Insurance Ireland.ie. 

With the new year just around corner, for some its time to start a fresh but with others there that its a time for anxiety and stress. So with all the pressure to live your best life, do we just need to fake it till we make it?All to chat about with Psychotherapist Enda Murphy.

Lisbon, Copenhagen and Bologna are just some of the cities across Europe offering the best food on the continent. But with a new bursting food scene in Dublin, is our capital city set to become a gastronomical hotspot?  Emmet Oliver chats to Russell Alford, one half of the Gastro Gays.

Henry's Christmas Cracker is a 2-hour special with special guests celebrating the festive season! Presented by Newstalk’s Henry McKean.

A trove of newly released Epstein files include emails that appear to involve Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, while another suggests Donald Trump travelled on the billionaire's private jet "many more times than previously has been reported". The US Department of Justice released at least 11,000 more files on Tuesday.  Scott Lucas, Professor and political analyst, Clinton Institute, University College Dublin, joined Pat Kenny to discuss.

The robots may be coming for your job but 2026 might finally show signs of what has been predicted for years, truly useful robots but also a new vista for entertainment and museums including plans for Ireland’s first National Children’s Science Centre. 2026 is predicted by several tech experts to be the year when robots truly enter public life. Stories of humanoid robots back flipping, robots playing competitive basketball, expressive theme-park characters and machines capable of walking marathon distances are dominating headlines. At the same time, researchers have pushed the boundaries of what robots can learn, how fast they can adapt and how safely and reliably they can operate in everyday spaces. Professor Luke O’ Neill joined Pat Kenny on the show to discuss.

It has been a very busy year for Irish politics, with our 10th President, Catherine Connolly taking to the Áras amidst the backdrop of a failed Fianna Fáil campaign. A two-finger salute from Michael Lowry while the Dáil rowed over speaking rights and the launching of the government’s National Housing Plan  Pat Kenny was joined by Pat Leahy, Political Editor, Irish Times, to look back on a busy year in Irish politics.

 From duck fat roast potatoes to brussels sprouts and leek gratin, Gareth Mullins Executive Chef of The Anantara Marker Hotel on what to cook this Christmas Eve.  

 Amidst the glitz and glamour of the most wonderful time of the year. We must remember those who are less fortunate than ourselves, those who will spend this Christmas sleeping rough on the streets across the country. Alice Leahy, of the Alice Leahy Foundation, joined Pat Kenny on the show to discuss.

Christmas is a time when many of us will try and take a break from the news and developments around the world, but very often, even at this festive time there are stories that have universal cut through. From the fall of Ceausescu to the enactment of our own constitution, some extremely significant events have happened over the festive period. So myself and our political correspondent Seán Defoe are going to take you on a trip to Christmases past and the news stories that grabbed the headlines like this one from December 26th, 2004…

Despite rising temperatures and changing weather patterns, important climate progress was made in 2025, including renewable energy becoming the source of electricity across the globe. Dr Ruth Freeman Director of Research for Society for Research Ireland joined Pat Kenny on the show for this week’s green scene.

For many people Christmas morning means opening presents, a big breakfast and for thousands around the country, a bracing dip in the sea. From organised charity swims to regular sea swimmers who go in every day of the year, the Christmas Day swim has become a festive tradition. Our Chief Reporter Barry Whyte has been finding out why it’s grown so popular and what people need to know before taking the Christmas Day plunge… 

If you remember the slogan ‘you cannot eat a better sweet’ then you will remember Lemon’s sweet shop on O'Connell Street, The Confectioner’s Hall. Famous for its use of safe, natural ingredients and its magical Christmas decoration window display.  Cormac O’Moore, co-author of the sweetness of lemons, joined Pat Kenny on the show to take a Nostalgic look back at the story of lemons and the history it lived through as it witnessed the famine, the two world wars, the Irish revolution, the Victorian era and the campaign for Home Rule. 

Conor Faughnan, Transport Commentator and Host of the Driving Life Podcast, joined Pat Kenny to discuss some of the biggest transport stories of the year.  

There’s been a lot of talk lately about blood on the streets of Silicon Valley and this time, it’s not just hype. Some of the biggest names in artificial intelligence have seen billions wiped off their market value in recent weeks, as investors start asking a blunt question: where’s the money?Adrian Weckler, Tech Editor with The Irish Independent, joined Pat Kenny on the show to discuss all things AI.

 Stephanie Regan, clinical psychotherapist and host of the Tough Love Podcast joined Pat Kenny on the show to discuss family rifts at Christmas, when to fix them and when to let them be.