The State of Us

• The State of Us Live: Blue Lights’ Michael Smiley and Joanne Crawford

  Blue Lights’ winning streak looks set to continue, with season three of the award-winning police drama attracting plenty of attention from TV fans and critics alike.This season Michael Smiley, best known for roles in the likes of Spaced, Alien: Earth, Black Mirror and Bad Sisters, joined the cast as intelligence officer Paul ‘Colly’ Collins, whose long history with Ch Insp Helen McNally, played by Joanne Crawford, quickly becomes apparent. In today’s episode of The State of Us, recorded live at the Belfast Media Festival, they both joined Tara Mills and Declan Harvey to talk playing police officers, the “dance” of getting a scene right and their own, sometimes long-distance, relationship with Northern Ireland. Episode contains strong language. Get in touch: [email protected]

  --------  

  30:30

  --------

  30:30
• The State of Us Live Show: The career of a BBC Panorama reporter

  Darragh MacIntyre is an investigative journalist with BBC Panorama. When it comes to being at the forefront of breaking news stories, there’s not much Darragh hasn’t done over his career. From talking to paramilitaries and looking at the crimes of the Catholic Church, to getting the first UK interview with Virginia Giuffre. He joined Tara Mills and Declan Harvey in front of a live audience at the Belfast Media Festival to talk about the current crisis engulfing the BBC, his work as an investigative journalist, and the time he jacked it all in to become a Donegal pub landlord.His latest film, The Disappearance of Captain Robert Nairac is his third time to collaborate with Alison Millar. Over his career he has won a number of Royal Television Society Awards, Irish Film and Television Awards, and Celtic Media Awards.Get in touch: [email protected]

  --------  

  37:47

  --------

  37:47
• Northern Ireland’s smear test ‘scandal’ – explained

  Some women died of cervical cancer in Northern Ireland, while waiting to find out what went wrong with the Southern Trust’s screening programme.17,500 tests had to be rechecked. Women who had been diagnosed and treated for cancer were retraumatised after they were again contacted about abnormalities discovered during an audit of their cases.This process – known as disclosure – was so badly handled that patients complained that they were misled about the gravity of the news they were to receive, with some going without a family member because they thought it was a routine appointment.Others spoke about feeling intimidated in a room full of medical staff, with some women feeling "shocked" , "horrified", and feeling "it was a washing away of the truth".Health Minister Mike Nesbitt has announced an expert review into the reports, however, he stopped short of ordering a statutory public inquiry.In today’s episode of The State of Us – Tara Mills and Declan Harvey take you through exactly what went wrong, and what all of this means going forward.Get in touch: [email protected]

  --------  

  29:03

  --------

  29:03
• The children married in Northern Ireland

  At least 116 children – including 91 teenage girls – have been married in Northern Ireland since legal reform to criminalise the arrangement of child marriages was announced over three years ago.On 1 July 2022, Stormont’s then Finance Minister Conor Murphy said that work would begin on new legislation following a public consultation which showed overwhelming support to raise the minimum age for marriage and civil partnership to 18.Currently, 16 and 17-year-olds can still marry in Northern Ireland if they have permission from a parent or a guardian. You cannot get legally married in England, Wales or Ireland under the age of 18. The Scottish Government confirmed in July that it is committed to consulting on raising its minimum marriage age from 16 to 18. Tara Mills and Declan Harvey speak to data journalist Kathryn Torney, who has been delving into the figures. Get in touch: [email protected]

  --------  

  28:51

  --------

  28:51
• Soldier F – Not guilty

  A former paratrooper has been found not guilty of murdering two people on Bloody Sunday in Londonderry in 1972.Known only as Soldier F – he was also found not guilty of five counts of attempted murder. Thirteen people were shot dead, and 15 others injured, when soldiers opened fire at a civil rights demonstration in a predominantly Catholic part of the city.Soldier F - the only military veteran to be prosecuted over the shootings - was screened from public view. The trial took place without a jury, with verdicts delivered by Judge Patrick Lynch.On today’s episode, Tara Mills is at Belfast Crown Court, Declan Harvey is in Derry. We’ll hear from families, veterans and have political reaction.Get in touch: [email protected]

  --------  

  37:22

  --------

  37:22

More News podcasts

Trending News podcasts

About The State of Us

The State of Us: Podcasts in Family