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The State of Us

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The State of Us
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  • Palestine Action: Northern Ireland’s first arrest
    Máire Mhic an Fhailí is the 74 year old woman who was arrested in Belfast earlier this month under the Terrorism Act.She was wearing a T-shirt with the slogan “We are all Palestine Action”. Palestine Action became a proscribed organisation in July under the Terrorism Act, making membership of or support for the group a criminal offence.MPs voted to proscribe the group after activists broke into RAF Brize Norton in June, spraying two Voyager aircraft with red paint and causing £7m worth of damage. Palestine Action said it was behind the incident.Máire tells Tara Mills and Declan Harvey about what led up to that arrest, why she feels so strongly and inextricably linked to the people of Gaza, and what she would do if she was sent to prison.Get in touch: [email protected]
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  • Secrets of a weather forecaster
    The accuracy of weather forecasting has improved almost beyond recognition in recent years. But despite those strides, there are still gaps in public trust. On The State of Us today, Tara Mills and Declan Harvey chat to the weather team about how tricky it is to get things right. Cecilia Daly and Barra Best answer questions like: How does weather forecasting happen? Why are there weather stations in Castlederg and Katesbridge? What’s the difference between “rain” and “showers”? And how did Barra get an actual storm named after him? Get in touch: [email protected]
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  • The State of Ballymena
    It's been two months since scenes of hate and violence erupted on the streets of Ballymena, County Antrim – and the fallout is still evident weeks later.Many homes remain boarded up on Clonavon Terrace, which bore the brunt of rioting described by the police as "racist thuggery".Tara Mills and Declan Harvey revisit the street, along with the MP for the area Jim Allister. The target of much of the aggression in June was the town's Roma (Gypsy) community and other foreign nationals. Some who fled say they are not coming back."Locals live here" posters, which first appeared by residents trying to protect their homes from being attacked, are still affixed to front windows on Queen Street.For some, the eight weeks since the rioting has seen a change in Ballymena – Jim Allister said there had been "an exodus of largely Roma and some other eastern Europeans"."It has transformed the feel in the area. There's no longer people standing around our street corners here," he told Tara Mills and Declan Harvey. In this episode of The State of Us, the team look at the data around all of this, in a bid to find out what is really going on in Ballymena. For organisations that offer support: www.bbc.co.uk/actionline Get in touch: [email protected]
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  • How can we fix Lough Neagh?
    The sight of Northern Ireland's waterways being covered in slimy, potentially toxic blue-green algae has become a regular occurrence in recent years - and 2025 is no different.The algae has been detected almost 100 times across Northern Ireland since the start of the year, with the majority of sightings in Lough Neagh and the Lower Bann, as well as Lough Erne.Lough Neagh, the UK's largest freshwater lake, has been blighted by large blooms of the potentially toxic algae in recent years.With these blooms becoming a recurrent event, not just confined to summer, and scientists warning they are likely to keep happening for many years to come - how bad is the issue and what's being done about it?From bubbles to space – Tara Mills and Declan Harvey speak to BBC NI’s Agriculture & Environment Correspondent, Louise Cullen about the problem, and how it might be solved.Also: can you grow pineapples in NI’s climate?Get in touch: [email protected]
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  • Chasing politicians into churches and more
    Members of a high-profile Irish evangelical Christian family chased the DUP chairman of the Education Authority, Mervyn Storey, through a church car park in County Antrim to challenge him over gender identity issues - they claim he’s being hypocritical.The state of our hospital waiting lists continues to be shocking… but have many of us just accepted it?Houses in religiously mixed neighbourhoods of Northern Ireland sell for more, but what impact do nearby painted kerb stones have on the value of a property?Tara and Declan chat about the stories that have really struck them in Northern Ireland this week.Get in touch: [email protected]
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About The State of Us

From BBC News NI. Tara Mills and Declan Harvey react and reflect on the stories that impact all our lives and speak to those who can help us understand why we’re in the state we’re in. This podcast is a new way of talking and learning about the news in Northern Ireland. There’ll be lots of candid conversations, special guests, with wisdom, informality and some fun along the way.Nothing will be off the table on “The State of Us”. New episodes every Tuesday and Thursday. Contact [email protected]
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