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PODCAST

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

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All Episodes

34:26

Greenvale Hotel Crush: 'Our loved ones died - the...

The State of Us ·

2025/11/18

It is almost seven years since three teenagers went to a St Patrick's night disco in County Tyrone and did not come home.Morgan Barnard, 17, Connor Currie, 16 and Lauren Bullock, 17, died in a crowd crush involving hundreds of young people outside the Greenvale Hotel in Cookstown in March 2019. Their families say that delays in the legal system have been like a ‘second trauma’. Morgan's dad Jimmy, and Connor's dad Eamonn have been speaking to Tara and Declan for today's episode of The State of

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30:30

The State of Us Live: Blue Lights’ Michael Smiley and...

The State of Us ·

2025/11/13

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

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37:47

The State of Us Live Show: The career of a BBC...

The State of Us ·

2025/11/11

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

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29:03

Northern Ireland’s smear test ‘scandal’ – explained

The State of Us ·

2025/11/06

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

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28:51

The children married in Northern Ireland

The State of Us ·

2025/11/04

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

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37:22

Soldier F – Not guilty

The State of Us ·

2025/10/23

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,

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35:04

TV writer says pro-Israeli views shut out of the arts

The State of Us ·

2025/10/21

People in the arts community who have sympathy with Israel are treated “basically like a Nazi” according to the writer of a major new TV drama. David Ireland has said that the situation in Israel and Gaza is an “impossible thing to talk about” for some people working in the arts. Ireland is the writer behind the ITV crime thriller Coldwater staring Eve Myles and Andrew Lincoln, as well as The Fifth Step, a play currently starring Jack Louden and Martin Freeman and showing at the Soho Place in

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35:45

Parents of SEN child convicted over school...

The State of Us ·

2025/10/16

The parents of a SEN teenager have been convicted for their son’s non-attendance at school in a case that has cost them £30k.The Education Authority took the case against James and Leigh Bryson after their son Archie, who is autistic, missed almost a year of school.The couple join Tara and Declan on the podcast to talk about having their lives dissected in court and feeling victimised by the process. We also ask them about being found to have failed to meet their legal duty to ensure their child

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35:51

Did Northern Ireland really inspire Trump's...

The State of Us ·

2025/10/14

Donald Trump says the next stage of negotiations over his Israel/Gaza peace plan to end the war are under way. There are no details yet though, about when, where or how that will be carried out. The PM Keir Starmer says the focus in the days and weeks ahead is "the relentless implementation of this peace plan", which he calls "no small challenge."With Tony Blair being tipped to potentially help oversee governance of post-war Gaza, his experience in helping to bring about peace in NI is being lauded

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24:50

Do mugshots matter?

The State of Us ·

2025/10/09

When a man was convicted of raping a woman last month, he went on the run. His victim says she felt down when it took police nearly two weeks to publish his picture. Ahmed Abashar, 31, from University Avenue in Belfast, was convicted of rape last month but failed to appear in court. Jane, not her real name, said the lack of action made her feel the police "weren't taking it seriously".The Police Service of Northern Ireland said sexual crimes were "incredibly complex to investigate" and supporting

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28:28

The great big vaccine debate

The State of Us ·

2025/10/07

Childhood vaccination rates in Northern Ireland are dropping year on year. Experts are worried.The Public Health Agency is warning that if rates drop further we will start to see the return of “diseases of the past” such as polio, diphtheria and tetanus. Measles returned to Northern Ireland last year. So why are people so divided about vaccines?Two men who have been battling it out on social media, come together on the pink sofa to talk through it all. Paul Frew, DUP MLA and Dr Connor

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35:40

What the **** is happening in golf?

The State of Us ·

2025/10/02

Has the world of golf gone mad?Swearing, shouting, and lobbing pints – that was the Ryder Cup 2025.Stephen Watson is one of the closest journalists to NI golfer Rory McIlroy. He's just back from Bethpage Black, where he said the atmosphere sometimes felt like a Trump rally. He has followed Rory's career since he was a kid; through Masters wins and defeats, and at countless Ryder Cups. But Stephen tells Tara Mills and Declan Harvey that the abuse the golfer received in New York was like nothing he

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33:17

Fighting poverty in NI: The minister defends his plan

The State of Us ·

2025/09/30

Following on from our chat with Rachel and Louise, two mothers living in poverty in Northern Ireland, the minister heading up the executive anti-poverty strategy defends his plan.Minister Gordon Lyons joins Tara and Declan in The State of Us studio as they discuss the 28-page paper which sets out the proposed route to tackling poverty over the next 10 years.It outlines efforts already being taken by various departments to help minimise the risks of people falling into poverty in Northern Ireland, as

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7:56

Bonus: Kneecap’s Mo Chara terrorism case thrown out

The State of Us ·

2025/09/26

A bonus episode of the State of Us after the terrorism case against Kneecap rapper Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh was thrown out.Kelly Bonner joins Declan from outside Woolwich Crown Court to bring us how the case fell apart as well as reaction from the band.The rapper who performs under the stage name Mo Chara was charged in May after allegedly displaying a flag in support of proscribed organisation Hezbollah at a gig at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town, London, in November 2024.He denied the charge and has

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25:56

Was the PSNI spying on journalists?

The State of Us ·

2025/09/25

Julian O’Neill joins Tara and Declan on The State of Us after new details were revealed on how the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) unlawfully used covert surveillance powers.A report has uncovered how the PSNI used journalists' phone numbers to check for any leaks of information by its officers or staff, and also revealed there were 21 unlawful uses of covert powers to attempt to uncover reporters' sources. Its author, lawyer Angus McCullough KC, said he found that the PSNI's

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25:22

Irish presidential election hots up

The State of Us ·

2025/09/23

Nominations for the next president of Ireland close on Wednesday. Already there has been some controversy around this race to the Áras.BBC NI’s new Dublin correspondent Gabija Gataveckaitė joins Declan Harvey to talk about what we can expect from this campaign.Who are the runners and riders?What does the president actually do? Or, perhaps more crucially, what don’t they do?Confirmed candidates so far include Catherine Connolly, Jim Gavin and Heather Humphreys. Will Maria Steen get the required

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27:06

Blue Lights – the new series

The State of Us ·

2025/09/18

Action, some laughs and a lot of tears are to be expected as BBC One's police drama Blue Lights returns for its "most emotive season yet".The long-anticipated third season of the show, which follows rookie cops navigating law and order in a post-conflict Northern Ireland, is set to air from Monday 29 September.After scooping up a Bafta award for best drama earlier this year – producer and co-creator Louise Gallagher joins Tara Mills to talk about the huge success it has been. While the premiere of

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28:03

Uncovering the truth about Katie Simpson’s death

The State of Us ·

2025/09/16

It was a case that shook the equestrian community. Now a new series explores the secret investigation that led to a murder trial. Tara Mills speaks to Rachel Hooper and Natalie Maynes, producers from ‘Walk on Air’ films about events that led up to the death of 21-year-old showjumper Katie Simpson.In a new documentary series, recorded over a period of years, Rachel and Natalie delve into the coercive control so many women experienced at the hands of Jonathan Creswell. He’s the man accused of Katie’s

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33:42

Stuart Robinson: ‘Behind enemy lines’ chatting about...

The State of Us ·

2025/09/11

Radio presenter Stuart Robinson started his broadcasting career 3 decades ago, as a wide-eyed 16 year old.He has risen through the ranks of commercial radio and is now controller of NI’s most successful commercial radio portfolio – Cool FM, Downtown and Downtown Country.In this interview he goes ‘behind enemy lines’ to tell Tara Mills and Declan Harvey just how real his public spats with Stephen Nolan and Barra Best are.He also discusses why he’s critical of the BBC licence fee, and how successful

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33:18

Tuam: Ireland’s secret burial shame

The State of Us ·

2025/09/09

It was a story of institutional inhumanity – which, at first, many found unbelievable.Hundreds of babies and children, buried in an unmarked mass grave, at the site of an institution for unmarried mothers near the west coast of Ireland.St Mary’s Home operated in Tuam, County Galway, from 1925 until 1961.A religious order ran the institution, at a time of moral taboos when there was a social stigma around pregnancies outside of marriage. It’s 11 years since a local amateur historian uncovered

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