When Kim Kardashian tells her 364 million followers she doesn’t believe in the moon landing, it’s tempting to roll your eyes. But in 2025, conspiracy thinking isn’t just a fringe obsession — it’s mainstream entertainment.

From claims that aliens built the Pyramids to the wild theory that birds aren’t real (they’re government-controlled drones, apparently), these ideas spread faster than ever and reach millions who never question them.

As Ireland’s Science Week gets underway, Shane Beatty is joined by Dr Shane Bergin, Associate Professor in Science Education at UCD, host of The Trust Race podcast, and the man who actually teaches a course on conspiracy theories at UCD.

Dr Bergin explains why we fall for fake facts, how social media algorithms amplify suspicion, and what centuries-old events like the Gunpowder Plot reveal about the long, strange history of paranoia and mistrust. He also recalls how conspiracy and misinformation surrounding the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s cost lives — a reminder that these ideas aren’t harmless fun.

From 5G panic to flat-Earth videos, and from anti-vaccine movements to moon-landing denial, this episode explores how mistrust takes root — and how science can fight back through education, creativity, and connection. Welcome to your crash course in the psychology of disbelief.

🔬 Explore Science Week 2025 events and activities: https://www.scienceweek.ie

📘 Read Dr Shane Bergin’s new book, The Experimenters: Luke and Ruby’s Scientific Sleepover (Little Island Books): https://littleisland.ie/books/the-experimenters-luke-and-rubys-scientific-sleepover/

💌 Share your favourite (or strangest) science conspiracy with us: newstalkdaily@newstalk.com

He’s the most wanted Irishman on Earth — a boxing promoter turned drug lord, living it up in the desert. Daniel Kinahan’s wedding at Dubai’s Burj Al Arab brought together Europe’s biggest narcos. Within five years, almost all of them were behind bars. All except him.

Now, as the Irish Criminal Assets Bureau sells off his former Dublin mansion for a record sum, Kinahan remains untouched in Dubai: shopping, dining with boxers, and running what Europol calls a “Super Cartel” worth up to €20 billion a year.

On today’s podcast, Shane Beatty talks to Ed Caesar, whose New Yorker investigation reveals how Kinahan built his empire, courted boxing’s elite, and managed to stay free while others fell. They also discuss why the United Arab Emirates have become, in Ed's words, "a sandy place for shady people." And Ed reveals he's been informed that Daniel Kinahan has read his investigation in the magazine.

A story of crime, influence, and the strange safety of exile.

📰 Read Ed Caesar’s full investigation in The New Yorker: 👉 The Cocaine Kingpin Living Large in Dubai

📩 Email the show: newstalkdaily@newstalk.com

Shane Beatty’s had enough — his Local Property Tax bill has jumped by €120 after the latest revaluation. Across Ireland, 1.5 million homeowners are being asked to declare what their homes are worth by November 7th or face an estimate from Revenue.

So, what’s behind the new numbers? Why do councils set different rates? And what exactly is all that money spent on?

Economist Dr Barra Roantree from Trinity College Dublin joins Shane on Newstalk Daily to explain how the LPT really works and argue that it’s actually one of the fairest taxes in Ireland. Barra says a stronger property tax could fund better local services… or even help cut income tax. Shane, meanwhile, has other ideas: “Vote for Barra, he’ll raise your taxes. Vote for me, I’ll cut them!”

From revaluations and rate bands to council budgets and pensioner deferrals, this podcast is your quick, clear guide to the Local Property Tax — what it is, what you owe, where it goes, and why we’re still arguing about it twelve years after it began.

📅 Deadline to revalue: 7 November 2025
🏠 Check your band on revenue.ie
💌 Got thoughts on the property tax? Email newstalkdaily@newstalk.com ✉️