This week, a case that gripped Britain for nearly two years reached its conclusion. Constance Marten — the aristocrat who vanished with her partner, Mark Gordon, and was later found guilty of manslaughter by gross negligence — was sentenced.

Both Marten and Gordon were given 14 years in prison over the death of their daughter Victoria. Gordon will serve a further four years on extended licence, while Marten will not be released until she has served at least two-thirds of her sentence.

Their disappearance in late 2022 sparked a nationwide manhunt, a desperate search for a newborn baby, and a story that dominated headlines. Police pieced together how the couple evaded CCTV, relied on a network of safe houses, and carried their infant through a freezing winter — until their arrest in Brighton, and the tragic discovery of Victoria’s body days later.

In court, Judge Mark Lucraft said the couple gave no “thought to the care or welfare” of their child, focusing only on themselves as they tried to avoid detection. He found Victoria’s death was caused by hypothermia — “the result of obvious neglect” — and accused the pair of showing no genuine remorse, instead blaming everyone else.

From Martin’s privileged background and Gordon’s troubled past, through the disappearance and trials, to the final sentencing, this is a story that shocked Britain and continues to raise tough questions about parental responsibility, child protection, and the limits of the law.

Ciara Doherty is joined by journalist Vincent McAviney, who has followed the case from the very beginning, reporting from Brighton on the morning of their arrests and throughout the subsequent trials.

Everyone is talking about The Traitors — the hit reality TV series where deception is currency and trust is constantly under threat. But what happens when lying moves from the gameshow roundtable to a Garda interview room? In real life, spotting deception isn’t a parlour trick. It can mean the difference between conviction and acquittal.

In today’s podcast, Ciara Doherty is joined by former investigator and forensic psychologist Geraldine Noone, who spent decades in policing and helped bring killer Graham Dwyer to justice. Together they explore why humans are so bad at spotting lies, whether body language really gives the game away, and how detectives actually uncover the truth when the stakes are at their highest.

From poker-style “tells” to the myths about shifty eyes, Geraldine explains what science really says about lying, and why elaborate stories often trip people up. Along the way, she compares the chaotic decision-making of the Faithful on The Traitors with the careful, evidence-driven strategies used inside police interview rooms. If you’ve ever wondered whether you could survive in The Traitors castle - or whether you’d spot a liar in real life - this conversation has the answers.

🔍 Want more from Geraldine? Revisit our earlier episode 🎭 Unmasking Graham Dwyer, where she explains how careful investigative work exposed one of Ireland’s most infamous killers.

They’re big, they’re bold, and they’ve crash-landed in Cork. The Asian hornet - an uninvited tourist with a sting in its tail - officially arrived in Ireland this summer. Picture it: beach-ball nests hidden in your local sycamore, buzzing with thousands of honeybee-hungry invaders. The National Parks and Wildlife Service has already registered 24 verified sightings.

But hornets are just the latest in a long parade of alien gatecrashers. From rhododendrons running wild in the woods, to grey squirrels muscling in on our reds, to coypu lurking in canals, invasive species have been rewriting Ireland’s nature story for centuries.

Biologist and broadcaster Éanna Ní Lamhna joins Ciara Doherty to separate the myths from the stings. How dangerous are these hornets really? Why do invasive species thrive once they set up shop? And can our native wildlife fight back?

It’s a conversation that’s part creepy-crawly horror film, part natural history lesson, part call to arms. Because spotting, reporting, and understanding these invaders might be the only way to keep them in check – or, as Éanna puts it, “clobber them” early on!

🐝 Report your Asian hornet sightings at invasives.ie
📚 The new edition of Éanna Ní Lamhna’s book, Wild Dublin: Exploring Nature in the City, is published by The O’Brien Press