
The Hard Shoulder on Newstalk. Join us every weekday afternoon from 4-7pm for a round-up of the day’s events, interviews with the people at the centre of the stories – and a bit of craic along the way.
Listen and subscribe to The Hard Shoulder on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Spotify.
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| Publishes | Daily | Episodes | 6207 | Founded | 9 years ago |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Listeners | Category | Society & Culture | |||

Author John Grisham has said there is a steep decline in the US in reading for pleasure. Is this also the case in Ireland, and what has contributed to this? Is it simply our busy lives, or is there just too much vying for our attention?
Joining Ciar... more
The UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves has announced the latest Budget today, and it has not come without massive publicity. To chat through what has happened across the pond, Ciara Doherty is joined by Broadcaster, Political Commentator, and author, Iain D... more
Applications for a new "affordable" housing development opened in County Kildare today. However, some of the homes cost more than what is allowed under the local authority's Home Loan Scheme.
Newstalk's Josh Crosbie has been investigating, and joins... more
A debate before the EU Parliament will discuss whether social media companies should be liable for fake ads on their sites, in an effort to cut down on scams.
Joining Ciara Doherty to discuss is Fine Gael MEP, Regina Doherty.
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In all the Newstalk podcasts I have to turn up volume to hear guests and turn it down to hear presenter . Also you do not know more than your guest and stop talking across them and trying to be funny …grow up !
Friday’s show is always underwhelming.
Maybe time for a new producer and someone to replace the bumpkin.
Need to do something. The rest of the week is not much better these days. Disappointed!
It’s “this evening” - awful show with terrible overuse of THEEEEEEE before everything. Note to presenter: reading a quotations book and spouting random clever references does not make you clever.
This guy is so disingenuous. The posh accent is actually cringe
Kieran is a breath of fresh air after George/Ivan. Good command of detail and wry sense of humour at times. I like the travel slot, the head to head/common ground. Better week in review possible of a Friday. Very good at uploading podcasts quickly which is great.. V good on insta/social. So far this show is my preference to last word/Drivetime. Great show!
Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.
How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.
Apple Podcasts | #138 | |
Apple Podcasts | #22 |
Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.
Listeners, social reach, demographics and more for this podcast.
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The content focuses on current events, societal issues, and cultural commentary, making it appealing to listeners interested in contemporary discussions and debates. It features a blend of serious topics such as gun control, healthcare, and political commentary, alongside lighter segments that involve entertainment and humor, providing a well-rounded listening experience. Notably, the podcast seems to include a diverse array of guests, from journalists to comedians, allowing the host to explore a wide range of perspectives and insights.
Rephonic provides a wide range of podcast stats for The Hard Shoulder. We scanned the web and collated all of the information that we could find in our comprehensive podcast database. See how many people listen to The Hard Shoulder and access YouTube viewership numbers, download stats, audience demographics, chart rankings, ratings, reviews and more.
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Rephonic provides comprehensive predictive audience data for The Hard Shoulder, including gender skew, age, country, political leaning, income, professions, education level, and interests. You can access these listener demographics by upgrading your account.
To see how many followers or subscribers The Hard Shoulder has on Spotify and other platforms such as Castbox and Podcast Addict, simply upgrade your account. You'll also find viewership figures for their YouTube channel if they have one.
These podcasts share a similar audience with The Hard Shoulder:
1. The Pat Kenny Show
2. The Last Word with Matt Cooper
3. Today with David McCullagh
4. The Anton Savage Show
5. Brendan O'Connor
The Hard Shoulder launched 9 years ago and published 6207 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.
Our systems regularly scour the web to find email addresses and social media links for this podcast. We scanned the web and collated all of the contact information that we could find in our podcast database. But in the unlikely event that you can't find what you're looking for, our concierge service lets you request our research team to source better contacts for you.
Rephonic pulls ratings and reviews for The Hard Shoulder from multiple sources, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Castbox, and Podcast Addict.
View all the reviews in one place instead of visiting each platform individually and use this information to decide if a show is worth pitching or not.
Rephonic provides full transcripts for episodes of The Hard Shoulder. Search within each transcript for your keywords, whether they be topics, brands or people, and figure out if it's worth pitching as a guest or sponsor. You can even set-up alerts to get notified when your keywords are mentioned.
Recent guests on The Hard Shoulder include:
1. Iain Dale
2. Michael Magner
3. Regina Doherty
4. Conor Pope
5. Dermot Farrell
6. Derek Cassidy
7. Frances Byrne
8. Hilary Devlin
To view more recent guests and their details, simply upgrade your Rephonic account. You'll also get access to a typical guest profile to help you decide if the show is worth pitching.