Rephonic
Artwork for Arena
Dublin
Ireland
Irish Music
Marianne Faithfull
David Bowie
Wuthering Heights
Hamnet
New York
Lisa O'neill
Ailbhe Reddy
An Alternative Irish Christmas
RTÉ Radio
Emily Brontë
Peggy Seeger
Music
The Wind Doesn't Blow This Far Right
Paul Costelloe
Irish Culture
Robin and Dawn
Kiss Big

A look at what's happening in the world of arts, culture and entertainment presented by Rick O'Shea.

PublishesDailyEpisodes103Founded17 years ago
Number of ListenersCategory
Arts

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Artwork for Arena

Latest Episodes

Tribute to Sean Rocks on the first anniversary of his death.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Trinidadian Scottish writer and poet Anthony Vahni Capildeo discusses their non-fiction debut, Masqueraders: Selected Essays, and an upcoming appearance at The Shaking Bog festival.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Paul Whitington discusses the 75th anniversary of Salinger’s iconic novel The Catcher in the Rye.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today the Irish music world lost a giant: a friend, mentor, favourite son and artist whose influence reached far beyond music. An activist, extraordinary live performer, collaborator and Oscar winner. Maria Doyle Kennedy, Lisa O'Neill, Julie Feeney, ... more

Key Facts

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Recent Guests

Zara Hedderman
Music critic invited to discuss the albums
Episode: Album Reviews with John Meagher and Zara Hedderman
John Meagher
Music journalist/critic invited to discuss the albums
Episode: Album Reviews with John Meagher and Zara Hedderman
Steven Benedict
Guest, film commentator and analyst discussed in intro
Episode: Remembering, The Wind That Shakes the Barley
Declan Burke
Critic/Reviewer
Episode: Film Review
Lorne McFadden
Actor, Daniel in On The Sea
Episode: Film Review
Barry Ward
Actor, Jack in On The Sea
Episode: Film Review
Arlene Hunt
Critic/Reviewer
Episode: Film Review
Michael Gallen
Co-writer, co-director and composer of The Curing Line
Episode: New Opera - The Curing Line
Shawn Fitzgerald Ahern
Director of The Curing Line
Episode: New Opera - The Curing Line

Hosts

Sean Rocks
Host of Arena and Arena Encore, RTÉ Radio 1
Rick
Host of Arena

Reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars from 79 ratings
  • Great show, awful uploads

    I love the show itself, but hate the haphazard and unpredictable way the episodes are made available. Why can’t the full show be made available after it airs? Sometimes they’re chopped up; sometimes they aren’t. Sometimes Friday episodes aren’t uploaded at all. It’s so frustrating.

    Apple Podcasts
    3
    HeLikedTurner
    Ireland2 months ago
  • This is what I’ve been looking for

    Do you like to hear educated opinions that are clear, concise and charming?

    Maybe it’s the accent but when someone said the latest Yorgos/Emma movie was “really just a doodle” I was hooked. There is a bit of music and television that we don’t access to yet. You know what? Don’t care. It’s an excellent show

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Maudelebowski666
    United States9 months ago

Listeners Say

Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.

Shows can be dense with cultural references but rewarding for arts enthusiasts.
Guests and topics receive thoughtful, cross-disciplinary treatment.
The mix of live performances and interviews is often captivating and informative.
Listeners praise clear, concise opinions and engaging accents.

Chart Rankings

How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.

Apple Podcasts
#195
Ireland/Top Podcasts
Apple Podcasts
#8
Ireland/Arts
Apple Podcasts
#209
Indonesia/Arts

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

The Alice Project Brings Kilkenny's Dark History to Life
Q: What is the Alice Project and who was Dame Alice Kyteler?
The Alice Project is a five-episode, site-specific theatre experience that expands across Kilkenny, turning the city into the stage and retelling a historically significant tale told through multiple perspectives; Dame Alice Kyteler is the central historical figure, a wealthy 14th-century Kilkenny woman associated with witchcraft but presented here as a complex character within a broader social and historical context.
The Story Behind The Blind Fiddler
Q: What are the challenges and rewards of creating an authentic Irish pub atmosphere on stage with both actors and musicians?
The atmosphere comes from a combination of lighting, sound design, ensemble crowd dynamics, and the musicians who interweave their performance with the actors' storytelling, making the pub feel lived-in and believable without turning the stage into a full bar.
The Story Behind The Blind Fiddler
Q: Talk about what it's like for original cast members to revisit their roles after many years, and how the dynamic of working with the same material has evolved.
The original actors, now in high demand, bring a legacy and depth to the revival, and reuniting them for a four-week run allows new audiences to experience the memory and joy of these performances, while the musicians help weave the tale through live sound.
The Story Behind The Blind Fiddler
Q: I was wondering, does staging it now 20 years later, does that in any way change what you do with the play or is it pretty much as it would have been first time around?
There are enhancements and embellishments, with better stagecraft and different directors or actors, but the heart of the story—the journey of a family in Belfast during the 70s—remains essentially the same.
My Bloody Valentine and the Rise of Shoegaze
Q: Tell me who Simon Reynolds is.
Reynolds is described as one of the best British music journalists of recent decades, known for Rip It Up and Start Again and for intelligent writing across rock and electronic music, influencing a generation of writers.

Audience Metrics

Listeners, social reach, demographics and more for this podcast.

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Gender Skew
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Frequently Asked Questions About Arena

What is Arena about and what kind of topics does it cover?

A culturally focused program that blends film and theatre reviews, live music segments, and arts coverage across dance, literature, and design. Episodes frequently feature in-depth conversations with actors, directors, musicians, and critics, plus deep dives into exhibitions, classic works, and contemporary performance. A standout is the willingness to span both high-brow and popular culture, weaving cross-genre discussions with live performances and festival/contextual insights. Listeners likely value thoughtful critique, interdisciplinary storytelling, and access to behind-the-scenes perspectives from creators in Ireland and beyond.

Where can I find podcast stats for Arena?

Rephonic provides a wide range of podcast stats for Arena. 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 Arena and access YouTube viewership numbers, download stats, audience demographics, chart rankings, ratings, reviews and more.

How many listeners does Arena get?

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What are the audience demographics for Arena?

Rephonic provides comprehensive predictive audience data for Arena, including gender skew, age, country, political leaning, income, professions, education level, and interests. You can access these listener demographics by upgrading your account.

How many subscribers and views does Arena have?

To see how many followers or subscribers Arena 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.

Which podcasts are similar to Arena?

These podcasts share a similar audience with Arena:

1. Brendan O'Connor
2. Playback
3. Today with David McCullagh
4. The Pat Kenny Show
5. Sunday with Miriam

How many episodes of Arena are there?

Arena launched 17 years ago and published 103 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

How do I contact Arena?

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.

Where can I see ratings and reviews for Arena?

Rephonic pulls ratings and reviews for Arena 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.

How do I access podcast episode transcripts for Arena?

Rephonic provides full transcripts for episodes of Arena. 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.

What guests have appeared on Arena?

Recent guests on Arena include:

1. Zara Hedderman
2. John Meagher
3. Steven Benedict
4. Declan Burke
5. Lorne McFadden
6. Barry Ward
7. Arlene Hunt
8. Michael Gallen

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.

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