The State of Us

From BBC News NI. Tara Mills and Declan Harvey react and reflect on the stories that impact our lives and speak to those who can help us understand why we’re in the state we’re in.

Sounds,47 episodes

Episodes

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Parents of SEN child convicted over school non-attendance
Leigh and James Bryson spent £30k defending themselves in court.
16 Oct 2025,35 mins
Did Northern Ireland really inspire Trump's Israel/Gaza peace plan?
And can mediators and negotiators learn anything from our past?
14 Oct 2025,35 mins
Do mugshots matter?
Why did the PSNI delay publishing a mugshot of a rapist on the run?
09 Oct 2025,24 mins
The great big vaccine debate
Vaccine rates in Northern Ireland are falling – why?
07 Oct 2025,28 mins
What the **** is happening in golf?
Swearing, shouting, and lobbing pints – The Ryder Cup 2025
02 Oct 2025,35 mins
Fighting poverty in NI: The minister defends his plan
The communities minister answers the critics of his anti-poverty strategy.
30 Sep 2025,33 mins
Bonus: Kneecap’s Mo Chara terrorism case thrown out
What happened in court and the reaction from outside – Kelly Bonner speaks to Declan
26 Sep 2025,7 mins
Was the PSNI spying on journalists?
How police used covert powers to unlawfully try to uncover reporters’ sources
25 Sep 2025,25 mins
Irish presidential election hots up
The clock is ticking for nominations – who could be the next president of Ireland?
23 Sep 2025,25 mins
Blue Lights – the new series
The award winning police drama was the brainchild of producer Louise Gallagher
18 Sep 2025,27 mins
Uncovering the truth about Katie Simpson’s death
The secret investigation that led to a murder trial that shook the equestrian community
16 Sep 2025,28 mins
Stuart Robinson: ‘Behind enemy lines’ chatting about the Cool FM cash call, BBC licence fee & the biggest show in the country
He also talks about Barra Best & a cocktail, and his first ever presenting gig
11 Sep 2025,33 mins
Tuam: Ireland’s secret burial shame
Hundreds of babies & children buried in a mass grave. What the excavation has discovered
09 Sep 2025,33 mins
Ireland's missing children: Donabate & Kyran Durnin
The search for a missing boy in north county Dublin & the case of Kyran Durnin
04 Sep 2025,32 mins
The State of Stormont
Summer is over, it's back to the benches for our MLAs – how are relations on the hill?
02 Sep 2025,27 mins
The income you need to survive in Northern Ireland
It might be more than you think – and families are being squeezed
28 Aug 2025,33 mins
The cocaine flooding NI’s streets
Are we in the grips of a cocaine crisis?
26 Aug 2025,31 mins
Palestine Action: Northern Ireland’s first arrest
Tara & Declan talk to the woman arrested in Belfast wearing a Palestine Action t-shirt
21 Aug 2025,46 mins
Secrets of a weather forecaster
Weather presenters Cecilia & Barra on the science of forecasting & tricks of their trade
19 Aug 2025,31 mins
The State of Ballymena
Tara and Declan revisit Ballymena with MP Jim Allister, two months after the riots
14 Aug 2025,43 mins
How can we fix Lough Neagh?
Can the blue-green algae blight be solved?
12 Aug 2025,36 mins
Chasing politicians into churches and more
The Burke family come north, plus hospital waiting lists and house prices.
07 Aug 2025,26 mins
Why do some men kill?
Tara and Declan explore why 29 women have been murdered in Northern Ireland since 2020
05 Aug 2025,27 mins
Maguiresbridge murders: A rural village plunged into tragedy again
A mother and her two children murdered in their own home
29 Jul 2025,29 mins
Lasagne-gate
What really goes into our food?
22 Jul 2025,32 mins
“I lost £5,000 after going to an IVF middleman”
What do you do when the IVF company you’re using goes bust?
15 Jul 2025,26 mins
Libel lawyer to the rich and famous…and to Gerry Adams – Paul Tweed
Paul Tweed on Gerry Adams, the BBC and Tom Cruise
08 Jul 2025,28 mins
A mother jailed for cruelty and assault against her son – Jamie’s story
Knifed and forced to eat cat litter – just some of the abuse Jamie suffered
30 Jun 2025,27 mins
What do kids really get up to on their phones?
The State of Us has asked 240 kids about their online lives, the results may surprise you
26 Jun 2025,35 mins
The A5 upgrade has been blocked…again
A judge has blocked the long-delayed A5 project from going ahead in its current form
24 Jun 2025,29 mins