Radio 1 88-90fm
Spectrum: October 2006 - August 2007
Click on a date to listen to the show.
Programme 46: 26th August 2007
Programme 45: 19th August 2007
Programme 44: 12th August 2007
Programme 43: 5th August 2007
Programme 42: 29th July 2007
Programme 41: 22nd July 2007
Programme 40: 15th July 2007
Programme 39: 8th July 2007
Programme 38: 1st July 2007
What does it take to make someone leave everything behind and travel hundreds, perhaps thousands, of miles to start a new life? On the programme tonight, we've asked some of the people who've come here in the past ten years to tell us about their stories.
Programme 37: 24th June 2007
He was once described by Nelson Mandela as "the writer in whose presence prison walls fell down". Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe was awarded the International Booker prize last week. Achebe is probably black Africa's most widely read novelist. His first work, Things Fall Apart has been translated into 40 different languages. Tonight, Nigerian actor Yomi Ogunyemi whose father Wale translated Things Fall Apart into Yoruba and Irish writer, Michael Feeney Callan discuss Achebe's work.
Also, the new Junior Minister for Integration Conor Lenihan, talks about his plans for office.
Programme 36: 17th June 2007
Father's Day messages from a Brazilian man separated from his children and a Trinidadian woman who's far from her dad. Also, meet the Nigerian-Polish couple, who have fostered two Nigerian boys in Dublin. Spectrum examines the area of intercultural fostering and Fostering First Ireland appeal for foster carers.
Programme 35: 10th June 2007
Recently described by one critic as a 'Congolese guitar sensation', Niwel Tsumbu now lives in Cork and tells Melanie about growing up in the Congo and discovering music. He'll be performing in the Cork Midsummer Festival on 24th June. For children who don't speak English, starting school in Ireland can be a nightmare. A panel of multicultural parents explain the challenges, joined by Professor Jim Cummins of the University of Toronto who is an expert in language development and literacy and talks
Programme 34: 3rd June 2007
'If you're Irish, step into the parlour there's a welcome there for you...' but what if you're not Irish? Is the Ireland of the thousand welcomes now a mere myth? A panel from France, Nigeria, China and Poland talk share their experiences of making friends here.
Programme 33: 27th May 2007
Garda Reservist Tatsiana Lohinava from Belarus talks to Melanie about patrolling the streets of Limerick.
Plus, Poland's answer to Fair City is now on our screens... but not as the Polish community know it. Some Irish comedians have dubbed the serious, with hilarious results. Zbsyzek Zalinski and Siobhan Ní Chiobhán review 'Soupy Norman'.
Programme 32: 20th May 2007
In the late 1980's, when the only thing Ireland was winning was the Eurovision Song Contest, one man helped bring home Olympic medals. Cuban boxing coach Nicolas Cruz Hernandez was brought over in an attempt to turn Irish Olympic hopes into reality. Also - the Jewish community in Dublin enjoyed a long-awaited day out earlier in the week when an American couple wed in the synagogue of the Irish Jewish museum, the first wedding there in 60 years.
Programme 31: 13th May 2007
How should the government manage immigration? Does Ireland need a Green Card system and how many immigrants can the country support? Journalist Colin Murphy has been out and about with election candidates. He's had a look at their policy documents on the question of immigration. Also, Spectrum's Zbyszek Zalinski shares his impression of observing his first Irish election campaign.
Programme 30: 6th May 2007
Last Tuesday was Mayday and all around the world people celebrated with marches, rallies and festivals. But does International Workers Day really have any significance and can trade unions affect the everyday lives of exploited workers around the world? Melanie speaks to Laurent Marie from France, Zbyszek Zalinski from Poland, SIPTU's Eric Fleming and Li Ming from China.
Programme 29: 29th April 2007
On tonight's programme Melanie meets the multicultural members of the main political parties. She also talks to Croatian writer in exile, Dubravka Ugresic. And one Filipino nurse gives her view on pay and conditions for nurses.
Programme 28: 22nd April 2007
This week's Spectrum is about the 200 year abolition of the Slave trade, featuring interviews with people from Trinidad and Tobego, Angola, Ghana and Liberia. Dr Nini Rodgers from Queens Belfast is also featured.
Programme 27: 15th April 2007
Cricket is cool again, with no small thanks to the new Irish who have brought new skills and new enthusiasm for the game. Also - DIT has set up a course for entrepreneurs from ethnic minority backgrounds. Spectrum meets some of those entrepreneurs and the team behind the course.
Programme 26: 8th April 2007
Fasting and Feasting. With Easter fast approaching, Spectrum looks at foods from different cultures used for feast days. We visit Coco Markets at Dun Laoghaire and speak to stall holders from Palestine, Lebanon, New York, Trinidad and Tobego, The Basque Country.to name but a few.
Programme 25: 1st April 2007
It's 50 years since the Treaty of Rome was signed. Spectrum asks what was Ireland like then, compared with now. We also look at the broader issue around EU immigration policy.
Programme 24: 25th March 2007
This week Spectrum hears one man's story of four years in a hostel for asylum-seekers. Anna Lo (from the Alliance Party) will be interviewed also, as will Benedicta Attoh, who will speak about representing ethnic minority groups at local and national government level.
Programme 23: 19th March 2007
With approximately 200,000 Polish people now living in Ireland, this Monday (19 March) RTÉ Radio 1's Spectrum asks how much people in Ireland know about the country's politics, its rich cultural heritage and its people. The programme also asks what the Poles really think of the Irish.
Programme 22: 11th March 2007
Tonight Spectrum comes from the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints in Bray, County Wicklow. There are 57 people attending the church, who come from thirteen different countries around the world.
Programme 21: 4th March 2007
Tonight Melanie talks to South African journalist Charlene Smith, who was raped and stabbed by a stranger who broke into her home. Since that event Charlene has become a passionate campaigner for better care of rape survivors.
Programme 20: 25th February 2007
On the programme tonight, Spectrum asks members of the Polish community what they think about the Polish president's recent remarks on homosexuality. Melanie also talks to Ioana Joca from Romania about her BAFTA nominated documentary The Grandparents. And Martin Johnson from Sweden joins us to talk about the Absolut Swedish Festival, taking place this week in Dublin.
Programme 19: 18th February 2007
Four years ago a Nigerian woman came to Dublin looking for asylum. Anna, a lawyer from Lagos, was subjected to death threats while working on a case involving a petroleum oil company. She left her husband and young child behind and arrived, alone and pregnant, in Dublin. She now is seeking reunification with her family, but faces many difficulties. Also, the Lithuanian ambassador to the UK talks about the temporary consulate in Dungannon, set up to support Lithuanians living in Northern Ireland who increasingly find themselves the target of racist attacks.
Programme 18: 11th February 2007
Valentine's day is a big day in the calendar for hopeless romantics. To mark the event, Spectrum has invited an international panel of experts who are here to tell us their stories. They'll also give us tips on how to flirt, charm, attract and, hopefully, keep Mr. or Mrs. Right. though none of them has actually managed to do so themselves - not yet anyway.
Programme 17: 28th January 2007
The Intercultural Trust Project contrasts the importance of trust in business dealings in Ireland with those in China. Professor Cathal Brugha from the School of Management at UCD and his colleague Dr Rong Du from China, are involved in this study and join us to explain the concept.
Also, the upcoming Immigration Bill. What you may not know about the proposed detention centres.
Programme 16: 21st January 2007
With Blood Diamond due for release, Spectrum asks is the white hero still the one who saves the day in Hollywood? NUI Maynooth's Gavan Titley and UCD's Zélie Asava discuss the representation of black people in film.
And we visit the Fistula clinic in Ethiopia, to find out more about the illness which causes infertility, incontinence and repeated infection.
Programme 15: 14th January 2007
Dublin 1911: a multicultural city. Paul Rouse of the History and Archives department in UCD is helping to put the 1911 census online. He talks to Spectrum about the city at that time.
We also speak to Abel Ugba and Fidel Mutwarasibo about their talks at the Africans in 21st Century Ireland conference in Dublin.
Programme 14: 7th January 2007
Spectrum goes back to school, spending the day at Swords Educate Together primary school on Dublin's northside.
Programme 13: 24th December 2006
Not everyone can be home for Christmas. Spectrum features some seasonal music and some messages from workers and students in Ireland to their friends and families around the world - some of whom will be celebrating Christmas but also for those who won't.
Programme 12: 17th December 2006
Tonight, we look at a country that's ridding itself of the last traces of communism as it gets ready to join the European Union. Romanian music, culture and society are discussed by Mircea Petcu and Sabina Elena Stan. Also featured is John Fairleigh, founder of the Ireland-Romania Cultural Association.
Programme 11: 10th December 2006
Programme 10: 3rd December 2006
Programme 9: 26th November 2006
Programme 8: 19th November 2006
Programme 7: 12th November 2006
Programme 6: 5th November 2006
Programme 5: 29th October 2006
Programme 4: 22nd October 2006
Programme 3: 15th October 2006
Programme 2: 8th October 2006
Programme 1: 1st October 2006
