Brainstorm | Opinion, Analysis, Reports, Features | RTÉ

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'Border crime writing often questions the role of the state in regulating big business and preventing crime and finds it wanting'

Why borders are perfect locations for crime fiction and drama

Crime Fiction / 19 hrs

A scene from the Abbey Theatre's 1942 production of Sean O'Casey's The Plough And The Stars featuring FJ Mc Cormick, Joan Plunkett, Austin Meldon, Eric Gorman and others. Photo: Haywood Magee/Picture Post/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

How theatre promotes conversations around social injustice

Brainstorm / 05 Aug

"The portrayal of the two young teenagers from the northside of Cork City parallels several classical criminological theories that explain young people's transgressive behaviour"

Here's what criminologists make of The Young Offenders

The Young Offenders / 23 Jul

"We are not the only animals that create rhythm, but we are the only animals who can do entrainment"

Groove is in the heart: just what exactly is rhythm?

Planet of the Humans: "we end up with a piece where you could well come away thinking wind turbines are worse than coal power plants." Photo: Rumble Media

Why you can't rely on some documentaries for the full picture

Documentaries / 09 Jul

Garth Brooks at Croke Park in 2014: he really should have called Jim Gavin about the drive for five

The summer Garth Brooks didn't come to town

Garth Brooks / 09 Jul

Lights, cameras, timber

How hurling conquered Hollywood

Gaelic Games / 02 Jul

"Hamilton has won multiple awards for its acting, design and choreography, but it's the music that makes it stand out"

Why Hamilton is the film we need right now

Hamilton / 02 Jul

Enjoying breakfast at the James Joyce Centre on Bloomsday 2019

What Leopold Bloom's food diary tells us about Bloomsday

Bloomsday / 16 Jun

Frederick Douglass edits a journal at his desk, late 1870s. Photo: Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Were the Irish slaves? Frederick Douglass and his Irish awakening

History / 15 Jun

In bed with Connell and Marianne

Why are we so obsessed with Normal People?

Normal People / 27 May

Irish playwright and co-founder of the Abbey Theatre, Lady Gregory. Photo: George C. Beresford/Beresford/Getty Images

Why Lady Gregory is one of Ireland's greatest cultural figures

Brainstorm / 20 May

"Musicians of all types have reported that platforms like Zoom and Skype simply do not provide suitable substitutes to playing together live"

Why learning to play music needs more than screentime

"As we attempt to manage lockdown, each of us are reliant on the arts"

Is it time for a daily arts report on the news just like sports?

Culture / 14 May

Haim are one of the acts whose new release has been rescheduled because of the coronavirus outbreak. Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

How the lockdown is affecting new music

The Ireland team during the playing of the national anthem ahead of the Women's Six Nations Rugby Championship match between Ireland and France in 2019. Photo By Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile via Getty Images

Answering Ireland's call: Is it time for a new national anthem?

National Anthem / 28 May

"The Covid-19 lockdown has been challenging for choirs and conductors, but this is also an opportunity to reflect on what makes people engage in activities such as choral singing, and what facilitators of these groups should be providing"

How choirs can keep singing together during the lockdown

Choirs / 21 Apr

"You should never call a psychopath a psychopath. It upsets them." Jodie Comer as Villanelle in Killing Eve

5 things you didn't know about psychopaths like Villanelle

Killing Eve / 21 Apr

"Fresh and modern": Maxine Peake plays Titania in Russell T Davies' 2016 adaptation of A Midsummer Night's Dream for the BBC

Stay home and watch Shakespeare

Culture / 16 Apr

Larry David from Curb Your Enthusiasm: "some of the best examples of comedic music are to be found in the scores and soundtracks to comedy films and TV shows"

It's the way they play 'em: the funny side of instrumental music

Culture / 09 Apr

"Lady Gaga also added another layer of interpretation to this story by casting the sinful woman as a traitor in a love triangle involving the Magdalene, Jesus and Judas"

The gospel according to Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga / 09 Apr

Alison Spittle, the queenpin behind the #CovideoParty series of collective online film-watching

Why are audiences seeking out live collective events online?

Coronavirus / 06 Apr

David Bowie's "Blackstar": "the sound of a man working through and drawing upon terminal illness and the knowledge of his own impending death"

5 songs of solace written in moments of darkness

Derek Mahon: "poems such as "Everything is Going to Be Alright" offer reassurance to people"

Why are we turning to poetry in the middle of a pandemic?

Poetry / 31 Mar

Paris Fitzpatrick as Romeo and Cordelia Braithwaite as Juliet in Matthew Bourne's Romeo And Juliet at Sadler's Wells Theatre, London in 2019. Photo: Robbie Jack/Corbis via Getty Images

How literature has dealt with pandemics and plagues

Culture / 20 Mar

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