Emer McLysaght and Sarah Breen discuss with Ivan six things which they think should be better known.

Emer McLysaght & Sarah Breen are co-authors of the Aisling series. Oh My God, What a Complete Aisling was the bestselling fiction title of 2017 in Ireland and its sequel, The Importance of Being Aisling, won the award for best popular fiction book at the 2018 Irish Book Awards. The third book in the series, Once, Twice, Three Times an Aisling, won the same award the following year and the fourth book in the series, Aisling and the City, won again in 2021. The final book in the series, Aisling Ever After, was published in Autumn 2023 and was an instant number one bestseller. Combined, the Aisling books have sold more than 400,000 copies to date. Their new novel is Our Deadly Summer, which is available at https://www.waterstones.com/book/our-deadly-summer/emer-mclysaght/sarah-breen/9781526692153.

1. In 2015 Ireland legalised a number of Class A drugs for 24 hours because of a loophole in legislation.

2. An Irishman invented cheese and onion crisps at his kitchen table in 1954

3. The Irish language

4. Nearly all the world’s Viagra is made in a small Irish town

5. Ireland is the only country in the world to have had a female, democratically elected head of state be succeeded by another female, democratically elected head of state, and both were called Mary

6. Republic of Loose

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Charles Moore discusses with Ivan six things which he thinks should be better known.

Charles Moore was editor of the Daily Telegraph from 1995 to 2003, editor of the Sunday Telegraph from 1992 to 1995 and editor of the Spectator magazine from 1984 to 1990. He is now the Chairman of The Spectator. He became a non-affiliated peer in July 2020. He wrote the authorised biography of Margaret Thatcher, which is available at https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/458867/margaret-thatcher-by-moore-charles/9780241687673.

1. The 18th century https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-oct-26-bk-46704-story.html
2. East Sussex https://www.thekeep.info/places/eastsussex/
3. The Psalms https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2025/12-september/features/features/finding-inspiration-in-the-psalms-food-for-the-christian-journey
4. Ordet https://www.bfi.org.uk/film/d06c8e31-324e-5886-bfb3-200802199b37/ordet
5. Auckland Castle https://aucklandproject.org/attraction/auckland-palace/
6. Hedges https://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/expert-advice/garden-management/wildlife-gardening/plant-a-hedge

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Sean Murphy discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known.

Sean Murphy is founder of the non-profit 1455 Lit Arts and directs the Center for Story at Shenandoah University. He has been publishing fiction, poetry, reviews (of music, movie, book, food), and essays on the technology industry for over twenty years. His latest book is red, white, and blues, his fourth poetry collection, which is available at https://www.seanmurphy.net/rwb/.

1. America learned all the wrong lessons from popular 80s movies
2. America is a myth-making machine
3. Atlantic City's disintegration tells us everything we need to know about Trump
4. Howard Dean's scream
5. The Assault on the Arts & Humanities Explain the Deeper Motivation of Late-Stage Capitalism
6. AI Can't and Won't Replace Art

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