Highlights From Lunchtime Live

Black Friday is coming up this month, which for those online shoppers amongst you, could be a time to start burning up the debit card.But, there are unfortunately plenty of tricks and scams we need to watch out for when we’re shopping online...Joining Andrea to discuss this is Financial Planner with Castle Capital, Leah McMahon.

Endometriosis procedures in Ireland can have long waiting lists, which might make you want to look abroad for treatment…Sinead O’Neill did exactly that, and joins Andrea to discuss her experience of going to Greece for an endometriosis procedure. Keira O’Neill was also meant to discuss her hopes to get endometriosis treatment abroad, but was unable to join because of her condition, and sent in a statement read out by Producer Dee King.

We’ve decided to do a deep dive on some of our favourite albums to explore the stories behind them.What did the artists really think of each other? Where did the inspirations from the songs come from?Joining Andrea to discuss is Head Tour Guide at the Irish Rock ‘N’ Roll Museum Experience, Alan Buckley, who’s going to talk through Bon Jovi’s album, ‘Slippery When Wet’!

This week, the internet’s buzzing after NFL legend Tom Brady revealed he’s cloned his dog. It’s sparked a big question: if you could bring your beloved pet back, would you do it?Is cloning the ultimate act of love, or are we crossing a line nature never intended?Joining Andrea to discuss is Pete Wedderburn, AKA Pete the Vet, Laoise Downes, owner of Outpaws and Wedding Woofs and Suzie Walsh, Dog Behaviourist & Trainer.

Lunchtime Live's Reasons to be Happy looks at some of the news stories that you might have missed that will leave you feeling more optimistic.98FM’s Cathal O’Sullivan joined Andrea in the studio to put a smile on your faces…Image: President of Ireland - Facebook

From CCTV to location services on the apps we use and even livestreaming cameras at self-service checkouts, we constantly have eyes on us.But, how safe are we in a world where we are constantly under surveillance?Joining Andrea to discuss is Caitríona Redmond, Consumer Columnist with The Irish Examiner, Ronan Murphy, Chief Executive for Smart Tech 24/7 and listeners.

Every Wednesday afternoon, we’ll be talking Making Babies.Andrea will be joined by Professor Shane Higgins, Master of the National Maternity Hospital, to cover every area of trying to have a baby. From the very start of knowing how to prepare, right up to pregnancy – and all the bumps in the road in between.This week, Shane joins Andrea to discuss the importance surrounding the weight and age of a pregnant woman.

Today, we’re asking: what truly makes a gentleman? Is it about style, manners, or the way we treat others? How has the idea of a gentleman evolved, and what it means today?Joining Andrea to discuss is 98FM Presenter, Luke Thomas, Mark Fennell, Life Coach and Meghann Scully, Broadcaster.

In a bid to tackle the war against drugs in Ireland, The Labour Party will today call for a health-led drugs policy and decriminalization of people who use drugs.Labour’s Health Spokesperson Marie Sherlock TD has said the Government has failed to deliver on its promise of a health-led approach, and that criminalising, shaming and stigmatising people in addiction has created a broken system that punishes rather than supports.Would you be in favour of decriminalising drugs?Joining Andrea to discuss is Addiction Therapist in Limerick, Michael Guerin, as well as listeners.

For this week’s Ask the Expert, Andrea is joined by Podiatrist Niall Donohoe to answer all of your podiatry-related questions!

Today, we’ve got the creator behind one of TikTok’s biggest trends: the Jet2Holiday craze. He’s taken social media by storm with his creativity and energy. Brad Bennett joins Andrea to discuss! Also joining to discuss the impact of this meme is Brand Strategist and Storyteller, Kerry Matzelle.

Nowadays, kids spend a lot of time consuming content online, one of the most popular platforms for this is YouTube, but they mostly watch American content due to the lack of dedicated Irish creators.This has resulted in some observing younger children developing Americanised accents and using American words.One person who is trying to change that is teacher Fergus Lacey with his channel RíRá Rhymes.Fergus, as well as Katie Makk, Presenter of the ‘Opinions Matter’ podcast and Peter Melrose, Primary School Teacher from Meath, join Andrea to discuss.

Ed Sheeran did a secret gig to Irish mega fans last night – were you there?Organised by Spotify, his highest Irish streamers were sent links to register for free tickets to the exclusive gig.Is this the best way to reward fans? Gigs exclusively for your biggest listeners?Or is it all too inaccessible?Joining Andrea to discuss is Aoife Rooney, Assistant Editor of Weekend Magazine at the Irish Independent, Dave Hanratty, Host of the ‘No Encore’ music podcast and Singer-Songwriter Tim McStay.

It's How I live well time! Where someone joins to discuss what they do to improve their life...This week Andrea is joined by Aoife Lacey, Hot Yoga Teacher and Head of Operations at Yoga Dublin to discuss the benefits of hot yoga!

We were contacted by one of our listeners, Cathy, who says the number 70 bus from Clonee didn’t show up on three occasions last week.She’s so fed up with the delays, she’s now thinking of ditching public transport altogether and buying a car to drive into Dublin City Centre.Cathay, as well as listeners, join Andrea to discuss.

Dr Nina Byrnes, GP at Generation Health Medical Clinic joined Andrea Gilligan to tackle your medical queries…

When you think of luxury cars, do you think of people like James Bond? Or Lewis Hamilton?Do you ever think of women?Well apparently, women are becoming one of the fastest-growing forces in Ireland’s supercar market! So, what’s stopping you?Joining Andrea to discuss this is Nadia Adan, owner of Ashford Motors and Motoring Journalist Geraldine Herbert.

Former Kilkenny hurler and nine-time All-Star Award winner DJ Carey has been sentenced to 5 years in jail for defrauding a number of people by falsely claiming he had cancer…Newstalk’s Court Correspondent Frank Graney is at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, and joins Andrea to discuss.

Dublin firefighter Terence Crosbie has lodged an appeal against his conviction for raping a woman while in Boston for the St Patrick’s Day celebrations last year.Some 88 pages of character references for Crosbie were provided to the court, including testimonies from his wife, parents and many people who worked with him in Dublin.His uncle and his younger brother Kiefer Crosbie, a former UFC fighter, also submitted character references, as did a former primary school teacher, a school principal and a member of the Capuchin Order.But, should we allow character references similar to those submitted in this case to be read out in court?Joining Andrea to discuss is Barry Ward, Fine Gael TD and Criminal Barrister, Noeline Blackwell, Human Rights Lawyer, Consultant and Online Safety Coordinator with the Children’s Rights Alliance, Miriam Henry and Paula Doyle.

Do you expect a thank you from your boss? Or is your pay check enough?A fifth of workers surveyed say they’ve never been thanked and over half say they don’t feel valued…Joining Andrea to discuss this is Terry Prone, Chairman of the Communications Clinic, Patrick Scanlon, HR Business Consultant at The HR Buddy and Ian O’Doherty, Columnist with the Irish Independent.