Áine Lawlor’s new podcast needs to abandon the safety net and take strong positions

Ex-RTÉ presenter’s podcasting partnership with former Newstalk host Chris Donoghue has substance but lacks sizzleState of Affairs with Áine Lawlor and Chris Donoghue is more like a good radio current affairs show than an essential appointment-listening podcast If there’s one easy takeaway from State of Affairs, the new politics podcast featuring Áine Lawlor and Chris Donoghue, it’s that while it may be easy to run away to join the media circus, it’s harder to leave it behind. Less than three months since retiring from RTÉ after more than 40 years at the network, Lawlor has rapidly pivoted into the podcasting sphere, while Donoghue, who first made his name as a presenter on Newstalk, returns to the microphone after spending most of the past decade as a government adviser. Despite their differing career paths, the lure of the big top clearly remains the same for both erstwhile broadcasters.It will take longer to determine whether their somewhat unexpected partnership is enough to persuade listeners to roll up, however. In terms of popular appeal, Lawlor is the marquee name on the independently produced podcast (which drops on Monday and Friday mornings), thanks to her long-time role as presenter on Morning Ireland. But her reputation on Radio 1’s news programme was largely down to her skill as a formidable interviewer of public figures, an option not (so far) available on her new discussion-based podcast.Donoghue, meanwhile, has an impressive radio pedigree; indeed, as co-presenter of Newstalk Breakfast, he once was Lawlor’s rival in the morning timeslot. But having left broadcasting in 2017 to work as an adviser to then tánaiste Simon Coveney, Donoghue’s experience as an erstwhile political insider is now his main selling point, even if he downplays his capacity for gossip: “I know nothing about this year’s budgetary process, because I’m outside,” he admits, with admirable, if possibly ill-judged, candour.So while the duo’s talents might appear complementary on paper, effectively meshing them together is another matter altogether. The most obvious Irish template for such political podcast pairings is Path To Power, which featured Today FM presenter Matt Cooper and former minister Ivan Yates bantering away to high chart-ranking results, at least until Yates’s contentious exit last year. Going by the opening episodes of State of Affairs, however, Lawlor and Donoghue have yet to develop a similar chemistry.READ MOREThis is partly down to the pair’s on-air personas. Lawlor is an authoritative yet reassuring presence, but she isn’t the kind of instinctive provocateur so prized in the digital space. (After years of working as a public service broadcaster constantly scrutinised for bias, such restraint is unsurprising.) And while Donoghue’s deceptively low-key demeanour masks his slyly observant qualities, he’s not naturally a dominating figure; on Newstalk Breakfast he played the sensible sidekick to the blustering opinions of his co-host, the aforementioned Yates.It’s notable that the pair’s most lively edition features Yates, who recalls his ministerial days in typically swaggering, if insightful fashion. Perhaps wisely, Yates has been signed up as a regular guest; a “commis chef” in his own description, though Donoghue underscores the new pecking order by calling his former colleague “busboy”. Other guests, such as Euronews reporter Shona Murray, are promised as the series progresses. The podcast also features recorded segments, such as a telling report from the recent fuel cost meeting in Moate, Co Westmeath, where many attendees effortlessly segue from complaints about rising prices to disturbing expressions of anti-immigrant prejudice.[ Radio: Aine Lawlor gives women’s voices a rare sporting chanceOpens in new window ]But ultimately the podcast rests on the hosts’ ability to generate captivating conversation and acute analysis. At this early stage, the omens are mixed. On the plus side, there’s no shortage of substance. Lawlor and Donoghue dissect topics such as the budget, Drumcree and the latest RTÉ funding crisis in accessible fashion, as befits such seasoned broadcasters. Further positives include the odd flash of the stiletto – Donoghue describes Minister for Arts Patrick O’Donovan as “a person who can have a fight in an empty lift” – and the occasional personal touch, such as Lawlor’s revelation that she has neuropathy: “I’m oversensitive to the cold.” Chris Donoghue in his former role as adviser to tánaiste Simon Coveney in 2019. Photograph: Gareth Chaney/Collins So far, however, State of Affairs is more like a good radio current affairs show than an essential appointment-listening podcast. Possibly thanks to their years in mainstream media and centrist politics, neither presenter seems inclined to cut loose with strong opinions, while their approach is collegial rather than confrontational, whether between themselves or with others.For instance, though Donoghue expresses alarm at rising racism in Ireland, a sentiment also shared by Lawlor, neither host explicitly decries the disquieting views heard in the Moate report. Airing overtly partisan positions so early in their podcast venture is of course a risk, particularly given the reasonably limited market for Irish politics podcasts. But abandoning the safety net by staking out a strong position might equally attract a passionate audience, adding impetus to Lawlor and Donoghue’s fledgling brand. After all, when it comes to thrills, balancing acts can never match trapeze artists.IN THIS SECTION