The RTÉ Player team share their top picks to watch on RTÉ Player this week.
What’s Trending?
Other Voices Belfast, From the Duncairn
As crowds prepare to descend upon Dingle next weekend for one of Ireland’s most iconic musical gatherings, take time to check out Other Voices Belfast as, in October 2017, Belfast’s Duncairn Centre welcomed Other Voices to the city with open arms. A warm invitation from one of the world’s greatest musical cities, the three-day gathering of music, creativity and technology was an opportunity for Other Voices to add a unique Kerry-born essence to the proud and compelling contemporary voice of Belfast. A feast for the senses, this potent evening of live music showcased the best in new musical talent featuring sets from Grammy shortlisted trad giants Beoga, lo-fi acoustic gems from Portadown’s Jealous of the Birds and some daring, minimalist electronic magic from Derry’s Ryan Vail. The show also features Kildare pop-rock, arena touring duo Picture This, the spine-tingling atmospheric folk of Hampshire born, Donegal bred Rosie Carney and an electrifying set from Derry purveyors of punk, Touts. Presented by Huw Stephens, May Kay and Rigsy, watch Other Voices Belfast, From the Duncairn now on RTÉ Player
What’s New?
If you’re a fan of Scandinavian dramas then look no further to Ride Upon the Storm. In this Danish drama about devoutly religious family, the story explores how faith and religion can affect our lives. Centred around parents Johannes and Elisabeth and their sons August and Christian, the story details a family of priests tracing its roots back more than 250 years. Johannes, the head of the family is God-like to his sons in that he gives, loves and punishes. Showing favouritism to August and disappointment in Christian, his actions force his sons into making desperate choices in order to either gain his love or break free from him. This path will lead to war and encounters between different religions seen through the intimate lens of a family drama. Starring Lars Mikkelsen (House of Cards), Ride Upon The Storm explores good and evil and the spiritual journey towards seeking a greater meaning in life because we all want to believe in something when a storm is approaching. Watch the first episode now on RTÉ Player.
What Not to Miss?
EVIL – A Would You Believe? Special
In this first of two programmes, through psychology, psychiatry, neurology, criminology and theology reporter Mick Peelo attempts to get to the heart of evil. We all know what evil looks like but what exactly is it? Is it the potential that exists within every human being to ‘do bad things’ or is it a supernatural force that can possess people and cause them to harm others? Is it both or none of these? Mick Peelo visits Jim and Rose Callaly whose daughter Rachel was brutally murdered by her husband Joe O’Reilly in 2004. To this day they still believe that Joe contains within him the characteristics of evil but is Joe O’Reilly evil or is what he did evil? Mick talks to psychotherapist Christine Louise de Cannonville who has clinical and personal experience of Evil and its malevolence. With the help of neurologist, Dr Clare Kelly from Trinity College, Dublin, Mick questions can MRI scan locate evil in the brain? Is there an evil spot? If so, how did it get there? Is it possible to get inside the criminal mind to find out what makes some people do the awful things they do? Mick meets Professor Colin Sumner, from the department of Criminology in University College Cork and attends one of his lectures on the sociology of Evil. Then Mick visits eminent and controversial psychiatrist Dr Ivor Browne to see if he can shed any light on the source of evil. Ivor believes we often refuse to acknowledge the Shadow side of ourselves and project this negativity on to people we don’t like – that’s what the Nazis did with the Jews and the Church did in the Spanish Inquisition. The one dissenting voice that Mick meets among all the others is that of Fr Pat Collins. A Catholic priest and a trained psychologist, he claims he has experience of dealing with evil spirits and, just when you think that Fr Pat would of course say that, given he’s a Catholic priest, Psychotherapist Christine Louise de Cannonville puts a spanner in the works when she tells Mick of her personal experience with the demonic! Watch now on RTÉ Player.
Pick of the Week
Almost half of the Irish population feel they’re not getting enough sleep and that their sleep patterns are negatively affecting their health. In Awake, The Science of Sleep Dr. Pixie McKenna explores the very latest in sleep science and reveals the catastrophic health concerns that can arise from not getting enough shuteye. We spend a third of our life doing it but if we are not sleeping properly our risks for cancer, obesity, mental illness, serious accident and death rises. Sleep deprivation has even been referred to as a ‘silent epidemic’ in Ireland. As modern science is only beginning to reveal the vital importance of sleep, in Awake, The Science of Sleep Dr. Pixie embarks on a voyage of discovery meeting scientists and experts whose groundbreaking research has helped unlock the deep secrets of sleep. Over the course of the documentary Pixie meets a wide range of Irish people suffering from sleep issues and disorders; from insomnia to narcolepsy, from Sleep Apnoea to parents with young toddlers suffering from disrupted sleep. She also meets some of our 270,000 Irish shift and night workers to discuss the growing concerns around such sleep patterns (shift workers have a 40% greater risk of cardiovascular disease) and what we can do to combat these risks. Dr. Pixie joins Professor Niall Moyna and his team at The School of Health & Human Performance in DCU where they will observe four volunteers who have agreed to stay awake for 40 hours, in order to see the effects of acute sleep deprivation. We will also reveal the results of a specially commissioned survey on how Ireland is (or isn’t) sleeping. Watch now on RTÉ Player.