THERE’S NOW A new way to listen to your favourite podcasts from The Journal - without having to leave our app.

Fans can tune in straight from our feed of stories.

This includes shows like The Explainer, where every week we break down one big news story to help you gain a deeper understanding about what’s going on.

We’ve recently delved into the debate around the use of antigen testing, and looked at why everyone hit the roof over a planned football Super League.

This week’s episode will explain the recently renewed controversy over the report into mother and baby homes with renowned archivist Catriona Crowe and our reporter Órla Ryan.

Using the new player, you’ll also be able to access our back catalogue and listen to podcasts like the multi-award-winning Stardust, an in-depth look at the 1981 disaster.

The six-part series looks at what happens when a community never gets closure after a massive tragedy and how the Irish State handled the fallout of the devastating fire.

Using the new player is simple:

• Make sure you have the latest version of The Journal’s iOS or Android app
• If you don’t have our app, you can download it from the iOS App Store or Google Play Store
• Podcasts we publish will appear larger than other stories on your app, and to listen, all you have to do is hit the play button
• You’ll see a small pop-up player appear in the corner of your app. Tap this to access controls allowing you to play, pause, skip forward and rewind the episode. Drag it down to hide the controls and continue reading stories on our app
• These controls will also appear on your phone’s lock screen or control centre as with other podcasts apps
• You can find the entire back catalogue under “More” and “Podcasts” on iOS, or by selecting Podcasts at the top of your feed on Android

Desktop users can still listen using the Soundcloud player embedded in our articles, and the podcasts will also still be available wherever else you normally listen.

If you have any feedback on the player and our podcasts, or even suggestions for topics for The Explainer, email nicky@thejournal.ie