IT IS WHAT IT IS! is hosted by radio presenter Katie Sheehan and Aisling Unfiltered.
Katie is a radio presenter known for honest, straight talking conversations about real life as it actually happens. Aisling is a well known TikTok creator with over 120,000 followers, recognised for saying what others are thinking and refusing to sugar coat lived experience.
This podcast is about real life as it really is. The messy bits. The hard lessons. The things you only learn by going through it.
They talk openly about what they have lived through, what has worked for them, what has not, and what they wish they knew sooner. They also sit down with real people to talk about real experiences, without filters or pretending.
Nothing is off limits. No stone is left unturned. If people are living it, we are talking about it.
Because sometimes the only honest thing you can say is it is what it is.
Aisling and Katie are finally back in studio together, and there’s a LOT to catch up on!
This week, they’re talking mean girls. Why do some people go from cheering you on to tearing you down? They chat about celebrating each other’s wins, the sting when that support disappears, and why grown women can still bring playground behaviour into adult friendships.
Aisling also opens up about her daughter expecting a baby boy and how she feels about becoming a nana. And after everything the last few weeks have brought, both women reflect on finding a place of sheer and utter peace, feeling happy in themselves and caring a little less about what everyone else thinks.
An honest catch-up full of big feelings, big life changes and plenty to say.
23 Sept 2026
Joanne Duffy: The Questions Nobody Has Asked Before
This week, you asked and we delivered. The one and only Joanne Duffy joins Katie and Aisling in studio, and Katie has them locked in and ready to answer the questions nobody has asked before.
Joanne takes us right back to her first video and suddenly finding herself exposed to the world of social media. She opens up about dealing with negativity, why she actually finds pages like Tat Life hilarious and even admits she follows them herself.
But behind all the laughs, we get to know a different side of Joanne. She shares stories from her childhood, life before meeting Thomas and how she was always the minder, the cook and the one looking after everyone. She talks about what she wants from the future and why, above everything else, family will always come first.
Plus, could there be a night out with YOU on the way? The girls chat about plans for a listener night to celebrate the launch of Aisling’s brand.
Hilarious, honest and probably not the Joanne Duffy interview you were expecting.
23 Sept 2026
“I Lost Two Years of My Daughter’s Life” Brian Hayes on Finding His Way Back
Content warning: This episode contains open conversations around depression, mental health struggles, alcohol and medication that some listeners may find difficult or triggering.
This week, Limerick man Brian Hayes from What’s The Story joins us for an incredibly open conversation about hitting the depths of mental health struggles and finding his way back.
Brian shares how depression affected every part of his life, from struggling to even string a sentence together and masking how he felt with alcohol and medication, to periods where he says he spent three weeks of the month asleep. Looking back now, he reflects on just how much that time took from him, including what he describes as losing two years of his daughter’s life.
Katie and Brian open up about the signs they experienced that they can now recognise as depression, while Aisling shares how she first met Brian and Brian reveals the impact she had on him during a particularly difficult time in 2022.
Today, Brian uses the voice he once struggled to find through his What’s The Story pages, positivity and his work helping charities across Limerick. He admits helping others became almost addictive because making someone else feel good made him feel good too.
A raw conversation about losing yourself, recognising the signs and discovering that your darkest chapter does not have to be your last.
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