Ryan Tubridy: Why We’re Still Obsessed with the Kennedys

They’ve been mythologised, dramatised, and targeted by assassins for more than six decades. Still, the Kennedy name refuses to fade. On today’s podcast, Ciara Doherty is joined by broadcaster Ryan Tubridy, author of JFK in Ireland: Four Days That Changed a President, to explore why America’s most famous political family continues to grip audiences in 2026. The conversation begins with Love Story, the new Disney+ drama from Ryan Murphy charting the romance and tragic deaths of John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy. Tubridy gives his verdict — calling the series “truly awful” — and reflects on whether glossy retellings risk turning real loss into aesthetic spectacle. From the 1963 visit of John F. Kennedy to Ireland to the carefully constructed myth of “Camelot”, the episode examines how glamour and grief fused into political legend. Why did Kennedy resonate so powerfully in Ireland? And does that affection still endure? At heart, this is a conversation about image and inheritance, about beauty, youth, and narrative power, and about how a democratic republic continues to produce something that looks remarkably like royalty. Love Story is streaming now on Disney+. To get in touch with the show, email [email protected].