Second Opinions with John Crown
Professor John Crown is a cancer specialist affiliated with St Vincent’s Hospital Group in Dublin, DCU and UCD. He’s worked in cancer medicine for 40 years. John has also served as a senator for 5 years.
In this series of podcasts John will talk to not only researchers and specialists in the healthcare area, but other interesting guests who’ve made their mark on politics, current affairs and world affairs.
Episodes

Jul 10, 2026
Jul 10, 2026
32 min
Donal O’Shea, a Consultant Endocrinologist, is Clinical Director at St Vincent’s University Hospital and professor of Medicine at UCD.
In this episode of the podcast, he talks to John about growing up in a sporting family, his training at the world renowned Hammersmith Hospital in London and he gives his insights into treating obesity.
Produced by Fergus Sweeney

Jun 26, 2026
Jun 26, 2026
52 min
John chats to Lenny Abrahamson, best known for directing such films as Adam & Paul, Garage, What Richard Did and Room and TV series, Normal People. We hear about Lenny’s early life growing up in Dublin, his love of Philosophy and Science, life in Stanford and the people who have inspired him.
Produced by Fergus Sweeney

Apr 18, 2026
Apr 18, 2026
36 min
Financial journalist, Eamonn Fingleton is John's guest in this episode of the podcast.
Eamonn has worked for the Financial Times, the Mirror, the Sun, The Irish Independent and Forbes Magazine. He’s also written a number of books including In the Jaws of the Dragon and In Praise of Hard Industries.
In this interview we hear Eamonn’s thoughts on the deindustrialisation of western economies, brexit, and how jobs growth rather than profit drives the Japanese economy.

Apr 4, 2026
Apr 4, 2026
33 min
In this episode John speaks to financier, spin doctor and media personality, Anthony Scaramucci. Anthony worked on the first campaign to elect Donald Trump and subsequently, in 2017, spent 11 days as White House Communications Director.
In this interview he talks about growing up in New York, golfing with Donald Trump, election integrity and the war in Iran. (The interview was recorded in the week of the St Patrick’s Day celebrations and Michael Martin’s visit to the White House)
Produced By Fergus Sweeney

Mar 21, 2026
Mar 21, 2026
46 min
Professor John Crown’s guest on this podcast is a proud Irishman, who has the distinction of having worked in the White House as part of the Biden Administration. Tom Wright is a senior fellow with the Brookings Institution and a writer with The Atlantic. He served as special assistant to president Joe Biden and senior director for strategic planning at the National Security Council. In this wide-ranging interview we hear Tom’s thoughts on the war in Iran, China, Tarrifs (including the Smoot Hawley act of 1930), Joe Biden’s one term presidency and whether Ireland should join NATO.
PRODUCER: Fergus Sweeney

Mar 7, 2026
Mar 7, 2026
38 min
In this episode John speaks to Professor Des Carney, a prominent Irish oncologist and former consultant at the Mater University Hospital in Dublin.
Des is world renowned for his cancer research and cancer care. He tells John about his years in the United States, his pioneering role in lung cancer research and about the tragic death of his daughter, Patricia.
Producer: Fergus Sweeney

Dec 5, 2025
Dec 5, 2025
29 min
In episode 8 of the podcast John speaks to Professor Shaun McCann, a former boss of his at St James Hospital. Professor McCann led the team that performed the first successful bone-marrow transplant in Ireland.
In this interview we hear about his education at UCD, the 2 years he spent at the University of Minnesota and his return to Ireland.
And Shaun tells us how he fought to get the cancer drug, Imatinib available in Ireland and he talks about his own battle with cancer.
Producer: Fergus Sweeney

Nov 21, 2025
Nov 21, 2025
15 min
Professor Ken O’Byrne, a native Dubliner, is an oncologist working in Brisbane in Australia. He’s a world authority on lung cancer
In this interview Professor O’Byrne talks about the history of lung cancer, the obstacles faced by patients and the future outlook.
Producer: Fergus Sweeney

Nov 14, 2025
Nov 14, 2025
16 min
Professor Anne Parle-McDermott is Director of the Life Sciences Institute at Dublin City University.
In this interview Professor Parle-McDermott tells us about her background and she talks about some of the important research that’s taking place at the Institute. The health effects of vaping and its relationship to cancer is just one such area that DCU is investigating.
Producer: Fergus Sweeney

Nov 7, 2025
Nov 7, 2025
27 min
Dr Sara Hurvitz is head of Medical Oncology at the University of Washington, Seattle and the Fred Hutch Cancer Centre.
In this interview Sara tells us about some of the newer drugs which have been introduced into breast cancer care in recent times. And she mentions some clinical trials and other developments which are catching her eye at the moment.
Producer: Fergus Sweeney







