The Phoenix "produces a fortnightly diet, humour, financial analysis, and news with an insider slant from the worlds of security, politics, media, arts, and law.

[7][8][failed verification] Features in the magazine include a news column; detailed profiles ("Pillars of Society" and "The Young Bloods"); "Affairs of the Nation", which looks at political scandals; "Bog Cuttings" which consists of humorous and unusual events outside Dublin (often bizarre court cases), "Hush Hush" and "On the beat", which deals with security and intelligence matters; and a satirical section, "Craic and Codology".

Like Private Eye, the cover features a photo montage with a speech bubble, putting ironic or humorous comments into the mouths of the famous in response to topical events.

In the 1980s, the Workers' Party was a frequent target of satire and investigation over its funding methods, which resulted in Phoenix founder John Mulcahy receiving threats from the Official IRA.

It called for the 2011 Irish budget to be defeated and pointed out that the money loaned as part of the EU stability fund would come at the cost of a crippling rate of interest.