Senator Michael McDowell has been a TD, Tanaiste, Minster for Justice, and the country's Attorney General; he’s currently a barrister, a senator, and a columnist for the Irish Times. How he found the time to join me for an hour-long chat for this podcast I’ll never know, but Im very glad he did because we got through some great topics, including how broken a state Ireland once was when the tax rate was at 77% and the state owned absolutely everything, why the UK legal system allows for people like Russell Brand to be splashed all over the papers before being found guilty, his distrust of Sinn Fein, and why he knows the words to several Wolfe Tones songs!

 2023 has been a year of wildfires, extreme weather, and record temperatures – is it all down to climate change? To answer that question we invited climate commentator John Gibbons back to the studio for a conversation that I think you’re going to find very interesting ( and probably alarming). John Gibbons has been researching, campaigning and consistently appearing in the media about the climate crisis for over 20 years and even though it’s often a thankless job, his passion and resolve are stronger than ever.  This episode probably isn’t typical of the series, its not exactly a barrel of laughs, but it’s a topic I strongly believe needs to be out there more and John is one of the clearest and most passionate climate commentators in this country and is well worth paying attention to. COMEDY - We’ve managed to get access to Patrick Kielty’s voicemails. He’s going to be presenting his very first Late Late show this week, and so as you can imagine, his phone has been hopping… Produced by Patrick Haughey of AudioBrand

At one stage during our chat, Shane Coleman broke into a quite excellent impression of former finance minister Charlie McCreevy. Unfortunately I couldn't convince him to do a few more, but we did get stuck into a few political topics, as you might expect. Shane was one of Ireland’s leading political correspondents in print media for many years before joining Newstalk as political editor followed by his current position of presenter of Newstalk breakfast with co-host Ciara Kelly. So of course in our chat we talk about politics but Shane is a man with many interests so we also chat about things like League of Ireland football, the Ryan Tubridy / RTE affair and his passion for fashion! COMEDY: David McWilliams reminisces about his school days during a recent episode of his podcast – and as usual, producer and co-host John is not happy with the direction things take. Produced by Patrick Haughey, AudioBrand

Watching the Rose of Tralee this week reminded me of the brilliant episode we recorded last year with Daithi O’Se. Daithi was in top form when we met, the Rose was back after a two-year hiatus and he was raring to go. We chatted about what its like hosting the festival (and how he gets in shape in advance), what makes Kerry people so unique, his new cottage renovation project, and he even teaches me a few cheeky words in Irish! COMEDY Daithi and I weren’t the only ones talking about the Rose of Tralee - my colleagues in the podcast world were too, including Vogue and Joanne of My Therapist Ghosted Me, and Eamon Dunphy of The Stand. Enjoy! Mario  The Mario Rosenstock Podcast is produced by Patrick Haughey of AudioBrand

It's hard to describe Roddy Collins. Footballer, football manager, boxer, brother of a boxing world champion, practical joker, social commentator, author..the list goes on. Not only does Roddy have great stories to tell, he also tells them so well. We talk about life in football’s lower divisions, settling local disputes in the ring, practical jokes that went too far, and walking the streets of Dublin chatting to homeless people and hearing their stories. Roddy joined me on the show last October – he had just published a book called The Rodfather: Inside the Beautiful (Ugly, Ridiculous, Hilarious) Game. It’s a great read! COMEDY: What’s going on the UK? Replacing Prime Ministers every five weeks, it’s like they’re coming off a conveyor belt! GET IN TOUCH: https://www.instagram.com/mariorosenstockofficial/ https://twitter.com/giftgrubmario mariorosenstock@gmail.com The Mario Rosenstock Podcast is produced by Patrick Haughey of www.AudioBrand.ie

While we’re on our short summer break, I’m playing some of my favourite episodes from the series so far. This one is from May 2021, its with my friend and colleague Dermot Whelan, who has just announced that he’s leaving the Dermot and Dave Show on Today FM to focus on his mindfulness business. When we record this episode, Dermot had just released his bestselling book Mind Full. He told me all about the book, the business and how and why it all started. Dermot is also a very talented impressionist. Diarmuid Gavin, Rory McIlroy, Professor Snape from Harry Potter and even the late great Terry Wogan all make an appearance in this interview. Enjoy the chat and don’t forget to follow the series for free, and drop us a rating and review if you’re feeling generous! Produced by Patrick Haughey, AudioBrand

We’re on a short summer break at the moment and so we’re resurfacing some of our favourite and most popular episodes from the last few months. This episode first aired in November 2022 - its a fascinating chat with Frank Greaney, Courts Correspondent with Newstalk and Today FM, and also podcast host, author, and restaurateur! I love Frank’s on-air appearances with Matt Cooper and they have been inspiring quite a few Gift Grub sketches recently. When you hear Frank talk about what he does, why he does it and the cases that have made the most impact on him, you’ll understand why he is so compelling to listen to. Frank reveals what inspired him to get into the field of crime, it's impact on him and his thoughts on judicial sentencing in Ireland. We also explore how far Ireland has come in the last 40 years as Frank speaks about his hit podcast Inside The Crime, Season 2. Listen here: https://link.goloudplayer.com/s/sGka1zw21OAF As you can imagine, many callers phoned in to speak to Frank but it was Michael D Higgins of all people that Frank had a bone to pick with! Produced by Patrick Haughey, AudioBrand

Every episode of my podcast features a brand new and exclusive comedy sketch. If you want to hear a few of my favourites funnies from the last few months, just click play and enjoy!! Produced by Patrick Haughey, AudioBrand

It's never easy to pick easy to pick highlights from the series because there genuinely is far too much to choose from. So I’ve tried to find a few clips that represent the wide range of guests, topics, and laughs that we tend to have on this show every week. So what’s coming up? Jarlath Regan of the brilliant ‘Irishman Abroad’ podcast will be talking about why he took up running during Covid, how beneficial it has been for his mental health, and teaming up with Sonia O’Sullivan to make a whole podcast series dedicated to running! Newstalk’s Ciara Kelly will talk about some of the obstacles that she faced being a woman trying to carve out a career as a broadcaster. And we also talk about the perilous nature of expressing opinions these days. MEP Maria Walsh talks about coming out publicly right after winning the rose of Tralee and the journey she went on afterwards. And Keith Duffy talks about the very early days of Boyzone, why he has an issue with Irish audiences, and that infamous Late Late show appearance when Gay Byrne was a little bit rude to them, to put it mildly. I hope you enjoy the show Mario Produced by Patrick Haughey, AudioBrand

Tadhg Hickey is a comedian, a singer, an actor, an author, and he is also a long-time friend of the Mario Rosenstock Podcast. Tadhg was also a regular guest on the radio show I used to present on Today FM on Sundays before we started this podcast. On one of those Sunday shows Tadhg joined me for a long and fascinating chat about his recovery from alcohol addiction. What was particularly interesting was that he didn’t just talk about how awful it was (and of course so much of it was), but he also talked about some of the funny sides to that life, the kind of trouble he’d get into, the wild parties he was at, and the people he met. The way he talked about his story was so different to how we generally hear topics like alcoholism discussed in the media, and it obviously caught people’s ears. Because soon after that chat, he was contacted by someone in the publishing industry and invited to write a book about his life and recovery. That book is coming out very soon – it’s called A Portrait of the Piss Artist as a Young Man and you’ll find all the info you need about that and his upcoming stand up comedy tour here https://www.tadhghickey.com/home In this episode, Tadhg joins me on this episode to talk all about the book, comedy, addiction, drink and ecstasy, twitter spats, doom scrolling, colonialism and independence! COMEDY A few famous faces phone into the Mario Rosenstock hotline to leave messages for Tadhg, including Brendan O’Connor, Micheal Martin, and Boris Johnson. Produced by Patrick Haughey of AudioBrand

Alison Curtis and I have been close friends and colleagues for over two decades. We worked on the same show for many years (The Ian Dempsey breakfast show, where I still work) and to say there are a few very entertaining stories from that period would be an understatement – and yes, you’ll get to hear a couple of them in this conversation (the ones the lawyers said were ok to share!). Alison has also presented her own weekend breakfast show on Today FM for ten years now and in that time she has grown the audience at an incredible rate and it is now one of the most-listened to shows on the station. But how much do you really know about the lady behind the mic? In this chat we talk about Alison’s early life, growing up on a ranch in the Canadian countryside, losing her parents at a young age, what brought her to Ireland and why she fell in love with the place, and lots more. COMEDY – a few well-known people left messages on the Mario Rosenstock hotline for Alison, including Leo Varadkar, Matt Cooper, and Ray Darcy. Produced by Patrick Haughey, AudioBrand

My special guest on this episode is not only brilliantly talented, but such great craic too. Lyra is one of Ireland’s fastest rising stars - her music has featured on Love Island, Grey’s Anatomy, X-Factor and RTE’s Striking Out, she has performed on TV shows such as Dancing with the Stars and Ireland’s Got Talent and, get this, she’s just back from London having opened for Pink in Hyde Park! Lyra is also hilariously funny and we had so much fun together in the studio. COMEDY – In a week dominated by analysis of broadcaster salaries, RTE’s Primetime featured three well-known presenters talking about their own terms and conditions. Warning: some of you might find their stories emotional to listen to. Produced by Patrick Haughey of AudioBrand

This is a very open, honest and compelling conversation with a man you will probably be very familiar with through the many public-facing roles he has had over the years – Senator, Minister, author and high profile newspaper editor among them – but in this conversation you will learn a lot more about the other side of Shane Ross. We chat about growing up between Ireland and England, being both a political insider and outsider at the same time, his tumultuous relationship with his father and his close friend Eamon Dunphy, and a destructive drinking habit that he had to knock on the head. COMEDY – Ryan Tubridy’s phone has been HOPPING ever since revelations about his salary came out. Jump in and take a listen to his voicemails… Produced by Patrick Haughey, AudioBrand

Luke 'Ming' Flanagan is not your average politician. He looks different, he acts differently, and since his very first day in politics he has been tirelessly campaigning for the decriminalisation of cannabis. And because of that, he has often not been taken seriously by other politicians many of whom have either overlooked him or made fun of him. But Ming has certainly been taken seriously by voters , climbing the ranks from local councillor to TD, to the MEP position he holds today. We covered all sorts of topics in our chat – how and why he smokes cannabis, what laws he would like to see changed, his life in politics, and what he thinks of my impressions of him! COMEDY - There has been a lot of excitement on the Mario Rosenstock podcast hotline after I dropped the news earlier in the week that Ming was coming on the show. We’ve been getting all sorts of voicemails from his colleagues in politics and beyond.. Produced by Patrick Haughey of AudioBrand

I've always been fascinated by the lives of crime journalists. It’s a career that involves exposing criminals and crime gangs, putting yourself in dangerous situations, and often being at the receiving end of death threats. What’s it like to live a life like that and why would anyone want to do it? These are just some of the questions that I wanted to ask Paul Williams, one of Ireland’s best-known and most experienced crime journalists. Paul has spent decades profiling Ireland’s most dangerous criminals and, in many cases, they have hit back, to the extent that Paul ended up with 24-hour Garda protection after a hoax bomb was planted outside his family home. In this fascinating conversation Paul tells me all about what life at the coalface of crime journalism. Paul’s book “The Monk - the life and crimes of Ireland’s most enigmatic gang boss” is back in the shops at the end of June. COMEDY – Rory McIlroy’s phone has been hopping all week since the announcement that the PGA tour and LIV Golf are to merge. We got exclusive access to his voice mails… Produced by Patrick Haughey of AudioBrand

There was a time in Ireland where honest communication about personal issues or potentially controversial subjects was not our strong suit. As my special guest on this episode, comedian Anne Gildea, says – “Nothing was said about anything – it was all mystery.” Little by little we became more open and liberal about these things however one of the issues that stayed very much buried under the carpet up until very recently was something that affects over 51% of the population! That’s the menopause. Anne Gildea wanted to do something about this, so she wrote a whole stand-up comedy show about it called ‘How to get the menopause and enjoy it’. In our chat she tells me all about it, and we also chat about loads more, like Anne being a founding member of the smash hit comedy Trio 'The Nualas', old Ireland versus modern Ireland, and why she thinks Joanne McNally is simply a legend.. Anne is currently touring this great show - check out her website for upcoming dates https://www.annegildea.com/shows COMEDY - Love Island is back and the contestants have been revealed. Jump in and hear them introduce themselves - you might hear a few familiar voices.. Produced by Patrick Haughey of AudioBrand

A lot of people come up with great ideas for businesses or creative projects, but only a few of them actually make it happen. Tony Kelly is one of those rare people. An actor and comedian, Tony created a comedy character many years ago call Gar Campion who is a very talented but deeply flawed hurler. He started putting Gar in sketches on YouTube and in the years since he has fought tooth and nail to turn The Hurler into a feature film, set in his native Waterford City. And, against all the odds, he has just made that happen In our chat, Tony tells me the fascinating story of how he did it (and it was not easy folks); we also talk about stand up comedy, the uniqueness of Waterford (Tony’s home town) and the power of sheer grit and determination COMEDY – David McWilliams has big plans for taking Tom Hanks out on the tear at the Dalkey Book Festival, and Eamon Dunphy and John Giles analyse the big tv breakup of Philip Schofield and Holly Willoughby. Produced by Patrick Haughey of AudioBrand

Just like tens of thousands of people across Ireland, Ciaran Mulqueen spent a long, long time trying to buy a home. As he searched through property listings online, he was taken aback by some of the tiny, poor quality properties for sale and rent at ridiculously high prices. Not only that, but so many of the photos of various properties were clearly photoshopped, and many of them claimed to be in salubrious locations that were actually many miles away! Ciaran was moved to call out some of these adverts, and so he started posting them on an instagram page he called Crazy House Prices. The channel now has tens of thousands of followers, it has grown into other equally popular social channels, and Ciaran has even just published a best-selling book called How to buy a home in Ireland. In this episode Ciaran shares his home hunting story, the good the bad and the ugly of property adverts, and a few thoughts on where it has all gone wrong COMEDY – We get exclusive access to Ronan O’Gara’s voicemails ahead of the big showdown between La Rochelle and Leinster in the Aviva Stadium. Produced by Patrick Haughey of AudioBrand

A lot of people with amazing stories have sat in front of me in studio since we started The Mario Rosenstock Podcast, but Georgie Crawford must be right up there as having one of the most dramatic and compelling stories of them all. It’s a story about a cancer diagnosis at a young age, a surrogacy interrupted by war, deep self-doubt, and more. But Georgie turned all of this negativity in to something so positive and impactful when she created The Good Glow podcast, which has grown into a highly successful health and wellness brand. In this episode, Georgie tells her story and tells me about her new book called Glow: Five Steps To Create The Life You Dream About. COMEDY The radio listenership figures are out this week – some shows went up, some went down…check out the voicemails to the Mario Rosenstock Podcast hotline this week, some of the country’s biggest broadcasters left messages for you! Produced by Patrick Haughey, AudioBrand.

We got a huge response to the first part of my chat with economist and podcaster Chris Johns. Thanks for all your emails, tweets and Instagram messages about it – I read a few of them out at the start of this episode. In this, part 2 of my interview with Chris I continue to ask him to ‘talk to me like a 2 year old’ and answer some of my simple questions that can have complex answers. Questions like can Sinn Fein really solve the housing crisis, why Artificial Intelligence has the potential to be so incredibly dangerous, and are bankers paid far too much money? Chris, as ever, has plenty to say. In comedy, my podcast colleagues are talking about the coronation of King Charles, including Eamon Dunphy on The Stand and Tommy and Hector on the Tommy, Hector and Laurita podcast. Produced by Patrick Haughey of AudioBrand.