The Mario Rosenstock Podcast

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.