I meet a lot of very hard working people on this podcast and Donal Skehan must be up there with one of the hardest working of them all. He’s a true grafter and someone I really admire. After spending years in the music industry, and with a couple of Irish number 1s under his belt, Donal followed his lifelong passion for food and created a remarkable career for himself in that world. He has over 11 cookbooks, countless TV shows, a meal planning web platform (donalskitchen.com), a collab with Dunnes Stores and many others strings to his bow.

And on top of all that, Donal has recently become embroiled in a wonderfully frivolous and entertaining Eurosong feud, involving contenstent Samantha Mumba, and his fellow judges Laura Fox, Arthur Gourounlian and Bambi Thug. It has been described by comedian Joanne McNally as the “showbiz feud Ireland needs and deserves”, and personally I’d have to agree with her. Press play to get the inside story!

Produced by Patrick Haughey of AudioBrand

It’s hard to get away from Trump and his tough talk on tariffs these days. But what exactly are tariffs, how do they work, and why should we care about them?

One person I have often turned to when I wanted to understand complex economic stories is Constantin Gurdgiev. Constantin used to live in Ireland and during the economic recession he was all over the media, breaking down what it all meant in layman’s terms.

Constantin lives in the US now so I thought he was the perfect guest for this week to talk about all Trumps tough talk on tariffs, life and the general mood in the US, and, as a Russian man living abroad, how he feels about what’s happening in his home country

COMEDY – David McWilliams also has a lot to say about Trump and tariffs on his podcast, but maybe not the kind of commentary you’d expect…

Produced by Patrick Haughey of AudioBrand

He’s one of Ireland’s most intelligent, interesting and, at times, incendiary characters, and he’s also one of the people I most love to interview. Eamon Dunphy, having put his podcast The Stand on pause after over 2000 episodes, is now embarking on his next adventure. And on this episode of The Mario Rosenstock Podcast, he tells me all about it.

But as you might expect from Dunphy, there are a few issues – and people – that are grinding his gears right now: Trump, Michael D Higgins, Elon Musk, and Fintan O’Toole to name but a few! He also tells some great stories from the heyday of the Dublin social scene, and we get a bit deep too, as Eamon shares his thoughts on ageing, life, and death.

The Mario Rosenstock Podcast is sponsored by Delux Bathrooms

Produced by Patrick Haughey, AudioBrand

Alan O’Reilly of Carlow Weather has become a bit of a phenomenon in the last few years. He loves weather, he loves IT, and he loves turning complex information in to plain English, and when he combines all three, he turns into a highly accurate predictor of the notoriously unpredictable Irish weather.

Alan has now become so well-known, that I had to make him the star of a gift grub sketch. But I also wanted to meet the man himself and find out how it all got started, how he manages to call it right so often, his thoughts on our changing climate, conspiracy theorists and what they say to him,  and of course what he thought about my gift grub sketch about him!

Produced by Patrick Haughey, AudioBrand

Neil Delamere is a man of many talents – he’s best known as one of Ireland’s leading comedians, but did you know that he’s also a very talented quizzer? He’s been a contestant on The Chase with Bradley Walsh, Beat the Chasers, Celebrity mastermind, a panellist on  QI and the dictionary corner guy on Countdown! 

He’s a very intelligent and funny guy, and he’s also great storyteller – and  on this episode of The Mario Rosenstock Podcast we chat all about his current tour, Achilles Neil, the other comedians that he finds funny and why, what its like behind the scenes of some of the big UK TV shows that he’s a regular on, and tonnes more.

Comedy – Micheal Martin has been sworn in as Taoiseach, and it seems he’s taking the Donal Trump approach to his first few days in office.

Produced by Patrick Haughey, AudioBrand

Henry McKean is not accustomed to doing interviews, usually he’s the one asking the questions. But on this episode of The Mario Rosenstock Podcast we turn the tables on Henry and reveal the man behind the mic. If you’re a regular listener to Newstalk radio, you will be familiar with Henry's very distinctive voice and interview style. Having spent years travelling the country and talking to people about all sorts of fascinating subjects, I knew he must have a few great stories to share – and I wasn’t disappointed!

Henry and I  chat about the weird and wonderful people he has met, the big stories he has covered, and some of the pretty hairy situations he has ended up in. He also talks about his own fascinating background and family history.

Comedy – Eamon Dunphy has just stepped down as host of The Stand – but two well-known podcasters have already taken his place..Vogue Williams and Joanne McNally!

Produced by Patrick Haughey, AudioBrand

As the saying goes, it takes many years to become an overnight success, and this is something that Chris Kent knows all about. Having worked for years as an electrician, Chris wanted to try his hand at comedy and started to graft hard on the scene. Things started to take off for him and he was able to work at his comedy full time. But then Covid hit – the dream ended and Chris went back to his trade to make ends meet.

 But today, Chris is back on the horse and he’s selling out venues all over Ireland and the UK. On this episode of the Mario Rosenstock Podcast he tells me his fascinating story and we go deep on all things comedy, writing and life as a performer

 Comedy – we got exclusive access to Met Eireann’s voicemails this week, and some familiar voices have a lot to say to them!

 Produced by Patrick Haughey, AudioBrand

Whenever my Today FM colleague Dave Moore and I get in to the podcast studio, we talk A LOT about music. We’re both completely fascinated by things like how compositions are structured,  the formula behind a great pop song, what makes a great producer, that kind of stuff.

 The last couple of times Dave was on the show, we held back a few bits that we didn’t have time to include in the final edit,  and Ive wrapped them up for you here in this special ‘unheard-bits’ episode. First Dave tells us the story of a life changing moment for him, when his music caught the attention of one of the world’s biggest bands. Then he talks about his obsession with thrash metal and why he believes it is such a great style of music – and he’s quite convincing!

This week, its story time and Im delighted to be able to dip back into the archives and revisit one of my favourite episodes with, in my opinion, one of Ireland’s best storytellers, Peter Sheridan - author, playwright, and director. Peter has driven across America with actor Sean Penn, developed a cocaine addiction through his friendship with an LA dealer named Cuban Mike, auditioned top Hollywood actresses like Renee Zellweger, and learned rebel songs directly from Christy Moore. He has done it all, and he’s here to tell the tales on this episode of The Mario Rosenstock Podcast.

Produced by Patrick Haughey, AudioBrand.

Over the last 20-years, Steven and David Flynn, aka The Happy Pear, have built one of Ireland’s best-known health food brands – and they’ve also become international healthy living influencers, known for the 5am sea swims, the handstands, the yoga in jocks, and all of the quirky things that they have become so famous for. And as a result, they have a massive following of people who love them, and indeed those that don't.

And that divided public perception is just of the things we chat about in this really fascinating conversation. . We also talk about things like being identical twins and what that feels like, why we’re all too obsessed with protein and are neglecting something far more important, and some pretty out-there places they ended up in on their travels. I think you're going to see a very different side to The Happy Pear in this episode of The Mario Rosenstock Podcast.

Comedy – Matt and Ivan, and Taoiseach Simon Harris leave voice notes for the twins.

Check out their latest book The Happy Pear 20

Produced by Patrick Haughey, AudioBrand