The Mario Rosenstock Podcast

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...

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 tra...

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 fi...

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...

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...

You probably know Paul Williams well from his journalism and regular appearances on radio and TV. However, you may not be aware of how and why he got into crime journalism in the first place, what daily life is like for someone with a job like his, and how passionately he feels about the victims of crime. We get stuck in to all of that in this episode of The Mario Rosenstock Podcast and Paul also...

It’s the time of year for reflection and I’ve been thinking a lot on how far we’ve come with this podcast since we started it almost four years ago - millions of listens, some big awards and nominations, and a lot of friends made along the way. And it’s all thanks to you for being a loyal listener and supporting us along the way.  So I thought it would be fitting for this week’s episode to go...

Whenever I want to get stuck into a really great chat about US politics, Irish politics, or any kind of tending social issue, I have a couple of go-to guests that I love to thrash things out with – and Karl Deeter is one of them. We don’t always see eye to eye, but in my opinion that's often the essence of a great conversation. As a mortgage-broker turned tech-founder, Karl is well-known for his k...

Comedian Ross Browne has written for and starred in several hidden camera shows including RTE’s The Fear and Scorchio, alongside Fred Cooke, Hilary Rose and Jennifer Zamparelli. And he has also personally pranked The White House, CIA headquarters and Enda Kenny! ( here’s a link to the one with Enda) Ross is also a lead writer for the latest series of The Young Offenders, he has an Amazon Prim...

So much has changed for Dave Moore since he last joined me here on the Mario Rosenstock podcast. Not only has Today FM’s Dermot and Dave show now become ‘The Dave Moore Show’, after Dermot Whelan left to focus on his mindfulness career, but Dave can now call himself an author! He has just published his first book, ‘Dave's Bad Jokes’ - a carefully curated collection of questionable gags sent into t...

He has been on our screens with Ireland AM for 25 years and on stage in your favourite pantos for over 30, Alan Hughes must be the hardest working man in showbiz. He’s also so refreshingly honest, irreverent and funny – the perfect ingredients for a guest on The Mario Rosenstock Podcast. In this episode we talk all about Alan’s remarkable career, what drives him to work so hard , misbehaving celeb...

I am obsessed with US politics. Not only is it full of drama and fascinating characters, but the results of this upcoming election could have a real, tangible impact on Ireland. So I wanted to get stuck into all things election-related with one of Ireland’s best-known experts on this subject. Larry Donnelly was born in Boston into an Irish-American family steeped in politics – most notably, his un...

I’m pretty sure that you will not have heard an interview with Tánaiste Micheál Martin quite like this one before. The man is great craic, full of funny stories and banter – it’s a side to him that we rarely get to see in the Dail and on current affairs shows, but we certainly get a taste of it in this episode.  We talk about his love of impressions, and he even does a few for us! He tells me...

This is one of my favourite interviews from last year. I’ve always noticed that rugby players, in particular retired rugby players, have brilliant stories to tell. There’s so much craic and mischief going on behind the scenes in the changing room and when they’re off on tour and then you and I are lucky enough to hear all about it, when a sufficient amount of time has passed and its safe to share...

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to ride a motorbike alone from the bottom of South America to the very top of North America? My guest on this episode did just that. Peter Murtagh, having retired from the Irish Times after decades of doing the work he loved to do, hopped on his motorbike, and spent eight months travelling 45,000 kms alone through deserts, mountains, jungles and cities,...

In the 12 months since Tony Kelly was on this podcast, his life has completely transformed. The comedy character that he created at a house party over ten years ago, is now the central character in a feature film that has gone global, streaming on Apple TV and Amazon Prime.  So Tony is back on the pod to tell me all about how it all happened and where to next. We also talk about his personal...

I am a tennis nut. I have been playing and loving the sport since I was ten years old and continue to love it to this day. So I’m delighted to be joined on this episode by the best tennis player ever to come out of Ireland. Conor Niland played for many years at a professional level, he was coached at the tennis academy run by legendary coach Nick Bollettieri, and he even qualified for Wimbledon, o...

Professor John Crown is one of Ireland’s best-known and accomplished cancer experts. He has spent his entire career trying to improve outcomes for patients and fighting to improve the way Ireland’s health system works, so it was no surprise that, recently, John was crowned with the Outstanding Contribution to Cancer Medicine and Research Award from the Irish Association for Cancer Research. In thi...

Brendan Ogle is one of Ireland’s best-known activists and trade unionists. Having fought Margaret Thatcher and her plans to privatise the railways in the UK, Brendan returned home to Ireland in the early 90s and has been fighting for workers’ rights and social justice ever since. He has now decided that its time to move from protest to politics, and to try to effect change as a member of the Europ...

Laura and Rob are from very different worlds. Laura is a stand-up comedian and actress, best known The School and Bridget and Eamon on RTE. Rob is one of Ireland’s most successful Olympians, competing in five different Olympic games, and winning a gold medal at the Moscow World Championships. But together they present a very successful podcast called Red Raw where they talk very openly about their...

When Niall Boylan joined me here a couple of years ago we had a fascinating conversation about his 30-yearr career in radio, his reputation as a so-called ‘shock jock’, and his incredible life story. But recently Niall decided to put his lifelong radio career on hold so that he can run as a candidate in the Dublin constituency in the upcoming European elections.   Having spent so many years a...

A story like Israel’s war on Gaza naturally gets wall to wall news coverage. But sometimes blanket coverage over a prolonged period of time can start to lose its power, we start to get inured to it and its impact decreases.   So in order to keep getting the message out there, you need a new angle - and comedian and writer Tadhg Hickey certainly has that angle. Tadhg has become very well-known...

We hadn’t planned to talk about it, but the tragic situation in Gaza and the failure of well-known people in the wellness industry to speak out about it, was one of the highlights of my chat with broadcaster and podcaster Sile Seoige. It’s a subject about which Sile feels incredibly passionate right now and she explains why in this episode. But of course we talked about all sorts of other things i...

Something that has always fascinated me about former State Pathologist Dr Marie Cassidy  is how she could have one of the toughest, most serious and emotionally impactful jobs in the country and yet be so upbeat and positive outside of the job. In a way maybe that’s the only way one can successfully do it. Marie and I get in to all of that in our chat, as well as what its like being a patholo...

Lots of people THINK about running for election, lots of people TALK about it, but very few actually do it. Having spent many years loosely involved in politics, Cormac Lucey has now decided to go all the way, and he has just thrown his hat into the ring of the local elections in June. Cormac is a Sunday Times columnist, a lecturer in Finance in Trinity College, and a very familiar face and voice...