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 what he thinks of my Gift Grub caricature of him, he also talks about his relationship with Leo Varadkar behind the scenes, time he spent in the north trying to understand the unionist perspective, the return of Bertie and his rumoured bid for the Presidency, getting into bed with Sinn Fein, and and lots more.

We actually stayed in studio chatting for over an hour and a half and so we’ve decided to break the conversation up into two parts, the first of which you’re about to press play - and if you'd like to hear part 2 afterwards, jump back to Oct 2023 on this menu. I hope you enjoy what I think is a very different kind of interview with one of Ireland best-known politicians.

Comedy – Eamon Dunphy and John Giles discuss the massive cocaine haul off the Irish coast this week.

Produced by Patrick Haughey of AudioBrand

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 the stories!

Tommy Bowe is one of those great former rugby internationals who also happens to be a brilliant storyteller, so I was delighted when he agreed to join me as special guest here on the Mario Rosenstock Podcast. I got some juicy behind-the-scenes stories and gossip which I think you’ll enjoy, but we also talk about his childhood growing up in a border county when the British army very much still a presence there, how he very nearly did not become a professional rugby player, his new career as a TV presenter (known for regular hilarious gaffes – 10 siblings, anybody?), and his successful clothing company XV Kings which has just turned 10 years old.

COMEDY - David McWilliams reminisces about causing trouble on ‘culchies shopping day’ on 8th December in his youth

Produced by Patrick Haughey of AudioBrand

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, and he joins me to tell me about the places he saw, the people he met, and what he has learned about himself and the world.

Check out Peter’s book about the whole experience: 'Tip to Top: The Journey of a Lifetime, From Chile to Alaska'.

COMEDY – whats the story with the Irish ‘Summer’ this year? The Mario Rosenstock Podcast hotline has been hopping with messages from well-known voices.

Produced by Patrick Haughey of AudioBrand