For decades, Hot Press has been at the centre of some of Ireland's most challenging conversations around drugs, consistently questioning whether criminalisation is the best way to tackle addiction, organised crime and public health. Now, that conversation continues through its new podcast series, Dealing With Drugs: A Hot Press Podcast

The show is presented by deputy editor of Hot Press Stuart Clarke, who joins me as my special guest on this episode of the Mario Rosenstock Podcast. We chat about everything from why Portugal's model of decriminalisation is working and why Ireland's model of criminalisation isn’t, to organised crime, music culture and why honesty may be the most important starting point for any meaningful debate about this issue.

COMEDY: It’s the most popular gift Grub Sketch that I have written years – I channel my inner Bob Dylan and sing about the number of England players with Irish roots in the World Cup!

Produced by Patrick Haughey, AudioBrand

Mike Hanrahan has spent over forty years writing, performing and championing Irish music. He spent fifteen years with Stockton's Wing, writing hits such as Beautiful affair and Over the Moors, which was the theme tune for Joe Duffys radio show for over 40 years until recently (and Mike has a very strong opinion on the decision to drop it)

He went on to spend ten years writing and performing with the legendary Ronnie Drew with whom he became a close friend; He has also supported Michael Jackson in Páirc Uí Chaoimh, appeared in Jim Sheridan’s The Field, alongside Richard Harris, Sean Bean and John Hurt; performed for Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Junior; he even spent years as a professional chef in kitchens across Ireland. And we have a great chat about all of these stories and more in this episode of the Mario Rosenstock podcast

Lucy Kennedy’s hit TV show ‘Living with Lucy’ has been a huge success and so much of that is down to Lucy’s disarmingly relaxed and authentic style of interviewing – in fact it doesn’t even really feel like an interview, more of a very causal chat, which is why the celebs she moves in with are so open and honest with her.

As well as being a tv presenter , Lucy is also the co host of the breakfast show on Ireland’s Classic Hits Radio, alongside Colm Hayes; she has written several children’s books, and now she can add adult fiction writer to her CV. Her debut novel is called The Mini Breakers and we chat about that – and a whole lot else in this episode of the mario Rosenstock podcast.

Produced by Patrick Haughey, AudioBrand

My conversation with Greg Allen continues, with more great stories and sports insights in this episode. Greg has spent over 40 years covering golf and athletics on RTE, and in this part of our chat he shares early memories of watching Rory Mcllroy play, what he thought at the time, and where he thinks his career is headed now. We hear stories about his interviews with famous golfers including Jack Nicklaus, and I hit him with a quick fire round of questions about his favourite sportsperson, most memorable sporting moment, and lots more.

COMEDY - its World Cup fever at the moment and David WcWilliams is doing what David McWilliams does best, on the David McWilliams podcast!

Produced by Patrick Haughey, AudioBrand

Greg Allen joined RTE’s sports department over 40 years ago and he intentionally decided to focus on two sports that weren’t particularly widely covered, so that he could develop a niche for himself and make his mark. He chose well, as Ireland has since become a global force in golf and athletics , and Greg has had a front-row seat to that remarkable transformation.

He has covered 10 Olympic games, every World Athletics Championship since 1993 and each European Athletics championship since 1990, 90 major golf championships, 16 Ryder Cups , over 100 international events and domestic ones too – and in this episode he tells me some great insider stories about the big events, the sports stars involved, and the rise and rise of Irish sport on the world stage.

COMEDY - As one of Ireland’s most recognisable sports commentators, there’s was naturally a lot of interest in this episode from other recognisable sports commentators, and they were eager to get in touch with Greg on the Mario Rosenstock podcast hotline.

Produced by Patrick Haughey, AudioBrand

Ever since he was a kid, all Jack Lukeman (aka Jack L) wanted to do was to write and perform music - and he has managed to make a very long and successful career out of it, with multi-platinum selling albums and thousands of gigs under his belt. And it certainly helped that he has one of the most recognisable voices in the industry.

But as well as writing and performing music, Jack also thinks a lot about it – he’s fascinated by its history, the science behind it, and the impact that AI is having on music, and what that means for musicians and performers in general. So we have a deep and wide-ranging chat about all that, as well as Jack’s upcoming projects, including MC'ing on the main stage and performing at the upcoming Forest Fest in Co.Laois in July, a 'Northern Lights' church tour, and two consecutive nights at the 3Olympia in March 2027

COMEDY – Ray Darcy, Michael Healy Rae, and Ivan Yates remember what they got up to after they sat their Leaving Certs.

Produced by Patrick Haughey, AudioBrand

This is the second part of my chat with Craig Doyle, and we’ve kept some of his best stories for this episode. Craig talks about how ITV’s This Morning survived the Phillip Schofield saga, the time when he played football with Diego Maradona and many other top players, and the recent Geoff Parling viral video in which Craig played an unfortunate starring role.

COMEDY – Roy Keane, Patrick Kielty, and Brendan O’Connor leave messages for Craig on The Mario Rosenstock Podcast Hotline

Produced by Patrick Haughey, AudioBrand

If you ask Chat GPT about Craig Doyle, one of the things it will say is: Craig gives off “good bloke who accidentally wandered into television and stayed there” energy.

And when I put this to Craig he didn’t disagree! Because even though he has presented some of the UK’s most-watched shows, a career on camera was never really part of Craig’s grand plan. And the story of how it all happened is a great one.

Craig shares so many great stories from his career and his childhood, he tells me about encounters with characters like Jeremy Clarkson, Jimmy McGee, Phil Lynott, Robbie Williams, and playing soccer Diego Maradona! And I also learn all about the production company he runs with former rugby international Brian O’Driscoll and some of the fascinating sports documentaries they have made together. But it hasn't all been plain sailing, and Craig also tells me about when and why he almost gave it all up to pursue a totally different career, and what happened next.

COMEDY – Ryle Nugent, Donal Lenihan, and Brian O’Driscoll phone in and leave messages for Craig on The Mario Rosenstock Hotline

Produced by Patrick Haughey, AudioBrand