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

A couple of episodes back Gerry Mullins told me the fascinating story of Jonathon swift, author of Gulliver’s Travels, which is still by far the most successful book ever published by an Irish author. It was full of dangerous political commentary, so Swift was never able to put his name to it during his lifetime. Today we have cancel culture, but back then people were ‘pilloried’ – tied up in wooden stocks, publicly shamed, and sometimes had parts of their body cut off, a fate that Swift ran the risk of meeting. It’s a fascinating story and if you haven’t heard that episode be sure to check it out.

But Gerry also shared some other eye-opening pieces of history with me – about my own family. Stories about my German grandfather, my Irish grandmother, what they went through during WW2, and how their experiences may have had an impact on my own upbringing. This was all new information to me and in this episode you’ll hear me learning some very poignant facts about my family, for the very first time.

Did you know that RTE’s Late Late Show is longest running chat show in TV history? For over 60 years it has been an institution in Ireland - entertaining huge audiences, reflecting societal changes, challenging the status quo, and setting the news agenda.

But the show now seems to have reached something of a turning point – there are a lot more TV shows competing for our attention, numbers are falling, and some say that its not as as relevant as it once was. On top of all that there’s a big question mark over who will be the host of the next series, as Patrick Kielty has not signed a contract to do it, and we’re not sure if he will.

I’ve been on the Late Late many times and I’m really interested in its past, present and future, and so we invited two guests on to this episode who are equally as interested and who know a lot about the show and TV entertainment formats in general.

Former journalist Larissa Nolan has been a guest on the show and has written a lot about it, and Paddy Cullivan was a weekly fixture on the Late Late for 10 years during Ryan Tubridy’s tenure, fronting up the house band the Camembert Quartet.

Larissa, Paddy and I reflect on the highs and lows of the late late over the years, we try to figure out what’s gone wrong, whats gone right, and what its going to take to save the Late Late and get it back to its glory days…

COMEDY - when I put it out there on my social channels that we were going to be chatting about the Late Late its future, a few well-known people got in touch, and it seems they have their eye on the big job on the show..

She’s one of Ireland's hardest working and best-known performers, and her honesty and sense of humour is an absolute tonic, making Linda Martin a great podcast guest. Linda started singing professionally when she was just 16 yrs old and still in school, and she has pretty much been performing regularly ever since. During that 50-year career, Linda has been a nine-time National Song Contest contestant, a Eurovision winner, a chart-topping singer, a mentor, a TV host, a stage actor – the list goes on!

Linda tells me some great stories about her life in music, the hey day of the Irish showbiz scene and what she has learned from some of the greats that she has worked with. We chat about her love of animals and her beloved Dublin Dog Hub sanctuary. And she also lets off some steam about modern day celebrity and work ethic, why politics and music should never mix, and why there’s no such thing as mega artists any more.

COMEDY – Tommy Tiernan, Marty Whelan, and Ronan Keating have some interesting ideas about how to revive Ireland’s Eurovison glory days…

Produced by Patrick Haughey, AudioBrand

You’ve heard of the book Gulliver’s Travels, but did you know that it’s by far the most successful book ever published by an Irish author? And that it contained such dangerous political commentary that Jonathon Swift was never able to put his name to it during his lifetime? Today we have cancel culture, but back then people were ‘pilloried’ – tied up in wooden stocks, publicly shamed, and sometimes had parts of their body cut off.

These are just some of the fascinating things I learned during my conversation with writer, performer, and former political strategist, Gerry Mullins. Gerry has become something of an expert on Swift (he literally wrote the musical!). He describes Swift as ‘the original Irish satirist’ and even though he was around 300 years ago, so much of what he talks about feels familiar today.

In this episode, Gerry and I talk about the remarkable life he led, his complicated love life, freedom of speech (or the lack of it) back then and today, Trump, cancel culture, and Swifts incredible contribution to mental health in Ireland.

COMEDY – It’s the most hotly anticipated movie in years – its Michael… (Healy Rae!)

Produced by Patrick Haughey, AudioBrand.

What does your home reveal about you? Celebrity architect Dermot Bannon’s new show, Celebrity Super Spaces, brings us inside the front doors of well-known people where we learn something different about them. Because I guess our homes reflect our personalities, whats important to us, and maybe what we want people to think about us.

Dermot tells me about visiting the homes of people like Joanne McNally, Vogue Williams, Andrew porter and a few others, and what he learned about them during his time there. He also talks about growing up in Cairo in Egypt and how that experience shaped who he is today; he rants about our obsession with modular homes as the solution to the housing crisis when there are far bigger things we should be focussing on. Dermot also tells me about a recent major health scare that could have been fatal for him, and how it’s affecting his day to day life now. And we also talk Gift Grub and my impressions of him!

COMEDY – its seems that everyone wants to get their house done by Dermot, including some very well-known people, who left messages for him on the Mario Rosenstock Podcast hotline this week..

Produced by Patrick Haughey, AudioBrand

Russell Watson and Gary Barlow have something in common – they both started their careers in Workingmen’s clubs across northern England, playing to audiences that were very hard to win over. They other quality they share is grit and determination, and so fast forward to today, and Russell is selling out concerts globally, he has performed for the Queen, the Pope and US presidents, topped the charts in the UK and US for months at a time, and sang at major football and rugby finals all over the world. He has also been a contestant on I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! UK in 2020.

In this episode Russell tells me so many great stories about the tough crowds he’s played to, the celebs he has met and performed with, and the secret to his ‘overnight success’ (“that was a very long night!!”)

Russell will be in Ireland very soon for some shows in Wexford, Limerick and Dublin – check out russellwatson.com for all the details.

Lots of news around this week but one of the stories that have cause a bit of a stir is the news that RTE boss Kevin Bakhurst is getting a €20k pay rise. We got exclusive access to his voicemails – press play to hear them!

Produced by Patrick Haughey, AudioBrand

I just love talking about music and songwriting, so when I had the chance to interview Grammy-nominated singer songwriter, RuthAnne Cunningham, it was never going to be a short conversation! So we divided out our chat across two episodes and this week its part 2.

Having written songs for some of the world’s biggest performers, including Niall Horan, Britney Spears, Westlife, Niall Horan, Martin Garrix and One Direction, Ruthanne has so many great stories to share and so much to say about the music industry and how it all works.

In this episode Ruthanne and I talk about the role the social media plays in the modern industry - and why she’s not too happy about it – she tells me how things work when it comes to royalties and how songwriters get paid, and we talk about why a legend like Bruce Springsteen wouldn’t be a success if he started out today.

COMEDY - The fuel protests and blockades are dominating the news this week, and Michael O’Leary and Paschal Donohoe let their opinions about it be known on The Mario Rosenstock Podcast Hotline.

Produced by Patrick Haughey, AudioBrand.