Getting mystical with Michael Harding

I don’t think there’s really such a thing as a ‘normal’ conversation with Michael Harding, and I certainly had no intention of trying to have one in this episode of The Mario Rosenstock Podcast. Michael is many things – a writer, a playwright, a podcaster, and a columnist - but he’s also one of the most captivating speakers you’ll have the pleasure of listening to. He has been up and he has been down and he has thought deeply about life and how to live it well, and he loves to share what he has learned, in case you might find it of use.So if you want to hear two grown men do down a whole lot of rabbit holes about amateur Buddhism, existentialism , love, loss,  and the meaning of life – all with a good handful of great craic thrown in - then you’ve just hit play on the right podcast!Produced by Patrick Haughey, AudioBrand

Sometimes I’ll have a long and fascinating conversation with a guest and instead of including all of it in the episode, we’ll chop some of it out, put it into a little folder in the Mario Rosenstock podcast vaults for safekeeping, and then dust it off and pop it in to a special episode of un-heard bits when the time is right.So we’ve two such bonus bits from the vaults for you in this episode – one from Former professional footballer and manager, Roddy Collins and the other from housing expert and former chair of the Housing Agency, Conor Skehan. Neither of whom hold back on their chosen subject!We’ll also be remembering the late, great Manchan Magan, someone who made a deep impression on me and that I had great time and admiration for. We’ll replay a lovely excerpt from the conversation we had back in 2021.COMEDY – David McWilliams is very excited about this week’s Budget – but he lets rip about a couple of tax hikes that are going to hit him straight in the pocket.Produced by Patrick Haughey, AudioBrand

Eamon Carr has had the most fascinating life –poet,  playwright,  sports journalist, copywriter in an ad agency, entertainment journalist.  Oh.. and he was also a founding member of one of Ireland most unique and iconic bands, The Horslips! (the band responsible for that  amazing guitar sample in ‘put em under pressure' from Italia 90).  Eamon takes me right back to the start of Horslips and into their heyday, and we also talk about life on the road as a musician and the toll that rock n roll living can take. Eamon also talks about some of the most interesting people that he has interviewed over his long career as a journalist.This is the topic of his latest book, Pure Gold,  full of brilliant stories about his interviews with greats including  Shane MacGowan, Jack Charlton, Gay Byrne, Sinead O’Connor, and many more.COMEDY – its all about the Presidential race at the moment and we’re hearing lots from the candidates. But what about Michael D, what’s going on with him behind the closed doors of the Aras??Produced by Patrick Haughey, AudioBrand

So we’ve got a very different kind of episode for you this time. A few weeks ago Karl Deeter joined me here on the show and, after we had finished recording, he hit me with an idea – would I be up for the tables being turned, and me being the guest on my own podcast? And as evidenced by what you’re about to hear, I said yes!I’m definitely  little too close to it to have a sense of how it went or what you’re going to think,  so I guess I’m just going to let you have a listen and see for yourself. Hopefully you trust that at this stage, we like to put on a good show here on the podcast and you’ll always hear something that might give you a laugh, something new to think about, or a little bit of escape to wind down from a tough week. Enjoy!Thanks to Deluxe Bathrooms for supporting The Mario Rosenstock Podcast. Check out deluxebathroom.ie and their showrooms in Dundalk Retail Park and Eastgate Retail Park, Little Island, Cork. Produced by Patrick Haughey, AudioBrand

Pretty much everyone in this country, either directly or indirectly, is affected by the housing crisis. And it has come up as topic on this podcast time and time again. We have had lots of guests that are hugely successful in the world of writing, acting, performance, but who can’t afford to buy a home and/or who are looked at very unfavourably by the banks for a mortgage. And its come up in my conversations with campaigners like rory hearne and Ciaran crazy house prices. And it’s a subject that my special guest Conor Skehan has a lot of experience in and a lot to say about. Conor is an expert in planning and architecture and in 2013 the government appointed him as chair of the Housing agency, a role he held for 5 years. And in that time Conor learned a lot about housing – not just the facts and figures and the big picture stuff, but why its is such a complex, emotional issue that we find so hard to fix. He has a lot of strong opinions about it, and he doesn’t hold back in this episode of The Mario Rosenstock Podcast. COMEDY - Leo Varadkar has recorded an audio version of his hotly-anticipated autobiography, and he’s even convinced a few of his former political colleagues to take part in the recording. We got exclusive access to the unedited footage that reveals what really happened in the studio Produced by Patrick Haughey, AudioBrand

John Gibbons is one of Ireland’s best-known and most vocal environmental campaigners, consistently highlighting the climate emergency for well over 20 years. He has appeared on this podcast several times and he also does a weekly slot with Matt Cooper on Today FM’s Last Word. John has just published a new book called The Lie of the Land -  A Game Plan for Ireland in the Climate Crisis, and he joined me here in the GoLoud studio to tell me all about it.We talk about how we have gotten into the situation we’re in, and he deals with some of  the climate-sceptic arguments that are floating around quite a lot at the moment. John also outlines some very clear solutions and he’s very optimistic that its not at all too late to put them into action. He also shares a story about a pretty serious run in he had with a certain, very well-known national broadcaster, now who might that be…?COMEDY - As you can imagine, John’s attracts a lot of attention with his very vocal views, and so as soon as I put out the word that he was going to join me here on the podcast, the Mario Rosenstock Podcast hotline started hopping Produced by Patrick Haughey, AudioBrand

Eileen Magnier spent 35 years as RTE’s North west correspondent, and in that time she covered an incredible number of stories of all different kinds. It was a job that she loved, but it was also very demanding and unpredictable in nature. Sometimes Eileen would have to report on incredibly tragic stories like the Creeslough explosion in co Donegal in 2022, in which 10 people died. This was a part of the job that Eileen took very seriously, as it is so important to cover these stories sympathetically and accurately, and with consideration to those left behind.The physical and emotional toll of the work, after over three decades, was starting to become very apparent to Eileen and so, just over a year ago, she decided to retire and today, she says she has never felt so healthy, so free, and so energised.In this episode Eileen and I have a fascinating chat about her almost four decades at the frontlines of public service news, the various factors that prompted her to make that very big decision to retire, and the amazing things that she has been doing since retirement.COMEDY - when some of Eileen's former colleagues in RTE spotted her walking in the doors of Marconi House to record this interview, they thought she might be 'doing a Claire Byrne' and the Mario Rosenstock Podcast hotline started buzzing!!Produced by Patrick Haughey, AudioBrand

Buckle up and get ready for this one, because Paul Treyvaud has a LOT to say. Paul is a successful restauranteur with a great business, an Amazon Prime series, and a whole lot of TV experiences under his belt.But recently, Paul has also become a very vocal and widely-publicised critic of a range of government policies that he predicts are about to trigger a ‘tsunami’ of closures in the tourism sector. In this episode of The Mario Rosenstock Podcast, Paul lets rip about crazy covid policies, why Ireland’s immigration approach has not worked, and why he thinks he has been effectively cancelled from radio and tv appearances. Paul also shares some great stories from his time in the restaurant trade and the well-known people that he and his  master-chef father Michel have had the pleasure of cooking for. COMEDY - Students all over Ireland have been receiving their CAO offers this week and this has led economist and podcaster David McWilliams on a trip down memory lane… Produced by Patrick Haughey, AudioBrand

If you follow what happening in the news in the UK then you’ll be very familiar with my guest on this episode, Enda Brady. Originally from Wexford, Enda studied journalism in the UK and ended up carving out a highly successful career there,  spending over 16 years as senior correspondent at Sky News.In this episode of The Mario Rosenstock Podcast, Enda and I have a great chat about the craziness of UK politics, the prospect of Nigel Farage as Prime Minister, and he shares some great behind-the-scene stories of his interviews with people like Tiger Woods, Zlatan, Ibrahimovic, and David Beckham.COMEDY – We got a great reaction to this Gift Grub sketch about the WWE coming to Dublin this week, enjoy!Produced by Patrick Haughey, AudioBrand

Karl Deeter has been a guest on my podcast, and my radio show before that, many times. We always have a great chat about US politics, his take on Trump (which is always interesting), and the big ticket political and societal issues in Ireland.But Karl is also an entrepreneur and has been one of the country’s leading mortgage brokers for many years. A few years ago he developed a tech platform that brought a very welcome and much-needed digital layer to the mortgage application process, and that innovation, combined with many years of hard work and creative thinking, has just delivered a major payday for Karl, and, just as importantly, a true validation of his idea.So we invited Karl back on to The Mario Rosenstock Podcast straight away to tell us the full story – from how he spent years trying to figure out what he was good at, to being ‘crushed’ by the 2008 recession, right up to selling his company in a multi-million euro deal just days ago.COMEDY - Taylor swift has just appeared on her very first podcast, and its not even a music podcast! So now some well-known Irish podcasters are trying their luck and inviting her on to their shows. We got exclusive access to Taylor’s voicemailsProduced by Patrick Haughey, AudioBrand