Episode 53 - Cormac Battle

Many of you are married. Many of you kiss the other half goodbye in morning, go to work, and regale each other with stories of the day when you reunite over dinner in the evening. Dee Woods does not. She goes to work every day with her husband, Marty Miller (episode 27 of this podcast) to do Morning Glory, the breakfast show on Radio Nova. Dee and Marty in the morning have become a fixture of morning radio in Dublin, and it's fair to say they do have some chemistry, all things considered! I chat to Dee about how her ambitions lay in journalism before she began her radio career, making the progression from the news room to behind the mic as a presenter. We chat about the challenges of breakfast radio, those early starts, and working with the other half. There's also a quite brilliant voice-over in a camper van story in there too. Follow Dee on Twitter @RaDeeOh or check her out weekdays on Morning Glory on Nova.ie

On this week's show it was a pleasure to chat with Adam Buxton. Normally the podcasts are recorded in our studio in Dublin, but because Adam was not, and is not to this day, in Dublin, we used a thing called ipDTL which makes it sound like we're in the same place. I wanted to talk to him not simply because he is a very talented and entertaining man, but also because he's a huge David Bowie fan. This is because I am also a huge David Bowie fan. Not in terms of physical size, neither of us are huge like like an ogre or a planet, but we both just love him. So, we chat about that, Bowie's music and films, his other-worldliness, and his influence as an artist. I explain why I didn't like The Revenant, we try and uncover the correct term for a specific affliction, Adam's own excellent podcast – which you can find here – and lots more besides. It was a fun chat, and I really hope you enjoy it. Find Adam on Twitter @adambuxton or visit the official Adam Buxton website of Adam Buxton at adam-buxton.co.uk

Jim O’Neill has one of the most distinctive voices on Irish radio. It’s deep man, deeeeeep. Depending on your age you might remember him from RTE Radio 2 with his sidekick ‘Thing’, or from his time with Century Radio or 98FM. Today he’s with Today FM presenting ‘On the road’, classic anthems and great driving music. We chat about his start in radio, why RTE bosses got rid of his Thing character, his time working with Chris Cary at Nova International, his love of music (to play as a DJ and a musician), living in South Africa and voice-tracking his show from there, and lots more. You can catch on the road every Sunday night on Today FM at 7pm.

Simon Maher was one of the original founders of Phantom, the popular 'Indie' radio station. It began in a bedroom, moved to a garden shed, and after many years of trying, was awarded a licence in 2004. Due to an objection by another party, the station's launch was delayed for almost two years, before it hit the airwaves in 2006. At first things looked rosy, then CRASH went the CRASH and that had an impact on everyone, Phantom were no exception. The difficulties the radio station faced meant decisions had to be made, and they weren't always the right ones – although hindsight is a wonderful thing. I chat to Simon about his love of radio and what sparked his interest in the industry. We chat about Phantom from its inception throughout those difficult years, and ultimately his departure. Could things have been done differently? Would it have made any difference? And in the wake of the announcement that TXFM is to close down, is there room for another 'Phantom' type station under the current structures? Is a new model needed for specialist interest radio? We also discuss his latest project - 8radio.com - an online service that does broadcast on FM via a temporary licence throughout the year. Follow Simon Maher on Twitter @Simon8Radio

Hey folks, sorry for the delay between the last episode and this one. Sometimes life and work and other stuff you can't move gets in the way. My guest today is journalist Dion Fanning. He's a hugely experienced football writer, and for many years was the Chief Football Writer at the Sunday Independent. Now, he's left London after 20 years to return to Ireland to take up the position of Chief Sports Writer for SportsJoe.ie and Joe.co.uk. It's a fairly seismic move in this ever-changing modern media landscape, so I wanted to chat to him about how and why it all went down – especially given his deep connection with the Sunday Independent for so long. We also talk about journalism and how that has changed down the years, the modern football fan online, lots of other media and football stuff, and loads more. You can follow Dion on Twitter @dionfanning

My guest on the show today is the third member of the Second Captains crew to drop into studio. After Eoin McDevitt (ep 11) and Ken Early (ep 15), Ciaran 'Murph' Murphy is next to chat about his rise to internet broadcasting based stardom. We talk about how he got started in the media as family connections inspired and then employed him. A stint in DCU proved important as he met one of the current Second Captains crew, and then got a placement in Newstalk which led to him becoming part of the Off The Ball team. Since then much has happened, from the departure from Newstalk to the Irish Times, TV shows, posting books to Kalamazoo and much more. We may even get an auto-tuned insight into the next big thing, listen to find out more. Follow Ciaran on Twitter @saveciaranmurph or visit secondcaptains.com for all your Second Captains needs.

My guest today is Eoghan McDermott, currently the presenter of the drive-time show on 2FM. Turns out he grew up just up the road from me – but obviously not at the same time. I was grown up when he was growing up, but still! We chat about his first forays into the media world, doing a weekend Irish language kids TV show on TG4. He then had to apply for his own job when the show went full-time and didn't get it. In college he learned how to dance, and was bitten by that particular bug. He moved to New York to study, and became a choreographer. Then there was more radio, from Spin 1038 to Xfm in London, and tales of a couple of near misses that might have taken his career in a different direction. He's done TV here, presenting The Voice of Ireland on RTE, and currently hosts the aforementioned show weekdays on 2FM. He's a talented guy with great hair and it was a pleasure to have this conversation with him. I hope you enjoy it.

When a man brings his own headphones to an interview, you know you're about to sit down with somebody interesting. Morgan C Jones is an actor, writer, producer, voice-over artist, stand-up comedian and probably a few others things as well. We chat about why he brings his own cans to interviews and VO sessions, and discover he's revisiting our studio after a significant absence. We discuss his work over the years and how going to film school opened up his desire to be an actor; why he got into and gave up stand-up comedy; his voice-over work; and how, after something of an absence, he got back into the acting world, appearing in shows like Game of Thrones, Vikings and Ripper Street. We also touch on how he keeps his professional and political personas separate on Twitter, and lots more. It's good stuff, and thanks to Morgan for coming in and giving me some of his time. You can follow him @funnydub or @mcj66

Sorry this episode is a day late. I try my best to stick to the Monday schedule, but sometimes life, work, or more work or extra life gets in the way. Still, I think the fact we had an election last Friday and I've got a new episode out on a Tuesday before they've finished counting all the votes puts it in perspective. My guest today is Andy Preston who, if you're an FM 104 listener, you'll know well because he's been behind the mic there for over 20 years! I don't think we ever worked on the same station at the same time, but we definitely have Radio Dublin in common when it comes to our radio CV. Andy talks about how he started his career and gained his interest in radio from his Dad; his time at Radio Dublin; moving to Sunset when that station took off in the early 90s, and his eventual move to FM 104. He's clearly a glutton for punishment because he's still gigging around town in clubs and bars, although the upside of that these days is that you're not wandering around looking for a taxi afterwards with 100KG of vinyl. Them was days, Joxer. It was great to catch up with Andy, even if he is a Sp*rs fan, and you can hear him every day on FM 104 between 10-3, or follow hin on Twitter @andypreston104

This week I was delighted to be joined by Síle Seoige, radio presenter, TV presenter, MC, actress, singer, yoga teacher ... she does a lot. We chat about her media career, starting at 19 and being thrown in at the very deep end with little or no training. We touch on dealing with life in the public eye, and how she caught the eye of a major Hollywood director. And we talk about how her diagnosis and recovery from cancer has given her a new perspective on her professional and personal life, her spirituality, and how and why yoga has helped. Síle chats too about her love of singing and music, and how that's something she'd like to do more of in the future. It was great fun to talk to her, so I really hope you enjoy this episode.