Whatever the topic, Anton Savage (Newstalk, Saturday and Sunday) always brings a playful style to proceedings. But now Savage is set to take his ludic instincts to a whole new level. Chatting to Ian Dempsey, the Today FM presenter, on Saturday, the host can’t hide his excitement when his guest suggests a bespoke game for the show, which has listeners crossing off various phrases spoken on air: “Anton Savage bingo”. “That’s genius,” Savage delightedly declares, adding that it’ll be part of his programme from now on. It’s hard to say how serious Savage is about this – not very, one suspects – but, should the game come to pass, competitors must hope that their bingo cards include the words “former politician”, a descriptor frequently deployed on the show. And, sure enough, with the turmoil around Donald Trump’s tariffs rumbling on, the host invites the opinions of former taoisigh and retired ministers, in the form of Bertie Ahern and Simon Coveney. Ahern is forthright in his verdict. “It was a hugely massive error by the president,” he says, underscoring the immensely enormous ramifications of Trump’s actions. The former taoiseach has sensible if obvious advice, suggesting the Government should plan for long-term disruption – “We’d be unwise to sit on our hands and hope that it’ll all be alright” – and that Irish businesses need to seek fresh pastures. “China is not a market to be sneezed away from,” Ahern says, his talent for mangling everyday phrases undimmed by the years away from politics. [ ‘They’ve got a lovely new vulva next door’: malapropisms for the agesOpens in new window ] Savage is formal and inquisitive, resisting the temptation to comment on his guest’s verbal missteps: his irreverence has limits. He maintains the same demeanour for Coveney, the former tánaiste, who speaks about the tariff crisis with a purposeful seriousness that makes Ahern sound like a stand-up comic. That said, he makes pertinent points, reiterating that Ireland should show solidarity with fellow European Union members in negotiations with the United States: “We shouldn’t try to be clever here, with a foot in both camps.” It’s advice that Savage heeds in his own way, eschewing his trademark knowing manner in favour of simple attentiveness throughout the encounter. He’s in far breezier form with Dempsey. The Today FM DJ is ostensibly there to celebrate Gift Grub, the impressionist Mario Rosenstock’s long-running comedy slot on Dempsey’s even more venerable morning show. But really it’s just an opportunity for Savage to shoot the breeze, as he shares factual trivia about zebras, inquires about misfiring Gift Grub episodes – “Any true horrors?” – and explains away an unsatisfactory performance on his guest’s podcast, Dempsey’s Dozen; the latter is, of course, a general-knowledge quiz. Such japery can seem like a frivolous diversion from the show’s main mission as a news magazine. But, in truth, it’s Savage’s best asset, bringing a welcome air of wry humour to his weekend-morning listeners. [ Mario Rosenstock: ‘Everyone lost money in the crash. I was no different, but it never bothered me’Opens in new window ] As for Dempsey and Rosenstock, their mutually beneficial partnership shows no sign of diminishing, a quarter-century’s worth of daily sketches notwithstanding. It’s a symbiotic relationship that would do the chicken and egg proud: the veteran host continues to draw big ratings for The Ian Dempsey Breakfast Show (Today FM, weekdays), providing a consistent audience for Rosenstock’s skits, which in turn remain Dempsey’s most popular attraction. Rosenstock’s caricatures are gently ribbing rather than satirically scathing, but his gabby vaudeville vignettes are well suited to early-morning consumption. Accordingly, he frames the burgeoning trade war as a horserace, providing deadpan commentary on runners such as Trump Tariffs and Tech Exemption, before breathlessly proclaiming the winner: “Recession Lad takes it!” It’s spirited if hardly subversive stuff – but, in truth, throwaway chuckles are preferable to trenchant insights at 7.30am. His approach works better when dealing with the week’s big sports story, Rory McIlroy’s career Grand Slam-clinching victory in the Masters at Augusta National. Rosenstock plays an only slightly exaggerated version of Joe Duffy, on Liveline (RTÉ Radio 1, weekdays), fielding ever more ludicrous tributes to McIlroy, with one imaginary caller demanding, “This country needs to start reorganising our economy around golf.” Laugh one may, but it could only be a matter of time before someone starts pitching this idea for real, such is the feverish euphoria with which McIlroy’s achievement is greeted in some quarters. (Top prize goes to the normally level-headed Gavin Jennings, on Morning Ireland (RTÉ Radio 1, weekdays), who asks, with apparent sincerity, “What is it about Rory McIlroy that has made him so lovable to Irish people?”) Either way, that Rosenstock’s output can still hold par after so many years is an achievement in itself. One of Rosenstock’s impressions has his Today FM colleague Matt Cooper deliriously promising a “three-hour golf special” marking McIlroy’s win. In fact, on The Last Word (weekdays), the real Cooper restricts his coverage to a cosy 30 minutes as he discusses the dramatic conclusion of the Augusta tournament with the Scottish journalist Lawrence Donegan. Perhaps mindful that some listeners are – gasp – indifferent to golf, the host’s tone is celebratory yet accessible, keeping some sense of proportion. Elsewhere, Cooper gets interesting perspectives on Trump’s motivations when he speaks to Mick Mulvaney, who spent 15 months as acting White House chief of staff during the US president’s first term of office. Mulvaney, a former Republican congressman, outlines the reasons behind Trump’s antipathy towards the EU – “Are the Europeans trustworthy partners moving forward?” he asks, not entirely rhetorically – while describing the president’s personality, again somewhat sympathetically, as “what you see is what you get”. When Cooper asks if his guest is still a Trump fan, Mulvaney hesitates. “I want him to succeed,” he eventually answers. But he adds that the trade war has been “a complete disaster”, voicing frustration at the people surrounding the president: “You can make bad decisions with bad information.” Such insights are valuable, as is the blunt assessment that the Irish Government is deemed to favour the Democrats. But perhaps the starkest takeaway is that Mulvaney, once seen as a diehard conservative, now comes across as a wishy-washy moderate beside the US-government figures wilfully trashing the global order. It’s another indication, if another was needed, of how the rules of the game have been utterly changed. Moment of the week Tuesday’s Today with Claire Byrne (RTÉ Radio 1) has the presenter in positively wicked form, as she looks at celebrity feuds. With the RTÉ 2FM host Conor Behan detailing stellar spats down the years, Byrne offers acerbic views on the all-woman Blue Origin rocket trip – “They were all in tears and reassessing their lives and all the rest of it” – and delights in the bad blood between Katy Perry and Taylor Swift – “Frenemies, Conor!” But she’s especially animated after a clip of the singer Mariah Carey slyly repeating her famous “I don’t know her” diss of her rival star Jennifer Lopez. “Ha ha, I love it,” Byrne exclaims with unexpected glee. She might think of injecting some of that chuckling malice when dealing with political feuds.