Apple, ham, water: it reads like the breakfast menu at a Scandinavian health farm, but it is in fact the bill of fare on Today with David McCullagh (RTÉ Radio 1, weekdays). Inasmuch as McCullagh’s radio topics have anything in common with notional Nordic repasts, it’s that while the ingredients may constitute a sensible, balanced offering, they don’t set the pulse racing. So it’s unsurprising that the host – rarely given to spontaneous on-air effervescence at the best of times – dutifully goes through the motions when covering his topics.In fairness, even the most manic shock jock might struggle to inject any vim into Wednesday’s opening item about ham products being recalled because of fears of listeria contamination. McCullagh’s interview with Michelle Minihan of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland understandably resembles a public-health announcement; the pair soberly list the affected products, with the guest’s faintly sinister phrase about ready-made foods having “no kill step for pathogens” providing the sole frisson of novelty.The next segment, on drinking-water safety, is again obviously crucial from a welfare point of view but unlikely to cause ripples of excitement. With 100 boil-water notices issued last year, the host hears Noel Byrne of the Environmental Protection Agency outline the factors behind such incidents, affecting 200,000 people. On the upside, Byrne notes that 99.8 per cent of drinking water from public supplies is safe. McCullagh, typically, takes a more ambivalent view of the situation. “Glass half-full, glass half-empty for anybody who’s had one of those boil-water notices,” he remarks, without specifying whether said glass contains liquid fit for consumption.Such asides highlight the slightly tart flavour that McCullagh brings to proceedings, which prevents the show from being too bland. After a discussion on maternity leave, one listener texts that Irish mothers used to get a mere six weeks off yet still coped, prompting an astringent response from the host: “We had to cope with rickets as well. It doesn’t mean we have to like it.”Even so, by the time he starts chatting to Adam Maguire, the RTÉ business correspondent, about the increasing price of Apple products – as in the tech behemoth, not the fruit – one can’t help feeling that the host’s formidable talents as a journalist (he’s a former political correspondent and television news anchor) are being somewhat underutilised in covering so many consumer topics.Fortunately, there are opportunities for McCullagh to show off his chops as a current affairs presenter. As Ireland assumes the EU presidency, he begins his interview with Minister for Foreign Affairs Helen McEntee in blunt style: “Explain to me how this is of benefit to the ordinary Irish citizen.” It’s an unexpectedly populist gambit that the Minister should easily counter. Even by the comprehensively drilled standards of Cabinet members, however, McEntee reels off her spiel – about promoting values, security and competitiveness – with a headlong rote rapidity, as though worried she’ll lose her thread if she hesitates for a second. The result is that the benefits the Minister wants to highlight get lost amid the verbiage.[ Elle on Prime Video: 1990s nostalgists will find lots to admire but are they the target audience?Opens in new window ]Luckily, she eventually stops long enough for McCullagh to put to her some pertinent questions about costs and security, wondering who has operational control of the French and British naval vessels providing additional air defences during the presidency: “Someone would literally have to call the shots.” (McEntee gives assurances that Irish security forces are in charge.)It might not be the most comprehensive grilling by McCullagh – he’s conscious that his ministerial guest is “very busy” on day one of the presidency – but it’s good to hear him dealing with issues he can sink his teeth into. After all, there’s no harm in having a varied diet.Presiding as he does over an unpredictable daily smorgasbord of guests and subjects, Oliver Callan (RTÉ Radio 1, weekdays) can’t be accused of possessing a picky palate, even if he can sometimes be guilty of overindulgence. Certainly, while he clearly enjoys updates on the progress of the Irishman Sean “Fitzy” Fitzgerald on Love Island, devoting a regular slot to a single contestant on a TV reality show seems excessive.When he’s not swapping D-list telly gossip, however, Callan can turn ostensibly unpromising items into winning radio. Speaking with the cellist Julian Lloyd Webber, the host and his guest initially sound as if they don’t quite know what to make of each other. Gradually, however, the conversation warms up, as Lloyd Webber, who recently published a memoir, recalls his bohemian upbringing as well as the injury that stopped him playing the cello for several years.On Callan’s prompting, he also talks about being sexually abused by a male predator while travelling on the London Underground as a nine-year-old. Lloyd Webber is frank about the incident – “I was quite badly abused” – but seems keen to move on to other matters, only for Callan to repeatedly return to the impact of the abuse. [ The Million Dollar Nannies love to party. They’re more Mary Poppers than Mary PoppinsOpens in new window ]It’s awkward rather than inappropriate, but it shows Callan doesn’t shy from uncomfortable moments when he feels they’re necessary.His discussion with the Wolfe Tones singer Brian Warfield and television producer Larry Bass about the pair’s stage musical about the Famine sounds potentially cringe-inducing, not to mention self-parodic. But with Callan occasionally playing the mischievous provocateur, it ends up being an engaging encounter.As his guests talk up their venture with sincere conviction, the host can’t resist bringing up Warfield’s unabashed republican beliefs: “You love a bit of controversy.” The singer doesn’t rise to the bait. “I can’t please everyone,” he says, with knowing understatement. Referring to a Wolfe Tones song called, without apparent irony, Thank God for America, Callan wryly suggests such shamelessly market-chasing numbers are down to “the heavy hand of the producer”. Bass demurs, ruefully noting that nowadays the United States “isn’t exactly the country of welcomes”. Again, such exchanges make for enjoyable listening.For all that, the jury is still out on Callan’s show, less for his content or performance than for the unintended effects of the 11am time slot he has occupied since Radio 1’s relaunch last year. With the Today show pushed to an earlier, 9am start as a result of Callan’s promotion, it can sometimes seem as if McCullagh is left feeding off scraps left by the juggernaut of Morning Ireland. McCullagh – and his audience – deserve something more substantial.Moment of the weekThough Miriam O’Callaghan is frequently overzealous in her desire to wring emotion from her encounters on Sunday with Miriam (RTÉ Radio 1), her conversation with the former 2FM DJ Louise McSharry really is striking. McSharry candidly recounts coming out as gay to her husband, Gordon: “It was the most difficult conversation I’ve ever had in my life,” she says, remembering how coming to terms with her sexuality was “excruciating”: “The hurt I was causing was almost unbearable.”More than three years on, however, not only is McSharry “just so happy to be gay”, but she and Gordon are close friends, as they parent their two children. “It wasn’t easy, and it didn’t happen overnight,” she admits. It’s a compelling and hopeful encounter, sensitively handled by O’Callaghan. It’s also a reminder of McSharry’s own gifts as a broadcaster.