6/2 - Cabin Crew Confessions

Tricky customers, fixed smiles and terrible turbulence: it's all in a day's work for a flight attendant.

But how to keep your cool at 30,000 feet? How to cope with unpredictable emergencies? And how to let off steam afterwards?

Daisy White is a woman who knows. Now a YA author, she spent 12 years working for airlines including Monarch and Caledonian. In this interview with Olly, she lifts the lid on drunken passengers, mile high club wannabes - and 'overweight' trolley dollies... 

LISTEN:

In this week's Zeitgeist, Ollie Peart plays the 'Micro-Generation Game', tries his hand at Shoutcasting, considers the future of Amazon Key, and doesn't gloat about the fact he was sort-of-right about the decline of the musical fade out, even though he'd have every right to.

And a previous Zeitgeist topic, male make-up, rears its head again in this week's Lifehack - as make-up artist Declan Scammell proffers his Top 3 tips for men who want to wear make-up in their daily lives. The Lifehack is sponsored by our friends at Squarespace - if you fancy a free trial of their excellent website design and hosting service, head to Squarespace.com, and, when you're ready to launch, use our offer code 'MANN' to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain.

Meanwhile, down The Foxhole, Alix Fox offers up some pleasurable positions for couples seeking to have sex during pregnancy, which can't harm your baby but will provide closeness and climax. The Foxhole is brought to you by the beautiful peeps at MyCondom.com, who offer Mann-fans 15% off their superb range of lubes, toys and condoms by using the code 'FOXHOLE' at Checkout.

Finally, our song of the week is the new one - it's called 'Fresh', appropriately - from awesome Aussie band Tired Lion:

If you have a suggestion for a future guest, a trend for Ollie Peart to investigate, a question of sex for Alix, or you'd like to become a Mannbassador, please get in touch using our Feedback page.

This episode was made possible thanks to the generous patronage of online eyewear store Arlowolf, who offer shockingly good value frames and sunglasses on a Try Before You Buy basis, with a 30 day no-quibble returns policy. Try 'em out at Arlowolf.com, and use our offer code 'MANN' to get 10% off your final purchase.

See You Next Tuesday!

Posted on October 31, 2017 by Olly Mann and filed under Season Six and tagged Amazon Flying Mickey.

6/1 - Lost At Sea

"The horror of that moment? There is no way to describe it."

Falling overboard following a fit of food poisoning, Brett Archibald survived 28 hours alone in the Indian Ocean.

In this extraordinary interview with Olly, he re-lives his onslaught of hallucinations, his encounter with a shark and how he contemplated certain death...

LISTEN:

Read more about Brett's amazing story on his website, and in his book, Alone. 

Elsewhere in our season premiere, Ollie Peart returns with The Zeitgeist, and ponders the trend for 'marathon banditing', the return of Beck, and how to make Cheese Tea seem a delicious prospect.

And, down The Foxhole, Alix Fox - fresh from winning an award for her podcast series Close Encounters - returns to shed light on the enigmatic world of female ejaculation. If you have a question of sex for Alix, now is the time to submit it; you can remain anonymous if you wish.

The Foxhole is sponsored by our friends at MyCondom.com - remember, to get 15% off their range of incredible toys and condoms, just use our offer code 'FOXHOLE' at Checkout.

Meanwhile, in this week's Lifehack, polyglot Lindsay Williams from Lindsay Does Languages offers up her three top tips to master a new language in your spare time.

The Lifehack is sponsored by our friends at Squarespace - if you fancy a free trial of their excellent website design and hosting service, head to Squarespace.com, and, when you're ready to launch, use our offer code 'MANN' to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain.

Finally, our record of the week is the awesome Bodies by Wafia, out now on Future Classic:

Episode Sponsors Arlowolf.com

There are still nine episodes to run this season, so if you have a suggestion for a future interviewee, a trend for Ollie Peart to investigate, or you'd like to become a Mannbassador, just get in touch using our Feedback page.

This episode was made possible thanks to the generous patronage of online eyewear store Arlowolf, who offer shockingly good value frames and sunglasses on a Try Before You Buy basis, with a 30 day no-quibble returns policy.

Try 'em out at Arlowolf.com, and use our offer code 'MANN' to get 10% off your final purchase.

See You Next Tuesday!

Posted on October 24, 2017 by Olly Mann and filed under Season Six and tagged croc perry.

5/10 - Let's Live Adventurously

From the desert to the jungle, Belinda Kirk has lead expeditions through some of the world’s most inhospitable places. She’s been kidnapped, suffered extremes of heat and cold, and nearly drowned - yet believes such adventures help keep her sane in a modern world that can seem increasingly sedentary and predictable.

In this inspiring interview with Olly, Belinda explains the difference between ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ stress; defines ‘type 1’ versus ‘type 2’ fun; and recommends some micro-adventures all around Britain, from wild swimming in the Serpentine to sleeping in a Scottish snow-hole...

LISTEN NOW:

Belinda also runs a non-profit organisation connecting people to adventures, explorersconnect.com

Elsewhere, vegan-at-home Ollie Peart uncovers the publishing trend for ‘Up Lit’ books, reports on a bright future for male make-up counters, and finally completes (most) of the tasks in his quest to become a true trends insider. (This includes smearing snail slime over Olly Mann’s face, which, after what he’s put him through this season, seems fair enough.)

Meanwhile, down the Foxhole, it’s a 50th episode feedback special, as Alix Fox revisits some memorable sex advice from our first 49 editions. There are follow-on stories from those who’ve benefited from her advice on smoking fetishes, differing sex drives, non-consensual violence, polyamorous relationships and cartoon pornography. Alix recommends a couple of books for further reading, explains how to uncover the friendly side of ‘tentacle rape’ porn, and discovers inter-gluteal penetration. Of course.

If you have a question of sex for our next 50 episodes(!), don’t hesitate to fill in our Feedback form - you can remain anonymous if you wish. The Foxhole is proudly sponsored by our sexy friends at MyCondom.com, who stock a frankly incredible range of toys, lube and prophylactics. Remember, just for being a Mann-fan, you can use the code ‘FOXHOLE’ at Checkout and secure an astonishing 15% OFF - even when we’re off-air for the next few months.

Finally, our Song of the Week is 'Hung Empty' by Los Campesinos! - a band Olly first heard on the Best Of MySpace podcast back in 2008, and still loves. It’s off their new album Sick Scenes, out now on Wichita Records:

Thanks so much to everyone who has supported us for these first fifty episodes. If you enjoy the show, please support us by chucking us some change - just click Beer Money. And be sure to leave us a review on iTunes, and tell your friends about the show on social media. We’re @themodernmann on Twitter.

We’ll be back with Season Six on October 24th.

Until then, Mann-fans, make the most of your Tuesdays!

Posted on August 8, 2017 by Olly Mann and filed under Season Five and tagged up.

5/9 - Life In Westminster

Would you be an MP, at a time when public trust in politicians has fallen to the lowest level in living memory? Could you dedicate yourself to your constituents, yet also make time for your family, fighting fires on social media and keeping the media on-side? 

Wes Streeting, Labour MP for Ilford North since 2015, entered the fray in time to experience the Brexit vote, the murder of his colleague Jo Cox, and the Palace of Westminster coming under terrorist attack. 

In this candid interview with Olly, he lifts the lid on day-to-day life as a young MP in the House of Commons, from his experiences adapting to the weird traditions of voting and speaking in the House, to the perils of navigating Westminster’s gossipy backstairs bars and their modern-day digital equivalents on WhatsApp...

LISTEN NOW:

Also this week, Ollie Peart completes even more of his challenges - experiencing a home-cooked Indian meal from Hersha Patel, securing VIP access to a festival, trying out the latest frankincense face-cream, and, er, pissing off the PR lady from the UK transfer of ‘Hamilton’. He even finds time to discuss a couple of actual trends for this week's Zeitgeist, namely the boom in crypto-currency Ethereum, and the teenage girl who loved K-Pop so much she got a hammer stuck in her mouth.

Meanwhile, down the Foxhole, Alix Fox, fresh from a launch party in ‘a posh strip club’, reassures a listener who feels that having herpes may prevent her from ever having sex again. Turns out, there’s even a dating app to meet other herpes-positive people! #ShoutYourStatus

If you have a question of sex for a future edition of the show, or some feedback about how Alix's advice has helped you previously, please do reach out using our Feedback form.

The Foxhole is sponsored by our arousing and delightfully lubricated friends at MyCondom.Com - and remember, as a Mann-fan, you can get an astonishing 15% OFF by using our code ‘FOXHOLE’ at Checkout.

Finally, our record of the week is ‘Was It Love?’, by Isabella ‘Machine’ Summers, out now on Island Records.

We’re a completely independent podcast. That means we raise the funds for the show ourselves. If you enjoy what we do, please support us. You can buy us a beer, donate via PayPal, leave us an iTunes review, or offer to sponsor an episode - it's all greatly appreciated. Thanks!

See You Next Tuesday!

Posted on August 1, 2017 by Olly Mann and filed under Season Five and tagged Amazon Gobby politics.

5/8 - Hacker for Hire

‘My mind is so broken that I can’t see how not to attack things, all the time’

Using the same techniques as criminal hackers, ethical ‘white hat’ hackers help governments and companies test their own security.

FC (hacker name: ‘Freakyclown’), now of redactedfirm, has been a white-hat hacker since being approached by some ‘guys in suits’, having found himself in a spot of legal bother. He’s since been employed to rob dozens of high street banks - all with the consent of the owners.

In this honest, fast-moving interview with Olly, he recalls how he stepped away from a childhood defined by poverty and bullying to find sanctuary in the world of coding, ‘war dialling’, and accessing other people’s data...

LISTEN NOW:

Meanwhile, in this week’s Zeitgeist, Ollie Peart considers whether the current re-shoots on ‘Justice League’ - and digitally-created puppy poo in ‘John Wick’ - means the film industry has finally reached peak CGI. He also endeavours to explain why sandals are back back back in men’s foot fashion. And, in his quest to become a true trends insider, he makes progress at joining the Freemasons, and finally gets to ride a parliamentary ghost-train… sort of.

Elsewhere, in this week’s Foxhole, Alix Fox assists a man with an under-developed penis, suffering from hypogonadotropic hypogonadism. What can he do in the bedroom when penetrative sex seems an impossibility? And what is the dating ettiquette - is he obliged to warn future partners about his tiny package?

If you have a question of sex for a future edition of the show, just send it on in using our Feedback form. The Foxhole is sponsored by our friends at MyCondom.com, where you can nab yourself a tremendous range of condoms, lube and toys - AND get a magnificent 15% OFF just for being a Mann-fan: just use the code ‘MANN’ at Checkout.

Finally, our record of the week is ‘Living On The 110’ by Rage Against The Machine super-group The Prophets of Rage, ‘an elite task force of revolutionary musicians determined to confront this mountain of political bullshit, and confront it head-on with Marshall stacks blazing.’ It’s out on their debut album in September:

Remember, if you enjoy our show, please support the show, by buying us a beer, donating via PayPal, sponsoring an episode, or leaving us a review on iTunes.

See You Next Tuesday!

Posted on July 25, 2017 by Olly Mann and filed under Season Five and tagged Amazon armin.