8/4 - I Am A Gazelle

"I’d love to know why you keep winning. If I can work that out, I’ll share it with you."

Jessica Ennis-Hill

What does it take to be an Olympic champion?

Performance Scientist Dr Steve Ingham knows: he’s supported over 1000 athletes, including Steve Redgrave, Matthew Pinsent and Jessica Ennis-Hill.

Steve Ingham and Olly Mann at the Cheltenham Science Festival, 2018

In this insightful interview with Olly, he reveals how the tiniest details of an athlete’s training programme, the words and music used to motivate them, and even the occasional exposure to injury and failure can combine to create a world-class performance.

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Steve also hosts a podcast, Supporting Champions, which you can download here.

Meanwhile, in The Zeitgeist, Ollie Peart considers the phenomenal growth of ‘robocalls’ in the USA - and wonders whether this trend will soon infiltrate the UK too.

In this week’s Foxhole, Alix Fox advises a listener who wants to bring sensory deprivation into the bedroom. How should one go about introducing cuffs, blindfolds, and pinwheels to a less enthusiastic partner?

The Foxhole is sponsored by our friends at mycondom.com - use the code ‘FOXHOLE’ for 15% off at Checkout.

Elsewhere, for this week’s Lifehack, Amanda Keetley from LessPlastic.co.uk offers up her Top 3 tips on how to eliminate single-use plastic from your life.

The Lifehack is sponsored by Podcast Lounge - the new podcatcher app for Windows 10 devices. Get your free trial at the Windows App Store now.

Finally, our record of the week is ‘Wrestling’ by Self Esteem, available to stream now:

If you’d like to suggest a challenge for Ollie, if you have a question of sex for Alix, or you’d like to share your story with Olly, get in touch via our Feedback form.

And, if you’re able to support the show - please do. For the cost of just one pint of beer per month you can help us create thirty quality episodes per year. Thanks.

See You Next Tuesday!

8/3 - The Unlucky Ones

Jo and Steve Peck with twins Harriet and Barney, May 2018

Miscarriages are the most common form of pregnancy loss - yet rarely get talked about in public.

Jo and Steve Peck suffered not one, not two, but recurrent miscarriages over the course of four years, before seeking private treatment.

In this searingly honest, compelling interview with Olly, they reveal the toll this took on their marriage, their work and their mental health - as they watched their friends begin families - gradually realising it may never happen for them.

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Elsewhere, in this week’s Zeitgeist, Ollie Peart heads off for a ‘sound bath’ at the behest of Mann-fan Nicola Kelly, and learns about Tibetan bowls, crystal trance and his Chakra alignment.

Meanwhile, down the Foxhole, Alix Fox advises a gay teenager with I.B.S about his options for anal sex, and uncovers some unexpected titbits about Viagra.
 

The Foxhole is proudly sponsored by our friends at mycondom.com.
Use the code ‘FOXHOLE’ at Checkout to get 15% off your cart!

This week’s Lifehack comes courtesy of Matthew Brown, ‘Productivity Ninja’ at ThinkProductive.co.uk. His Top 3 tips on making the most of your time at work? Unchain yourself from email, keep your head down 9-6, and start the day with a book…
 

The Lifehack is sponsored by Podcast Lounge - the new podcatcher app for Windows 10 devices. Get your free trial at the Windows App Store now.
 

Finally, our Record of the Week is ‘Cacophony’ by Halona King. Enjoy:

Got a story for the show? A trends challenge for Ollie Peart? A sex question for Alix? An idea of a future guest? Get in touch using our Feedback form.

Love the show? Support us! Buy us a beer to say thank you. We use the money to make thirty quality episodes of the show every year and deliver them direct to your phone.

See You Next Tuesday!

* If you’ve been affected by miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy or molar pregnancy, the Miscarriage Association offers support and a pregnancy loss helpline: miscarriageassociation.org.uk/

8/2 - So, You Have A Fear Of Flying

‘I have to get back on a plane after all of this. Why am I giggling by the pool?’

Claustrophobia, panic attacks, and hyperventilation can feel even more acute at 35,000 feet. Perhaps that’s why some aviophobics never get as far as buying plane tickets, and spend a lifetime making awkward train journeys instead.

Anna P - Team Leader on Virgin Atlantic’s Flying Without Fear course - says she can help passengers with even the most debilitating nerves overcome their fears. And she should know. As she reveals to Olly and journalist Rebecca Gillie in this candid chat, she once herself suffered from extreme anxiety. After one traumatic experience, she didn’t board a flight for eighteen years...

LISTEN NOW:

Olly Mann, Anna P and Rebecca Gillie

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Find out more about Anna’s course at flyingwithoutfear.co.uk, and hear more of Rebecca talking to Olly on The Week Unwrapped, or wherever you find your podcasts.

Elsewhere, in this week’s Zeitgeist, Ollie Peart has returned from Europe’s largest VR experience with a spanking new Oculus Go. But the future, he maintains, is not in gaming and synthesised rollercoasters, but instead in Melody VR’s live music experiences and burgeoning social media simulacra.

Down The Foxhole, Alix Fox - fresh from discovering "open arse-fruit" at Ottolenghi’s new Rovi restaurant - advises a listener who is attempting to conceive about the best lubricants for the purpose. ‘You want those swimmers’, she surmises, ‘to vroom-vroom as if they’re in their Bimmers’. Who could disagree?

If, by contrast, you are keen to avoid a pregnancy, look no further than the exciting emporium operated by our friends at MyCondom.com, proud sponsors of The Foxhole. Just use the code ‘FOXHOLE’ to get an astonishing 15% OFF at Checkout!

This week’s Lifehack comes courtesy of Dr Jessica Barker from Redacted Firm, who offers up her Top 3 tips for staying safe online - protect your passwords, switch on two-factor authentication and be very very wary of public wi-fi!

The Lifehack is sponsored by Podcast Lounge - the new podcatcher app for Windows 10 devices. Get your free trial at the Windows App Store now.

Finally, our Record of the Week is ‘Arc en Ciel’ by Polo et Pan, out now on Universal:

Nice.

Enjoying the show? Support us! Consider taking out a beer money subscription, sponsoring an episode, or leaving us a review wherever you get your podcasts.

And, if YOU have a suggestion for a future guest, a question of sex for Alix or a challenge for Ollie, please fill out our Feedback form. 

See You Next Tuesday!

8/1 - A Restaurant Ruined My Life

"I was Don Quixote. I was chasing a windmill. I didn’t see the obstacles in my way."

Robert Maxwell, photographed by Dave Gillespie for Toronto Life

With zero experience running a professional kitchen, home cook Robert Maxwell poured his life savings into his passion project: a gastropub-inspired Toronto restaurant. It became a crash-course in coping with stress, managing his cashflow, and curbing his ego.

In this funny, forthright interview with Olly, Robert reveals how chasing a dream led to him selling his house, hitting the bottle and falling out of love with the thing he loved the most... cooking.

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Meanwhile, in this week’s Zeitgeist, Ollie Peart considers whether or not he is a B.U.M.M.E.R after reading Jaron Lanier’s new book, Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now.

The Beech Tree, Robert's restaurant, is still open in Toronto - under new management

Elsewhere, down The Foxhole, Alix Fox - fresh from co-hosting Radio 1’s new podcast Unexpected Fluids - advises a Mann-fan on the best techniques for couples to get jiggy… when you’re both fat.

We’re delighted that, for another series, The Foxhole is being supported by our friends at MyCondom.com - remember to use our discount code ‘FOXHOLE’ to get 15% OFF your basket at Checkout.

Also this week, in the Lifehack, uncover some top meditation tips, courtesy of Zoe from The Refinery, Hackney.

The Lifehack is sponsored by Podcast Lounge - the new podcatcher app for Windows 10 devices. Get your free trial at the Windows App Store now.

Finally, our record of the week is a stonking track for the Summer - ‘Violet City’ by Mansionair, available to stream courtesy of Glassnote Entertainment:

Enjoying the show? Support us! Consider taking out a beer money subscription, sponsoring an episode, or leaving us a review wherever you get your podcasts.

And, if YOU have a suggestion for a future guest, a question of sex for Alix or a challenge for Ollie, please fill out our Feedback form. 

Our thanks to Toronto Life, who first published an article by Robert Maxwell, bringing his story to our attention. 

See You Next Tuesday!

7/10 - Hands-On Dad

Ben Ryan’s two year-old son, Sol, was born with a blood clot in his arm.

Following amputation, the medical advice was to wait until Sol’s third birthday before fitting a prosthetic that grabs. But former psychology teacher Ben saw the developmental benefit of acting much sooner...

In this astonishing interview with Olly, he recalls his rollercoaster of emotions when Sol was born; the sponge ‘arm’ he initially bodged together with cotton wool and Micropore tape; and how he learned to use 3D printing and CAD software to help Sol and other children around the world.

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Ben’s business, Ambionics, involves parents in early rehabilitation and ultimately aims to develop printable hydraulic arms for babies at low clinical cost. He’s a finalist in the 2018 Nesta Inventor Prize, and is currently seeking more funding.

Meanwhile, in this week’s Zeitgeist, Ollie Peart investigates the real meaning of his SMS exchanges with Olly, using ‘texting relationship analyzer’ app Crushh; tests out Sandow's fizzy cold brew coffee; and explores the trend for ‘fashion drops’. If you have a challenge for Ollie to try for our next season, reach out via our Feedback form.

Elsewhere, in an especially NSFW edition of The Foxhole, Alix Fox provides an erotic review of podcasts and audiobooks designed for aural foreplay. On the menu: Rose Carraway’s ‘Kiss Me Quick’; Girl On The Net’s audio hub; Peach Booth podcast ‘Sugarcast’; Bijoux Indiscret’s Orgasm Sound Library, and the Reddit Gone Wild collection. If you have a question of sex for Alix, submit it via our Feedback form today - you can remain anonymous if you wish.

Many thanks to MyCondom.com for their sponsorship of The Foxhole throughout this series. They have an incredible range of toys, lube and contraceptives at great value prices, and they dispatch in discreet packaging. Remember, you get 15% OFF your entire order if you use our discount code, ‘FOXHOLE’.

For this week’s Lifehack, food and drinks journalist Johanna Derry offers up her Top 3 tips on how to get the best meal when eating out - check the quality of the ingredients, don’t put up with a snooty atmosphere, and ignore the hype! 

Our record of the week, 'Next Day' from solo artist Inner Tongue, is out soon on Mount Silver Records. But you can check out his other great work now... here's the video for 'Teeth', also off his forthcoming debut album:

If you would like to sponsor a future edition of the show, or if you have a suggestion for a future guest, please be in touch via the Feedback form.

And, if you enjoy the show, please consider buying us a beer - you can do it monthly, as a one-off amount or via PayPal. Your donations keep us going, thirty episodes per year. Thanks!

That’s it for this season of The Modern Mann - we’ll be back for our eighth season on June 26th.