11/5 - How To Be A Dad, Part 6

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‘Sometimes I am guilty of inventing games where I get to lay down’

Comedians Tom Price and Stuart Goldsmith reunite with Olly to compare parenting notes - this time, in lockdown...

Can they turn mundane household tasks into games? What kids’ TV shows are best avoided? And how DO you explain the pandemic to a four year-old?

Olly, Toby & Harvey

Wilfred, Edmund & Tom

Stuart & baby detritus

In this laugh-out-loud, typically honest encounter, our trio of Dads share stories and support each other through a uniquely challenging milestone on their journeys through fatherhood.

Catch up with the previous five conversations in our ‘How To Be A Dad’ series HERE.

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For even more from Tom and Stu, subscribe to their podcasts:

• Tom pores over the Amazon purchase histories of his guests in ‘My Mate Bought A Toaster’ - and a certain Olly Mann is his most recent victim.

• Stu’s show, ‘The Comedian’s Comedian’, features in-depth interviews with the nation’s favourite stand-ups.

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Meanwhile, in The Zeitgeist, Ollie Peart turns his hand to making ‘luxury products’ at home, using ingredients sourced and foraged from around his house in Dorchester.

Listen along as Olly unboxes a special delivery of Mr P’s best efforts -

caramel chocolates, ‘accidental' tumeric bath bombs, a ‘Modern Mann’ sourdough loaf, cherry blossom-scented loo roll, and Stinging Nettle Pasta. It’s quite the ride.

Thanks to John the Poacher for his help with Ollie’s foraging quest.

If YOU have a suggestion of a trend Ollie can test - whilst maintaining social distancing of course - reach out via our Feedback form.

'pasta'

chocolates

bath bombs

'toilet paper'. (Seriously).

This month’s edition of the Zeitgeist is sponsored by Blue Microphones - we used their incredible Yeti X model, yours for only £159. 

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Elsewhere, down the Foxhole, Alix Fox advises a listener who wonders whether CBD-enhanced lubricants can ‘get her vagina stoned’.

Alix consulted Kathie Bishop, herbalist and founder of Into The Wylde; Daye, a female-founded company who make the world’s first clinically-validated CBD tampons; ‘Cannasexual’ specialist Ashley Manta; sex educator Chelsea Cebara of Velvet Swing and ‘supersoaker’ Lola Jean, who’s been experimenting with Foria CBD arousal oil.

If YOU have a question of sex for Alix to answer in a future edition of the show, just use our Feedback form - you can remain anonymous if you wish.

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Our Record of the Month is the super-funky ‘Take Back The Track’, from The Magic Gang. It’s available to stream now - with a great Zoom-inspired music video also begging to be seen:

Wanna be a Mannbassador? Buy us a beer, or leave us a review on Apple Podcasts - and then send us an email to tell us about yourself. 

In these uncertain times, it is YOUR SUPPORT of this show that makes it possible for us to still make you a fresh new podcast each month - please DONATE if you can.

Stay safe, keep well, and we’ll see you with something new on June 1st!

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This episode is supported by Beer52. To get a free crate of eight delicious beers, a snack and a magazine, delivered straight to your door, visit Beer52.com/Modern.

11/4 - In The Crowd

‘Music is stronger than any antibiotic, any medicine. It can lift you out of anything.’

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Blaine Harrison, lead singer of Mystery Jets, is also a ‘property guardian’, who lives and works in the capital’s empty commercial premises.

For a while, the entire floor of an office block on London’s Strand was his home. Each weekend he had a front-row seat as NHS marches, Brexit protests, Extinction Rebellion demos and Tommy Robinson rallies made their way past his window. 

Olly Mann and Blaine Harrison, the Brainyard, March 2020

In this thoughtful interview with Olly, he explains how what he saw on the streets inspired his songwriting.

Mystery Jets’ new album, A Billion Heartbeats, is released April 3.

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Recording The Zeitgeist remotely with our Blue Yeti X mics.

Meanwhile, in The Zeitgeist, Ollie Peart considers how the current lockdown has prompted an unlikely rebirth for retro-gaming, VR, quiz apps and even ancient gaming platform Second Life. There’s also some chat about deckchair storage... 

If you have a suggestion of a trend Ollie can test - from his home in Dorchester, for now - get in touch via our Feedback form.

Thanks to our sponsors, Blue Microphones: we recorded this edition of the Zeitgeist on their Yeti X mics.

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Elsewhere, down the Foxhole, Alix Fox advises a listener who wants to know what issues may present themselves if he sources the HIV prevention drug PrEP from online suppliers based abroad. 

Alix consulted with the activist team at PrEPster, IWantPrepNow and Terrence Higgins Trust, and, for more about this topic, highly recommends checking out the work of Nathaniel Hall – who wrote a compelling play about contracting HIV via his very first sexual encounter – and following Jason Domino on Twitter.

If you have a question of sex for Alix to answer in a future edition of the show, just use our Feedback form. You can remain anonymous if you wish.

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Our Record of the Month is Bittersweet by Lianne La Havas - and, if you like it, get ready for the album, which drops 5th June:

There’s more Mann-endorsed music on our Spotify playlist here.
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Wanna be a Mannbassador? Buy us a beer, or leave us a review on Apple Podcasts - and then send us an email to tell us about yourself. 

Got a question for our How To Be A Dad episode, out May 1st? Fill out our Feedback form and send it in now for Olly, Tom and Stu to answer.

Stay safe, keep well, and we’ll see you next month. x

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This episode is supported by Beer52. To get a free crate of eight delicious beers, a snack and a magazine, delivered straight to your door, visit Beer52.com/Modern.

11/3 - My Dad Was Defrauded

Scammers took £160,000 from Nick’s father in just eighteen months.

He believed, in return, they’d send him gold, or stocks and shares, or even come to his home in Cyprus and begin a relationship with him. Instead, they just kept the cash.

In a reflective, revelatory conversation with Olly, Nick recounts how he confronted his Dad, to prevent him burning through his pension - and the moment he realised not all was as it seemed…

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Continuing the financial theme, in the Zeitgeist, Ollie Peart investigates the FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) movement. If he saves 50% of his earnings, can Ollie live on his passive income?

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And, in the Foxhole, Alix Fox - fresh from a rope bondage class - advises a listener who wants to squeeze and stretch her boobs in the bedroom, without causing any long-term damage.
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Music this month comes from Mann-fan Sebastian Schub (himself interviewed on the show in Sep 2019), with his excellent debut single, Paradise:

If you have a story to share in a future edition of the show, a challenge to set Ollie, or a question of sex for Alix, just get in touch via our Feedback form.

If you’d like to be a Mannbassador, just buy us a beer or leave us a review on Apple Podcasts, and follow-up with an email to tell us about yourself.

The Modern Mann is an independent podcast, and we rely on listener contributions to continue. If you can afford to support us financially, please send us a donation - we massively appreciate it.

We’ll see you with something new on April 1st!

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This episode is supported by Beer52. To get a free crate of ten delicious beers delivered straight to your door, visit Beer52.com/Modern.

11/2 - The Candidate

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Layla Moran MP is fighting to keep her seat.

There are trolls, there are threats, there are hostile journalists.

And throughout the journey, as she campaigns in the 2019 general election... we are at her side.

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In this Modern Mann exclusive, host Olly Mann and producer Matt Hill accompany the Liberal Democrats’ rising star as she pounds the streets, battles her opponents, and goes public about her sexuality.

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From campaign launch to vote count, we learn what it takes to face the electorate in a divided nation.

And, quite by accident, find ourselves documenting someone who may yet become leader of one of Britain’s major political parties...

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Elsewhere this episode, Ollie Peart tries out a trio of health trends in this month’s Zeitgeist - getting seriously sweaty at CrossFit, bouldering his way round a climbing course in Poole, and trying his hand at Ayurvedic massage. You’ll never dress your salad with sesame oil again.

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Meanwhile, down the Foxhole, Alix Fox advises a listener affected by inflammatory skin condition Lichen Sclerosus. Can a body-mapping app keep the heat in his relationship - even as he applies emollient to stop the burning? Perhaps, if he can uncover the ‘tiny everyday thrills’ of daily sensuality...

(For more support about sex with LS, Alix recommends Sam Evans’ blogs for Jo Divine, and the Facebook group LS UK Awareness).

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Our record of the month is ‘Your Light’ by The Big Moon, from the album ‘Walking Like We Do’ - follow-up to their Mercury Music Prize nominated debut, ‘Love In The 4th Dimension’.

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If you’ve enjoyed this episode, please tell your friends - we’re @themodernmann on Twitter - or leave us a review on Apple Podcasts.

And, if you can afford to support us financially, please buy us a beer.

As an independent podcast, we can only make the show thanks to the generous support of listeners like you.

We’ll be back on March 1 with a brand new episode.

In the meantime, if you have a suggestion of a guest Olly should interview, a trend Ollie should test or a sex question Alix should answer - get in touch via our Feedback form.

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11/1 - The Mum Who Gave Up Drinking

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“I thought everyone else was able to cope with alcohol, and I was the only one who couldn’t”

Clare Pooley gave up a booze-fuelled job in advertising - complete with a bar in the office and a massive expenses budget - to be a full-time Mum to her three kids.

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But as she left the ladette lifestyle behind, she didn’t find herself drinking any less. In fact, she was polishing off ten bottles of wine per week, as she tells Olly in this confessional, compelling conversation...

Clare’s book, ‘The Sober Diaries’ is out now, and her blog Mummy Was A Secret Drinker and Facebook page SoberMummy provide support if you’re looking to give up drinking. Clare also recommends Club Soda and Soberistas.

Meanwhile, for this month’s Zeitgeist, Ollie Peart has been digitising the Prime Minister and trawling through clips of Olly on The Alan Titchmarsh Show to create a terrifying ‘deep fake’ hybrid. Is misinformation the future of news? And can AI services like Lyrebird and Resemble contribute something positive to the world of podcasting?

If YOU would like to suggest a trend for Ollie to test out, fill out our Feedback form now.

Elsewhere, Alix Fox kicks off the one hundredth edition of The Foxhole with THE perennial penile puzzler: can pumps or pills give you greater length and girth down-below?

She meets the man behind one of the world’s most popular extenders, and considers whether, sometimes, size concerns aren’t just about ‘locker room syndrome’, but may be a healthy expression of kink. 

If YOU have a question of sex for Alix to answer in a future edition of the show, just fill in our Feedback form - you can remain anonymous if you wish.

Music this episode comes from Cavetown, with his charming song ‘Things That Make It Warm’; indisputably our first record of the month about birds building nests:

Remember, The Modern Mann is an entirely independent podcast, funded in part by your generous donations. If you’ve enjoyed our first one hundred episodes for free, and can afford to give financially to the show, follow the links 👇. Thanks!

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See you for our next edition on 1st Feb.

Happy New Year!

This episode is sponsored by Thriva, the health-tracking finger prick blood test you do at home. Get 50% off your first kit by visiting Thriva.co and using the code Mann50.