"You're silent on the surface - but you're incredibly noisy in your head"

From Morrissey to Laurence Olivier, public figures through history have channelled shyness and stage-fright into their work. But is shyness a useful tool - or is uninhibited confidence a better way to navigate the modern world?

In this episode, social and cultural historian Joe Moran talks to Olly about the implicit difficulty of silence, the internal monologues that plague him in social situations, and how shy people can weaponise irony, distance and aloofness to their advantage...

The Lego 'hooliganism set' really did exist, in 1998...

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Joe's book, Shrinking Violets: A Field Guide to Shyness, is out now. Thanks to the Southbank Centre - the interview was recorded backstage at their annual ‘Being A Man’ festival.

Meanwhile, over in The Zeitgeist, Ollie Peart explains how your car can interact with your ‘environmental happenings’, previews a forthcoming political bout, and reveals where you can buy a ‘Breaking Bad’ lego set.

And, down The Foxhole, Alix Fox ponders why she is having some difficulty finding the perfect partner, and offers some advice for a listener whose lover suffers from vaginismus. (Some useful resources Alix mentions in the show: Sarah Berry's blog and forum, 'Hey Vaginismus!', and the vaginismus episode of Alix's podcast for The Guardian, Close Encounters.)

Got a question of sex for next week’s show? Just fill in our Feedback form - you can remain anonymous if you like. The Foxhole is sponsored by our friends at MyCondom.com - use the code ‘FOXHOLE’ at Checkout to receive an astonishing 15% OFF.

Finally,our song of the week comes from Artificial Pleasure, who you can catch touring in April. It’s called ‘All I Got’, and it’s out now:

Until next week, Mann-fans - do feel free to buy us a beer, write us a review or watch Modern Mann Extra - and we'll See You Next Tuesday!