The British Army is recruiting gamers, 'phone zombies', and 'selfie addicts' as it broadens its skills for modern military ops. But who are the young men getting these jobs, and what impact does it have on their lives?
Former Grenadier Guardsman Julian Perreira served as a J-TAC (Joint Terminal Attack Controller) in Afghanistan. As he monitored a 60-inch TV screen relaying live feeds from surveillance balloons and drones, it was his job to decide when and where to deploy ‘kinetic effects’ that could, and did, kill people.
It was, he tells Olly, ‘a bit like playing a computer game’. The experience inflicted lasting damage on his mental health; now being treated with CBT only thanks to the philanthropy of a fellow veteran.
Julian is now a journalist who blogs at jakbrew.co.uk - where he has also established an outdoor drinkware company.
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Elsewhere, for this month’s Zeitgeist, Ollie Peart chats to couples who are ‘child-free by choice’.
Along the way he discovers ‘antinatalism’, swots up on some intriguing statistics about parental unhappiness, and disrupts a childfree web forum that definitely ISN’T ‘a movement’…
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Meanwhile, down the Foxhole, Alix Fox - fresh from judging a talent competition that is unlikely to be televised - considers the dilemma of a listener who ‘bears down’ during orgasm, frequently finding herself the victim of inconvenient farts.
Our thanks to pelvic floor physiotherapist Elaine Miller, AKA ‘Gussie Grippers’.
If you think you may be suffering from a hypertonic pelvic floor, resources and support are available via the International Pelvic Pain Society and the Pelvic Pain Support Network.
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Music this month comes from Modern Mann favourites Another Sky and their new song, ‘Fell In Love With The City’:
You’ll find it on their new album ‘I Slept on the Floor’, out Aug 7th.
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If you love our show, and value what we do, here are THREE GREAT WAYS to support us:
TELL YOUR FRIENDS! We’re @themodernmann on Twitter.
POST A REVIEW for the show on Apple Podcasts. It helps others find us.
SEND US MONEY. We know times are tight at the moment - but we are an independent podcast, and every contribution, no matter how small, helps us create the best show we can. Buy us a beer now.
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If YOU have a story you’d like to share with Olly, a sex question you’d like to ask Alix, or a trend you’d like Ollie to investigate, get in touch with us via our Feedback form.
That’s it for the Summer - we’ll be back, as per our new release schedule, on September 10th. See you then!
