13/10 - Contrast, Colour, Texture, Tone

“Everything was just black and white. People were like moving ghosts.”

LISTEN: Apple // Spotify // Google // MP3 // RSS // TuneIn

Vanessa Potter lost her sight in just 72 hours - the result of a rare condition that doctors struggled to diagnose. 

In this interview with Olly, she recalls how it felt to experience the rapid deterioration of her vision and simultaneous paralysis; why her two young children aided her recovery; and explains how the process helped pivot her career…

Vanessa co-founded the ParkBathe project. 

Her books, Patient H69 and Finding My Right Mind are out now.

You can follow her podcast here.

____________________

Vanessa Potter and Olly Mann. October 2022

Seriously, change your lightbulbs.

Meanwhile, in the Zeitgeist, Ollie Peart channels his ‘inner Martin Lewis’ to see if he can SOLVE the cost-of-living crisis.

With the aid of apps like Snoop and Lollipop, and online bank accounts like Revolut, can he claw back 20% from his monthly spending?

The Zeitgeist is sponsored by Manscaped, who are now offering their Ultra Smooth Package for sale in Europe. Get 20% Off + Free Shipping, with the code ‘Mann’ at Manscaped.com

_____________________

Elsewhere, in the Foxhole, Alix Fox wonders whether the future is bright for posh poppers, and advises a listener who wants to approach the subject of body image with her partner.

With the help of NLP trainer Andy Coley and Positive Body Image Educator Anupa Roper, Alix devises a ‘compassionately curious’, open-minded script for discussing weight gain within a relationship - and provides some tips to put the pleasure back in their bedroom.

If YOU have a relationships question for Alix, or a trends challenge for Ollie, please submit it via the Feedback form. You can remain anonymous if you wish.

_____________________

Finally, our record of the month is the superb ‘Trouble’ from The Big Moon; out now!  👇

_____________________

This episode is sponsored by:

• Emma, Europe's most awarded, best-selling foam mattress. Find your best sleep and test products for up to 200 nights risk free. Save 5% on top on all offers at emma-sleep.co.uk/modernmann

• Stitch Fix, the personal styling site that sends you great clothes to try on at home. Get started today and get 20% off when you keep all five items at at StitchFix.co.uk/mann

• Wine52, the wine discovery club who send delicious wine to your door from a different country each month. Claim your FREE case now - just pay the postage at wine52.com/MANN

• LISTENERS LIKE YOU. If you can afford to buy us a beer each month to say thank you for making you a free 1hr+ magazine show each month - please do. We rely on your support.

————————————

… And we’ll see you again on November 10th!

LISTEN: Apple // Spotify // Google // MP3 // RSS // TuneIn

11/8 - The Kinetic Effect

LISTEN: Apple // Spotify // Google // MP3 // RSS // TuneIn

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.

__________________

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’…

__________________

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.

__________________

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.

__________________

If you love our show, and value what we do, here are THREE GREAT WAYS to support us:

1. TELL YOUR FRIENDS! We’re @themodernmann on Twitter.

2. POST A REVIEW for the show on Apple Podcasts. It helps others find us.

3. 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.

__________________

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!

LISTEN: Apple // Spotify // Google // MP3 // RSS // TuneIn

10/6 - Surgery on the Front Line

Adrenalin, stress and composure - it’s all in a day’s work for a trauma surgeon.

But how do these doctors cope with routinely operating on patients with devastating injuries? Does it ever get easy to deliver difficult news?

LISTEN NOW:

• MP3

• Spotify 

• Apple Podcasts

• TuneIn

• Stitcher

• RSS

View fullsize

Olly Mann and Dr Allan Philp; NYC May 2019

In this intimate conversation, Olly meets Dr. Allan Philp, chief trauma surgeon of Allegheny Health Network, Pennsylvania, and Mr Shehan Hettiaratchy, trauma lead surgeon for Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, to discuss alleviating anxiety, performing amputations - and how both men’s military background in Afghanistan has informed their work with civilian casualties.

View fullsize

Olly and Shehan Hettiaratchy; St Mary’s Hospital London, Sep 2019

Elsewhere, in this month’s Zeitgeist, Ollie Peart investigates the trend for escape rooms - by designing and building his own, complete with terrifying deployment of ancient technology. Luckily, he’s roped in the services of escape room champion Sarah Dodd.  Just watch out for those Party Poppers...

Meanwhile, down the Foxhole, Alix Fox advises a couple with wildly different libidos on how to get their sex schedule back on track. Along the way, she considers couple’s counselling, dirty diaries, and ‘bossy massage’.

Finally, our record of the month is ‘In Time’ by Self Esteem, solo project of former Slow Club singer Rebecca Taylor. It’s ace:

Remember, this show is supported by donations from listeners like you. If you can afford to, please buy us a beer. Thanks!

If you have a question of sex for Alix, a challenge to suggest to Ollie, a guest you’d like Olly to interview, or you’d like to become a Mannbassador, just reach out via our Feedback form.

This episode is brought to you in association with Thriva, the at-home fingerprint blood test. For £30 off your first Thriva kit visit thriva.co and use the code Mann30.

See you when our next episode drops, on Nov 1st!