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!

5/5 - Subliminal Criminal

Does the mind of a murderer look any different to yours?

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Can brain-scanning technology help explain criminal activity? And if could - should that evidence be admitted into court?

Dr Lisa Claydon, Senior Lecturer in Law at the Open University, has spent decades considering these questions. In this fascinating interview with Olly, recorded at Cheltenham Science Festival, she explains the issues around neuroscience in the courtroom, from the problems of malingering and false memory syndrome to the sometimes dubious defence of ‘automatism’ used by murdering sleep-walkers...

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Elsewhere this week, Ollie Peart explains why he’s getting emotional about a giant pig, how to get your favourite film back on the big screen, and the latest way to bring your Pornhub experience to life. And, in his quest to become a true trends insider, he attempts to enrol on to an elite dating app, and hitch a ride on a ‘parliamentary ghost-train’ with some real experts.

Meanwhile, down the Foxhole, Alix Fox reveals why an exfoliating sponge could become your bedroom essential, and answers a listener question about polyamory, with plenty of pointers for those seeking plenty of partners. Along the way, she translates much seemingly inpenetrable poly-lingo, explaining away ‘cowgirl’, ‘mono’, ‘frubbly feelings’, ‘metamores’ and ‘NRE’.

If you have a question of sex for next week’s show, just click our Feedback form. The Foxhole is sponsored by our superb sexual companions at MyCondom.com. They stock an incredible range of toys, lube and protection, including the On)Clinic non-lubricated condoms Alix highlights in this week’s show. Remember to use our special discount code ‘FOXHOLE’ to get 15% off.

Finally our song of the week is Albin Lee Meldau’s track ‘Persistence’, off his debut EP ‘Bloodshot’, released on the 21st July:

If you enjoy our show, why not donate and help support future episodes by buying us a beer? Or - and this is free, folks - consider leaving us a review on iTunes so others can discover us for themselves? Thanks...

See You Next Tuesday!

2/9 - How to Win at Shopping

The men who make you buy stuff. 

What makes you buy a product? The look? The smell? The layout of the shop? In today's cut-throat business world, none of that is left to coincidence: behavioural science is influencing the design of high street stores, supermarkets and online emporiums alike. 

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In this episode, Olly meets consumer psychologists Reece Akhtar and Dr Dimitrios Tsivrikos from University College, London to uncover how we consumers are manipulated into buying stuff we don't want or need via retailers cleverly appealing to our fear of scarcity, desire to belong or our basest instincts. So, next time you go shopping, you'll know what to look out for - you'll never walk the floor tiles in Tesco the same way again!

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Elsewhere, Ollie Peart considers 'ice cream van wars' and KFC-flavoured nail polish in The Zeitgeist, and Alix Fox discusses animal role-play and sex toy cleaning regimes in The Foxhole. 

Music is provided by The Anchoress and their track 'Doesn't Kill You', out now on Kscope Records:

If you have a question of sex for Alix for a future edition of the show or if you'd like to sponsor the show, just click on our Feedback form. And if you'd be so kind as to buy us a beer then just click Beer Money. Thanks!

See You Next Tuesday...