The Modern Mann

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 surveil...

Four years before Facebook, long before anyone knew what ‘social networking’ was, Julie Pankhurst had an idea... What if, without trawling through message-boards or working your way through The Phone Book, you could reconnect with all your old school friends, via one simple database? Friends Reunited rapidly became one of Britain’s biggest ever start-ups, attracting 23m users at its peak, and a re...

Lottie Woods was in her early twenties when she was sent, alone, to meet a powerful buyer for a high street fashion brand in Guangzhou, China. They went out for a drink. The next morning, they had a meeting. In this interview with Olly, she recounts what happened in between. Along the way, she reveals the pressures of designing garments for the ‘fast fashion’ sector, the challenges of raising ethi...

Comedians Tom Price and Stuart Goldsmith reunite with Olly Mann 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? In this laugh-out-loud, typically honest encounter, our trio of Dads share stories and support each other through a uniquely challenging m...

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.  In this thoughtful in...

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 real...

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. 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...

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

Slade. Wizzard. Wham! When it comes to Christmas songs, we know what we like, and we like what we know. But is there a magical formula to writing a festive hit? Can a novice, armed with the right chords, instruments and lyrical motifs, unlock the secret and crack the Christmas charts?  Last year, our very own Ollie Peart attempted to give it a go. This is his story. Including footage never previou...

The legendary Foxhole XXXMas Quiz is the high-voltage highlight of our 2019 festive special, as Olly, Alix and Ollie gather round the Yuletide fire with special guest JC Stewart, some VR headsets and a crate of beer.  Alix has outdone herself this year, with cheeky games involving gin and tonic lubricant, a haunted Fleshlight, and a harrowing round of ‘Squirtual Reality’. Meanwhile, in the Zeitgei...

Can martial arts save your life? Self defence instructor Kriss Pyke says they can - not just because the moves themselves offer protection in a skirmish, but because the physical confidence you gain deters opponents in the first place. Kriss’ views and teaching style are shaped by his own experiences at the sharp end of a vicious street attack, as he recounts to Olly in this month’s middle feature...

Adrenalin, stress and composure is in the job description for a trauma surgeon. But how do doctors cope with routinely operating on patients with devastating injuries? Does it ever get easy to deliver difficult news? 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...

Sebastian Schub was 19 when he first experienced erectile dysfunction. But he wasn’t a big drinker. There was no clear medical cause, such as heart disease. However - like most men his age - he was an avid user of porn tube sites. Googling his symptoms, he discovered the Reddit ‘no-fap’ community, and diagnosed himself with PIED (‘porn-induced erectile dysfunction’). Spurning masturbation, he atte...

With zero experience of beer-making, Tommy Barnes quit his safe, corporate London job to start his own beer business. As if that weren’t precarious enough, he located it in the Loire Valley - the heart of French ‘wine country’.  In this entertaining conversation with Olly, Tommy recounts how he followed his business dreams, balanced the books and perfected his beer recipe - even in the face of en...

Private Investigator Bob Nygaard specialises in bringing psychics to justice. Fortune-tellers, who offer palm-reading for as little as ten dollars, are a common sight in New York City. But when they swindle their clients out of six-figure sums, it’s ex-NYPD officer Bob who’s on their case. In this sensational interview with Olly, Bob reveals how the criminals he pursues prey on vulnerable victims,...

Jen Bricker was abandoned at birth by her biological parents. Due to a genetic defect, she had been born without legs. Her adoptive family showered her with love and self-belief. Inspired by her idol, Olympic gold-medalist Dominique Moceanu, she pursued gymnastics. She competed against able-bodied entrants at the Junior Olympics. She won a state championship. But an astonishing family secret was a...

Ben used to be a secondary school teacher. He isn’t anymore. In a brutally honest feature interview, he tells Olly his compelling story. Trigger warnings: see end of show notes Meanwhile, in this month's Zeitgeist, Ollie Peart takes Olly - and Milo, his faithful Jack Russell/Chihuahua - for a walk round Regent’s Park, to test out the trend for dog subscription boxes Tails and Buster, and training...

Tom Price and Stuart Goldsmith join Olly Mann once again to discuss the dilemmas faced by the modern Dad. How can you control a toddler who has no concept of time? Why aren’t Dads as good as Mums at making friends? When does your role as educator impinge on their imaginations? In this fifth instalment of our ‘How To Be A Dad’ series, our trio - whose sons are now three years old - swap stories abo...

It’s Christmasssss!... well, nearly: so time is running out for our charity single, ‘The Sounds of Christmas’, to crack the UK festive Top 40. In this week’s Zeitgeist, Ollie Peart reveals the surprise celebrity friends who’ve added their weight to the campaign, whilst a generous Mann-fan blows our fundraising target out of the water. Meanwhile, Olly heads to St Andrew’s Church, Islington, to meet...

Actors with dwarfism rarely get cast in title roles, but in panto season there’s an obvious exception: the many major productions of ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarves’ staged across Britain. But what does the prevalence of this pantomime do to affect the lives of ordinary people with dwarfism, who aren’t performers? Activist and writer Eugene Grant, who has achondroplasia, believes if the first ti...

Samuel was nine years old when he first asked his Dad, Martin, to raise some money for the other children on his ward to have some nicer meals. Samuel’s Charity is now registered, and has raised over £200,000 for under-funded children’s wards. In this moving interview with Olly, Martin explains why small charities are so very necessary, how even teaspoons and toasters can make a dramatic differenc...

Don’t you hate it when you forget a face? Spare a thought for the 1.5 million people in the UK suffering from developmental prosopagnosia - facial blindness. In its most acute form, they’re unable to recognise their friends, their family… even their own reflection. Dr Rachel Bennetts, psychology lecturer at Brunel University, specialises in researching facial processing disorders. In this fascinat...

How do you win a game-show? Olly’s assembled a dream-team to find out: Fifteen To One grand finalist Will Howells, Chase question-setter Julia Hobbs and serial quizzer Jason Hill, who’s appeared on 14 shows including Pointless, Eggheads and Countdown. What’s the best way to get chosen by the production team? How do you swot up before the big day? How should you calm your nerves under pressure? How...

Martha Adam was raped. For a week afterwards, she couldn’t even say the word. Couldn’t tell her parents what had happened to her. But she did report the assault - and faced hours of courtroom questioning that both embellished and undermined her trauma. In this wide-ranging conversation with Olly, Martha explains how these events restricted her lifestyle, affected her relationships, and made her qu...

Suspended from 100 helium balloons, Tom Morgan flew 15.5 miles across South Africa, seated in a collapsible camping chair. And now he wants YOU to do it, too. Could this hare-brained scheme really be the future of adventure travel? Or is there more hope for his other concept - getting travellers to build their own biplanes out of plywood, to fly over the Pacific? In this chat with Olly, Tom explai...