The Modern Mann

Imagine designing rollercoasters for a living. That's what Bradley Wynne, lead creative artist at Merlin Magic Making, gets to do. A life-long adrenalin junkie, he's now heading up the team for Thorpe Park's biggest ever launch, Derren Brown's Ghost Train. Find out how sounds, smells and touch can enhance the experience of riding a rollercoaster; how the fallout from the tragedy on The Smiler has...

How DO you make the perfect cup of coffee? Do you grind? Do you press? Do you froth? One man who knows is 'Coffee Masters' champion Ben Morrow, of Melbourne-based coffee roasters St. Ali. In this episode, Olly meets him at Hackney Coffee Company to discuss how to buy coffee, how to prepare it, and how to capture the essence of a Columbian farm in a cup... Meanwhile, in The Foxhole, Alix Fox sugges...

Photojournalist Alison Baskerville was serving in Iraq when she began documenting the lives of her fellow soldiers. She now independently produces astonishing images from the front line across the world, including Afghanistan, Mali, Israel/Gaza and the Philippines. In this episode, she tells Olly about the moments on basecamp that embedded journalists never get to see, the best way to pack to prep...

Charlie Gilmour dangled from the Cenotaph during the student protests of 2010, and became tabloid enemy #1. Now he's a writer and, since being scouted at a Xmas party, a male model. In this episode, he reveals to Olly what it takes to make Paris Fashion Week in 2016, how to work on your 'walk', and where models hide their drugs... Elsewhere in what would, if only we were American, be our 'season p...

Shaun Attwood survived a 9½ year sentence in America's deadliest prison. He tells Olly Mann his sensational story, from Liverpool to Phoenix, from his initial career playing the stock market to the millions he earned trading ecstasy for the fledgling 90's rave scene in Arizona, in competition with the Mafia mass murderer Sammy the Bull Gravano. In The Zeitgeist this week, Ollie Peart looks forward...

What's it like being Santa Claus? In our Christmas Spectacular episode, Olly meets actor Nigel Harvey, who makes a living playing Father Christmas all year round, and hears about the highs and lows of life in that iconic red-and-white outfit. Meanwhile, at the invitation of listener Paul from ice cream cafe Cloud 9, the rest of the team have decamped to Brighton, where Ollie Peart considers Tim Pe...

What if your first bet kickstarted a cycle of addiction that saw you flutter away over £10,000 in the bookies before your 20th birthday? Olly Mann meets Matt Zarb-Cousins to find out. Matt frankly confronts the nature of addiction, the changing face of the British high street and how a life can fall apart when the stakes are raised. Meanwhile, Ollie Peart is, like everyone else, contemplating the...

Dating guru Hayley Quinn reveals her 5 principles of approaching a partner, and her thoughts on the industry of 'pick-up artists'. Olly Mann asks: in this age of Tinder, Grindr, no-strings sex and fourth-wave feminism... How do you find someone you want to be with, what do you say to them once you meet them, and where do you take them for a drink? Also this week, Ollie Peart delves into The Zeitge...

How do you get work as a film extra, how much do you get paid - and how do you kill time when you have to spend all day with Britney Spears? Olly Mann meets Dr Chay Allen - an art historian who paid his way through his phD by working as an extra on shows including 24 and Downton Abbey, and films including The Dark Shadows and Skyfall, to answer these questions, and more. Meanwhile, in The Zeitgeis...

Comedians Stuart Goldsmith and Tom Price join Olly Mann to discuss their impending fatherhood, from the impact it will have on their respective relationships, to the pitfalls of NCT classes and the lack of support society appears to offer men embarking upon their first baby. They also make some bad taste jokes. Meanwhile, in The Zeitgeist, Ollie Peart spends big bucks on Bux, suggests some inventi...

Why put your money in a bank when you could buy a barrel of whisky?! Olly Mann meets Leo Scott-Francis, who offers private investors the opportunity to buy first-fill sherry casks. Leo gives Olly a crash-course in the market, and a taste of his own-brand of whisky, currently maturing underground in Scotland. But will Olly sign up us a client? Meanwhile, in The Zeitgeist, Ollie Peart considers the...

Imagine playing Brixton Academy when you're still a teenager... Conor McGloin was 10 years old when he decided he wanted to be an international rock superstar. It didn't quite turn out the way he'd expected, as he reveals in this interview with Olly Mann. Meanwhile, in The Zeitgeist, Ollie Peart considers the anti-theft protection services of Serena Williams; the man who wants to raise £33k to bui...

What makes THE perfect burger? Olly travels to San Francisco to meet Thrillist's Kevin Alexander, and sample two of the best burgers in California. Along the way, he learns how a combination of shredded lettuce, a careful choice of condiments and a fatwa on side orders can help you achieve the ultimate burger experience. In The Zeitgeist, Ollie Peart considers the growing fad for beard transplants...

IMAX's Andrew Cripps and Brian Bonnick, creators of the world's largest movie screens, join Olly to explore whether bigger really is better, and what they can tech us about home entertainment. In The Zeitgeist, Ollie Peart talks hoverboards, autonomous Tesla cars and crocodile palms. And in the slot we are currently calling The Fox Hole (alternative ideas on a postcard to @themodernmann), our resi...