Posts filed under Season Fifteen

15/2 - Our Conviction

“People don’t understand the financial loss, the emotional loss… the children have lost friends.”

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

Sue Beere’s husband, John, was jailed for his role in a £53 million drug-smuggling plot. 

He’s spent time in a maximum-security prison. He’s lost two appeals.

But Sue has never doubted his innocence.

Alongside charity Appeal, Sue continues to campaign for his conviction to be quashed - and for all the ‘Freshwater Five’ implicated in the alleged cocaine conspiracy to be exonerated

In this compelling conversation with Olly, Sue recounts how - from John’s unexpected arrest to the shocking outcome of his trial - she has battled stigma, financial struggles, and the British legal system… from her family home on the Isle of Wight.

This episode is sponsored by Readly, who are offering Mann-fans an exclusive, three month trial of unlimited newspapers and magazines. Get yours at readly.com/mann

_____________

Meanwhile, in the Zeitgeist, Ollie Peart is hunting for a cure for Seasonal Affective Disorder…

Might a simple vitamin tablet do the trick, or is it worth investing in a 10,000 lux therapy lamp?  

Or, could the trend for Nordic bathing - plunging from a piping hot sauna into freezing cold water - be a mood-boosting salve for S.A.D?

Ollie drags Olly along to the Saltwater Sauna in Sandbanks to find out…

The Zeitgeist is sponsored by our friends at Beer52. Claim your FREE case of 8 new and exclusive beers from across the world at https://www.beer52.com/MANN

_____________________

Elsewhere, in the Foxhole, Alix Fox fresh from a mind-blowing movie preview - investigates the booming market in A.I. girlfriends, and uncovers some tasty neologisms for part-time asexuals.

Could an over-reliance on ‘fap GPT’ be a bedroom boner-killer?

And do straight men get emotional support from their interactions with sex-bots? 

With the help of psychotherapist Silva Neves, specialist in sexual compulsive behaviour, and sex robot researcher Dr Chloé Locatelli from King’s College London, Alix has the answers… probably. 

If you have a question of sex you’d like Alix to answer, fill in the Feedback form. You can remain anonymous if you wish.

_____________________

Finally, for our record of the month we turn to Vince Freeman, whose new single, ‘Blame Myself’ - taken from his forthcoming album ‘Scars, Ghosts & Glory’ - is out now 👇

Love the show? Help us make it! 💰

We rely on listeners like you to fund our independent podcast and bring you these stories. DONATE HERE

… And we’ll see you again on March 10th.

_____________________

This episode includes paid advertisements for Who Gives A Crap? and BetterHelp.

• Get 20% off toilet paper that does a world of good at https://uk.whogivesacrap.org/ when you use the code ‘MANN’.

• Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/mann and get on your way to being your best self.

LISTEN: Apple // Spotify // Google // MP3 // RSS // TuneIn
Posted on February 10, 2024 and filed under Season Fifteen.

15/1 - Veganuary: Planting The Seed

“Most people watch TV in the evenings.

We‘d go on Google Analytics.”

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

Yorkshire couple Matthew Glover and Jane Land created Veganuary at their kitchen table. 

Inspired by Movember, their concept of challenging the nation to try veganism for a month gained incredible momentum via social media, and became a global organisation

But, along the way, it drained their finances, crashed their servers, and ate up their Christmasses...

In this interview with Olly, the husband-and-wife entrepreneurs consider the flaws of their early strategy; take us behind-the-scenes of the iconic Greggs’ Vegan Sausage Roll; and reveal how they’ve faced down criticism from within the vegan movement, the meat lobby and Piers Morgan…_____________

The health theme continues in the Zeitgeist, for which Ollie Peart investigates the trend for low and no alcohol wine and spirits.

From miniature cordials by high-end ‘wine’ brand Jukes, to a sparkling bottle of Muri’s Sherbert Daydream, Ollie attempts to persuade us there’s so much more to the zero-booze booze market than Beck’s Blue and Shloer… 

But, armed with a trio of mixers from British start-up Three Spirits and a miniature bottle of orange juice from Pret, can he persuade Olly to give up his dirty martinis?

If you have a trend you’d like to challenge Ollie to investigate in a future episode, fill in the Feedback form.

_____________________

Elsewhere, in the Foxhole, Alix Fox advises a listener whose teenage trans daughter has, she suspects, become intimate with her girlfriend - another trans girl she met at her boys’ school.

Stepping around the inevitable minefield this question might attract, Alix consults Dee Lou Whitnell, trans activist and founder of the #TransKidsDeserveToGrowUp campaign, to offer stellar advice on supporting this young couple - whilst steering them away from potential problems… 

If you have a question of sex you’d like Alix to answer, fill in the Feedback form. You can remain anonymous if you wish.

Alix recommends the following resources for trans teens, their parents & caregivers:

• the books of Kitty Stryker - author of Ask: Building Consent Culture and Ask Yourself: The Consent Culture Workbook. Her new one, Say More: Consent Conversations for Teens comes out on April 24th and can be pre-ordered now

Split Banana - Inclusive sex ed workshops for young people

• Brook - https://www.brook.org.uk/

• The Global Queer Youth Network - https://www.gqyn.org/

• Millie Evans’ book – HONEST

_____________________

For our record of the month it’s over to piano man Tom Odell, whose new song, Black Friday, comes from his new album of the same name. 👇

Love the show? Help us make it! 💰

We rely on listeners like you to fund our independent podcast and bring you these stories. DONATE HERE

… And we’ll see you again on February 10th.

_____________________

This episode includes a paid advertisement by BetterHelp.

Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/mann and get on your way to being your best self.

LISTEN: Apple // Spotify // Google // MP3 // RSS // TuneIn
Posted on January 10, 2024 and filed under Season Fifteen.