6/7 - The Confidence Trick

"Sometimes you have to be other people to become who you are."

View fullsize

Gavin Bain and Olly Mann

Best mates with Eminem, signed by Sony, and on the verge of international superstardom, Californian rap group Silibil 'n' Brains were the music industry's Next Big Thing. There was just one problem: they'd never been to California. They were from Dundee.

In this extraordinary interview with Olly, Gavin Bain - who, as Brains Mcloud, was one half of the hip hop duo - recalls how a heady mix of humiliation, desperation and sheer chutzpah lead him to fool the entire music industry - and brought him to the brink:

LISTEN:

• MP3

• iTunes

• TuneIn

• PocketCasts

• Spotify (mobile only)

Gavin's book, California Schemin', is out now - and you can find plenty of Sylibil N' Brains music on Spotify. 

View fullsize

Peart takes a bath, in the name of research

Elsewhere this week, Ollie Peart considers Uber's bid to prevent 'automovom' in this week's Zeitgeist. Also on the agenda: death on social media, Stephen Fry's sleep stories, hand massaging and hot baths.

And, down the Foxhole, Alix Fox - fresh from enlightening delegates at the Digital Freedom Festival - reveals the art of 'muffing', and answers the query of Mann-fan Pip, who's repulsed by the smell, taste, and even thought of her boyfriend's semen.

As the Foxhole is brought to you by our friends at mycondom.com, you can nab a wonderful 15% OFF just for listening - all you need to do is use our code 'Foxhole' at Checkout. So, why not stock up on some sexy Christmas goodies from their Christmassy Stocking Fillers section?

Meanwhile, this week's Squarespace Lifehack features business journalist Emily Birt, of peoplemanagement.co.uk, providing her Top 3 tips to get a pay rise. (If you have advice of your own to share, start a blog with Squarespace.com - and if you use our code 'Mann' at Checkout, you get 10% off your first website or domain.)

Finally, our record of the week is 'Broken Record', by plucky upstart Van Morrison. It's the opening track from his 38th studio album, Versatile, out now:

Thanks again to all our beer money donors for supporting this series of our independent podcast. If you'd buy us a pint if you met us in real life, please put your money where your mouth is and buy us a virtual one too. Every penny you contribute goes towards making more Modern Mann... 

See You Next Tuesday!

3/4 - The Gentleman Bank Robber

Extreme highs, extreme lows, and a bungled bank robbery

Radcliffe Royds had it all - a private education; a job in the City; a wife and kids. So, how did he find himself robbing a bank with a banana, high on crack cocaine, whilst living in a skip in Soho?

In this incredible interview, he tells Olly his outrageous story. It's a tale of extreme highs and lows, brutal honesty and dark humour.

DOWNLOAD NOW:

• MP3

• iTunes

• PocketCasts

• TuneIn

Meanwhile, Ollie Peart has decamped to Lisbon for the 2016 Web Summit - an orgy of start-ups and self-promotion. In this week’s Zeitgeist, he ponders whether laundry services might be the next sector to fall foul of disruptive technology, why Silicon Valley buzzwords are so damn aggressive, and why on Earth anyone would name a new company ‘Two-Hats’.

And, in our weekly trip down the Foxhole, our love guru Alix Fox puts the Poundland vibrator to the test, and answers a listener’s question about sexual piercings in the only way she knows how - with, um, piercing honesty. YOU MAY WANT TO KEEP YOUR LEGS CROSSED FOR THIS ONE. The Foxhole is sponsored by MyCondom.com - your one-stop shop for all your bedroom needs, except possibly light fittings and duvets. Use the code FOXHOLE at Checkout to get an incredible 15% off! And if you have a question of sex for Alix to answer in a future episode, just fill out our Feedback form - you can remain anonymous if you wish

Our song of the week is 'You Don't Get Me High Anymore' by Phantogram - out now on Republic Records:

This week's edition of The Modern Mann is supported by our friends at DragonFruit - the dating app designed especially for geeks and nerds! Meet a like-minded soul by downloading the app and choosing 'Modern Mann' as one of your geekdoms - and, if you do meet the love of your life thanks to our podcast, do reach out and tell us...

If you'd like to help keep the show on the road, then just commit to buying us just one beer a month. We really appreciate it. Thanks!

See You Next Tuesday.

‘Cruzin’ appears courtesy of Benedek on a Creative Commons licence.

3/1 - The Last British Bullfighter

The Mancunian Matador, at home in Marbella.

Frank Evans is not like other septuagenarian ex-pats. Though he lives in Marbella, and retains his distinctive Salford accent, he is still - despite recent injuries and an earlier retirement - a working bull-fighter.

In this extraordinary interview, he tells Olly how he discovered the controversial sport on holiday in Spain, how a copy of Suit Of Lights by Vincent Charles Hitchcock inspired him to 'give it a bash' - and how, with virtually no training at all, he found himself facing death in the ring in Montpellier...

View fullsize

The 'buspass bull-fighter', Frank Evans, with Olly Mann

• DOWNLOAD NOW:

• MP3

• iTunes

• PocketCasts

• TuneIn

Now known as 'El Ingles', Frank sticks out in the sport not only due to his age and English roots, but also because he believes bullfighting needs to adapt to survive.

You can find out more about Frank in his excellent book.

Elsewhere in this episode, we're celebrating our triumphant win* as Podcast of the Year at the Radio Academy Awards:

* we came second.

** they used to be the Sony's, and are now called 'the ARIAs', but this doesn't seem to have caught on, frankly.

Recorded the morning-after-the-night before, in an auspicious hotel room in Leeds, Ollie Peart fills this week's Zeitgeist with a celebration of bow-ties, a review of Adam Curtis' latest film, and a prediction that Kanye West has killed auto-tune.

View fullsize

And, in the first ever instance of The Foxhole actually being recorded in a bed, Alix Fox returns with advice for a listener from Rhode Island who is a 'grower not a shower', and news of why getting older might genuinely mean better sex. 

We have a new sponsor for The Foxhole for this series - the wonderful people at MyCondom.Com, who are offering Modern Mann listeners 15% off their excellent products if you use the code FOXHOLE at Checkout.

And remember, if you have a question of sex for a future episode, you can email Alix here.

Finally, we finish the episode, as ever, with a song. This week, 'Season Two, Episode Three' by the brilliant Glass Animals:

It's good to be back, Mann-Fans! We couldn't do it without those of you who have kindly donated to the show by buying us a beer, and those amazing Mannbassadors who help spread the word by leaving us a review on iTunes. 

We'll see you next Tuesday...