Olly Mann

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Olly Mann

Hello, I'm Olly. Perhaps you know me from my radio shows, podcasts and columns. Or perhaps you just think I have an approachable face. Let's be friends.

18/07/2025

HISTORY NEVER RESTS

13/07/2025

I've never been beholden to the celebrity or publishing circuit, and 'There's A Story On Every Street' has long been my motto for The Modern Mann.

I've strived to find revealing 'ordinary' stories from all over the country. I've interviewed friends and acquaintances about their experiences, even at the risk this might jeopardise our relationship if it went pear-shaped.

But there's also, of course, A Story In Every Family! And this month I talked to my cousin, Perry, about the catastrophic plane crash he had when he was 13 years old.

Although I'd heard flashes of the story before - the RAF warplane he was in, the burns he endured to nearly half his body - it's amazing how, by turning up to his house with a microphone, I suddenly had license to ask all the questions about this terrifying ordeal that I'd always wanted to know... how it happened, how it felt, how it continues to affect his life.

What a privilege to put his story down on tape, and what an eye-opener to discover someone's struggles within my own family that I hadn't properly thought about before. It's encouraged me to be even more vigilant in my hunt for stories... They truly are everywhere.

11/07/2025

On your marks! 🏃 Get set! 👟
The July episode of The Modern Mann is GO🏅

09/07/2025

As a theme park nut, I was thrilled to hear that Universal are building a 476-acre attraction just 25 minutes from my house! 🎢

And, OBVIOUSLY, I immediately wanted to make a podcast about it. 🎤

Which I could have just done... But I felt instinctively that the idea would be best served by hooking up with my local radio station 📻

a) because this is something that will really affect the whole community in the three counties, 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 and
b) I knew the BBC name could nab us lots of cool American guests! 🇺🇸

The result - a really fun four-part series produced by whirlwind genius Holly Nichols - got me chatting to rollercoaster designers, swapping recipes with content creators, socialising with NIMBYs and generally having a lot of fun 🤘

Fingers crossed 🤞 we get to do more as this massive project develops!

🎧 You can now hear the whole thing on BBC Sounds: just search 'Rollercoaster: Universal's Bedfordshire Journey'. X

04/07/2025

New cover art for The Week Unwrapped! Lonely nights at sea, be damned; truly, something for everyone

04/07/2025

😬 Have you been using the phrase 'THE GREAT WHITE HOPE' without knowing context? Me too.

Its origins are a heavyweight boxing match today in history in 1910 between Jack Johnson (black), and James Jeffries (white).

Jeffries was labelled 'the great white hope' because fans hoped he might save America from the indignity of having a black man, a descendent of slavery, declared Heavyweight Champion against a caucasian.

The fight was literally billed as a battle for racial supremacy.
20,000 paying fans attended in Nevada.
Johnson won.

It sparked the biggest race riots in the United States until the death of Martin Luther King, Jr.

So, now you know. Me too.
But now I keep hearing the phrase 'the great white hope' casually used everywhere - e.g. in discussions about politicians, bands, or chief executives...

Maybe let's stop?

We discuss in today's episode of 'Today in History with the Retrospectors' (link in Comments).

02/07/2025

10 years ago today, the internet lost its s**t about the killing of Cecil The Lion 🦁I reflect on how it became such a massive viral moment 📈 on 'Today In History with the Retrospectors'

25/06/2025

Had a great time RECORDING IN THE ACTUAL FIELD WHERE THEY'RE BUILDING UNIVERSAL STUDIOS UK 🎢- guesting on Digital Dan's series 'The Field', geeking out about theme parks generally, and chatting about my BBC Sounds show 'Rollercoaster - Universal's Bedfordshire Journey' specifically.
It was very hot and I am glad a brought a hat 🎩.

22/06/2025

Every time I sleep with Ollie Peart, he goes on about bloody VR.
Am beginning to take it personally now...

21/06/2025

Pow!⚡I'm BACK for a romp through the news this Drivetime (sitting in for Ayesha) - with great guests including Billy Bragg, Belle & Sebastian's Stuart Murdoch, Grainne Maguire, William Sebag-Montefoire, Michael Crick and Alicia Fitzgerald. Join us from 4-7pm on Times Radio. X

16/06/2025

I'm pointing at the incinerator chimneys adjacent to the Universal theme park site in Bedfordshire. Am spending today with Producer Holly walking around Stewartby, Lower Shelton, Upper Shelton, Marston Moretaine, Wootton and Wixams - all the areas that will be transformed by the arrival of Universal's Bedfordshire theme park...

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