The Modern Mann
Holding The Line: Fighting Wildfires
Published: 10 March 2025 at 19:33 Europe/London
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Episode notes
California wildfires ripped through L.A. this year, killing 29 people, destroying more than 18,000 buildings, and putting wildland fires back into the headlines. But what’s it like being one of the poorly-paid workers sent in to risk your life to fight the flames?
Wildland firefighter Nathan Bell has ‘held the line’ across the United States: in Elk City, Idaho; on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon in Utah; and in the desert conditions of Sedona, Arizona.
For 16 hour workdays, for weeks away from home, he will hike up a mountainside towards a raging fire with a 40 pound backpack on his shoulders, and a chainsaw over his shoulder. And his starting salary is less than a worker at Burger King...
In conversation with Olly, he exposes the back-breaking, exhilarating life of a wildland firefighter - and the unspoken trauma so many of his peers experience ‘between seasons’...
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Meanwhile, in The Zeitgeist, Ollie Peart investigates the trend for A.I. makeovers.
From LolaAI, the ‘stylist and shopping copilot’ baked in to Open Wardrobe, to the at-home body scans offered by Bodymapp, can Ollie get himself a fresh Spring look - using only A.I?
As ever, frankly, the results are mixed…
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Elsewhere, down the Foxhole, Alix Fox pops into Kiiroo to see how their teledildonics have adapted to the world of OnlyFans - and answers a listener question from a new Mum struggling with sex after breastfeeding.
Once a source of pleasure, her boobs now feel sore, sensitive, and more like functional tools than instruments of intimacy. Will they ever feel sexy again?
With the help of breastfeeding peer support worker Emilie Wardle, Frome Birth Talk’s Lucy Plummer and sex and relationship therapist Rhian Kivits, Alix explores considers the under-discussed issues of milk mishaps in the bedroom and babies getting a little too handsy; and proposes new erogenous zones for when ‘boobs are off the table’...
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Music this month comes from Manchester indie band The Lottery Winners, and their infectious single, ‘Turn Around’. It’s our Record of the Month, and it’s out now.
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… and we’ll see you on April 10th!
CONTENT WARNING: references to suicide.
SUPPORT: In the UK, the Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Hotline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is on 13 11 14. Hotlines in other countries can be found here.
CREDITS: Presenter: Olly Mann. Contributors: Ollie Peart, Alix Fox, Nathan Bell, The Lottery Winners. Producer: Matt Hill. Theme Music: 'Skies Over Cairo' by Django Django. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Copyright: Olly Mann / Rethink Audio 2025.
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