Gambling Nearly Killed Me

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 return of 'Serial'. Can the new season possibly compete with the first; the most successful podcast of all time? Also in The Zeitgeist this week, the Disneyfication of The BFG, the 'science' of full stops, and the ever-decreasing age of the computer hacker. And, in our weekly trip down The Foxhole, Alix Fox investigates the world of 'forniture' (that's furniture you can sleep with, folks), and assists a listener who wants to climax at the same time as his partner, with the aid of a new masturbator for men who suffer from premature ejaculation. If you've got a question of sex for Alix, you’d like to send us some feedback or buy us a beer, just head to modernmann.co.uk. Our musical pick this week is 'Europe Is Lost' by Kate Tempest, out now. Presenter: Olly Mann. Contributors: Ollie Peart, Alix Fox. Producer: Matt Hill. Theme Music: 'Skies Over Cairo' by Django Django. Graphic Design: Jenny Robertshaw. Copyright: Olly Mann / Rethink Audio 2015 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices