Olly Mann 🎙️

Very enjoyable, no notes

Folks pontificating about how the media has 'learned' / changed since the days of Russell Brand surely need to consider what 'media' means nowadays... Sure, the days of all-powerful 'talent' and agents may be over in broadcast and comedy. But how about on the sets of high-profile youtubers, onlyfans performers, podcasters and influencers? Seems to me even more likely that there will be very bad behaviour with very few guardrails there.

So it turns out that cosying up to Putin and commenting on your candidates' asses *wasn't* a winning strategy? Weird.

Perhaps they're waiting for the Russell Brand verdict to see if his naming rights are worth pursuing as a replacement?

Can't help feeling this packaging is just promising too much

Tax wastage in Scotland: Jawdropping Sunday Times investigation I'm looking forward to covering on @TimesRadio Breakfast tomorrow. Most staggering stat is the NHS Highland worker receiving their full salary / benefits for 17 YEARS despite not having a specific job anymore... thetimes.com/uk/scotland/art…

It was fascinating to chat to travel writer Chris Moss, who after 38 years writing about Latin America for The Guardian and The Telegraph now focuses on minibreaks to unloved parts of the UK. I'm not sure I'll be visiting Blackpool instead of Miami when February comes, but it definitely made me think about my choice of excursions within the UK - maybe Dudley instead of York next time? @Traveloguer @themodernmann

I knew I was asking a Republican. But I was not prepared for this answer.

Olly Mann incoming! Back on @TimesRadio from 4pm

Pitchforks out! Thoroughly enjoyed the redux Martin Guerre last night. Matthew Warchus has done a great job keeping it intimate and pacey - 90 mins, no interval! - though all the melodrama could still do with a few more moments of fun.

I’ve been podcasting for 20 years and enjoyed listening to this today. It marks a significant moment in UK podcasting. Stateside we've seen the likes of Obama on Pod Save America, and of course Trump's turn on Joe Rogan - but, in this country, I don't recall a 'proper' podcast interview - frank and open and contextual and informal and long, all the things that podcasts can do - with a sitting PM, or at least not one so early in his period in office, when he hasn’t done much in the way of sit-down interviews. Yes it was largely friendly fire, but what made it good was they managed to get him to do that thing that happens when podcasts really work: there were moments he seemed to forget the mics were on.