I Want My Kids Back

When Karina Graham’s children were removed from her care, social services did not step in with support.

Instead, she was left to recover from her alcohol addiction alone. To form functional relationships with her sons’ foster parents. And to heal from this intensely traumatic moment. But that still wasn’t enough to get her boys back…

In this frank, raw conversation with Olly, Karina recounts how her life’s been affected by domestic abuse; why she found herself turning to drink and drugs; and what happens when a reformed mum fights the system to reunite with her family.

Karina is an advocate for Pause, a national charity that works to improve the lives of women who have had – or are at risk of having – more than one child removed from their care, and the services and systems that affect them. To find out more, visit https://pause.org.uk

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Meanwhile, in the Zeitgeist, Ollie Peart freeloads his way to consumer nirvana.

With the help of services like Olio, Freecycle, the Library of Things and Magic Freebies, how many free products can he add to his bag of swag?

And is the trend for using and abusing multiple free trials now OVER?

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Elsewhere, down the Foxhole, Alix Fox - fresh from discovering some staggering stats about prolactin production - provides a brief history of ‘pegging’.

A term coined by advice columnist Dan Savage, the activity of strap-on play itself likely goes way back to ancient times, with references appearing in Greek theatre and even the Kama Sutra.

But what was a ‘peg boy’? How did a well-circulated 1980s VHS add to the practice? And is it still called pegging when it’s between two men or two women? Alix, as ever, has the answers…

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Finally, our hand-picked record of the month, ‘Generation Left On Read’, comes from Murkage Dave (ft Konopinsky). Enjoy!

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If you’ve got a letter for Olly, a relationships question for Alix, or a challenge for Ollie, please head to our website (where you can also donate to the show 🙏): https://modernmann.co.uk

And/or you can join our Discord here.

Thanks for listening - and we’ll see you on April 10th.

Presenter: Olly Mann. Contributors: Karina Graham, Alix Fox, Ollie Peart, Murkage Dave. Producer: Matt Hill. Thanks: Sounddelivery Media. Theme Music: ‘Skies Over Cairo’ by Django Django. Artwork: Podcast Discovery. Copyright: Olly Mann / Rethink Audio 2026.

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