Advertise on podcast: The Reset by Sam Delaney

My guest this week is the musician Damon Minchella – legendary bassist, founding member of Ocean Colour Scene, and a man who lived through the wildest years of Britpop and beyond. In his new book, You’d Look Good on a Donkey: Brit Pop, Bass Lines and Bad Decisions, Damon tells the story of going from being broke and on the dole to sudden wealth, fame, and full‑tilt rock and roll excess. We talk about what that does to your head: the pressure, the burnout, the drugs, the insanity of being recognised everywhere, and the challenge of coming back to normal life. Damon is brutally honest about his own bad decisions, the perils of rock and roll, and how he’s managed to find a healthier balance along the way. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on The Reset, I’m joined by Peter Hooton – frontman of The Farm, co‑founder of legendary Liverpool fanzine The End, writer, activist and lifelong Red. It’s a conversation about how music, football and humour can keep you afloat when the world’s trying to drag you under. We get into The Farm’s rise as a proper ‘street band,’ the snobbery they faced from the music press, the madness of early 90s fame and how close he came to burning out. Peter also opens up about being at Hillsborough, the guilt he carried for years and the long fight for justice. It’s funny, political, emotional and full of heart. The Farm are on tour in 2026 - dates and tickets here Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week I’m chatting to Professor Paul Eastwick, one of the world's top thinkers on love, attraction, and relationships, and the author of “Bonded by Evolution: What We’ve Got Wrong About Love and Connection.” We get into loads of stuff: why your “type” probably isn’t real, how dating apps can fry your brain, why chemistry matters more than tick-box lists, and how the whole Tate-adjacent manosphere view of women and relationships is nonsense once you look at the actual science. We also talk about vulnerability, anxiety, being liked, and how relationship chaos bangs up against our mental health – whether you’re single, married, divorced or just confused. If you enjoy this, there’s an archive of over 140 other interviews, plus hundreds of my essays and articles, at samdelaney.substack.com. Go and have a look. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

New year, new series. My first guest on The Reset in 2026 is Jason Williamson from Sleaford Mods. Known for his furious, funny and brutally honest lyrics about post-austerity Britain, masculinity, class, love and more, Jason has helped build one of the most passionate fanbases in British music over the past decade. We met at his label’s London offices just before Christmas for a wide-ranging, unfiltered conversation covering everything from Andrew Tate to Amazon shopping, family estrangement and getting sober. The sound’s a little raw in places (sorry about that), but Jason is thoughtful, open and completely compelling. I loved the chat — I hope you enjoy it too. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Josh Connolly had a chaotic childhood. By the time he hit his twenties, he was contemplating suicide. Now, he is one of the country’s most influential voices on mental health, using his own experiences to help others. I chatted with him about why men struggle to share emotions, growing up around alcohol and how he wants to de-stigmatise conversations about suicide. For more on Josh’s work, click here Donate to CALM's Stay Tuned fundraiser here Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Elliot Sweeney has been a psychiatric nurse for over two decades. Now he has written a book about his experiences: ‘We Don't Use Words Like Crazy - A Life On The Frontline Of Mental Health.’ His moving, and often funny, memoir pulls back the curtain on what the job’s really like, showing why we need more compassion for people who are struggling and the professionals who try to help them every day. To donate to my fundraiser for CALM’s Stay Tuned Campaign, please click this link. Suicide is the biggest killer of men under 50 in the UK. Sparing a few quid for CALM helps them fund their essential service to help bring that rate down. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ziyad Marar draws on psychology, philosophy, literature and even the films of Quentin Tarantino to demonstrate the strange business of noticing things. His new book (Noticing - How We Attend To the World And Each Other) contends that our enjoyment of life is shaped by what we choose to notice in the world around us. ********** Please donate here to my fundraiser for CALM. CALM is an outspoken, innovative suicide prevention charity offering life-saving services and smashing the stigma around mental health. With STAY Tuned 2025, I’m using my podcasts to raise money for CALM. Together we can help people end their misery, not their lives. If you can, sling a few quid their way. Cheers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Reset is back after a hiatus! Thank you for your patience; it’s been a busy year. Throughout September, I will be backing the Stay Tuned 2025 campaign by the brilliant mental health charity, CALM. Stay Tuned is all about raising awareness about mental health and raising money to pay for CALM’s life-saving support services. You can donate to my fundraiser page here. Every penny counts (but for anyone who can spare a larger amount, there are some special incentives and rewards on offer). To help me kick off the campaign, I am joined on this week’s pod by Callum Goodall from CALM. He told me more about the amazing work they are doing to save lives - and shared his own moving experience of coping with a suicide attempt in his family. There will be more episodes coming throughout the month, so stay in touch. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Paul Harrington has lived a life that is familiar to many Reset listeners: getting into trouble as a kid, raving hard in his teens and twenties, devoting his life to work in his thirties….then hitting a brick wall and developing dangerous drug habits in his forties. Now, Paul is in his late fifties, sober and fitter than ever. He joined me on the pod to tell me about a life of beautiful chaos. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sean McNicholas overcame a traumatic childhood to become a successful club entrepreneur. But the high life burnt him out and, eventually, he decided to get sober and help other men with similar problems. Now he is a qualified therapist and ADHD expert who joined me to discuss his extraordinary story - and his mission to help men turn their lives around. Find out more about Sean’s work here Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Andy Manston has spent a lifetime raving. With partner Danny Gould he built Clockwork Orange into the definitive Ibiza club brand. But all the partying came at a price. A year ago, Andy finally decided it was time to pack in the drink and drugs. Now, for the first time, he tells his inspirational sobriety story. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As a young police officer, Leon MacFayden experienced extreme trauma that forced him out of his job and tormented him for the next twenty years. After years of failed treatment, he finally found a way to heal himself. He shares his inspirational story via his excellent newsletter From Trauma To Strength. I was very pleased to chat with him on this week’s pod. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dee C. Lee is a soul singer, pop icon, and trailblazer. In the 1980s, she first found fame as part of Wham! Then, she jumped ship to take a starring role in The Style Council before scoring her own solo hits. In this honest and frank chat, she talks about her incredible career, the emotional toll of fame, and music's role in her mental health. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ruby Wax has been raising awareness of mental health issues and fighting stigma for decades now. She shares her own experiences to help others. I was honoured to speak to her about her excellent charity Frazzled and her latest book ‘I’m Not As Well As I Thought I Was.’ Funny, clever, compassionate and insightful: Ruby was everything I hoped and expected her to be. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ruth Whippman is a writer and author of ‘Boy Mum - Raising Boys In An Age Of Toxic Masculinity.’ It’s a great read by a mum of young lads who wants to understand the constant pressures and often dodgy influences surrounding young men growing up. How can we stop our sons from falling under the spell of people like Andrew Tate and Donald Trump? I really enjoyed discussing this and more with Ruth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.