Yes, I know it's not Tuesday! Look, I've got a lot on tomorrow, and on Tuesday, well, it's Ella's birthday...so all my focus will be on that

I think this is all going rather well! Yes, I know it's long - but...go and grab a cup of tea, go for a walk, hoover the cat...just listen to Tom being a great guest.

Men are in crisis - it's up to us to dig ourselves out of the smooth-sided hole we've dug for ourselves. I need to change - we need to change - you need to change.

If you are someone who identifies as male, get in touch, I'd be delighted to have you on the show.

If you're someone who doesn't - get in touch - tell me what you think. I'm fairly sure you'll know people who would benefit from being part of this.

Here's the link to the Open Door charity Tom mentions

You can find Tom's 'Proper Mental' podcast here

Remember, you can find me on twitter @dialoguespenis and you can email me at [email protected]

Do have a look for Chris Hemmings and his theory of the sphere of influence - he is truly wise

Thanks for listening

See you next Tuesday...or possibly before

Chris

Welcome to the Penis Dialogues! I'm your host, Chris Young, and over the next weeks, months and years I'll be inviting men to be part of this conversation.

Before you get too hung up on the title, this is not a safe space for trans-exclusionary types; I believe trans people, more than any of us, have explored the question, 'What is it to be a man?'

I believe, as a group, they have a massive contribution to make towards this project. I hope to interview a number of trans people as we go along.

'The Penis dialogues' is a metaphor for where we find ourselves today.

Men are in crisis.

In the UK, we are responsible for 120 thousand rapes and the vast majority of the 850 thousand reported incidents of domestic violence every year. 95% of the prison population are male. Men account for the majority of the ever increasing reports of hate crimes across our lovely country. Three quarters of the 6,000 people who take their own lives every year, a men. We are at risk of, and are responsible for the vast majority of violent crimes. Most addicts, whether it be problem gamblers, or folk addicted to crystal meth, are men. Men are responsible for the majority of fatal road accidents.

This needs to change.

Weirdly, perhaps paradoxically, there are more men in positions of power than ever before. 95% of armed service personnel are men; two thirds of all our MPs are men and 95% of CEOs in the FTSE 500 are men.

This needs to change.

With a favourable wind, it's my hope to take this project on the road, where we can talk together about many of the arse-clenchingly difficult issues that I speak with Jim about in this episode. Hopefully you'll hear it's far easier to talk about all these issues than you could have imagined.

I'll be putting out an episode every Tuesday until you, or I decide that's enough.

Please get in touch if you have any comments on this episode, or the project in general, or if you'd like to be part of the conversation...or, if there are any men you know who should be part of the conversation.

You can find me on twitter @dialoguespenis (yes, someone beat me to it!) or you can email me at [email protected]

Thanks for listening

See You next Tuesday

Chris