The latest Scots Whay Hae! podcast is all about the powerful and poignant feature documentary BEL which looks at the life and times of the late singer songwriter Beldina Odenyo who made magnificent music as Heir of the Cursed. Ali spoke to Beldina's sister Leah McAleer as well as the film's director Louise Lockwood and producer Sarah Howitt to hear how BEL the movie came about, how it developed, and the collaborative process behind it. Leah gives some background into Beldina'

For the latest podcast Ali spoke to author and illustrator duo John Chalmers and Sandra Marrs who are better known as Metaphrog and who are behind number of award-winning graphic novels and comics. Their latest is Wilomina: The Land of Dreams and Nightmares which is out now, published with Scholastic UK. The two talk their initial experiences of comics and animation and other formative influences, how they met and came to work together, how they actually do work together, the

📸 credit - Kimberley Grant For the latest Scots Whay Hae! podcast Ali spoke to writer and journalist Gabriella Bennett to talk about her fascinating new book How To Build A City: Journeys Into The Urban Future, which is published with Headline. Gabriella begins by giving her description of the book, and explains how she came to write it. The two then talk about the mix of travel writing, urban planning, and personal reflection and getting the balance right, before discussing

📸 - credit Euan Robertson For the latest Scots Whay Hae! Show Ali spoke to writer Alan Parks to hear all about his latest novel Deception, which is the second Joseph Gunner thriller, and which is published with Baskerville. First the two look back to the first time they spoke for the podcast in April 2020 and consider how the world has changed since then, before Alan gives a brief description of Jospeh Gunner, how he became involved with the British Secret Service, and how h

📸 - credit Brad Merrett For the latest Scots Whay Hae! podcast Ali spoke to writer and journalist Scott Rowley to talk about Stay Alive: The Life & Death of Stuart Adamson, his authorised biography of the late, great, Skids and Big Country musician, which is published with New Modern Books. Scott explains how he came to be the one to write this book, the 'authorised' aspect and what that lends to it, his own background in music journalism, and his initial writings about Ad

📸 - credit Antonia Reeve For the latest podcast Ali caught up with returning guest Olga Wojtas to talk about the latest in her Miss Blaine's Prefect series of novels, Miss Blaine's Prefect and the Parcel of Rogues, which are published by Saraband. Olga explains the unusual premise of the series, and exactly who Miss Blaine's Prefect, aka Shona McMonagle, is, and how she came to find herself (spoiler alert - not really) travelling time. The two then discuss why Olga set this

The latest Scots Whay Hae! podcast is the fourth and final of our Edinburgh Fringe Festival Previews, where Ali talks to a few of the artists who will be appearing at the festival this year. First of all, writer and performer Andy Dickinson spoke about his Fringe show The Tale of the Original Jekyll and Hyde (Told by a Mad Hatter from Stockport), to give it the full title. "Deacon Brodie isn't that well known outside of Edinburgh. Yet he inspired Robert Louis Stevenson to wri

The latest Scots Whay Hae! podcast is the third of our Edinburgh Fringe Festival Previews, where Ali talks to a few of the artists who will be appearing at the festival this year. First of all, he spoke to writer and director Dante Passarelli about The Last Drop which is part of the São Paulo Showcase and which was nominated for Brazil's 2024 Shell Award for Best Playwriting. In the play, "A couple awaits a real estate agent to visit their historic but decayed apartment. A mo

The latest Scots Whay Hae! podcast is the second of our Edinburgh Fringe Festival Previews, where Ali talks to a few of the artists who will be appearing at the festival this year. First of all, Ali spoke to writer and performer Kara Wilson about her one-woman show Helen Bradley: Painter and Storyteller. "This is the sixth painter play that Kara Wilson has written, where she portrays the artist at work and completes an oil painting in her style during the show. Privileged to

Ed Gamester, Sadiq Ali and Dan Bishop The latest Scots Whay Hae! podcast is the first of our Edinburgh Fringe Festival Previews, where Ali talks to a few of the artists who will be appearing at the festival this year. First of all, Ed Gamester talks about Mythos Ragnarök, where you can "join Loki, Thor and the Norse Gods in this five-star groundbreaking blend of mythological storytelling and high-octane wrestling." Then Sadiq Ali takes us through his latest show, Tell Me, whe

For the first of our Bloody Scotland podcasts - Scotland's International Crime Writing Festival - Ali spoke to the five shortlisted authors for this year's Scottish Crime Debut of the Year. They include May Rinaldi - Liar Thief, Zoë Rankin - The Vanishing Place, Linda Duncan McLaughlin - Original Sins, Frances Crawford - A Bad, Bad Place, and Kirsty Lockwood - We Know What You Did. They each give a brief summary of their shortlisted novels before the chat turns to the inspira

Graeme Thomson For the latest Scots Whay Hae! podcast Ali spoke to returning guest, music journalist and writer Graeme Thomson to talk about his new book In Another World: The Four Seasons Of Talk Talk which is out now, published with New Modern. Graeme explains why he wanted to write about Talk Talk, the structure of the book, why he focuses on four featured albums, and what they mean to him, and the challenges in writing a book about a band who refuse to, or simply can't, t

Agnes Owens © Colin McPherson For the latest Scots Whay Hae! podcast we spoke to John Crosbie, the son of one of Ali's favourite writers, Agnes Owens whose centenary is being marked in a number of ways, including a handsome set of new editions of her work. Four are available now (see below) with another three coming later in the year - all published on the Polygon Books imprint of Birlinn. John Crosbie John starts by talking about Agnes and who she was as a writer, how she c

For the latest Scots Whay Hae! podcast Ali spoke to writer Colin Burnett to talk about his new novel Family Man, which is also The Third Book of Aldo, and it's published with Tippermuir Books. Colin talks about all things Aldo, including the first two books A Working Class State of Mind and Who's Aldo?, before telling us where the man finds himself at the beginning of this book, and gives an overview of the plot, carefully avoiding spoilers. The two then discuss Aldo's 'famil

For the latest Scots Whay Hae! podcast Ali spoke to writer Martin MacIntyre to talk about his novel A Summer Like No Other which is published by Luath Press. Martin begins with a reading before he gives an overview to the novel, which is a translation from the original Gaelic version, Samhradh '78. The two then discuss the central characters, the key role the Gaelic language plays in terms of character and plot, (even in this translated adaptation), the use of footnotes, the

Andrew Meehan - 📸 credit Concept & Graft For the latest Scots Whay Hae! podcast Ali caught up with previous guest, writer Andrew Meehan to talk about his new novel Hey Man, which is published with Muswell Press. Andrew gives the first of two readings before he gives an overview of the book, why he is drawn to the theme of friendship in all its forms, gives a brief outline of his central characters Ian and Tommy, and explains the novel's three-part structure. The two then

Zoe Alba Farrugia For the latest Scots Whay Hae! podcast Ali spoke to Zoe Alba Farrugia, who is the Head of Programme for this year's Solas Festival, which is at Errol Park, 19th–21st June. Zoe gives some background and history to the festival, stressing that it is so much more than a music festival. She then talks about the different strands, which include Wellbeing & Spirituality, Literature, Poetry & Spoken Word, Children & Families, and much more. The two then discuss the

Professor Murray Pittock - 📸 credit University of Glasgow For the latest Scots Whay Hae! podcast Ali spoke to Professor Murray Pittock to talk about his latest book The Shortest History of Scotland, which is published with Old Street Publishing Ltd. "From Columba to The Corries, the Picts to Paisley, Doggerland to Devolution – here is the unmissable story of Scotland." Murray tells us how he came to write this book, the challenges in deciding what to include and why (and fit

For the latest Scots Whay Hae! podcast Ali caught up with writer Chris Brookmyre to talk about Quite Ugly One Evening, the latest Jack Parlabane mystery which is published 30 years after his celebrated debut Quite Ugly One Morning, the novel which introduced us to both the writer and his notable creation. Chris talks about his fondness for Parlabane, why he keeps returning to him, and how Jack has changed over the years. He also considers how he himself has changed as a write

For the latest Scots Whay Hae! podcast Ali spoke to musician and composer Kenny Inglis. Kenny was a recent artist of the week on the Scots Whay Hae! Show (which is on CamGlen Radio every Sunday between 7-9pm, and available to catch up with after that) but we thought he had so much more to say, and that this was the place to say it. Kenny spoke about his unusual road into making music, working in record shops, setting up his own studio, playing in bands, life on the road, and