📸 of GB - credit Paul Reich For the latest Scots Whay Hae! podcast Ali spoke to crime writer Gordon Brown, who also writes under the name Morgan Cry, to hear about his latest novel Dark Accords, the first Bloody Mackenzie Mystery which is published by Severn House. Gordon began by giving us a short history of his life as a writer, including when and why he started to writer as Morgan Cry (and where the name comes from) before giving a description of Dark Accords and how it d

For the latest Scots Whay Hae! podcast Ali spoke to academic and writer Louise Heren to talk all about her incredible book Scottish History in 15 Violent Crimes: Gender, Society and the Law which is published with Bloomsbury. Louise begins by giving some background to the book, how she came to write it, and her area of study before talking about the historical importance of the Union of 1707 and why it marks the book's starting point, 'Scottish Exceptionalism', the importance

📸 - credit Helena Krivankova, Helshka Creative Media For the latest podcast Ali spoke to multi-disciplinary artist and performer Iddo Oberski about his one-person show Balancing in Freedom, which is at The Scottish Storytelling Centre on 20th November. Iddo tells us all about the origins of the show, its premiere last year, how it was received, and how it has developed over time. He also opens up about the personal nature of the piece and how making it has affected his life

Heather McDaid & Laura Jones-Rivera For the latest Scots Whay Hae! podcast Ali spoke to Laura Jones-Rivera and Heather McDaid to celebrate 10 years of Scottish independent 404 Ink even as we mourn the passing of a publisher like no other. Recorded in the weeks running up to their final day back in July, the two gave some backstory to the formation of 404 Ink before telling the story through the prism of their writers and the books published. They also talk about their initial

Frances Crawford & Caroline Grebbell The latest Scots Whay Hae! podcast is a Bloody Scotland Prize Winners Special, with the first joint winner of the Debut novel prize and the McIlvanney Prize for Best Crime Book of the Year Frances Crawford and the winner of this year's Pitch Perfect, Caroline Grebbell. First of all returning guest Frances reflects on an incredible year, and the critical, and popular reaction to her novel A Bad, Bad Place, her experience of this year's Bloo

For the latest Scots Whay Hae! podcast Ali spoke to artist Dinos Chapman (right) to talk about his forthcoming appearance at Glasgow's Tramway for this year's Sonica Festival, but the conversation touched upon so much more. Dinos spoke about the improvisational nature of his work, performances which have inspired him, the importance of humour and comedy (something he considers inevitable), defying (or even avoiding) audience expectations, and how all of the above will feed in

📸 of Rodge - credit Alasdair Watson For the latest Scots Whay Hae! podcast Ali catches up with previous guest, writer Rodge Glass to talk about his latest book As One: Remaking Suede - which is published with New Modern. Rodge begins by giving a brief description of this biography of Suede, before explaining how he came to write it, detailing his own relationship with the band, and why the book concentrates on the most recent albums. He also sets out the practicalities and c

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