Royal Society of Edinburgh audio

The cost-of-living crisis emerges as yet another pressing challenge disproportionately affecting women. Like the pandemic, it serves to amplify the entrenched structural disparities experienced by women, rendering them vulnerable to its impacts. This jeopardises progress in advancing economic and social equality for women and sending it into reverse. For International Women’s Day 2024, the Royal S...

This panel discussion reflects on the challenges of Scottish devolution and the relationship with the rest of the UK. Issues surrounding Scotland’s constitutional future continue to dominate and polarise Scottish politics and political debate. But the contested nature of the process – and especially the question of whether or not there could or should be an independence referendum – has crowded ou...

Eve Poole, Chief Executive of the RSE, is in conversation with one of the world’s best-known crime writers and creator of Edinburgh’s local Inspector Rebus. He shares stories using objects from his life as we explore the curious mind of Ian Rankin.   Speakers Sir Ian Rankin FRSE, author Dr Eve Poole, Interim CEO, Royal Society of Edinburgh   About Curious Calling all curious minds! You are invited...

Damian Barr FRSE is in conversation with Dr Eve Poole, Chief Executive of the RSE, discussing the important moments in his life, getting to the heart of issues he cares about, and the inspirations behind his work. Best known for his memoir, Maggie & Me, is a coming of age and coming out in Thatcher’s Britain, which won him numerous literary awards – including the Stonewall Writer of the Year A...

A thought-provoking discussion chaired by Nick Fraser between Louisa Harvey, Dr Andy Kerr FRSE, and Joan Lawrie discussed how climate change continues to expose further inequalities within our society and their experience working together with local authorities and communities to enact solutions to tackle those challenges in an affordable, community-focused and sustainable way.  Find out more abou...

Probably no issue caused more confusion in the 2014 referendum campaign or did more to diminish the credibility of proponents of independence. This lecture will review the various possibilities - continued use of sterling, membership of the eurozone, or the adoption of a national currency, which I shall, for concreteness, call the bawbee. The lecture will emphasise that in the modern world currenc...

Professor Chris van der Kuyl FRSE, Chairman and Co-founder of 4J Studios, brings together experts and young people from a variety of youth organisations and schools across Scotland to discuss topics like mental health in young people during lockdown, the potential positives and pitfalls of digital connectivity, the accuracy of data and ‘fake news’ in social media spaces, and virtual togetherness a...

As an end-of-year special we thought we would share this illuminating and entertaining conversation between award-winning actor and comedian Janey Godley and Kirsty Wark FRSE. Recorded as part of the Post-Covid-19 Futures Commission, this interview investigates some of the ways in which communication has become important during the pandemic; from the internet’s potential to create community and ke...