Scotcast

If you're interested in this episode, you may also like: 'A pundit's ref rants and a Hampden ban' https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002v9kv Head coach Steve Clarke (pictured) has resigned following Scotland's group stage exit from the 2026 World Cup. We ask the BBC's Chris McLaughlin why another major tournament campaign ended in disappointment - and who is in the frame to succeed Clarke. Scotcas...

Is a lack of access to NHS fertility treatments driving single women to find sperm donors on social media? Scotcast’s Rebecca Tierney explores the murky, unregulated world of online sperm donation and former MP Hannah Bardell (pictured) tells us about her own IVF experience. Scotcast is the BBC’s Scottish news podcast. This episode is hosted by Laura Miller. Get in touch: scotcast@bbc.co.uk

David and Lynsey talk to ex-Scottish Labour MSP Paul O’Kane about the future of Anas Sarwar’ (pictured) as Andy Burnham closes in on succeeding Sir Keir Starmer; the press ‘pen’ dispute at Holyrood; and more fallout from Peter Murrell’s crimes. Scotcast is the BBC’s Scottish news podcast. This episode of the Politics Show is hosted by David Wallace Lockhart and Lynsey Bews. Get in touch: scotcast@...

If you’re interested in this episode, you may also like ‘Starmer’s off – but can Burnham save Scottish Labour?’: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002xzdf Andy Burnham (pictured) looks increasingly likely to be become Prime Minister unopposed after Cabinet minister Darren Jones ruled himself out of the Labour leadership contest. Former Scottish Labour MSP Neil Findlay tells us why he believes Bur...

If you’re interested in this episode, you may also like ‘How Peter Murrell did it’: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002x3yc Peter Murrell (pictured) has been sentenced to more than five years in jail after embezzling £400,000 from the SNP. We ask the BBC’s David Henderson, who was in court for the sentencing of the party’s former chief executive, and Glenn Campbell, who has made a documentary a...

If you’re interested in this episode, you may also like ‘By-election bonanza – results reaction’: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0nt0sfv Andy Burnham is expected to become UK prime minister after Sir Keir Starmer’s resignation. We ask former Labour adviser James Mathewson and Jack McConnel, who is campaigning for an independent Scottish Labour party, whether Burnham can reverse the party’s for...

If you'd like to apply to attend our live show at the Edinburgh Festival, follow this link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/showsandtours/shows/edfest26-scotcast-live-20aug26 Labour’s Andy Burnham (pictured) has stormed to victory in the Makerfield by-election but the party came a distant fourth in Aberdeen South and Arbroath and Broughty Ferry. We ask Labour MSP Paul Sweeney whether Burnham can reverse the...

If you'd like to apply to attend our live show at the Edinburgh Festival, follow this link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/showsandtours/shows/edfest26-scotcast-live-20aug26 Ivan McKee (pictured) was appointed Cabinet Secretary for Public Service Reform in May 2026. We ask him about slashing jobs, cutting spending and reforming taxes. Scotcast is the BBC’s Scottish news podcast. This episode is hosted by M...

If you'd like to apply to attend our live show at the Edinburgh Festival, follow this link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/showsandtours/shows/edfest26-scotcast-live-20aug26 Natalie talks to the BBC’s Lynsey Bews and co-host of The Stooshie podcast, Justin Bowie, about by-elections in Aberdeen South and Arbroath and Broughty Ferry triggered by the SNP's Stephen Flynn (pictured) and Stephen Gethins switchin...

If you’re interested in this episode, you may also like ‘Aberfeldy case: how did police get it so wrong?’ https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002rp1l Ilia Belov (pictured left) has been convicted of assault and making sexual remarks to a group of young girls in Dundee. His sister Nadjedzha Belova (pictured right) was also convicted of assault. We talk to The Courier’s editor David Clegg and Calum S...

If you’re interested in this episode, you may also like: - Should kids be banned from social media? https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002xg6v - Should we take kids’ phones away? https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002qrmy First Minister John Swinney (pictured) was reportedly targeted by an Israeli firm spreading online disinformation ahead of the 2026 Holyrood election. We talk to the BBC’s global...

If you’re interested in this episode, you may also like ‘A ‘food desert’ and the fight for a supermarket’ https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0nbfq1x Jayne Jones (pictured) is the first chief executive of the newly-created Scottish Food Commission. We ask Scotland's 'food tsar' why she believes our food is so expensive and whether price caps proposed by First Minister John Swinney are the solution....

Natalie talks to ex-SNP MP Stewart McDonald and former Scottish Conservative adviser Adam Morris about the resignation of Defence Secretary John Healey (pictured); the political wrangling over a parliamentary inquiry into the Peter Murrell scandal; and the unrest that followed a knife attack in Belfast. Scotcast is the BBC’s Scottish news podcast. This episode of the Politics Show is hosted by Nat...

If you’re interested in this episode, you may also like ‘Falkirk asylum hotel protest: what we saw’: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002hw9s Police Scotland's Alan Waddell (pictured) has said people were 'attacked because of the colour of their skin' during a demonstration sparked by the Belfast knife attack. The BBC’s Myles Bonnar and Jax Sinclair tell us what they saw in Glasgow city centre,...

If you’re interested in this episode, you may also like Screen grab: should we take kids’ phones away? https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002qrmy The UK Government looks set to ban the use of social media for under-16s while mobile phones will soon be banned in Edinburgh's state secondary schools. Dr Elizabeth Nelson (pictured) from the University of Glasgow's School of Education tells us why bans...

If you’re interested in this episode, you may also like: ‘How Peter Murrell did it’ https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002x3yc Opposition politicians are calling for ex-SNP chief executive Peter Murrell (pictured) to repay the taxpayer-funded legal expenses spent on his embezzlement case. We ask Simon Brown of the Scottish Solicitors Bar Association and the BBC’s David Henderson about the prospect...

If you’re interested in this episode, you may also like 'Has Scotland's space dream crashed to Earth?' https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002r3rp Sai Venkat (pictured) is a quantum engineer working in Scotland’s booming space sector at a time when computers are about to get smarter. With so-called 'Q-Day' looming, he tells us about the work he is doing at Edinburgh-based Rhea Space Acitvity to pro...

If you're interested in this episode, you may also like 'How Peter Murrell did it': https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002x3yc Natalie and Lynsey and the BBC’s James Cook talk about the questions raised by Peter Murrell's embezzlement of SNP funds; the release of more files relating to Lord Mandelson's appointment as US ambassador; and a shake-up to First Minister's Questions. Scotcast is the BBC’...

If you’re interested in this episode, you may also like: Is the UK's energy policy ‘insane’? https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002wjfg Fraser Stewart (pictured) is head of local energy strategy at GB Energy, a publicly owned body set up by the UK government to support our transition to green energy from its Aberdeen headquarters. He tells us why he is so excited about Scotland’s energy future, an...

If you’re interested in this episode, you may also like ‘Would a Murrell inquiry tell us anything? https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002x3z8 Details of former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell (pictured) embezzling £400,000 from the party have been revealed at the High Court in Edinburgh. We talk to the BBC’s David Henderson, who was in court to hear a statement of facts in the case involving Nic...

If you’re interested in this episode, you may also like ‘Debriefing Nicola Sturgeon’s Kuenssberg interview’: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0npbnnh Labour’s former first minister Jack McConnell is among those calling for a parliamentary inquiry into the embezzlement of SNP money by the party's former chief executive Peter Murrell (pictured). We ask the BBC’s David Wallace Lockhart why the curr...

If you’re interested in this episode, you may also like 'How Swinney is managing the Murrell scandal’: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002wt1n Nicola Sturgeon has spoken to Laura Kuenssberg about her estranged husband Peter Murrell embezzling £400,000 from the SNP. The BBC’s Andrew Kerr helps us analyse how the former First Minister handled the many questions asked of her during the 55-minute i...

If you’re interested in this episode, you may also like ‘Has Gen Z killed the traditional pub?’: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002vwzw Dominic McKay (pictured) is Chief Executive of the Scottish Events Campus (SEC), home to the 14,000-capacity OVO Hydro arena. We talk to him about ticket prices; missing out on Olivia Rodrigo; his Los Angeles-inspired expansion plans along the River Clyde; and...

If you're interested in this episode, you may also like: 'Will Nicola Sturgeon say more about Peter Murrell' https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002wsz0 Natalie, Lynsey and Andy Maciver from the Holyrood Sources podcast talk about SNP leader John Swinney's handling of the Peter Murrell embezzlement scandal; the questions being asked of Nicola Sturgeon; and the parliamentary vote on holding another...

If you’re interested in this episode, you may also like: 'Super-hospital scandal: the story so far' https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002q2lk Dr Christine Peters (pictured) is an NHS whistleblower who raised concerns about patient safety at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) in Glasgow. The consultant microbiologist - who still works at Scotland's biggest hospital - tells us about the...