Scotcast

If you’re interested in this episode, you may also like ‘The 1,000 prisoners up for early release’ https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002ld8y More inmates are leaving prison earlier than planned as an emergency measure to deal with record overcrowding in Scotland’s jails. Natalie has been inside HMP Barlinnie to speak to one of the nearly 1,000 prisoners up for early release and staff including de...

If you’re interested in this episode, you may also like ‘Kezia Dugdale on Labour, trust and Rachel Reeves’ https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002mz87 The Prime Minister and Chancellor are visiting Scotland to talk defence and cost of living support, but how do their Scottish Labour colleagues really feel about Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves? And the BBC’s Kevin Keane joins Laura and Natalie to...

If you’re interested in this episode, you may also like ‘We’ll be coming! Why the football means so much’ https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002mckx Football fan groups say the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America could be the 'most expensive' ever. We ask the BBC’s Chris McLaughlin and Scotland fan Calum Brown whether dynamic pricing for tickets could price out some fans. Scotcast is the BBC’s Sc...

If you’re interested in this episode, you may also like ‘Hot takes from Budget day’ https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002mp3z Chancellor Rachel Reeves has denied misleading the public over the state of public finances ahead of the UK Budget. We ask former Scottish Labour leader Professor Kezia Dugdale (pictured) about trust in politics and dealing with decisions made in Westminster. Scotcast is t...

If you’re interested in this episode, you may also like: ‘Derailed’: what now for £50m public inquiry? https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002mp1y First minister John Swinney says the Scottish government will clarify its position on an inquiry into grooming gangs before Christmas. Labour MP Joani Reid (pictured) tells us why she wants Scotland to follow England and Wales with a review of group-base...

If you’re interested in this episode, you may also like ‘Sandie Peggie tribunal: what’s going on?’ https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002hwmc A clash between a trans doctor, Beth Upton, and a nurse, Sandie Peggie (pictured), in the changing room of an NHS Fife hospital has been played out and examined in great detail during an employment tribunal this year. Martin Geissler asks Sandie Peggie’s law...

Martin Geissler, Laura Miller, Natalie Higgins and David Wallace Lockhart discuss Rachel Reeves’s much-anticipated second UK Budget. And the BBC’s Kevin Keane joins from Aberdeen as workers and businesses in the north east were left disappointed with Labour’s decisions on the windfall tax on oil and gas. Scotcast is the BBC’s Scottish news podcast. Get in touch: scotcast@bbc.co.uk

Tax rises and welfare spending have been the focus of speculation ahead of chancellor Rachel Reeves's UK Budget. We ask political correspondent David Wallace Lockhart and business correspondent David Henderson what else to watch out for. And has Paul Weller shown that Martin has style? Scotcast is the BBC’s Scottish news podcast. This episode is hosted by Martin Geissler and Natalie Higgins. Get i...

If you’re interested in this episode, you may also like ‘The NHS surgeon who butchered his patients’ https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002j6zd An inquiry into the death of Sheku Bayoh (pictured) is one of five active public inquiries in Scotland. As MSPs investigate whether judge-led inquiries are value for money, David Cowan tells us how the Bayoh inquiry has been 'derailed' by a string of resig...

'The next thing we're all jumping and dancing on the tables together'. Singer-songwriter Callum Beattie’s preparations for the biggest concert of his career took an unexpected turn this week when he found himself partying with Scotland’s World Cup heroes. In the Scotcast studio, he tells Martin and Laura about what music does for him, his challenging childhood and what John McGinn told his auntie....

If you’re interested in this episode, you may also like ‘Football management in an age of rage’ https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002kpyw In this podcast mashup, Laura toasts Scotland’s World Cup 2026 qualification with the help of Sacked in the Morning’s Amy Irons and the Scottish Football Podcast’s Ray Bradshaw. Alasdair Lamont reflects on his BBC radio commentary going viral and Chris McLaughl...

Chancellor Rachel Reeves is reportedly considering a tax rise on some profits made by betting companies. Brian Rice (pictured), who was banned from football for placing bets while managing Hamilton Academical, tells us about managing his addiction in an industry synonymous with gambling. Scotcast is the BBC’s Scottish news podcast. This episode was hosted by Martin Geissler and Natalie Higgins. Ge...

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood (pictured) wants to make sweeping changes to the UK's asylum system. Labour MP Chris Murray, a former chair of The Refugee Survival Trust, tells us why the reforms – controversial among many in his party – are justified. Scotcast is the BBC’s Scottish news podcast. This episode was hosted by Natalie Higgins and David Wallace Lockhart. Get in touch: scotcast@bbc.co.uk

The release of Rockstar North's highly-anticipated Grand Theft Auto (GTA) 6 has been delayed (again). The video game developer has denied claims of "union-busting" after 31 UK staff were sacked, sparking a protest outside the company’s Edinburgh HQ (pictured). The Scottish Games Network's Brian Baglow, who worked on the first GTA, tells us what it’s like to work in the industry. Scotcast is the BB...

Wes Streeting (pictured) referenced The Traitors while dismissing rumours that he will challenge Sir Keir Starmer for the Labour leadership. Phil Sim helps us figure out why there’s so much gossip surrounding the prime minister's position. And The Herald’s James McEnaney explains why the threat of industrial action by teaching unions can be linked to an SNP manifesto pledge in 2021. Scotcast is th...

If you’re interested in this episode, you may also like ‘Where the election could be won and lost’ https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002lpd6 Speculation around chancellor Rachel Reeves’s UK Budget has presented Scotland’s finance secretary Shona Robison with a big question: will she put up the income tax that she controls? The BBC’s Phil Sim and Paris Gourtsoyannis talk us through how the budgets...

If you’re interested in this episode, you may also like ‘What STV cuts tell us about the mainstream media’ https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002kd3k Tim Davie (pictured) has resigned as director-general of the BBC after a leaked memo criticised a Panorama programme about US President Donald Trump. We ask the corporation’s former political editor Brian Taylor and Liz Lloyd, a former adviser to Nic...

If you’re interested in this episode, you may also like ‘Where the election could be won and lost’ https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002lpd6 Climate Action Secretary Gillian Martin (pictured) has unveiled a new plan to effectively eliminate greenhouse gas emissions by 2045. The BBC’s Kevin Keane gives us his snap take on the Scottish Government's strategy. And as Nicola Sturgeon says climate chan...

If you’re interested in this episode, you may also like ‘Who thinks lynx should roam the Highlands?’ https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0027tgn MSPs are voting on major changes to land-ownership laws in the Land Reform Bill. Patrick Colquhoun of Luss Estates, which owns almost 50,000 acres of land on the shores of Loch Lomond, tells us about life as its 'custodian'. And Martin tells Laura which Ch...

If you’re interested in this episode, you may also like ‘Why true crime fascinates us’ https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002ld3w American Nicholas Rossi (pictured), who faked his own death and fled to Scotland, has received a second jail sentence after being found guilty of raping two women in Utah. The BBC’s Steven Godden, who interviewed Rossi, reflects on coming face to face with the man who l...

If you’re interested in this episode, you may also like ‘Top doctor: NHS can’t go on like this’ https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002h7pg Former health secretary Jeane Freeman (pictured) has claimed 'politics gets in the way' of improving the NHS. As first minister John Swinney announces measures to ease waiting lists, we ask the BBC’s David Wallace Lockhart and health correspondent Lisa Summers...

The Orange Order say they have been subjected to a rise in vitriol and violence against them - and accuse the Scottish government of not doing enough to stop it. Andrew Murray, the order's most worthy grand master, tells Martin Geissler about past mistakes and how he intends to modernise the organisation. Scotcast is the BBC’s Scottish news podcast, with Martin Geissler, Laura Miller and Natalie H...

If you’re interested in this episode, you may also like ‘Life inside our packed prisons’ https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0027t4p Justice secretary Angela Constance (pictured) is proposing the emergency release of up to 1,000 prisoners. The BBC’s David Cowan tells us why prison officers are saying Scotland’s jails are in 'crisis'. And Martin and Laura discuss a damning report into an NHS materni...

Brendan Rodgers’s shock resignation from Celtic was quickly followed by a blistering statement from major shareholder Dermot Desmond (pictured), leaving fans, commentators and pundits in disbelief. Martin and Natalie ask the BBC’s Chris McLaughlin how it came to this, and Tino Callaghan from The Celtic Exchange podcast tells us why some fans are clamouring for change at the heart of the club. And...

Criminologist Professor David Wilson (pictured) is co-host of the This Much is True Crime podcast. We talk to him about how and why only some tales become big news stories. And he explains why people are so drawn to the genre. Scotcast is the BBC’s Scottish news podcast, with Martin Geissler, Natalie Higgins and Laura Miller. Get in touch: scotcast@bbc.co.uk