The Creative Resistance Podcast

Episode Overview ​In this episode of The Creative Resistance Podcast, host Scott Cassidy sits down with award-winning Glasgow poet, performer, and playwright Kevin P. Gilday. Kevin is a National Theatre of Scotland Associate Artist, a BBC Writersroom Scottish Voice, a UNESCO City of Literature Writer in Residence, and the current Stirling Makar. ​The conversation comes full circle as Scott reveals...

“Most people aren’t comfortable telling that…story of trauma. They want to tell the side of what happened to them and how it hurt—not how they are dysregulated around their own children, or how they shut other people’s emotions down because they can’t cope.” Darren McGarvey In this episode, Scott Cassidy sits down with Darren McGarvey —the Orwell Prize-winning author, broadcaster, and hip-hop arti...

The union is more than a pay negotiation—it’s a bulwark against extremism and a lifeline for the working class. Gus Sproul, Scottish Chair, FBU In this episode, we sit down with Gus Sproul, a firefighter of over 20 years and currently the Scottish Regional Chair of the FBU. Gus takes us beyond the sirens to explore the union’s role as a ‘bulwark against extremism’ and a hub for international solid...

In this episode of The Creative Resistance Podcast , Scott Cassidy sits down with award-winning poet and writer Victoria McNulty . From a deep dive into the creative roots of her Glasgow upbringing to her fierce critique of the Robert Burns legacy, Victoria discusses why working-class stories are a form of social archive and why true grassroots art is the ultimate weapon against gentrification. Sh...

...the poem is an empathy machine. And I think that is what the poetry can do, that rhetoric can't do. Malika Booker In this collaborative episode, Scott Cassidy (The Creative Resistance Podcast) joins forces with pal Claire Thom (The Wee Sparrow Poetry Podcast) to welcome the mighty poet, educator, and community-builder Malika Booker . A pioneering force in contemporary poetry, Malika is a lectur...

“Music is one of the most present mysteries that we have — in how it connects us and transforms us.” “Living within two worlds showed me that if there are two possibilities, there are infinite ones.” — Dani Larkin In this episode, Scott Cassidy is joined by Irish folk artist Dani Larkin — a Belfast‑based singer‑songwriter and multi‑instrumentalist whose work bridges contemporary folk and ancient s...

"I think it’s a beautiful kind of alchemy to turn something so shitty into something so positive... my metric of creativity, the metaphors I use, everything that I'm interested in comes from that excavation of the grieving process." Kirsty Strang-Roy For the first “on the road” episode of The Creative Resistance Podcast, I was joined by writer, bookseller and facilitator Kirsty Strang-Roy. I’m luc...

A sit down chat between Scott Cassidy and the mighty Alan Bissett. If you’ve ever felt caught between worlds—too "working class" for the room you’re in, but too "middle class" to return home then come on in for a gander. And if not, then lend an ear anyway - this chat runs free. Bio Alan Bissett is a playwright, novelist and performer who was born and raised in Falkirk.  He is the author of four n...

Poetry is not a luxury. It is a vital necessity of our existence. It forms the quality of the light within which we predicate our hopes and dreams toward survival and change, first made into language, then into idea, then into more tangible action . Audre Lorde This bonus episode was recorded live at MF Coffee in Summerhall, Edinburgh in a room full to the brim of beautiful souls gathered to raise...

“Writing the last word of a poem, knowing it has a message that might reach someone one day... that is a bigger buzz than gambling.” In the first episode of 2026, I sit down with poet and advocate Cat Cochrane to discuss a journey that began in the smoke-filled bookies of Glasgow and led to a profound creative awakening in rehab. Cat opens up about the invisible line of addiction, the predatory ta...

Possessions: Davina Quinlivan on Decolonising Class, Climate, and Career "Are we truly happy, or are we just running faster and faster for golden rings that don't exist?" This was the question at the heart of my conversation this week with the brilliant Davina Quinlivan . We sat down to discuss her new memoir, Possessions , and it turned into an essential manifesto for anyone feeling "severed" fro...

In this episode of the Creative Resistance podcast, Scott speaks with author Caro Giles about her books Unschooled and Twelve Moons. The conversation roams widely and looks at writing as activism, the harnessing of rage, capitalism’s drive to produce cogs for the machine, and the importance of moving away from a ‘one-size fits all’ education system. Bio: Caro is an author living in Glasgow with he...

In this episode Scott is joined by broadcaster, author and all round creative conjuror Gemma Cairney.  In this deep dive conversation they roam far and wide discussing art as salvation, systemic racism, capitalism, cuts and so much more before exploring the universe of Gemma’s new book - The Immortal Sisterhood.  Gemma Cairney is a British broadcaster and published author that has explored the int...

This week Scott chats to the awesome Kirsty Mulcahy, founder of SoberBuzz Scotland and SkyRose Coaching, as she tells the tale of her journey to sobriety and we discuss killer cultural norms, shifting attitudes and sources of much needed support.  Kirsty Mulcahy is a transformational coach, speaker, and founder of SkyRose Coaching and SoberBuzz Scotland. Sober since 2017, she believes choosing an...

This week Scott is joined by Keiran Goddard for a conversation that carousels through creative roots, class identity, social mobility, echo chambers, friendship and the importance of change being rooted in love. Keiran is an internationally published novelist, poet and social theorist. His first collection was shortlisted for the William Blake prize, his debut novel HOURGLASS was listed for the De...

In Episode 3 I am delighted to be joined by an artist who specialises in production, has incredible vocals, plays accordion, flute, synths and electronica. A stalwart of the Scottish music scene who is constantly breaking new creative ground to shine a light on the things that matter - Inge Thomson.  Inge is a composer-producer whose interdisciplinary work draws on the environment via sound manipu...

In this episode Scott talks to Karim Ali, Co-founder of the Gaza Sunbirds Para-cycling Team and Ruaidhri (Ru) MacKay, Activist and Organiser with Thousand Madleens to Gaza about their work for Palestine, peaceful direct action, the leap from amateur to pro para-cycling team (whilst also distributing aid), the importance of escalation and so much more. There’s storytelling and solidarity shot throu...

Episode 1 is here and the bar has been set sky high with Scott talking to the mighty Nadine Shah . It's a free flowing conversation that digs deep at the roots of creativity, the importance of bearing witness, community, collaboration and so much more. "One of the most extraordinary voices in British indie" The Guardian "A glorious broken beauty" Louder Than War "There’s a plethora of brilliance t...