News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland Weekend Edition.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

News, current affairs and analysis

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition

Gillian Sharpe and Fiona Stalker discuss the latest in national and international news and current affairs.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland's Weekend edition

News and analysis on the big stories of the week

News, analysis and current affairs

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland's Weekend edition

All the latest on Saturday's top stories

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

Good Morning Scotland weekend edition

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

We take a look at Boris Johnson and No10's Partygate Crisis; examine the tensions between Europe and Russia; and the Reporter's Notebook looks at Bloody Sunday 50 Years on.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

The latest on coronavirus restrictions as Glasgow and Moray stay in level 3; plus analysis of violence between Israel and Gaza as clashes spread across the occupied West Bank.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

News, analysis and features from the Saturday edition of Good Morning Scotland.

News, analysis and features from the Saturday edition of Good Morning Scotland.

News, analysis and features from the Saturday edition of Good Morning Scotland.

News, analysis and features from the Saturday edition of Good Morning Scotland.

News, analysis and features from the Saturday edition of Good Morning Scotland.

News, analysis and features from the Saturday edition of Good Morning Scotland.

Martin Geissler in conversation with Waleed Nesyif, who recounted his experience of growing up in Iraq under Saddam Hussein in the BBC documentary, 'Once Upon a Time in Iraq'.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

David Leask looks at the curious link between Scotland's national bard and Russia.

Pauline McLean in conversation with Scottish singer-songwriter, Horse McDonald.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

Pauline McLean speaks to subtitlers and film exhibitors, Sean Welsh and Megan Mitchell.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

Chris Diamond in conversation with Professor Murray Pittock of the University of Glasgow on the 300th anniversary of the birth of Charles Edward Stuart.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

Jamie McDonald looks back at the year and some GMS regulars give their positive takes.

Craig Williams in conversation with television director, Lawrence Gordon Clark.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

Ian Hamilton and his producer Laura Kingwell reflect on a year like no other.

Pauline McLean in conversation with David Hutchinson, CEO of theatre company Selladoor.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

Claire Harris on how life for disabled people has changed during lockdown.

Pauline McLean in conversation with Judith Bowers, Director of the Britannia Panopticon.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

Linda Sinclair speaks to Willie Anderson. Plus Sir Michael Palin on Hamish MacInnes.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

Pennie Taylor and Jamie McDonald on the impact of covid restrictions on mental health.

BBC Scotland's Kheredine Idessane in conversation with Scottish Olympian, Frank Clement.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

Jamie McDonald speaks to investigative journalist Brian Deer on his book, 'The Doctor Who Fooled the World', which looks at the false link made between the MMR vaccine and autism.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

Pauline McLean in conversation with singer, broadcaster and producer, Fiona Kennedy.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

Bill Whiteford in conversation with Sir David Omand on his new book, 'How Spies Think'.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

Bill Whiteford in conversation with broadcaster James Naughtie about his time covering US politics and his new book, 'On the Road: American Adventures from Nixon to Trump'.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

How one man started a revolution in public health information and advice.

Bill Whiteford in conversation with geneticist Sir Paul Nurse.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

Pauline McLean on the crisis facing Scotland’s film industry.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

Douglas Fraser's report on how Covid-19 has affected Scotland's hospitality industry.

Pauline McLean in conversation with author Karen Campbell.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland's Weekend Edition.

Gordon Brewer in conversation with Keynesian economist Lord Skidelsky.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

Jamie McDonald investigates what drives our obsession with extraterrestrial life.

The internet businessman boosting arts and crafts in the Borders.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

Author of Treasure Islands: True Tales of a Shipwreck Hunter.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

Andrew Picken on what happens when someone dies alone, without leaving a will.

Bill Whiteford on The Northern Question. And a look at Scots who have died with no will.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

Pauline McLean holds a roundtable on what the future holds for the Edinburgh festivals.

BBC Scotland's Pauline McLean in conversation with theatre producer Francesca Moody.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

Pennie Taylor looks at how social care in Scotland may change as a result of coronavirus.

Bill Whiteford in conversation with the son of Colobian drug baron, Pablo Escobar.

Pennie Taylor looks at how social care in Scotland may change as a result of coronavirus.

Pauline McLean in conversation with Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society CEO Shona McCarthy.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

How Covid-19 is set to disrupt student life.

Bill Whiteford in conversation with investigative journalist Peter Geoghegan.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

Author of Angrynomics - why is everyone so angry?

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

How can Scotland better protect itself against Russian interference?

How do you teach the performing arts in a post pandemic world?

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

Long Interview: With actor Jonathan Watson.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

Pauline McLean in conversation with location manager, Lloret MacKenna Dunn.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

Gordon Brewer in conversation with Russian political analyst, Maria Lipman.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

Pauline McLean in conversation with American artist Ray Harryhausen's daughter Vanessa.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

BBC Scotland's Douglas Fraser asks how Scotland's economy can rebuild post-coronavirus.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

Journalist and health specialist Pennie Taylor examines the future of the NHS.

BBC Scotland's Pauline McLean in conversation with actress Daniela Nardini.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

How can the Isle of Skye rebuild post-coronavirus? BBC Scotland's Jamie McDonald reports with analysis from Prof. Ronald MacDonald and Fiona Thomson of Skye Community Response.

Gordon Brewer in conversation with Tony Blair's former Chief of Staff, Jonathan Powell.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

BBC Scotland's Pauline McLean in conversation with Scottish singer/songwriter, Fish.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

What happens to the economy after Covid-19? BBC Scotland's Douglas Fraser investigates.

BBC Scotland's Pauline McLean in conversation with actress Annie Louise Ross.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

BBC Scotland's Craig Williams in conversation with screenwriter Sergio Casci.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

Bill Whiteford speaks to Dr Simon Boxall about the Deepwater Horizon crisis 10 years on.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

Professor Ali Ansari and Robert Fox reflect on the Iranian Embassy siege, forty years on.

Pauline McLean in conversation with world-renowned violinist Nicola Benedetti.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

Bill Whiteford in conversation with media analyst Professor Roy Greenslade.

News, analysis and features from Good Morning Scotland’s Weekend Edition.

Bill White speaks to You've Been Trumped filmmaker Anthony Baxter about his latest documentary, Flint, which examines the water pollution scandal that has hit the town of Flint, a town in the north-east of the United States; and on the 100th birthday of Dunkirk veteran Harry Osborne, we hear his memories of the epic World War Two evacuation from when he spoke to Aileen Clarke in 2017.

BBC Scotland's Ian Hamilton takes a look at how sleep impacts us all.

Contains: how Labour will approach the new Brexiteer Tory government, with political watchers Nick Jones and Owen Smith in discussion, while journalists Alex Bell and Kieran Andrews consider the implications for Scotland. In the Long Interview, veteran broadcaster James Naughtie speaks to Margaret Thatcher’s press secretary, Sir Bernard Ingham about his new book, The Slow Downfall of Margaret Thatcher; while the Reporter’s Notebook comes from Germany this week with journalist Reinhard Schlieker reflecting on how Europe is coping with the recording breaking heat.

This edition contains: after the initial damp squib of Attorney General William Barr's summary conclusion on Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report into Russian meddling in the 2016 US presidential elections and links to the Trump campaign, the release of the final report had a much more volcanic effect, citing incidences of potential obstruction of justice by Donald Trump and accusations of corruption. Glasgow University's Prof Chris Carman analyses the potential fall-out from the report, while in the Reporter's Notebook, political journalist James Cusick looks at the impact Trump has had on Washington. Facebook this week banned 12 far right groups and individuals who say it says spread hate. But given that you hear a lot of the language used by the right in general political discourse nowadays, where you can you draw the line in terms of freedom of expression? Matthew Feldman from the Centre for Analysis of the Radical Right and the author and philosopher Dr Piers Benn discuss the grey areas of free speech and what is legitimate restriction and what is censorship. In the Long Interview, BBC Arts Correspondent Pauline McLean visits one of the best kept secrets in the art world, Cove Park. A 50 acre site in Argyll, it has given artists, writers and performers the time and space to create work there for almost two decades. She meets Alexia Holt, who runs the international art programme, to discuss the work done there.

This edition contains: the resurgence of popular protest across North Africa has prompted commentators to raise the prospect of a second Arab Spring, similar to the democratic uprisings of 2012. David Pratt, contributing foreign affairs editor for the Herald; Christopher Stephen, who reports on Libya and Tunisia for The Guardian, and Dame Rosalind Marsden, who has served as both EU Special Representative and British ambassador to Sudan, and is an Associate Fellow at the Chatham House Africa programme, analyse the situation. Amsterdam has long had a reputation for permissiveness, but a push to make the procurement of prostitutes illegal marks a change in the 'anything goes' mind set. Julie Bindel, author of 'The Pimping of Prostitution: Abolishing the Sex Work Myth' and who has spent much time researching attitudes in the Netherlands, discusses the city’s shift away from its past. The Reporter's Notebook comes from Ukraine, where Volodymyr Zelensky, a comedian, won the first round of Ukrainian presidential elections two weeks ago. Correspondent David Stern asks if what the country is experiencing now, could be a sign of what's to come elsewhere; while in the Long Interview, Gordon Brewer speaks to veteran politician, Dennis Canavan about his life and career.

This edition contains: as Venezuela continues its social, political and economic meltdown, BBC correspondent Will Grant reports from a shanty town about how nationwide power cuts have hit water supplies, raising the spectre of disease in the poorest areas; while Carlos Molina, a former Rear Admiral in the Venezuelan Army and who was also a security adviser to the Chavez government, and Maryhen Jiménez Morales, Oxford University specialist in Venezuelan politics, analyse how the crisis can be resolved. BBC environment correspondent, Kevin Keane, examines why Orkney has been identified as a test bed for a renewable energy grid which, theoretically, should reduce or even eliminate Scotland's reliance on fossil fuels. BBC reporter Lopa Kothari brings a report from the first Aga Khan Music Awards, which focus on musicians from the Muslim world, and in our Long Interview Bill Whiteford discusses the future of cities with Brian Evans, Professor of Urbanism and Landscape at the Mackintosh School of Architecture the School of Art, who has been appointed by councillors as Glasgow's first City Urbanist.

This edition contains: science historian Prof Kate Brown on her new book, A Manual for Survival, in which she uncovers the true human cost of the Chernobyl disaster, when a Soviet nuclear reactor exploded, spewing radioactive waste across Europe and the UK. Special correspondent Allan Little concludes his journey into Brexit Britain with a visit to Motherwell, while Irish journalist Denis Murray examines how the DUP came to have such a powerful influence on Theresa May's government. And in the Long Interview, author Oliver Bullough discusses the dark, corrupt side to globalisation with Bill Whiteford.

This edition includes: is Europe facing a prolonged period of economic malaise akin to Japan? Prof Iain Begg, Research Fellow at the European Institute, London School of Economics, and economist Vicky Pryce discuss. Journalist Anthee Carassava examines how Greece's changing demographics are affecting the way in which it deals with death; special correspondent Allan Little's journey into Brexit Britain reaches Greater Manchester, and as Local Hero the musical opened this week in Edinburgh, film and television critic Siobhan Synnot discusses why Bill Forsyth's vision for the 1983 classic movie endures. And in the Long Interview, BBC arts correspondent Pauline McLean speaks to the star of stage and screen, actress Maureen Beattie.

This edition includes: Creator of the World Wide Web Sir Tim Berners-Lee has bemoaned the state of his creation as it reached its 30th anniversary this week. Media analyst Graham Lovelace discusses what's being done to address the internet's ills and whether they will succeed. Special correspondent Allan Little continues his journey around Brexit Britain, gauging the public's opinion on the current state of the UK's relationship with the UK. The Reporter's Notebook comes from former BBC reporter Louise Batchelor, who counts the cost of the loss of Fair Isle's Bird Observatory through a massive fire, and in the Long Interview, Isabel Fraser speaks to playwright Sir David about his latest film The White Crow, a biopic of ballet dancer Rudolph Nureyev, the state of British politics and his self-described status as 'national disgrace'.

This edition contains: with Britain on the brink of leaving the EU, BBC special correspondent Alan Little sets out on a tour of the UK to find out what the population feels after two years of divisive debate over what Brexit should mean. Following a spate of knife crime deaths involving teenagers BBC Home Affairs correspondent Reevel Alderson examines and contrasts Scotland's situation. With the collapse of the Russian ceasefire in the Syrian province of Idlib seemingly more likely, Herald foreign affairs editor David Pratt and Save the Children's Caroline Anning discuss the backdrop to the situation and the worsening humanitarian crisis the surrounding it. And in our long interview, Bill Whiteford discusses star gazing and space travel with astronomers Heather Couper and Nigel Henbest.

This edition includes: as constitutional tensions reach boiling point in Spain over Catalonia, Guy Hedgecoe examines the turmoil in this week's Reporter's Notebook, and Gordon Brewer speaks to Clara Ponsati, a former minister with the Catalan administration which failed in its attempt to secede from Spain. And with the ISIS redoubt of Baghuz in Syria about to fall, AFP journalist Maya Gebeily reports on the flow of refugees arriving at coalition force lines seeking refuge, while Dr Katherine Brown, a specialist in Islamic studies at Birmingham University, discusses how so-called jihadi brides returning to the UK from the battle zone can be rehabilitated into normal society. In the Long Interview, Bill Whiteford discusses the tangled issue of squaring emotive medical issues with government policy with Alison Britton, Professor of Healthcare and Medical Law at Glasgow Caledonian University, who headed the investigation into the independent review on mesh implants.

This edition contains: how can the Venezuelan humanitarian crisis be ended? Tom Long, Assistant Professor in New Rising World Powers at Warwick University, and Asa Cusack, Managing Editor of the Latin America and Caribbean Centre at London School of Economics, discuss the options. BBC South America correspondent Katy Watson on the fall-out from the collapse of the Brazilian dam, and as a government group is reportedly planning an economic strategy in the event of no deal with options ranging from cutting taxes to deregulation and slashing tariffs, Matthew Kilcoyne of the Adam Smith Institute and Jonathan Portes, Professor of Economics at Kings College, London discuss where the plans leave Britain's economic prospects and whether the country could be heading for a low tax, deregulated economy. And In our Long Interview, Bill Whiteford speaks to the architectural historian, writer and broadcaster, Anna Keay.

This edition includes: mining companies are looking at the ocean bed as the next source of metals and minerals in tech production, but does the potential environmental damage mean it should be off-limits to development? Chris Williams, managing director of UK Seabed Resources and Monica Verbeek, Executive Director of the environmental organisation, Seas at Risk, discuss. The decades-old spat between Greece and the UK over ownership of the Elgin Marbles blew up again this week. Journalist Anthee Carassava reports on the latest bust-up and how Greek sensitivities over the subject have deepened in recent years. The Scottish Government agreed to increase spending and powers for local authorities this week, but the problem of council funding remains an apparently intractable issue. Johanna Boyd, former Labour leader of Stirling Council, and Richard Kerley, Professor of Management at Queen Margaret University, examine potential alternatives to the current system and the political obstacles they face. It was Groundhog Day this weekend, and to mark it the show invited Ryan Gilbey, film critic for The Guardian and The New Statesman, to discuss the 1993 film inspired by the curious event, its abiding popularity and the many mystical interpretations of it.

This episode contains: Professor Richard Kerley from Queen Margaret University's Centre for Scottish Public Policy, examines why councils are being forced to cut services and where the blame should lie; BBC health correspondent Lisa Summers looks at why the Queen Elizabeth hospital is in the headlines at the moment; author and activist Candace Allen discusses the real story behind the Hollywood film, Green Book, and in the Long Interview, Bill Whiteford speaks to the literary scholar Prof Cairns Craig about the interplay between Scotland's culture and politics.

This edition includes: Strathclyde University political scientist Sir John Curtice analyses the chances of a second Scottish independence referendum; BBC Scotland arts correspondent Pauline McLean talks to Tartan Noir author, Liam McIlvanney about his latest novel, The Quaker, writing about Scottish crime from the remove of New Zealand, and his father, the writer William McIlvanney. In the Reporter's Notebook, BBC Orkney's Huw Williams examines ancient graffiti inside St Magnus Cathedral , and BBC science correspondent, Ken MacDonald discusses the lunar phenomenon of the blood moon. .

This edition contains: has Assad's government triumphed finally in the Syrian conflict? Rosemary Hollis of City University, London and John Peterson from Edinburgh University discuss the implications of such a victor. As the standoff between Parliament and the Westminster Government over Brexit continues, the BBC’s David Porter, constitutional expert, Michael Keating, France 24’s Benedicte Paviot and RTE’s man in Brussels, Tony Connelly, look at the impact of the crisis. For the Reporter's Notebook, Caracas-based reporter, Carlos Camacho explains how the economic crisis in Venezuela is affecting people’s health, and in this week's Long Interview, Bill Whiteford unpacks the ideas behind the question 'when is country rich enough?', with the political scientist Katherine Trebeck, co-author of the co-author of The Economics of Arrival.

This edition contains: Maryland Democratic Congressman John Sarbanes on plans to curb the influence of money and lobbyists on Washington politics; the rise of neo-authoritarian states in Europe with Professor Matthew Feldman, Director of the Centre for the Analysis of the Radical Right at Teeside University;Fevzi Turkalp, tech expert with GadgetDetective.com on the coming revolution in mobile phone technology with the roll-out of 5G; and in the Long Interview, Bill Whiteford speaks to Professor Leigh Sparks of Stirling University's Institute for Retail Studies about the challenges the high street faces.

This edition includes: following another year of violence and suffering in Syria and Yemen, Rosemary Hollis, Professor of Middle East Policy Studies at City University London, Omar Imady, Deputy Director of the Centre for Syrian Studies at St Andrews University and Dr Tom Clonan, a military analyst, look at what the prospects for peace in the Middle East are; political journalist Jim Cusick looks at how the Government's Brexit negotiations went off the rails in 2018; author Shaughnessy Bishop-Stall discusses his quest to find the perfect hangover cure, and Bill Whiteford looks back at the Empire Exhibition, held in Glasgow's Bellahouston Park in 1938.

This episode includes: the impact of a ‘no deal’ Brexit is dissected by international law specialist Kirsteen Shields from Edinburgh University's New Global Academy of Agriculture and Food Security, then analysed by Vicky Pryce, chief economic adviser at the Centre for Economics and Business Research, and the journalist and political commentator and editor of Scot-Buzz, Bill Jamieson; Malachi O’Doherty considers a year of upheaval in Northern Irish politics; the abiding influence on Christmas of horror writer M.R. James is discussed by actor Robert Lloyd-Parry, while Steve Owens, astronomer at Glasgow Science Centre, discusses the importance of the Apollo 8 space mission 50 years on. In the Long Interview, Bill Whiteford speaks to Adrian Turpin, the artistic director of Wigton Book Festival, and the BBC’s Ian Hamilton presents a special report on the rise and fall of the high street icon Woolworths, 10 years on from its collapse.

This edition includes: author Simon Sebag-Montefiore discusses his new book Written in History: Letters that changed the World, with Bill Whiteford in the Long Interview; Bjorn Lomborg, director of the environmental think tank, the Copenhagen Consensus Centre, discusses the challenges politicians face in making effective climate change policy workable for domestic politics; Prof Steve Tsang, Director of SOAS China Institute, unpicks the politics behind the trans-global spat between America and China and what it means for the ongoing trade-war between the two countries, and in this week's Reporter's Notebook, Greek journalist Anthee Carassava writes about the migrant crisis on the island of Samos.

This edition includes: author Simon Sebag-Montefiore discusses his new book Written in History: Letters that changed the World, with Bill Whiteford in the Long Interview; Bjorn Lomborg, director of the environmental think tank, the Copenhagen Consensus Centre, discusses the challenges politicians face in making effective climate change policy workable for domestic politics; Prof Steve Tsang, Director of SOAS China Institute, unpicks the politics behind the trans-global spat between America and China and what it means for the ongoing trade-war between the two countries, and in this week's Reporter's Notebook, Greek journalist Anthee Carassava writes about the migrant crisis on the island of Samos.

This edition includes: Guardian political columnist, Rafael Behr, and John Curtice, Professor of Politics at Strathclyde University, discuss whether the Westminster political landscape is on the brink being redrawn by Brexit; Herald contributing foreign editor, David Pratt examines the resurgence of the fundamentalist terror group ISIS; French journalist Catherine Guilyardi reflects on what the Paris riots say about France's social divisions, and in the Long Interview Bill Whiteford talks to Professor Anthony Seaton about his new book Farewell King Coal, which examines the history and decline of what was one Britain's biggest and most important industries.

This edition contains: with the future of Brexit remaining hazy, Gordon discusses the so-called Norway Plus and Canada Plus options with Professor Michael Keating, from the Centre on Constitutional Change, and Lesley Batchelor, from the Institute of Export and International Trade; BBC reporter Graeme Ogston looks at how Dundee is attempting to tackle its drug problem; Isabel Fraser speaks to Scots forensic anthropologist Professor Dame Sue Black about winning the 2018 Saltire Literary Award for her book ‘All That Remains: a Life in Death’, and in the Long Interview, author and journalist Sir Simon Jenkins discusses his latest book A Short History of Europe and the future of the UK's relationship with the Continent.

This edition contains: as populism undermines the post-war political and economic underpinnings of globalism, journalist and commentator Paul Mason and Yascha Mounk, author of "The People versus Democracy: Why Our Freedom Is in Danger and How to Save It" discuss what the prospects for neoliberalism are and what could replace it. Gordon Brewer speaks to historian James Barr in the Long Interview about how France and Britain carved up the Middle East in the chaos of the Great War's aftermath. Interpol expert, Mathieu Deflem, Professor of Sociology at the University of South Carolina, looks at history of the organisation and the current controversy that has engulfed it, and in the Reporter's Notebook, journalist Natalio Cosoy describes the drama and intrigue surrounding one of Argentina's biggest football matches in recent history.

This edition includes: UN Humanitarian coordinator for the Palestinian regions, Jamie McGoldrick, describes the humanitarian consequences of recent and prolonged conflict between Palestinian forces in Gaza and the Israeli government; Radio Merseyside’s Spencer Leigh delves into the delights of The Beatle's White Album as it reaches its 50th anniversary; following the death of the Scottish Review editor, Kenneth Roy, we return to the Long Interview he recorded with Isabel Fraser in 2016, and in the Reporter's Notebook, Dave Lee, the BBC’s man in San Francisco, gives his account of the terrible devastation caused by wild fire in Northern California.

This episode contains: After the Democrats delivered Trump a bloody nose in the mid-term elections by taking the House of Representatives, what can they achieve with their hard won powers? Professor Elizabeth Bomberg, Professor of Politics at Edinburgh University and Tom Scotto, Professor of Politics at Strathclyde University in Glasgow, discuss the party's options. As Armistice Day reaches its centenary, Bill Whiteford speaks to the author and journalist Simon Heffer about the period in the run up to the Great War. In our Reporter's Notebook, Anthee Carassava reflects on how Greece's financial crisis has affected the quality of education in the country. And as Imran Khan's reached his 100th day as Prime Minister of Pakistan, David Pratt, Contributing Foreign Editor to The Herald, looks at his role in chaos and religious tensions currently flooding the country.

This edition contains: As the US goes to the polls in the mid-terms, Chris Carman, Stevenson Professor of Citizenship at the University of Glasgow, analyses the vote's mechanics and the permutations of their possible results. After the Republic of Ireland voted in a referendum to decriminalise blasphemy, writer and broadcaster Martina Devlin reflects in the Reporter's Notebook on the profound changes which have taken place in Ireland in recent decades. Mike Leigh's depiction of the 1819 Peterloo Massacre hit big screen this week. Shirin Hirsch, historian with the People's History Museum in Manchester, discusses why this event is so important to British democratic development and why this pivotal moment is not better known. In the Long Interview, Bill Whiteford speaks to Ayesha Hazarika, a former special adviser to Harriet Harman and Ed Milliband and who is now a political commentator and stand-up comedian.

This edition contains: * As Japanese PM Shinzo Abe visited China in an attempt to reset relations between the two countries, Christopher Harding, Senior Lecturer in Asian history at Edinburgh University and author of Japan Story, examines the roots of the contemporary enmity between Japan and China. * Stock markets have been fluctuating wildly over the past few weeks, prompting fears of another global recession.Gordon Brewer speaks to Ryan Avent, a journalist at The Economist who recently wrote a special survey of the world economy, about how the world's powers will cope with another financial crash. * In our Long Interview, Bill Whiteford speaks to consultant maxillofacial surgeron Jim McCaul about his career and his new book, Face to Face, about the fascinating world of facial surgery. * Local Government and Education Correspondent, Jamie McIvor, examines in the Reporter's Notebook, why Glasgow council workers’ equal pay dispute is as much about politics as it is money.

This edition includes: Gordon Brewer talks to political scientist and author of the End of History, Francis Fukuyama in our Long Interview about the politics of identity; Dr Ian Black, Visiting Senior Fellow at the LSE's Middle East Centre, discusses how the character of the current Saudi state lies in the roots of its foundation; as Donald Trump attempts to halt a caravan of immigrants travelling up from Central America, Washington Post reporter Bob Moore and Fernando Garcia, executive director of the Border Network for Human Rights, reveal the human cost of the migrant camps along the US's southern border; Paul Seaward, while British Academy Wolfson Research Professor at the History of Parliament project, looks at the role of Speaker of the House Commons over the centuries, and journalist Lee Carter sketches out the highs and lows of Canada's historic decision to legalize cannabis.

This episode contains: climate scientists say that we are on the cusp of the point of no return on global warming and urgent action is needed to halt it. George Monbiot, environmental campaigner and Guardian columnist, and Bjorn Lomborg, director of the environmental think tank, the Copenhagen Consensus Centre discuss how should we approach the future regarding climate change; in this week's Long Interview, top forensic scientist Prof Dame Sue Black talks about her career, Isabel Fraser looks at the history of Britain's lighthouses with Tom Nancollis, whose new book Seakshaken Houses investigates the stories behind the structures and the people who built them and lived in them; and in the Reporter's Notebook, the BBC's Ken Macdonald looks at scientific research that even if it fails on its terms, succeeds in adding to what we know about the world.

This episode contains: Baghdad-based correspondent Simona Foltyn speaks to Isabel Fraser about how, a year on from their defeat on the battlefield in Iraq, ISIS terrorists are returning and tightening their grip on rural communities; is the next revolution in aviation the electrification of the skies? Gordon Brewer speaks to senior consultant Nikhil Sachdeva about the prospects for electric-powered aircraft; Mark Daly gives some insight into the work behind a new BBC investigation that has uncovered allegations of decades of physical cruelty and child sex abuse at a children's home in Argyll, and in the latest episode of our series on the tenth anniversary of the global financial crisis, Gordon Brewer speaks to the Daily Beast's economic editor, Daniel Gross.

This episode includes: Muriel Gray on the 'non-negotiable' rebuilding of the Glasgow School of Art; former Lehman's trader Larry McDonald describes life in the investment bank in the run-up to its crash 10 years ago; Melissa Schilling, author of Quirky: The Remarkable Story of the Traits, Foibles, and Genius of Breakthrough Innovators Who Changed the World, tells us why the current crop of tech geniuses are part of a long line of eccentric achievers; in the Long Interview former Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling speaks to Gordon Brewer about his memories of dealing with the credit crunch of 2008, and BBC Scotland Chief Sports Writer, Tom English, gives his verdict on the decision to keep Hampden as the home of Scotland's national football team.

This edition includes: there has been a spike in elephant poaching in Botswana, Rachel Bale, investigative reporter at the National Geographic Society, explains why; in the Reporter's Notebook Anna Holligan speaks to the former residents of the Chagos Islands about their long legal battle to get ownership back of them from the UK; author Tim Tate on Scotland's tartan fifth columnists who actively worked for a Nazi victory during World War Two, and in the Long Interview, Gordon Brewer speaks to writer and former broker Philip Augar about the roots of the global financial crash of September, 2008.

This edition contains: after the UN accused Myanmar military of attempting to ethnically cleanse the muslim Rohingya population, Azeem Ibrahim, senior fellow at the Centre for Global Policy, and James Smith, co-founder of the Aegis Trust, which works to prevent genocide, examines the situation there and the psychology of a population that allows such atrocities; the journalist Malachi O'Doherty looks at life in Northern Ireland without its own government; are tech corporations becoming the new arbiters of free speech? Jodie Ginsberg, CEO of Index on Censorship, and broadcaster and professor of television journalism at City University London, Stewart Purvis, discuss, and 10 years on from the financial crash, Douglas Fraser speaks to RBS CEO Ross McEwan about the events of September 2008 and where the bank finds itself now.

This edition includes: economic meltdown in Venezuela has resulted in a crisis that threatens the future of the country, how has it reached this point? Carols Comacha, journalist in the capital Caracas, and Asa Cusack from the London School of Economics' Latin America and Caribbean Centre analyse the worsening situation there; the grandson of artist Pablo Picasso discusses what its like to carry such a famous name; with the end of crippling EU-imposed austerity the journalist Anthee Carassava asks if Greece can now look to a brighter future, and Gordon Brewer discusses Britain's complex relationship with its post-war program of social housing with writer Owen Hathersley.

This edition includes: After decades mired in international conflict Iraq and Afghanistan continue to reel from the effects of it. Foreign correspondent Simona Foltyn, Jawed Nader, director of British & Irish Agencies Afghanistan Group, and David Pratt, foreign editor of The Herald analyse the prospects for peace and recovery in the region. In our Long Interview, Bill Whiteford speaks to writer Rebecca Stott about growing up among the Exclusive Brethren; Isabel Fraser talks to the academic and writer Bonnie Greer about Aretha Franklin's role in the civil rights movement, and BBC reporter Phil Mercer looks at how Australian farmers are coping with a winter drought.

Edition includes: Charlottesville, a year on from the violence of the Unite the Right rally; Trump, the powers of the US President and how he could use them; Jim Cusick examines the colourful career of Boris Johnston; what it means to wear the burka, and in the Long Interview, Bill Whiteford speaks to the palaeontologist, Steve Brusatte about his book 'The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs'.

This edition contains: Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard on his party's antisemitism row; what threat does Steve Bannon's plans to unit the right in Europe pose to liberal democracy? Douglas Fraser investigates House of Frasers past; our Reporter's Notebook comes from California and considers the human tragedy caused by the wildfires there, and BBC arts correspondent Pauline McLean speaks to actress Pauline Quirk about her career and her acting academy.

In this edition: after plans by the Royal Navy to use the Clyde as a 'frigate factory' were put on ice this week, what's the future for shipbuilding on the river; the Democratic Republic of the Congo goes to the polls later this year but what difference will it make to the poverty stricken nation; BBC Orkney's Huw Williams goes in search of the life microscopic and BBC arts correspondent Pauline McLean speaks to the curator of Stirling's Smith Art Gallery and Museum Elspeth King as she prepares to stand down after 45 years working in Scotland's museum sector.

This edition contains: can the Conservatives avoid a complete Brexit blow-out? Gordon Brewer speaks to Tory grandee, Lord Heseltine about the prospect of a second EU referendum; as the shock waves from Donald Trump's Helsinki speech continue to reverberate, conservative commentators analyse its impact; Kevin Keane considers the impact of the drought on farmers in the Reporter's Notebook, and Gordon Brewer speaks to historian Richard Vinen about the global politics that led to the Paris riots of 1968 and long-term impact of them.

This week's edition contains: leading dementia researcher Prof Tara Spires-Jones discusses the search for a cure for Alzheimer's with Gordon Brewer in the Long Interview; was Trump the real winner of the World Cup? After Donald Trump's European tour, is NATO facing a future without America at its head? And the Reporter's Notebook looks at the courageous rescue of the Thai schoolboys and their football coach from a flooded network of caves.

This week's edition contains: how can Scotland fix its illegal drug problem?; has Colombia finally escaped its troubled past; and as it celebrates its 70th anniversary, we look at its early days, while in this week's Long Interview, Bill Whiteford speaks to veteran Scottish financial journalist, Bill Jamieson.

This week's edition contains: The fire-gutted Glasgow School of Art's Mackintosh Building must be restored as - discuss; the Pitsburgh Post-Gazette editorial cartoonist who was sacked for his anti-Trump work talks about the effect The Donald has had on journalistic freedom; writer Kim Newman remembers the titan of sci-fi writing, Harlan Ellison, who died this week, aged 84; BBC correspondent Adam Easton looks at Poland's difficult relationship with its World War II past; and in this week's Long Interview Isabel Fraser talks to the former Chief Medical Officer of both Scotland and England, Sir Kenneth Calman, the man who gave his name to one of the key White Papers on Scottish devolution.

This week's edition contains: is the Brexit brawl more important than actually striking a deal?; Michael Palin in conversation with the BBC's Pauline McLean in the Long Interview; a look at Brazil's economic turmoil; thoughts on the future of Glasgow School of Art a week on from it being gutted by fire, and a look at Time Trial, a new documentary film that follows former Scots cycling champion on his last shot at glory in the Tour de France.

This week's edition contains: Lionel Shriver discusses morality clauses and creativity; veteran journalist David Pratt vividly describes the life of a foreign correspondent in the Long Interview, and Have I Got News For You writer and author John O'Farrell holds forth on the House of Common's ban on the use of debate chamber footage for satire.

In this week's podcast, we revisit the miners' strike of the 1980s; consider the impact of a potential info war between the big tech companies; sports journalist Jim Spence considers the future of junior football and in our Long Interview, Bill Whiteford speaks to Susan Woodward about Sir Garfield Todd, the prime minister of Southern Rhodesia during the mid-50s and who opposed the regime of Ian Smith which declared Unilateral Independence in 1965.

In this week's podcast: former right-hand man of Indian "sex guru" Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, Hugh Milne, talks about life as part of the ashram in the Long Interview; the plight of Afghan military interpreters, who the British Government have been accused of failing to help escape persecution in their homeland; the reality of the 'Deep Freeze' war between Russia and Ukraine, and in our Reporter's Notebook, the implications of the Ireland abortion referendum for the north.

In this week's edition: following the Irish abortion referendum are single issue votes more divisive than decisive? In the Reporter's Notebook BBC correspondent Chris Buckler reflects on life for Hawaiians living in the shadow of the Kilauea volcano; Isabel Fraser looks at the legacy of American author Philip Roth in the Me Too era, and in the Long Interview, BBC Scotland's arts correspondent, Pauline McLean, talks to veteran Scots photographer Harry Benson about his life and a career spanning six decades.