Irvine Welsh became a spokesperson for the rave generation when he first published Trainspotting. But his books are about more than drugs and parties: they are a sympathetic and poignant depictions of the working class male psyche. He joined me to discuss addiction, why joblessness has created a mental health epidemic and what he did when his mate started crying in the pub.

Buy his excellent new novel ‘The Long Knives’ here

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