MSPs get in touch with Holyrood Sources to tell us how they're spending their summer recess. As well as holiday time, what policies are they pursuing? How are they representing constituents? We emailed every single MSP to ask them to send us a 30 second clip - and we're playing every single response we got. A couple of parties are missing (H/T Peter MacDonald on Twitter) Get in touch with us. Email [email protected].

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Hear from Kate Forbes (SNP MSP and former leadership candidate), Jeane Freeman (Former SNP Health Secretary), Alex Salmond (Former SNP First Minister), Jack McConnell (Former Labour First Minister), Ruth Davidson (Former Leader of the Scottish Conservatives) and Anas Sarwar (Scottish Labour leader) for a recap of the podcast so far.

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Calum, Andy and Geoff gather for the last day of term before the Scottish Parliament heads into recess. Calum has arrived back from holiday to a cryptic note from Geoff saying: "Ask me about Brexit" - which he does, and an interesting conversation about the importance of Brexit at the next election begins. Then, it's onto the independence convention in Dundee - what on earth was that all about? Plus, what have been our highlights of our first 21 episodes and what have we learned? Who has talked the most (hint: the politicians)... and lots of other de-mob happy fun including what Geoff's having for tea and what Andy's holiday plans are. The podcast will still be here throughout recess and we've got LOADS of excitement planned for later in the summer. Stay with us... and email us anytime: [email protected]

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Kezia Dugdale, the former leader of the Scottish Labour party, joins Calum, Geoff and Andy. We discuss Nicola Sturgeon after she made her second public comments since being arrested and released without charge. Kezia also shares her take on Sir Keir Starmer's energy strategy and her doubts about whether the widely-reported surge in Labour support is real. The Bute House Agreement comes up in the context of energy strategy. Kezia tells us about her work on democracy and about encouraging more people from more diverse backgrounds into politics. Email us your thoughts: [email protected].

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Former First Minister of Scotland, Alex Salmond (Geoff's old boss) is on the podcast. He responds to the news of Nicola Sturgeon's arrest and analyses where the SNP stands. He talks about uniting independence-backing parties together ahead of the general election and next Scottish election. He and Geoff reminisce telling never-heard-before stories of the independence referendum campaign - including a near disaster in a helicopter - the release of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi - and an odd phone call from Donald Trump. Leave your reviews and send us your emails: [email protected].

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Former First Minister of Scotland and leader of the Scottish Labour Party, Jack McConnell, joins the podcast to talk about election victories and defeats. He remembers campaigns he won and lost. He tells us about 2007, when Labour lost control of Holyrood and how early he knew something was going wrong. He discusses Labour's current position on North Sea oil and gas. He tells us about his relationship with other First Ministers, either present or former. As he reflects on his time as First Minister, he says he thought he was inheriting a tough job - but on reflection, in comparison to Humza Yousaf, he says: "I had it easy." He tells us about his vision for democracy and power in Scotland to be decentralised. What do you think of what Lord McConnell says? Email us: [email protected] to have your email read out next week.

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Calum, Andy and new dad Geoff discuss the politics of the oil and gas industry, and the transition to renewables and net zero. After Keir Starmer suggested Labour would not allow new licenses in the North Sea - and Anas Sarwar, seemingly, backed him - we discuss why there can't be more cooperation on a way to achieve net zero. Plus, we look at the deposit return scheme and ask basically the same question: why try to create a constitutional argument out of something that isn't controversial and seems relatively simple to implement? Thanks for your emails. We love to get your messages and we try to reply to every single one, as well as read lots of them out. Email us: [email protected] to get in touch.

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Throughout the episode, we answer your questions. Calum, Andy and Geoff consider latest polling which suggests losses for the SNP at Westminster, including of Deputy Westminster leader Mhairi Black. We answer Mada's question on election strategies for Labour and the Conservatives. We discuss the Greens as Lorna Slater suggests the Deposit Return Scheme is: "All systems go" and consider Richard asking why the First Minister hasn't got rid of the Greens from Government yet. Then it's onto the Independence Convention - what's the point, and who should be there. And one listener gets in touch with insider insight on Government consultations with the public which they describe as a "box ticking exercise" to confirm a particular direction of travel. Plus, we clear up what happened with #TypeGate. Email us anytime: [email protected]

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Calum, Andy and Geoff are joined by Prof. Adam Tomkins. He was Conservative MSP for the Glasgow region from 2016 to 2021. He's a constitutional lawyer at the University of Glasgow. He was previously a constitutional advisor to the House of Lords Constitution Committee and the Scotland Office. We discuss the end of the road for a referendum route to independence, the latest from Humza Yousaf who has, once again, fallen ill with foot-in-mouth disease after an interview with a BBC Radio programme which Calum has never heard of. Adam shares his experiences of actually working at making laws and policy in Holyrood. Can the parliament function in its capacities to make laws and hold the government to account?

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A new Survation poll, commissioned by strategic advisory firm True North and shared exclusively with the Holyrood Sources podcast, shows the SNP is losing the support of people who believe in independence. Calum, Geoff and Andy are joined by Fergus Mutch from True North, and Professor Sir John Curtice from the University of Strathclyde to discuss the results and the implications.

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