Let’s Talk About… Unheard Stories

Send us Fan Mail

High above Dunning lies Dun knock, a hill that once held a powerful Iron Age fort.

Built with stone, earth, and timber, it was home to people who lived, cooked, and worked here more than two thousand years ago. 

Today, the ramparts are gone, but the land still carries their story of power, community, and survival. Take a short walk to hear what the earth remembers. 

Support the show

💡 Stay in the loop
 💬 Follow us: https://www.instagram.com/letstalkabout1111?igsh=emJhOTc5b3h4bTBr 

LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/nicola-foley-instlm-ips-48927a6a

 ☕ Buy us a coffee: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1756031/support
📄 Transcript + resources available for all episodes
🧠 Created by Nicky | Sound design by Nicky

⚠️ Content may include references to mental health, trauma, suicide or ableism

#NeurodivergentVoices #RealTalkPodcast

Send us Fan Mail

Two thousand years ago, Dunning looked very different. 

In Kincladie Wood, the faint dips and ditches are all that remain of a vast Roman camp. 

Archaeologists say it could have held an entire marching army, thousands of soldiers who left their mark and moved on. 

In this short walk, we explore what’s still visible, what’s been uncovered, and why this quiet wood remembers more than it lets on. 

Support the show

💡 Stay in the loop
 💬 Follow us: https://www.instagram.com/letstalkabout1111?igsh=emJhOTc5b3h4bTBr 

LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/nicola-foley-instlm-ips-48927a6a

 ☕ Buy us a coffee: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1756031/support
📄 Transcript + resources available for all episodes
🧠 Created by Nicky | Sound design by Nicky

⚠️ Content may include references to mental health, trauma, suicide or ableism

#NeurodivergentVoices #RealTalkPodcast

Send us Fan Mail

This bonus episode features the full interview with writer Geoff Holder, recorded for my recent Maggie Wall podcast.

In this conversation, Geoff shares insights into Scotland’s witch trials, theories about the Maggie Wall monument, and the enduring mystery that has fascinated visitors to Dunning for centuries.

If you haven’t yet, listen to the full Maggie Wall dramatised documentary for the complete story.

🌐 Find out more about Geoff’s work: www.geoffholder.com

Support the show

💡 Stay in the loop
 💬 Follow us: https://www.instagram.com/letstalkabout1111?igsh=emJhOTc5b3h4bTBr 

LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/nicola-foley-instlm-ips-48927a6a

 ☕ Buy us a coffee: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1756031/support
📄 Transcript + resources available for all episodes
🧠 Created by Nicky | Sound design by Nicky

⚠️ Content may include references to mental health, trauma, suicide or ableism

#NeurodivergentVoices #RealTalkPodcast

Send us Fan Mail

In the heart of Dunning, Scotland, stands a rough stone monument that has puzzled visitors for centuries. Painted across its face are the words: “Maggie Wall was burned here in 1657 as a witch.”

But who was Maggie Wall? Why is she remembered when the names of women truly executed in Dunning have been forgotten?

This dramatised documentary blends historical fact with artistic licence, weaving real voices, actors, and sound design. It honours the women lost to Scotland’s witch trials while exploring the enduring mystery of Maggie Wall.

With contributions from writer Geoff Holder. Special thanks to the Dunning Parish Historical Society, Demi Sutherland, Ryan Cotter, Richard Zak, Kieran Foley-Hall, who helped bring this story to life.

🌐 Find out more:
 Geoff Holder → www.geoffholder.com

 Dunning Parish Historical Society → https://dunning.uk.net/

Support the show

💡 Stay in the loop
 💬 Follow us: https://www.instagram.com/letstalkabout1111?igsh=emJhOTc5b3h4bTBr 

LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/nicola-foley-instlm-ips-48927a6a

 ☕ Buy us a coffee: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1756031/support
📄 Transcript + resources available for all episodes
🧠 Created by Nicky | Sound design by Nicky

⚠️ Content may include references to mental health, trauma, suicide or ableism

#NeurodivergentVoices #RealTalkPodcast

Send us Fan Mail

Join me on 13th September, for a brand new experimental 6-part series, Let’s WALK About, voted for by YOU, the listeners.

In this series, I’ll be taking you on walks, starting in Dunning, Scotland.

Exploring stories and reflections that surface along the way, expect atmosphere, history, and honesty as I try something different from my usual one-on-one interviews.

This trailer gives you a taste of what’s coming. Six walks. Six stories. One season to see where the journey leads.

Let’s WALK About starts soon. Put your headphones in and come along.

If you have any suggestions for a future walk, drop me a message on Instagram!

Support the show

💡 Stay in the loop
 💬 Follow us: https://www.instagram.com/letstalkabout1111?igsh=emJhOTc5b3h4bTBr 

LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/nicola-foley-instlm-ips-48927a6a

 ☕ Buy us a coffee: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1756031/support
📄 Transcript + resources available for all episodes
🧠 Created by Nicky | Sound design by Nicky

⚠️ Content may include references to mental health, trauma, suicide or ableism

#NeurodivergentVoices #RealTalkPodcast

Send us Fan Mail

In this episode, Nicky and Ryan dive into the wonderfully strange talents we all have but could never (or should never) put on a CV. From oddly specific life skills to completely useless party tricks, we explore why these quirks matter more than you think.

We also tackle a round of our quick-fire “This or That” game, revealing way too much about ourselves in the process. Expect laughs, light chaos, and maybe a few moments that make you think, “Wait… am I weirdly good at that too?”

Grab a cuppa, settle in, and join us for an hour of conversation that’s equal parts ridiculous and relatable.

Support the show

💡 Stay in the loop
 💬 Follow us: https://www.instagram.com/letstalkabout1111?igsh=emJhOTc5b3h4bTBr 

LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/nicola-foley-instlm-ips-48927a6a

 ☕ Buy us a coffee: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1756031/support
📄 Transcript + resources available for all episodes
🧠 Created by Nicky | Sound design by Nicky

⚠️ Content may include references to mental health, trauma, suicide or ableism

#NeurodivergentVoices #RealTalkPodcast

Send us Fan Mail

Broken Systems, Real Lives
Adult Social Care. Access to Work. Postcode lotteries. Endless paperwork. Delayed support. It’s the reality for too many disabled people in the UK.

In this episode, I speak with Luis, a fierce disability advocate and founder of Unstoppable Living. Drawing on his own experiences, Luis shares what it’s like to navigate these broken systems, and what it would take to build support that’s dignified, timely, and equitable.

We cover:

• The emotional and logistical nightmare of social care
• The postcode lottery and why local authority matters
• The truth about Access to Work delays and who they hurt most
• What change could look like and where to start

This conversation is raw, informed, and rooted in lived experience.

👤 Connect with Luis on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/unstoppablecrazycripple

or

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/unstoppablecrazycripple/

Support the show

💡 Stay in the loop
 💬 Follow us: https://www.instagram.com/letstalkabout1111?igsh=emJhOTc5b3h4bTBr 

LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/nicola-foley-instlm-ips-48927a6a

 ☕ Buy us a coffee: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1756031/support
📄 Transcript + resources available for all episodes
🧠 Created by Nicky | Sound design by Nicky

⚠️ Content may include references to mental health, trauma, suicide or ableism

#NeurodivergentVoices #RealTalkPodcast

Send us Fan Mail

In this transatlantic episode of Let’s Talk About, I’m joined by Zack Borodkin 

Disability rights advocate, community outreach coordinator, and all-around powerhouse based in New York. We explore what dating while disabled looks like in the U.S., how cultural and policy differences shape experiences, and why Zach thinks some dating apps have become too commercialised. 

From the politics of care to confidence, consent, and finding the right person (or algorithm), this episode digs into the realities of dating with a disability, with honesty, humour, and heart.

Connect with Zach:

Zach is active on:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zacharyborodkin/

 Subscribe + Share

Like what you hear? Tap follow, leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review, and share with someone who needs to hear this.

🎧 Available on: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Buzzsprout

Support the show

💡 Stay in the loop
 💬 Follow us: https://www.instagram.com/letstalkabout1111?igsh=emJhOTc5b3h4bTBr 

LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/nicola-foley-instlm-ips-48927a6a

 ☕ Buy us a coffee: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1756031/support
📄 Transcript + resources available for all episodes
🧠 Created by Nicky | Sound design by Nicky

⚠️ Content may include references to mental health, trauma, suicide or ableism

#NeurodivergentVoices #RealTalkPodcast

Send us Fan Mail

Dating While Disabled: Calum & Nicky Swap experiences

In this raw and honest episode, Nicky sits down with Calum Grevers to talk about what dating is really like when you're disabled, neurodivergent, or both. From awkward apps to ghosting, medical trauma to moments of joy, this conversation pulls no punches. There’s humour, vulnerability, and maybe too much honesty (if there is such a thing!)

If you’ve ever felt like dating is hard and society wasn’t exactly built with you in mind… you’re not alone.

🎙️ Featuring: Calum Grevers
 🎧 Length: 35mins
 🧠 Themes: Disability, neurodivergence, romance, identity, emotional resilience

TW: mentions of ableism, dating rejection, trauma

Support the show

💡 Stay in the loop
 💬 Follow us: https://www.instagram.com/letstalkabout1111?igsh=emJhOTc5b3h4bTBr 

LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/nicola-foley-instlm-ips-48927a6a

 ☕ Buy us a coffee: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1756031/support
📄 Transcript + resources available for all episodes
🧠 Created by Nicky | Sound design by Nicky

⚠️ Content may include references to mental health, trauma, suicide or ableism

#NeurodivergentVoices #RealTalkPodcast

Send us Fan Mail

Join Nicky and Ryan as they ramble their way through the implications of the proposed MIG for Scottish carers. 

New research released today explores how a Minimum Income Guarantee could be piloted for unpaid carers in Scotland. 

The research report, by Carers Scotland and IPPR Scotland, explores the positive impact for unpaid carers such an income guarantee could deliver, and outlines a viable model of how it could be implemented. 

A Minimum Income Guarantee (MIG) is an assurance that no one will fall below a set income level that would allow them to live a dignified life. 

A MIG can be delivered through employment, targeted payments and also through other types of support or services to be provided or subsidised by the state. 

Unpaid carers save Scotland £15.9 billion each year1 by providing care and support to family members, friends and neighbours who could not get by without their help. 

However, their caring role can have a great personal cost, including reduced financial security, poorer health and damaged earning and career prospects. Unpaid carers in Scotland 56% are more likely to be in poverty and 60% more likely to be in deep poverty2 than those without caring responsibilities. 

The Minimum Income Guarantee pilot proposed by this research aims to recognise the diverse challenges that unpaid carers on low incomes face and respond by delivering tailored support in the form of both services, non-cash benefits and additional payments, to bring these unpaid carers up to the minimum income standard. 

Special thanks to Fiona Collie for her voice note.

Below are the websites mentioned in the podcast

https://www.carersuk.org/scotland

https://www.ippr.org/scotland

https://www.therobertsontrust.org.uk/

https://www.carersuk.org/policy-and-research/state-of-caring-survey/

Support the show

Support the show

💡 Stay in the loop
 💬 Follow us: https://www.instagram.com/letstalkabout1111?igsh=emJhOTc5b3h4bTBr 

LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/nicola-foley-instlm-ips-48927a6a

 ☕ Buy us a coffee: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1756031/support
📄 Transcript + resources available for all episodes
🧠 Created by Nicky | Sound design by Nicky

⚠️ Content may include references to mental health, trauma, suicide or ableism

#NeurodivergentVoices #RealTalkPodcast