Nicola Sturgeon has announced she is standing down as an MSP after more than a quarter of a century.

We ask her former spokesperson Stuart Nicolson and the BBC’s Glenn Campbell what the former First Minister and SNP leader was really like.

And we reflect on her leadership during the Covid pandemic, her independence strategy, the gender reform debate and the ongoing police investigation into the SNP’s finances, Operation Branchform.

Scotcast is the BBC’s Scottish news podcast, with Martin Geissler, Laura Miller and Natalie Higgins.

Get in touch with us by emailing [email protected]

"Ozempic" has become shorthand for a variety of injections that lead to quick weight loss.

What was previously the preserve of Hollywood’s elite is now widely available. So could “skinny jabs” save our struggling NHS?

We speak to Professor Naveed Sattar, chair of the UK Government’s Obesity Mission, and the BBC's Lisa Summers.

Scotcast is the BBC’s Scottish news podcast, with Martin Geissler, Laura Miller and Natalie Higgins.

Get in touch with us by emailing [email protected]

When councillor Laura Murtagh proposed a 15.6% council tax increase, she knew some of her Falkirk constituents would be unhappy.

But attacks on her have gone from political to personal. She tells Martin about the torrent of abuse she has experienced over her association with the country’s biggest council tax rise – and how the decision to put people’s bills up made her 'physically sick'.

And Laura and Martin discuss the art of putting on a Scottish accent.

Scotcast is the BBC’s Scottish news podcast, with Martin Geissler, Laura Miller and Natalie Higgins.

Get in touch with us by emailing [email protected]

When Mhairi Black was elected an SNP MP at the age of 20, she became the youngest person to sit in the House of Commons in more than 300 years.

Ahead of her new BBC documentary ‘Mhairi Black: Being Me Again’, she tells Martin and Natalie why she quit Westminster after less than a decade and how an ADHD diagnosis and crippling mental health problems contributed to that decision.

Mhairi also tells us why she thinks some of the SNP’s recent troubles have been “self inflicted” and even dangles the prospect of quitting the party.

Scotcast is the BBC’s Scottish news podcast, with Martin Geissler, Laura Miller and Natalie Higgins.

Get in touch with us by emailing [email protected]

Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay is suggesting lowering the school leaving age to 14 to 'transform' young people’s opportunities.

We ask education journalist James McEnaney from The Herald and the BBC’s Lysney Bews if critics are right to describe the idea as 'Dickensian'.

And Martin and Laura discuss the prospect of football’s ban on alcohol being lifted.

Scotcast is the BBC’s Scottish news podcast, with Martin Geissler, Laura Miller and Natalie Higgins.

Get in touch with us by emailing [email protected]

The owners of NFL giants San Francisco 49ers, led by Paraag Marathe, are making a move for Rangers FC.

And after US President Donald Trump paused aid to Ukraine, we unpack First Minister John Swinney’s reaction. Plus, an update on the case of Jagtar Singh Johal.

Scotcast is the BBC’s Scottish news podcast, with Martin Geissler, Laura Miller and Natalie Higgins.

Get in touch with us by emailing [email protected]

Image credit: Paraag Marathe, PA.

Martin Compston is one of our busiest, and most successful, actors. Now the star of Line of Duty wants to bring more big films and TV shows to Scotland.

He tells us about his plan to make a movie about a 16th-century Scottish cannibal, the 'dark places' he’s had to go as an actor and answers the obvious question: will Line of Duty be back?

And we reflect on Martin Geissler’s interview with the First Minister and discuss whether John Swinney really wants to hobnob with Donald Trump.

Scotcast is the BBC’s Scottish news podcast, with Martin Geissler, Laura Miller and Natalie Higgins.

A Scottish man called Jagtar Singh Johal has been jailed in India for seven years without conviction. The Indian government call him a terrorist. A UN working group says he’s been arbitrarily detained. Jagtar himself alleges he's been tortured.

What are the British government doing to bring him home? The team speak to the BBC’s Katie Hunter and Calum McKay, asking how a man from Dumbarton became the centre of a diplomatic dilemma.

Scotcast is the BBC’s Scottish news podcast, with Martin Geissler and Laura Miller.

Get in touch with us by emailing [email protected]

The First Minister has taken aim at Nigel Farage, calling him an 'accomplice' to Russia, and backed Keir Starmer, who is raising defence spending ahead of talks with US President Donald Trump in Washington.

The BBC’s David Wallace Lockhart tell us what John Swinney’s attack on the Reform UK leader is all about. And we ask former SNP MP Stewart McDonald if Ukraine has changed his party's tune on defence – and whether the mood is shifting on the Trident nuclear weapons system.

And Laura shows Martin how firm her handshake is.

Scotcast is the BBC’s Scottish news podcast, with Martin Geissler, Laura Miller and Natalie Higgins.

Get in touch with us by emailing [email protected]

A report has found the attainment gap has worsened for Scottish schools. It means the level of qualifications gained between young people in the most affluent and least affluent areas is widening.

For nearly 10 years the Scottish Government has said that closing the attainment gap is their 'priority'. We ask education journalist James McEnamey and BBC Political correspondent Phil Sim about a bold solution from a group of experts.

The Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS) says there could be 90,000 fewer pupils by 2040, and that teacher numbers could be cut as a result. Could the money saved be a better help elsewhere?

Scotcast is the BBC’s Scottish news podcast, with Martin Geissler and Laura Maciver.

Get in touch with us by emailing [email protected]