Scots Whay Hae!

The latest Scots Whay Hae! Podcast saw the editors of three of Scotland's finest literary magazines climb the stairs to talk to Ali about the how, whys and what next's, and their hopes and dreams, for the respective publications. They are Helen Sedgwick from Gutter Magazine, Gabriella Bennett from Valve Journal and Samuel Best from Octavius, and the talk ranged from influences, inspirations, themes, writers, readers, design, editorial decisions, live events and the importance of a mutually supportive literary community.

The latest podcast is a fascinating chat with author James Robertson who talks Scott, MacDiarmid and Hogg, the importance of recognising a native language to any culture and learning lessons from history, as well as talking us through all of his own work. May I humbly suggest that if you only listen to one Scots Whay Hae! podcast, this is the one to choose. It's certainly the most interesting afternoon Ali and Ian have spent in some time.

The latest podcast is one of our mildly popular musical themed recordings and it has live music and chat from Jack James, a singer/songwriter who has made one of the albums of the year so far with Is That The Rain On? He plays us three songs in what has come to be known by almost nobody as the Live Lounge, before he joins Ali, Chris and Ian in the kitchen for a chat about the best Scottish albums of last year, and the value or otherwise of the Scottish Album of the Year Awards.

The latest podcast saw writer Karen Campbell pop in to talk about her latest novel This Is Where I Am. It's a great chat about some problems with publishing, why the saying, “you can't judge a book by its cover” holds true, the importance of a writing community, and the balance between using research and your own voice. If you're interested in writing, or reading, then it is a must listen.

Ali and Ian make their now annual pilgrim east to meet novelist Doug Johnstone. As usual the most interesting stuff happens off mike, but there is enough good chat on life, death, family and more death to satisfy the most demanding listener.

In this, the second of our podcasts celebrating Glasgow and film, Ali and Ian are joined by film critic, blogger and editor Nicola Balkind to talk about ‘World Film Locations: Glasgow', which she has edited. The chat is an amiable and informative ramble around that city talking film before Nicola takes us through five of her favourite things. What more can you ask for?

In this, the first of two podcasts to celebrate Glasgow and/on film, Chris and Ali both review and preview their personal highlights of this year's Glasgow Film Festival. Chris deals with the arthouse, while Ali mainly stays in the mainstream, a division which reflects the diversity of the festival itself.

The latest Scots Whay Hae! podcast was a real treat to record. Jo Mango, who made one of the best albums of last year with Murmuration, climbed the stairs to play a couple of songs before chatting about the making of the album and the artists who influence her work. Chris listens intently, Ali gets emotional, and happily Ian is there to record it all.

Burnscast 2013 hears Ali chat to Fergus Muirhead and Chris Ward with a performance on Westlin' Winds by Ian Gregson.

The audio from the video made for the ASLS found at http://bit.ly/148ceYm