“Love recklessly, unencumbered. Don’t be ashamed of your vulnerabilities... always focus on the joy and rally back towards the light.” - Michael Pedersen, in the Speakeasy.

Poet and novelist Michael Pedersen joins Shami Chakrabarti in the final episode of series 1, for a conversation about love, loss and the business of staying hopeful.

They talk about Michael's new book and first novel, Muckle Flugga - but also about friendship, grief and the importance of connection with each other.

Michael wrote his book Boy Friends in the wake of the loss by suicide of his best friend Scott Hutchison - singer-songwriter, artist, and founding member of indie rock band Frightened Rabbit.

A linguistic joy to listen to, this is a tender, funny and very fitting chat to close the opening run of Shami's Speakeasy.

Shami’s Speakeasy home and mailing list sign-up: [email protected]

Michael's non-fiction book Boy Friends - find it here or in your locally-owned bookshop.

Michael's novel Muckle Flugga - find it here or in your locally-owned bookshop

And PLEASE - if you've enjoyed listening to this first series of the Speakeasy, please send us your comments and reviews.

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Are you an ethical, values-based company, campaign group or charity who would like to support the Speakeasy and reach new audiences? Then get in touch: [email protected]

Shami’s Speakeasy is a Bespoken Media Scotland production for Chaotic DoGooders.

Produced and edited by Ailish Hunter.

Artwork by Josh Moir.

Baroness Charlotte Owen: “Of all deepfakes, 98% are pornographic, and of those 99% are of women.”

Charlotte Owen joins Shami Chakrabarti in the Speakeasy to talk about consent, dignity and the law catching up with technology.

From the bill she is steering through the House of Lords to criminalise the creation of AI deepfake porn, to the survivors who pushed her to act, Charlotte sets out why consent must be the test. She explains why “creation not just sharing” matters, how forum requests and nudification apps drive abuse, and why platforms will only change when the rules are clear.

They also discuss what protection should look like for children and young people online, how bias in tech amplifies harm against women, and the cross party work needed to make this real in practice.

It's a conversation about rights, responsibility and practical reform, with a legislator who wants the law to put choice back in women’s hands.

Follow the progress of the Non-Consensual Sexually Explicit Images and Videos (Offences) Bill here

Shami’s Speakeasy home and mailing list sign-up: [email protected]

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SPONSORSHIP:

Are you an ethical, values-based company, campaign group or charity who would like to support the Speakeasy and reach new audiences? Then get in touch: [email protected]

Shami’s Speakeasy is a Bespoken Media Scotland production for Chaotic DoGooders.

Produced and edited by Ailish Hunter.

Artwork by Josh Moir.

Baroness Doreen Lawrence: “When do I get a break?”

Doreen Lawrence joins Shami Chakrabarti in the Speakeasy to talk about courage, exhaustion and the long shadow of injustice.

From the murder of her son Stephen to the Lawrence Inquiry’s landmark finding of institutional racism, Doreen reflects on three decades of struggle: what’s changed, what hasn’t, and how she keeps faith when progress feels painfully slow.

The pair discuss migration and empire, the meaning of equality in 2025, the burden of public expectation, and the discovering she was spied on by police during her family’s campaign for justice.

This is a conversation about persistence, humility and humanity with a woman who never asked to be a campaigner but has become one of Britain’s most powerful moral voices.

Shami’s Speakeasy home and mailing list sign-up: [email protected]

Find us on socials:

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SPONSORSHIP:

Are you an ethical, values-based company, campaign group or charity who would like to support the Speakeasy and reach new audiences? Then get in touch: [email protected]

Shami’s Speakeasy is a Bespoken Media Scotland production for Chaotic DoGooders.

Produced and edited by Ailish Hunter.

Artwork by Josh Moir.

Scottish writer, rapper, and Orwell Prize-winning social commentator Darren McGarvey - on resilience, responsibility and the radical power of self-awareness:

"When you become publicly identified with a certain story, you may at some point feel a certain kind of pressure to live up to the reputation that now precedes you."

Darren joins Shami Chakrabarti in the Speakeasy to talk trauma, class, masculinity and the dangers of the “oversharing” age.

From Poverty Safari to Trauma Industrial Complex, Darren's writing has challenged Britain to face uncomfortable truths about inequality and the exploitation of pain.

In the Speakeasy, he reflects on his recovery, his creative evolution, and why social media has made us both more connected and more fragile.

Darren McGarvey’s new book, Trauma Industrial Complex, is out now. Get it here or in your locally-owned bookshop.

Shami’s Speakeasy home and mailing list sign-up: [email protected]

Find us on socials:

Bluesky

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SPONSORSHIP:

Are you an ethical, values-based company, campaign group or charity who would like to support the Speakeasy and reach new audiences? Then get in touch: [email protected]

Shami’s Speakeasy is a Bespoken Media Scotland production for Chaotic DoGooders.

Produced and edited by Ailish Hunter.

Artwork by Josh Moir.

Asma Khan: "Food sits in your DNA, close to your skin, connected to your heart. Your ancestors have blessed you. Be proud."

Celebrated chef and activist Asma Khan brings spice to the Speakeasy, joining Shami Chakrabarti to explore the intersections of food, feminism, and justice.

From law student to celebrated chef, Asma's journey is one of empowerment, resilience, and culinary rebellion.

Make no mistake: food is political, and noone understands that better than Asma Khan.

Asma Khan's children's book, A Kid's Book About Food, is out now. For children aged 5-9, it's about how food is much more than what fuels our bodies; when we prepare food, no matter how big or small, we share something of ourselves with those around us.

Find A Kid's Book About Food online here, or in your locally owned book shop.

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Contact the Speakeasy by email: [email protected]

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SPONSORSHIP:

Are you an ethical, values-based company, campaign group or charity who would like to support the Speakeasy and reach new audiences? Then get in touch: [email protected]

Shami's Speakeasy is a Bespoken Media production for Chaotic DoGooders. This episode was produced and edited by Ailish Hunter. Artwork by Josh Moir.

Baroness Hale: “The law can do things for you as well as to you.”

Baroness Brenda Hale was given the tabloid nickname 'the spider woman' when, in 2019, she declared Boris Johnson's prorogation of Parliament to be ‘unlawful, void and of no effect’ - and did so wearing an eye-catching spider brooch.

She served as the first female president of the UK's supreme court. She was the first woman, and the youngest person, to be appointed to the Law Commission. In 2004, she became the UK’s first woman law lord.

In the Speakeasy, she talks with Shami about keeping justice working for everyone, not just the powerful.

The pair also talk about what happens when we forget that the law protects as well as punishes, and why leaving the European Convention on Human Rights would be a disaster for ordinary people?

And, as a prominent 'first woman', what does it mean to hold the door open for the women who come next?

Baroness Brenda Hale's book With The Law on Our Side is out now and published by Penguin. Find it in your local independently-owned book store or online here.

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SPONSORSHIP:

Are you an ethical, values-based company, campaign group or charity who would like to support the Speakeasy and reach new audiences? Then get in touch [email protected]

Shami's Speakeasy is a Bespoken Media Scotland production for Chaotic DoGooders. This episode was produced and edited by Ailish Hunter. Artwork by Josh Moir.

Gary Younge – “Racism is a language … once you learn it, you see it everywhere.”

Who gets to tell the story of our times?

What does it take to confront injustice head-on?

And what does 'pigeonholed' mean if the pigeon can fly?

Journalist, writer and academic Gary Younge joins Shami in the Speakeasy.

LINKS:

Find Gary's book 'Pigeonholed' in your locally-owned bookshop, or online here.

Find Gary's podcast (with co-host Carys Afoko) here - or search 'Over the Top, Under the Radar' in your preferred podcast platform).

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Contact the Speakeasy by email: [email protected]

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SPONSORSHIP:

Are you an ethical, values-based company, campaign group or charity who would like to support the Speakeasy and reach new audiences? Then get in touch [email protected]

Shami's Speakeasy is a Bespoken Media Scotland production for Chaotic DoGooders. This episode was produced and edited by Ailish Hunter. Artwork by Josh Moir.

Nicola Sturgeon – “I’m not going to be bullied out of doing what I think is right.”

How do you stay true to yourself under pressure? What hope is to be found in politics today?

And is there life beyond endless crisis meetings?

Nicola Sturgeon shares her thoughts on all of this and more in the Speakeasy.

LINKS:

Find Nicola's book 'Frankly' in your locally-owned bookshop, or online here.

Shami's Speakeasy home and mailing list sign up.

Contact the Speakeasy by email: [email protected]

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SPONSORSHIP:

Are you an ethical, values-based company, campaign group or charity who would like to support the Speakeasy and reach new audiences? Then get in touch [email protected]

Shami's Speakeasy is produced by Bespoken Media Scotland for Chaotic DoGooders. This episode was edited by Patrick Wallace and Ailish Hunter.

Welcome Barflies, to Shami’s Speakeasy - a place for resistance and reflection in turbulent times. We’re all about raising voices as well as our glasses. 

Step inside...

LINKS:

Sign up to the Speakeasy mailing list at our website.

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Could you benefit from sponsoring the Speakeasy?

Are you an ethical, values-based company, campaign group or charity who would like to support the Speakeasy and reach new audiences? Then get in touch [email protected]

Shami's Speakeasy is a Bespoken Media Scotland production for Chaotic DoGooders. Artwork by Josh Moir.