Something Different: Podcasts

When I go for my morning walk, or sometimes if I am working from home, I have got into the habit of listening to some podcasts. A few I have been listening to for some time and some I have just more recently started to listen to some episodes although maybe not all depending on the subject, anyway I thought I would share these with you and if you listen to podcasts and know any you think I should check out please name them.

The Leslie Riddoch Podcast – Most people who are supporters of Scottish Independence, or just follow Scottish Politics, will have heard of Lesley Riddoch. Pat Joyce is a former curriculum leader for journalism at Fife College, a Lochee boy, Dundee United fan (oh dear), socialist, modernist and grandpa. The podcast is mostly about Scottish Politics but does touch on the wider world, England, land reform, a bit of football etc and is well worth a listen. While I think of it as the nice face of podcasting due to the patience shown by Leslie and Pat, especially in relation to the SNP and Nicola Sturgeon, they do have a good understanding of their subjects and are both very informative. Podcasts now come out of a Tuesday.

The Unexplained with Howard Hughes – I first came across Howard Hughes years ago from late night talk radio and his show that was all things super natural. The podcasts follow the radio show and will have interviews with a variety of people working in the field of conspiracy or the paranormal, history, and can be a very interesting podcast as well as very frustrating when people skirt around the answers. Howard is a good journalist though and asks some very good questions and the subjects in the main can be very interesting. One of two show a week and most weeks I would say I listen to the episode but not always.

Walking Down the Provie Road – This is a Dundee Football Club fan podcast which can be very funny, very very depressing as only a DFC fan will understand, and very informative. The guys who run the podcast capture our frustration very well and our occasional joy. The are die hard fans and you can feel all the emotions coming from them in their Dee journey. Sometimes there is a weekly podcast but they can by very intermittent due to there being done by fans who have jobs and families but if you are a DFC fan then it is a must listen to be honest.

Cross Question with Iain Dale – LBC presenter Iain Dale has a daily radio show that covers UK politics and this is an evening question and answer show that has a variety of guests, some Scottish guests like Alex Salmond , Ian Blackford etc, but is mostly English politics to be honest. While I find Iain leans more to the right in his views his is very fair and very informed. I don’t listen to every episode to be honest as it depends who he has on, what is being discussed, but when I do listen the quality of debate is usually good and it gives a good insight into what is the thinking down south.

The Common Weal Policy Podcast – Common Weal is a Scottish pro-independence think tank and advocacy group which campaigns for social and economic equality in Scotland. Common Weal describe their work as “At the heart of Scotland’s problems is an economic model which is not working for the people of Scotland. We need to fix that model if we want to tackle all the other problems & this is at the heart of Common Weal’s work”. This is a policy podcast and can be very intricate in some of the discussion but I find a lot of their ideas really interesting and worth listening to, if only our politicians would listen also as their ideas could really go a long way to building what an independent Scotland could look like if we would just think outside of the box, hard going sometimes because of the complexity of the discussion but another that I listen to most weeks.

Politically Speaking: Scotland’s flagship political podcast – A bold claim lol. From the folks who produce the Holyrood Magazine and again worth a listen most weeks. I am pretty new to this podcast but so far it has been pretty good covering the goings on in Scottish politics and Holyrood. It is maybe a bit too soft touch in the interview style sometimes but you can learn about what is behind the story and get some insight into both our politicians in all parties and our government.

The Owen Jones Podcast – Most people will have heard of Owen Jones, Owen is a British newspaper columnist, political commentator, journalist, author, and Labour Party activist. Famous for his first book Chavs: The Demonization of the Working Class. This book is also worth a read to be honest. Anyway his podcast covers mostly Labour and English politics and is very informative even if Owen can be up his own **** at times. Will sometimes touch on Scottish politics, Owen being against Scottish Independence, but it is always good to hear other arguments and other sides of the narrative, we should always be willing to hear all sides so we can to make informed judgements. Not a weekly listen depending on the subject and the guests, it can also be a bit wokey, especially around trans rights, which I find with Owen he is not as open minded to other views as he could be, but none of us are perfect, and it is just my opinion, but either way he is a very intelligent man with good insight, well worth a listen.

Scottish Independence Podcast – Discussing Scottish Independence and issues relevant to Scotland is how this podcast is described. Well worth a listen and mostly weekly covering the YES movement and what is going on, recently they broadcast the Big Indy Debate which took place at the Queens Hall in Edinburgh on 21st September. They also cover interviews with a variety of people and Scottish Government Policy, I won’t listen to every episode as it depends on the discussion but it is a decent quality podcast and cover the subjects that the unionist media just won’t discuss at all. If I could support them financially I would to be honest as they provide a very valuable service within the media in Scotland.

Twa Teams, One Street – A Dundee Evening Telegraph Podcast covering again local football. Mainly Dundee FC, Dundee Utd, and the lessor St. Johnsone with a bit of Scotland thrown into the mix on occasion. I listen every week and while I do think they lean more to Utd (disgusting) it is a good podcast, informative, you get to hear things you wouldn’t normally as far as what is going on with the local clubs but you also get a better understanding on how a football clubs works and learn more about the players and staff. It is well worth a listen if you are DFC fan, if you follow UTD you too but I’ll be honest I mostly skip past your part, I am not a masochist.

So a few of the podcasts I visit off and on and worth giving a go if you have the time and like a good discussion.

 

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