Scots Whay Hae!

On the latest podcast Ian, Chris and Ali were joined by Ryan Drever, music journalist and bass player with the mighty PAWS, to talk about the great and good, and not so good, of the last 12 months. WARNING: may contain the views of Ronnie Young

The latest podcast is one we've been promising for some time, but I'll think you'll agree it was worth the wait. We first spoke to Billy Letford about being a guest way back at the Margins Festival in February of 2012, and we have finally worn him down, with Ali, Chris and Ian catching up with him just before he recently departed for India. Right from the off, Billy charms and disarms as he takes us through his life as a poet, before the chat widens out to talk about the role poetry plays in everyone's life.

The Bottle Imp by Robert Louis Stevenson is read by Louise Welsh“The Bottle Imp” is usually found in the short story collection Island Nights' Entertainments, also know as his South Sea Tales.Louise Welsh is a writer based in Glasgow. She is the author of The Cutting Room (Canongate, 2003), Tamburlaine Must Die (Canongate, 2004); The Bullet Trick (Canongate, 2006); Naming the Bones (Canongate, 2010); and The Girl on the Stairs (John Murray, 2012). Her new book, A Lovely Way to Die (John Murray), will be published in March 2014. She wrote the libretto for Ghost Patrol (composer Stuart MacRae), an hour-long opera produced by Scottish Opera and Music Theatre Wales, which won a South Bank Award and was shortlisted for an Olivier Award (2013). Louise was a visiting fellow on the University of Iowa's International Writing Program (2011) and was writer in residence at the University of Glasgow and Glasgow School of Art (2010–2012).Produced by Alistair Braidwoodand Ian Gregson at Scots Whay Hae! on behalf of the Asso

The Tale of Tod Lapraik by Robert Louis Stevenson is read by James Robertson“The Tale of Tod Lapraik” is from Stevenson's novel Catriona, his sequel to Kidnapped, where it is told by the character Black Andie.James Robertson is a novelist and poet who grew up in Bridge of Allan, Stirlingshire. He is the author of several short story and poetry collections, and has published five novels to date: The Fanatic (Fourth Estate, 2000); Joseph Knight (Fourth Estate, 2003); The Testament of Gideon Mack (Hamish Hamilton, 2006); And the Land Lay Still (Hamish Hamilton, 2010); and The Professor of Truth (Hamish Hamilton, 2013). He also runs the independent publishing company Kettillonia, and is a co-founder (with Matthew Fitt and Susan Rennie) and general editor of the Scots language imprint Itchy Coo, which produces books in Scots for children and young people.Produced by Alistair Braidwood and Ian Gregson at Scots Whay Hae! on behalf of the Association of Scottish Literary Studies.

The latest podcast is a bit of cross promotion as it is a Robert Louis Stevenson special which has Ali talking to Louise Welsh and Ronnie Young about the great man, as well as a pre-recorded interview with James Robertson. It's all part of our celebration of Stevenson, and you'll be able to hear Louise join James and Alan Bissett reading three of RLS's finest supernatural tales in our special podcasts. If you subscribe, you'll get them all.

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

It's that time of year where Ali, Ian and Chris park themselves round the kitchen table on the High St and ponder the past 12 months in terms of book, film, music and other miscellany. There is the annual missive from Scots Whay Hae's Dr Books, Ronnie Young, who pokes Chris with a Thor shaped stick, and once more give us his list of the best of the blockbusters of the year. Where else could you find and hour or so of discussion that touches upon Alan Warner, Johnny Greenwood, the use of Doric in a Pixar movie, electro/pop, David Byrne and the joy of silence.

The latest podcast sees Ian and Ali joined by writer Catriona Child who talks about her terrific debut novel Trackman. During the chat they cover the healing power of music, the brilliance of Watership Down, the importance of a good name, and the enduring appeal of The Great Escape. Ali also details how he psychologically scarred his wee brother when they were kids. So, something for everyone!

The second series of Scots Whay Hae! podcasts kicked off with live music and chat from one of Ian and Ali's favourite musicians, Eugene Twist. He played a couple of tracks, including one exclusive, before joining Ali and the returning Chris Ward to tell us about his new album, his endless search for new sounds, and the importance of a musical education, before the chat turned to the joy of soundtracks. All this and a mention for The Wild River Apples! | Tracks by Eugene Twist are Halloween Drama Queen and It's Down To You. http://www.eugenetwist.com

The latest Scots Whay Hae! podcast sees man of the moment, Ewan Morrison, join Ali to ostensibly talk about his latest book ‘Tales From the Mall', but as expected the conversation turns to many topics which are troubling the Morrison mind. Publishing, the myths of social media, the future for the novel, the behemoth that is Wamazon are all discussed, and much more besides.  So strap yourself in for a breathless podcast that'll get you thinking. And that's got to be a good thing; right?

After a brief break to gather our thoughts and set up new guests, the Scots Whay Hae! podcast returns. Number 18 sees Ali talking to TV's Colin McCredie about the best from Scottish Telly past. It's a big subject to cover, but we manage to touch on programmes from the 1960s to the present day. I'm sure we missed many people's favourites, but hopefully there's enough of interest to please everyone from casual watchers to Telly Addicts.