Podcasts

BBC Radio Scotland: The Handmaid’s Tale and the popularity of dystopian fiction

Features

Lady Rizo – ‘I’m well versed in the art of mass seduction’ – (The List)
The cabaret star on motherhood, her alter ego and the quest for women to just ‘be’

The Handmaid’s Tale: A dystopia rooted in the here-and-now – (The i)
How Maragret Atwood’s tale tells a story we’re all too familiar with

Alan Bissett – ‘If you go through your entire life without any mental health problems, there’s something wrong with you’ – (The List)
The writer on his latest commission: a play about the life of Pink Floyd’s Syd Barrett

Jimmy McGovern: ‘What’s the greatest threat in Britain – North Korea or poverty?’ – (The i)
Jimmy McGovern is angry. He’s angry that in Britain in 2017, vulnerable people can be “sanctioned” by the welfare state for 13 weeks. He’s angry that the poorest are suffering. And he’s angry that some people still can’t afford to feed their families.

Miss Behave: ‘I have a feeling that the most radical act could be kindness’ – (The List)
The Las Vegas cabaret star on her award-winning game show, and the importance of conversation in a world filled with Brexit and Trump

Rae Spoon – ‘I was very tired of being a part of the gender binary’ – (The List)
The artist on identifying as agender, their ever-evolving music and biographical doc, A Prairie Home

Imprisoned poets: how Scottish PEN seeks to help persecuted writers around the world – (The List)
Stanza 2017: Patience Agbabi and Jim Carruth lead readings by Turkish poets to highlight the work of the organisation

Emma Pollock – ‘It’s about trial and error, letting the music sit with you for a few hours until the song appears’ – (The List)
The ex-Delgado talks about flying solo and her upcoming stint at Doune the Rabbit Hole