Blethered

Alfie’s Edinburgh Fringe Show ‘Dropped’ intimately tells his very personal tale of being picked up by Chelsea Football Club’s prestigious academy, before being unceremoniously discarded after a routine medical uncovered a congenital heart defect. After then moving on to North West London side Barnet, he remarkably found himself in and around the first team at only 15 years old, and at one point playing in midfield with Champions Le...

Expert pharmacist Sehar Shahid talks to me about weight-loss injections.

Their existence and use generates headlines nationwide, but how many of those are accurate, and how many are misrepresented in the name of generating ad-revenue, via online clicks?

Well we’re cutting through the conjecture, the marketing, and the media noise to get to the facts — the good, the bad, and the in-between.

These drugs are being hailed as a...

This conversation is with Jamie McGuire, a councillor for Renfrew North and Braehead, who made headlines recently after leaving the Labour Party and joining Reform UK—becoming the first Labour councillor in Scotland to do so. At just 24, Jamie’s political journey has already seen him involved with Labour, and now Reform—two parties that many would see as ideologically incompatible.

I've taken the time to sit down and understand ...

Nicola used to be a police detective. Now she’s one of Scotland’s most sought after wedding photographers.

It’s not the kind of career change you hear every day — but once you know what she’s lived through, and what drove her decisions, it all makes perfect sense.

Nicola is a survivor of child sex abuse, and at a young age, decided that she wanted to go after people who cause harm.

And she did exactly that — but over t...

Satinder is an integrative psychotherapist, clinical supervisor and author who specialises in working with trauma, particularly in the aftermath of child sexual abuse.

In this conversation, we discuss the long and debilitating shadow that kind of abuse can cast into adulthood, and how the damage often goes unseen or unspoken, for decades.

We also explore the idea of therapy - when it works, when it doesn’t, and the lesson...

This episode is about how justice and humanity can intersect, and what happens when you treat people like they can still be more than the worst thing they’ve ever done.

I’m viscerally aware of how serious crimes affect victims - I’ve felt that pain myself, but every conversation needs space for nuance.

And in this episode, you’ll hear former Barlinnie prison officer Frank and I have a very detailed one.

We discuss his expa...

Dr Kevin is a writer and researcher whose work looks at where data meets identity - basically, where hard facts and statistics collide with the more personal, subjective sides of who we are.

Sexuality shouldn’t ever need to be a focus, but it 's relevant in the context of our conversation, because our identities shape how we see the world. 

Kevin and I are the same age, from the same country, working in similar fields - ...

In Part 1, I got a good sense of John as a man, his connection to his family and how politics became his vocation. In Part 2, we get into the here and now, and some of the issues that are affecting people in Scotland, particularly young men and the concept of masculinity.

We consider the concept of radicalisation and extreme ideologies masquerading as benevolent influences...

We examine the disparity between the gravity of do...

This is the start of an ongoing mini-series on the topic of masculinity in the modern world, and who better to launch it than the man at the highest position of political influence in our country.

This is part 1 of 2, and focuses on John Swinney the man, his formative years and how his family shaped him, and what inspired him to get involved in politics.

This whole topic is about being human, and how easy it is to be influenc...

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I love having expansive and unpredictable conversations and that’s exactly what this is.

This is probably the opposite of what you’d expect to hear based on your preconceptions about the guest, but as you’ll hear, those will prove to be quite inaccurate.

We discuss the congruity between materialism and spirituality, in pursuit of a happy and fulfilled existence…

We talk about Brian’s devotion to Islam...

Dr Aisan Ghaemian is a Chartered Psychologist and accredited Cognitive Behavior Therapist, and has a PhD in the field of Health Psychology.

This was a fascinating conversation on a variety of topics, and I thoroughly enjoyed having such an expansive conversation with such an expert authority in her field.

We discuss the impact of social media - and I don’t mean the mealy-mouthed, surface level bullshit we hear on a regular ba...

We recorded this conversation on the banks of Loch Lomond as the sun set in front of us, something I mention about 68 times. But my plan worked, the incredible backdrop cultivated some really profound and life affirming thoughts, as I hoped it would. 

You’ll hear about Roisin’s self-created journey in music, from making some tracks at home to singing in front of Tom Jones on The Voice…

Her life-changing cancer diagnosis,...

Abbie Draper tells me about her years-long ordeal at the hands of registered sex offender and convicted stalker, Adele Rennie.

Rennie was jailed for the third time in September 2024, after a catalogue of serious repeated sexual and stalking crimes.

Judge's Sentencing Statement - 13th September 2024

Stalking Helpline

Contact: seanmcdonald.podcast@gmail.com

Instagram: @seantmcdonald

Twitter: @seanmcdonald01

Here’s a wee bit of information about Michael. He’s a Scottish journalist and broadcaster who has a long list of notable achievements in his field. He’s written for The Scotsman, the Times, The National and The Barrhead News…

He’s featured frequently on BBC Scotland and BBC Radio Scotland, producing a notable documentary for the latter…

And he even created a short film back in 2009, that went on to receive critical acclaim an...

There’s an upcoming parliamentary debate about the Tobacco & Vapes bill, which was first introduced in the House of Commons on the 5th of November, 2024. Its purpose is to significantly improve public health by reducing smoking rates and preventing nicotine addiction among young people.

Here to discuss that with me is Greig Fowler, a business director of Vape retailer VPZ. He says that vaping is an effective tool to get peop...

Martin Geissler has had an incredible career on the front line of global news, from the Iraq War and the Boxing Day tsunami, to going undercover to report from Robert Mugabe’s Zimbabwean regime.

You’ll hear some incredible stories and a fascinating insight into Martin’s profession, but also him as a man, something you’ll rarely get a glimpse of. His story about being adopted and the story that than ensues from that is something ...

It’s 2011. Novak Djokovic wins his first Wimbledon title, Rangers make it three league win in a row, while Celtic win another Scottish Cup in the rain against Motherwell. Osama bin Laden is killed, Adele tops the charts, and there’s earthquakes and tsunamis in Japan. 

The News of the World closes its doors for good, England burns after riots break out across the nation and the Iraq War finally comes to an end. 

But ...

Here’s an introduction to Hayley, if you’re not familiar with her, as she has quite the profile.

• Model

• Miss Scotland Finalist

• Niece of Rangers legend Ally McCoist

• Love interest of various Scottish Premier League Footballers

• One time Girlfriend of Leicester City and England footballer Jamie Vardy

• Friend of the rich and famous

Oh, and one more detail. She never existed.

I’m joined by Gabrielle Livingstone as we dig in...