Beyond Borders Scotland Podcast
We invite you to be part of a conversation that enlightens and connects, a journey that takes you from the heart of global conflicts to the stories of resilience and creativity that define our world. This is more than just a podcast; it’s a global forum where ideas enlighten and perspectives converge. Join us on this journey to broaden your understanding of the world and be inspired by the stories that shape our global community.
Find out more at:
Beyond Borders Scotland: https://www.beyondbordersscotland.com/
Beyond Borders International Festival: http://www.bbintfest.com//
Listen on:
Episodes
Episodes
Wednesday Mar 04, 2026
Wednesday Mar 04, 2026
Join Field Marshall Lord Richards as he talks to military historian Hew Strahan his book ‘Retreat from Strategy’, the recent UK Defence Review, the conflict in Ukraine, and success of British and western military interventions in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria, since his own victorious one into Sierre Leone in 2000.
Featuring:
Field Marshall Lord RichardsHew Strahan
Beyond Borders Scotland: https://www.beyondbordersscotland.com
More From Field Marshal Richards:
David Richards, Julian Lindley-French (2024) The Retreat from Strategy (Hurst) at:https://www.hurstpublishers.com/book/the-retreat-from-strategy/
Audio Editor: Aedan Wilson
Wednesday Feb 18, 2026
Wednesday Feb 18, 2026
Introducing Sam Dalrymple as he discusses his stellar new work, Shattered Lands: Five Partitions and the Making of Modern Asia, and new approaches to historical scholarship with Empire Podcast co-host, William Dalrymple, and Moin Mir, asking the questions.
Featuring:
Sam DalrympleWilliam DalrympleMoin Mir
Beyond Borders Scotland: https://www.beyondbordersscotland.com
More From Sam Dalrymple:
(2025) Shattered Lands: Five Partitions and the Making of Modern Asia (HarperCollins India) at:https://harpercollins.co.uk/products/shattered-lands-five-partitions-and-the-making-of-modern-asia-sam-dalrymple?variant=54864084763003
More from William Dalrymple:
Empire Podcast at: https://open.spotify.com/show/0sBh58hSTReUQiK4axYUVx?si=a2747800feba4f53
More From Moin Mir:
Moin Mir's website at:https://www.moinmirauthor.com/
Audio Editor: Aedan Wilson
Wednesday Feb 04, 2026
Wednesday Feb 04, 2026
Join Jeremy Corbyn MP as he talks about his extraordinary life as the most independent MP in the House of Commons and his ground breaking initiative to co-create a new party for the Left called Your Party. Oscar Guardiola Rivera explores why he continues to capture the imagination of young people as two local students, Ella Newton and Duncan Peppe, ask searching questions about his career and the future of British politics.
Featuring:
Jeremy Corbyn MPOscar Guardiola RiveraElla NewtonDuncan Peppe
Beyond Borders Scotland: https://www.beyondbordersscotland.com
More from Jeremy Corbyn:
(2023) Poetry for the Many: An Anthology (OR Books) at https:https://www.abebooks.co.uk/9781682194331/Poetry-Anthology-Corbyn-Jeremy-McCluskey-1682194337/plp
More from Oscar Guardiola Rivera:
(2025) A Hopeful Political Imagination: Courage and Fantastic Critique in the Age of Meltdown (Bloomsbury) at https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/hopeful-political-imagination-9781666974454/
(2024) Under the World. Book Two of The Night of the World Trilogy (Fiction, Poetry, The 87 Press) at https://www.the87press.co.uk/shop/p/vtp9l2anmbqpx2j9m73q3zqky3wwes
(2020) Way Out World. Book One of The Night of the World Trilogy (Fiction, Poetry, The 87 Press) at https://www.the87press.co.uk/shop/p/oscar-guardiola-rivera-night-of-the-world-book-one
(2019) A Defence of Armed/Art Struggle (UTadeo) at https://www.amazon.com/-/es/defence-armed-art-struggle/dp/9587252578
(2013/4) Story of a Death Foretold. The CIA, Pinochet and the Coup Against Salvador Allende, 11 September 1973 (Bloomsbury) at https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/story-of-a-death-foretold-9781408839898/
(2010) What If Latin America Ruled the World? How the South Will Take the North to the 22nd Century (Bloomsbury) at https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/what-if-latin-america-ruled-the-world-9781408809778/
Audio Editor: Aedan Wilson
Wednesday Jan 21, 2026
Wednesday Jan 21, 2026
Peebles High School student Beth Lapsley cross examines Former First Minister of Scotland, Lord Jack McConnell, and Martin Griffiths, former UN Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, about their latest ventures to help save the world from further conflict and chaos. Mark Muller KC introduces the session.
Featuring:
Beth Lapsley
Lord Jack McConnell
Martin Griffiths
Beyond Borders Scotland: https://www.beyondbordersscotland.com
Audio Editor: Aedan Wilson
Wednesday Jan 07, 2026
Wednesday Jan 07, 2026
Catherine Maxwell Stuart introduces Professor Murray Pittock who paints a fascinating picture of John Buchan, author of The Thirty-Nine Steps, and a Scot who wasn’t just a literary legend, but a man who was well ahead of his time on issues that still resonate today from Scottish nationalism to the rights of indigenous peoples. Geoffrey Baskerville asks the questions.
Featuring:
Professor Murray Pittock
Geoffrey Baskerville
Beyond Borders Scotland: https://www.beyondbordersscotland.com
More from Murray Pittock: https://murraypittock.com/
Audio Editor: Aedan Wilson
Wednesday Dec 24, 2025
Wednesday Dec 24, 2025
Listen to former First Minister, Humza Yousaf, in a dialogue about the future of Gaza and Palestine with current Palestine Ambassador, Husam Zomlot, who joins from the region, along with veteran Palestinian diplomat, Afif Safieh, and William Dalrymple, who explains why Britain bears a particular historic responsibility towards it.
Featuring:
William Dalrymple
Afif Safieh
Humza Yousaf
Husam Zomlot
This session is delivered in partnership with the Britain Palestine Project: https://britainpalestineproject.org
Beyond Borders Scotland: https://www.beyondbordersscotland.com
Hear more from William Dalrymple: https://open.spotify.com/show/0sBh58hSTReUQiK4axYUVx?si=a2747800feba4f53
Audio Editor: Aedan Wilson
Wednesday Aug 13, 2025
Wednesday Aug 13, 2025
In this unique episode of the Beyond Borders Scotland Podcast, we bring you a compelling conversation with two former UN envoys, Staffan de Mistura and Stephanie Williams.
Hosted by Duncan Peppe, a student from Peebles High School, this episode marks the first ever youth led podcast recorded at the Beyond Borders International Festival in 2024. From the journey to peace negotiations to the personal toll of conflict resolution, this intergenerational dialogue offers rare insight into the human side of diplomacy, all through the eyes of a young and curious host.
This episode is part of the Beyond Borders Youth Podcast Series, amplifying young voices in dialogue with global leaders and changemakers.
Featuring:
Staffan de Mistura
Stephanie Williams
Find out more:
Beyond Borders Scotland: https://www.beyondbordersscotland.com/
Beyond Borders International Festival: https://www.bbintfest.com/
Produced by FoSho STUDIOS
Thursday Jul 03, 2025
Thursday Jul 03, 2025
In this compelling episode of the Beyond Borders Scotland Podcast, we revisit an urgent and unflinching discussion recorded live at the Beyond Borders International Festival. Professor Sir Geoff Palmer is joined by historian William Dalrymple and journalist Alex Renton for a wide-ranging conversation that interrogates Scotland’s role in the legacies of slavery and empire, and how their repercussions are still felt today.
The panel unpacks how racial hierarchies were constructed to justify economic exploitation—from the chattel slavery of the Caribbean to the looting of the Indian subcontinent under the East India Company. Geoff Palmer’s perspective, rooted in personal and academic insight, provides a powerful lens on the enduring impact of colonialism and structural racism. Alex Renton shares his journey of discovering his family's links to slavery, as explored in his book Blood Legacy, while William Dalrymple details Scotland’s disproportionate involvement in colonial India and how the infrastructure of corporate imperialism was born.
Together, they call for truth-telling, reparative justice, and radical curriculum reform as vital steps toward healing and equity in a post-imperial society.
Featuring:
Professor Sir Geoff Palmer - Human rights activist, academic, and historian
William Dalrymple - Historian and author of The Anarchy
Alexander Renton - Journalist and author of The Blood Legacy
Find out more:
Beyond Borders Scotland: https://www.beyondbordersscotland.com/
Beyond Borders International Festival: https://www.bbintfest.com/
Produced by FoSho STUDIOS