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//
Podcast Description
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//
Episodes
Episodes
Jul 1, 2026
Jul 1, 2026
1hr 1 min
Former cellmate of Nelson Mandela and PM of the Western Cape, Ebrahim Rassol talks with his co-authors, Dr Houda Abadi and Mark Muller Stuart KC, about their new book, A Guide to Islamic Principles of Peace-Making, and why they are needed more than ever as we confront ever greater cycles of conflict. Swedish diplomat, Eldridge Adolfo, asks the questions.
Contemporary peace-making frameworks deployed by global conflict resolution institutions and experts, have had mixed results in Muslim-majority countries and regions, affected by violent conflict. This new guide aims to address this by paying attention to critical contextual issues around religion and culture. Built on four years research by the International Norms Project (a unique collaboration between LSE, Folke Bernadotte Academy (FBA) and Uppsala University), it brought together a wide a range of Islamic Scholars, Muslim political transitional leaders and international peace practitioners. What this collaboration has co-created for the first time is a set Islamic peace-making principles that also share many commonalities with contemporary forms of inclusive peace-making and universal norms.
Featuring:
Ebrahim RassolDr Houda AbadiEldridge AdolfoMark Muller Stuart KC
Beyond Borders Scotland: https://www.beyondbordersscotland.com
Read Guide to Peacemaking Using Islamic Principles Here:https://fba.se/media/u2ylwpoz/guide-to-peacemaking-using-islamic-principles.pdf
https://fba.se/en/news-media/publications/guide-to-peacemaking-using-islamic-principles
Audio Editor: Aedan Wilson
Jun 17, 2026
Jun 17, 2026
1hr 1 min
In this week’s podcast veteran peacemaker, Monica McWilliams, author of Stand Up, Speak Out, joins former UN Assistant Secretary-General, Andrew Gilmour, author of The Burning Question: Climate and Conflict - why Does it Matter? and Dr Roxani Krystalli from St Andrews University at the Edinburgh International Book Festival in partnership with Beyond Borders. Where they reflect upon climate, conflict and the state of our troubled world and what we have to do to make more safe, secure and just.
Featuring:
Monica McWilliamsAndrew GilmourDr Roxani Krystalli
Beyond Borders Scotland: https://www.beyondbordersscotland.com
More From Monica McWilliams:(2021) Stand Up, Speak Out: My Life Working for Women's Rights, Peace and Equality in Northern Ireland and Beyond (Blackstaff Press Ltd) at:https://www.abebooks.co.uk/9781780733227/Stand-Speak-Out-Life-Working-1780733224/plp
More From Andrew Gilmour:(2024) The Burning Question: Climate and Conflict - why Does it Matter? (Berghof Foundation) at:https://berghof-foundation.org/library/the-burning-question
Audio Editor: Aedan Wilson
Jun 4, 2026
Jun 4, 2026
1hr 4 min
In this week’s podcast Mark Muller Stuart KC talks to veteran United Nations diplomat Staffan de Mistura at the Edinburgh International Book Festiva who reflects on his remarkable 50-year career in international diplomacy and conflict mediation for the UN in places like Sudan, Bosnia, Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria.
Featuring:
Mark Muller Stuart KCStaffan De Mistura
Beyond Borders Scotland: https://www.beyondbordersscotland.com
Audio Editor: Aedan Wilson
May 20, 2026
State of the World | Ep 55
May 20, 2026
May 20, 2026
1hr 3 min
Join veteran BBC broadcaster, Jim Naughtie, as he talks to Steve Crawshaw, former UK head of Human Rights Watch and author of Prosecuting the Powerful, alongside Derek Goldman, director of the Centre for Global Performance and Dialogue at Georgetown University, and the Noor Al-Naser, programme manager of the Scottish Peace Platform, about their work and the state of the world in the era of Trump. New York theatre director, Irina Kruzhilina, introduces students from Peebles High School who bring the festival to close with their rendition of a New Declaration of Human Rights with its own unique young persons and Scottish Borders twist.
Featuring:
Jim NaughtieSteve CrawshawDerek GoldmanNoor Al-NaserIrina Kruzhilina
Beyond Borders Scotland: https://www.beyondbordersscotland.com
Audio Editor: Aedan Wilson
Apr 29, 2026
Shadows of War, Windows of Peace | Ep 54
Apr 29, 2026
Apr 29, 2026
58 min
Join Ambassador Nirupama Rao and Ambassador Riffat Masood alongside senior journalists Maya Mirchandani and Nasim Zehra as they discuss Indo-Pak relations after the recent escalation, the role of women in the peace process, and the space for peace in the changing global environment.
Featuring:
Ambassador Nirupama RaoAmbassador Riffat MasoodMaya MirchandaniNasim ZehraAllan Little
Beyond Borders Scotland: https://www.beyondbordersscotland.com
Audio Editor: Aedan Wilson
Apr 15, 2026
Apr 15, 2026
1hr 3 min
Listen as former First Minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon talks to Sigrid Van Aken, CEO the Postcode Lottery Group, about it's remarkable rise to become the world’s third biggest philanthropic funder of good causes and Chris Lockyear, the Médecins Sans Frontières Supremo, as he reveals the truth about the humanitarian crisis in Sudan, Gaza and beyond. Together they consider the impact of recent US and UK aid cuts and what we can all do to help relieve the suffering of civilians as well as to build a more peaceful, vibrant and less afflicted world.
Featuring:
Nicola SturgeonSigrid Van AkenChris Lockyear
Beyond Borders Scotland: https://www.beyondbordersscotland.com
More From Post Code Lottery Group:
https://www.postcodelottery.co.uk/
More From Médecins Sans Frontières:
https://www.msf.org/
Audio Editor: Aedan Wilson
Apr 1, 2026
Apr 1, 2026
52 min
Listen as Former First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, lifts the lid on her remarkable life as one of Scotland’s leading politicians in the 21st century as she recounts her journey from working-class Ayrshire to Bute House, in her candid memoir, Frankly.
Featuring:
Nicola SturgeonAllan Little
Beyond Borders Scotland: https://www.beyondbordersscotland.com
More From Nicola Sturgeon:
(2025) Frankly (Pan Macmillan) at:https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/nicola-sturgeon/frankly/9781035040216
Audio Editor: Aedan Wilson
Mar 18, 2026
Mar 18, 2026
56 min
Listen to legendary literary agent, Clare Conville, as she talks to novelist and journalist, Phoebe Greenwood, about her recent novel, Vulture, a fast pace, darkly funny heart wrenching satire that tears through the guts of the war-news industry.
Featuring:
Phoebe GreenwoodClare Conville
Beyond Borders Scotland: https://www.beyondbordersscotland.com
More From Phoebe Greenwood:
(2025) Vulture (Europa Editions UK) at:https://www.europaeditions.co.uk/book/9781787705791/vulture
More From Clare Conville:
https://cwagency.co.uk/agent/clare-conville
Audio Editor: Aedan Wilson



