'The next thing we're all jumping and dancing on the tables together'.

Singer-songwriter Callum Beattie’s preparations for the biggest concert of his career took an unexpected turn this week when he found himself partying with Scotland’s World Cup heroes. In the Scotcast studio, he tells Martin and Laura about what music does for him, his challenging childhood and what John McGinn told his auntie.

Scotcast is the BBC’s Scottish news podcast. This episode is hosted by Laura Miller, Martin Geissler and Natalie Higgins.

Get in touch: scotcast@bbc.co.uk

If you’re interested in this episode, you may also like ‘Football management in an age of rage’ https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002kpyw

In this podcast mashup, Laura toasts Scotland’s World Cup 2026 qualification with the help of Sacked in the Morning’s Amy Irons and the Scottish Football Podcast’s Ray Bradshaw.

Alasdair Lamont reflects on his BBC radio commentary going viral and Chris McLaughlin talks about the thrill of filing a last-minute match report.

And Martin Geissler has FOMO.

Scotcast is the BBC’s Scottish news podcast. This episode was hosted by Laura Miller. Get in touch: scotcast@bbc.co.uk

Chancellor Rachel Reeves is reportedly considering a tax rise on some profits made by betting companies.

Brian Rice (pictured), who was banned from football for placing bets while managing Hamilton Academical, tells us about managing his addiction in an industry synonymous with gambling.

Scotcast is the BBC’s Scottish news podcast. This episode was hosted by Martin Geissler and Natalie Higgins.

Get in touch: scotcast@bbc.co.uk

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood (pictured) wants to make sweeping changes to the UK's asylum system.

Labour MP Chris Murray, a former chair of The Refugee Survival Trust, tells us why the reforms – controversial among many in his party – are justified.

Scotcast is the BBC’s Scottish news podcast. This episode was hosted by Natalie Higgins and David Wallace Lockhart.

Get in touch: scotcast@bbc.co.uk

The release of Rockstar North's highly-anticipated Grand Theft Auto (GTA) 6 has been delayed (again). The video game developer has denied claims of "union-busting" after 31 UK staff were sacked, sparking a protest outside the company’s Edinburgh HQ (pictured).

The Scottish Games Network's Brian Baglow, who worked on the first GTA, tells us what it’s like to work in the industry.

Scotcast is the BBC’s Scottish news podcast, with Martin Geissler,Natalie Higgins and Laura Miller.

Get in touch: scotcast@bbc.co.uk

Wes Streeting (pictured) referenced The Traitors while dismissing rumours that he will challenge Sir Keir Starmer for the Labour leadership.

Phil Sim helps us figure out why there’s so much gossip surrounding the prime minister's position.

And The Herald’s James McEnaney explains why the threat of industrial action by teaching unions can be linked to an SNP manifesto pledge in 2021.

Scotcast is the BBC’s Scottish news podcast, with Martin Geissler, Natalie Higgins and Laura Miller.

Get in touch: scotcast@bbc.co.uk

If you’re interested in this episode, you may also like ‘Where the election could be won and lost’ https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002lpd6

Speculation around chancellor Rachel Reeves’s UK Budget has presented Scotland’s finance secretary Shona Robison with a big question: will she put up the income tax that she controls?

The BBC’s Phil Sim and Paris Gourtsoyannis talk us through how the budgets, and the Holyrood election, are looming over nervous politicians.

Scotcast is the BBC’s Scottish news podcast, with Martin Geissler, Laura Miller and Natalie Higgins.

Get in touch: scotcast@bbc.co.uk

If you’re interested in this episode, you may also like ‘What STV cuts tell us about the mainstream media’ https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002kd3k

Tim Davie (pictured) has resigned as director-general of the BBC after a leaked memo criticised a Panorama programme about US President Donald Trump.

We ask the corporation’s former political editor Brian Taylor and Liz Lloyd, a former adviser to Nicola Sturgeon, whether perceptions of the BBC here are linked to its coverage of the 2014 independence referendum.

Scotcast is the BBC’s Scottish news podcast, with Martin Geissler, Laura Miller and Natalie Higgins.

Get in touch: scotcast@bbc.co.uk

If you’re interested in this episode, you may also like ‘Where the election could be won and lost’ https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002lpd6

Climate Action Secretary Gillian Martin (pictured) has unveiled a new plan to effectively eliminate greenhouse gas emissions by 2045.

The BBC’s Kevin Keane gives us his snap take on the Scottish Government's strategy.

And as Nicola Sturgeon says climate change has "fallen prey to the culture wars", we ask campaigner Laura Anderson (aka Less Waste Laura) why the issue has dropped down the political agenda.

Scotcast is the BBC’s Scottish news podcast, with Martin Geissler, Laura Miller and Natalie Higgins.

Get in touch: scotcast@bbc.co.uk

If you’re interested in this episode, you may also like ‘Who thinks lynx should roam the Highlands?’ https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0027tgn

MSPs are voting on major changes to land-ownership laws in the Land Reform Bill.

Patrick Colquhoun of Luss Estates, which owns almost 50,000 acres of land on the shores of Loch Lomond, tells us about life as its 'custodian'.

And Martin tells Laura why he’s been teary eyed at the telly recently.

Scotcast is the BBC’s Scottish news podcast, with Martin Geissler, Laura Miller and Natalie Higgins.

Get in touch: scotcast@bbc.co.uk

If you’re interested in this episode, you may also like ‘Why true crime fascinates us’ https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002ld3w

The convicted rapist Nicholas Rossi is being sent to jail in Utah. His case became headline news when details of a faked death and claims of mistaken identity emerged after he was arrested on a Glasgow hospital ward.

The BBC’s Steven Godden, who was dispatched to follow the story, tells us how he feels about the man who lied to him.

And the chancellor Rachel Reeves took to the Downing Street podium this morning following speculation around her UK Budget, but what could what she said mean for Scotland and the Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar ahead of the Holyrood election?

Scotcast is the BBC’s Scottish news podcast, with Martin Geissler, Laura Miller and Natalie Higgins.

Get in touch: scotcast@bbc.co.uk

If you’re interested in this episode, you may also like ‘Top doctor: NHS can’t go on like this’ https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002h7pg

Former Health Secretary Jeane Freeman (pictured) has claimed “politics gets in the way” of improving the NHS.

As First Minister John Swinney announces measures to ease waiting lists, we ask the BBC’s David Wallace Lockhart and health correspondent Lisa Summers how important the NHS will be at the 2026 Holyrood election.

Scotcast is the BBC’s Scottish news podcast, with Martin Geissler, Natalie Higgins and Laura Miller.

Get in touch: scotcast@bbc.co.uk

The Orange Order say they have been subjected to a rise in vitriol and violence against them - and accuse the Scottish government of not doing enough to stop it.

Andrew Murray, the order's most worthy grand master, tells Martin Geissler about past mistakes and how he intends to modernise the organisation.

Scotcast is the BBC’s Scottish news podcast, with Martin Geissler, Laura Miller and Natalie Higgins.

Get in touch: scotcast@bbc.co.uk

If you’re interested in this episode, you may also like ‘Life inside our packed prisons’ https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0027t4p

Justice secretary Angela Constance (pictured) is proposing the emergency release of up to 1,000 prisoners.

The BBC’s David Cowan tells us why prison officers are saying Scotland’s jails are in 'crisis'.

And Martin and Laura discuss a damning report into an NHS maternity unit in Edinburgh.

Scotcast is the BBC’s Scottish news podcast, with Martin Geissler, Laura Miller and Natalie Higgins.

Get in touch: scotcast@bbc.co.uk

Brendan Rodgers’s shock resignation from Celtic was quickly followed by a blistering statement from major shareholder Dermot Desmond (pictured), leaving fans, commentators and pundits in disbelief.

Martin and Natalie ask the BBC’s Chris McLaughlin how it came to this, and Tino Callaghan from The Celtic Exchange podcast tells us why some fans are clamouring for change at the heart of the club.

And Martin tells us why he’s going to have to set his alarm a lot earlier from now on.

Scotcast is the BBC’s Scottish news podcast, with Martin Geissler, Laura Miller and Natalie Higgins.

Get in touch: scotcast@bbc.co.uk

Criminologist Professor David Wilson (pictured) is co-host of the This Much is True Crime podcast.

We talk to him about how and why only some tales become big news stories. And he explains why people are so drawn to the genre.

Scotcast is the BBC’s Scottish news podcast, with Martin Geissler, Natalie Higgins and Laura Miller.

Get in touch: scotcast@bbc.co.uk

If you’re interested in this episode, you may also like ‘Gangster arrests in Dubai: who’s who?’ https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002jtr1

Police have secured their first prosecution under Operation Portaledge, launched in response to gang violence which erupted across the central belt.

The BBC’s Dave Cowan tells us how officers caught Liam McDermid (pictured) as he hunted for a gun on a leafy pathway – and if they can now dare to believe they have turned the tide on the gangs.

And Martin vents to Laura why news of the shock departure of Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman from Strictly Come Dancing has annoyed him.

Scotcast is the BBC’s Scottish news podcast, with Martin Geissler, Laura Miller and Natalie Higgins.

Get in touch: scotcast@bbc.co.uk

Stephen Flynn (pictured left) is among MPs calling for the UK Parliament to strip Prince Andrew of his royal titles over links with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

The SNP’s Westminster leader tells us how he is planning to challenge what he calls a 'crazy' parliamentary convention limiting debate about the Royal Family.

And David Wallace Lockhart explains why there’s a big dispute over who should pay for Donald Trump’s Scottish ‘holiday’.

Scotcast is the BBC’s Scottish news podcast, with Martin Geissler, Natalie Higgins and Laura Miller.

Get in touch: scotcast@bbc.co.uk

Susie Wolff (pictured) is a former Formula 1 test driver and current director of the F1 Academy series for aspiring female drivers.

Ahead of the release of her autobiography, Driven, Susie tells us about making her name in a male-dominated sport and adjusting to the fame of featuring in the Netflix series Drive to Survive.

And Laura explains how her childhood knowledge of cricket led to her big TV breakthrough.

Scotcast is the BBC’s Scottish news podcast, with Martin Geissler, Laura Miller and Natalie Higgins.

Get in touch: scotcast@bbc.co.uk

If you’re interested in this episode, you may also like ‘Sandie Peggie tribunal: what’s going on?’ https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002hwmc

A review has found National Librarian Amina Shah’s (pictured) decision to exclude a gender-critical book from a National Library of Scotland display was based on 'inadequate evidence'.

Lucy Hunter Blackburn, who co-edited The Women Who Wouldn’t Wheesht with Susan Dalgety, tells us what inspired their book featuring essays by JK Rowling and former SNP MP Joanna Cherry KC.

Scotcast is the BBC’s Scottish news podcast, with Martin Geissler, Natalie Higgins and Laura Miller.

Get in touch: scotcast@bbc.co.uk