The Stooshie: the politics podcast from DC Thomson

Week 21, 2021: Johnson unfit for office, says man who masterminded his route to office

It’s the week in which explosive testimony from Dominic Cummings cast the UK government in a very dim light indeed. Of course, a dose of scepticism is advised given his track record, as the team discuss, but this is still the most explicit picture we’ve yet got of Boris Johnson’s administration’s response in the early days of the pandemic. Plus, cooperation between the SNP and Greens, and more. Listen up.
You can get a free month of unlimited access to The Courier or The Press & Journal websites; just go to https://www.thecourier.co.uk/subscribe or https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/subscribe to be better briefed. New customers only; you can cancel at any time; offer correct at the time of publication, and may not be available if you’re accessing this episode at a later date. 
So you don’t miss an episode, follow The Stooshie today on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts, and if you know folk like you who want to understand politics in Scotland a little better, suggest they tune into The Stooshie too. 
Be better briefed, with The Stooshie from DC Thomson Media. 
ⓣ https://twitter.com/stooshiescot 
ⓕ https://facebook.com/stooshiescot 

Week 20, 2021: Cabinet reshuffle

It’s the week in which First Minister Nicola Sturgeon unveiled her new cabinet, with some familiar faces returning to front-line posts. It also saw beleaguered Education Secretary John Swinney moved into a new post; the new role is an important one, to be sure, but was the move simply to take the heat out of the exams scandal? Plus, our investigations continue into the deaths in care homes at the start of the pandemic. All this and more, on this week’s Stooshie.
You can get a free month of unlimited access to The Courier or The Press & Journal websites; just go to https://www.thecourier.co.uk/subscribe or https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/subscribe to be better briefed. New customers only; you can cancel at any time; offer correct at the time of publication, and may not be available if you’re accessing this episode at a later date. 
So you don’t miss an episode, follow The Stooshie today on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts, and if you know folk like you who want to understand politics in Scotland a little better, suggest they tune into The Stooshie too. 
Be better briefed, with The Stooshie from DC Thomson Media. 
ⓣ https://twitter.com/stooshiescot 
ⓕ https://facebook.com/stooshiescot 

Week 19, 2021: election hangovers, and the most diverse Scottish Parliament ever

It’s the week in which new MSPs were sworn into parliament after the elections, and the team reflects on the richness and diversity of the new cohort. Plus, the results of a rather macabre series of Freedom of Information requests put in by the P&J’s Investigations Editor, Calum Ross.
You can get a free month of unlimited access to The Courier or The Press & Journal websites; just go to https://www.thecourier.co.uk/subscribe or https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/subscribe to be better briefed. New customers only; you can cancel at any time; offer correct at the time of publication, and may not be available if you’re accessing this episode at a later date. 
So you don’t miss an episode, follow The Stooshie today on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts, and if you know folk like you who want to understand politics in Scotland a little better, suggest they tune into The Stooshie too. 
Be better briefed, with The Stooshie from DC Thomson Media. 
ⓣ https://twitter.com/stooshiescot 
ⓕ https://facebook.com/stooshiescot 

Special edition: Reflecting on parties, personalities and policies with Kez Dugdale and Chris Deerin

With the results not expected until the weekend, we knew we couldn’t report on who’s won the election on this week’s show. But there have been winners and losers of sorts all throughout the run-up, and so to reflect on the fortunes of the parties, personalities and policies in this oddest of campaigns, Courier Editor David Clegg is joined by the Director of the John Smith Centre and former Scottish Labour leader, Kezia Dugdale, and Chris Deerin, Director of Reform Scotland. There’s a lot of ground covered, so as you await the results, take a moment to look back.
You can get a free month of unlimited access to The Courier or The Press & Journal websites; just go to https://www.thecourier.co.uk/subscribe or https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/subscribe to be better briefed. New customers only; you can cancel at any time; offer correct at the time of publication, and may not be available if you’re accessing this episode at a later date. 
So you don’t miss an episode, follow The Stooshie today on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts, and if you know folk like you who want to understand politics in Scotland a little better, suggest they tune into The Stooshie too. 
Be better briefed, with The Stooshie from DC Thomson Media. 
ⓣ https://twitter.com/stooshiescot 
ⓕ https://facebook.com/stooshiescot 

Week 17, 2021: An odd campaign, plus, the Sturgeon interview

It’s the last Stooshie before the election, and the team reflect on the nature of a campaign in a pandemic. Plus, Courier Editor David Clegg rejoins the Stooshie to share insight from his long interview with Nicola Sturgeon, which you can watch on thecourier.co.uk and pressandjournal.co.uk. And finally, there’s a little Easter egg awaiting any Janey Godley fans…
You can get a free month of unlimited access to The Courier or The Press & Journal websites; just go to https://www.thecourier.co.uk/subscribe or https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/subscribe to be better briefed. New customers only; you can cancel at any time; offer correct at the time of publication, and may not be available if you’re accessing this episode at a later date. 
So you don’t miss an episode, follow The Stooshie today on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts, and if you know folk like you who want to understand politics in Scotland a little better, suggest they tune into The Stooshie too. 
Be better briefed, with The Stooshie from DC Thomson Media. 
ⓣ https://twitter.com/stooshiescot 
ⓕ https://facebook.com/stooshiescot 

Week 16, 2021: Manifestos and mailboxes — how can politicians best deliver their message?

All the political parties have now set out their manifestos, and with doormats and pigeonholes and mail baskets across the nation groaning under the weight of party political leaflets, we ask how effective campaign literature is at getting the message across. Plus, we restrain ourselves from making the obvious pun at about 16:20.  
You can get a free month of unlimited access to The Courier or The Press & Journal websites; just go to https://www.thecourier.co.uk/subscribe or https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/subscribe to be better briefed. New customers only; you can cancel at any time; offer correct at the time of publication, and may not be available if you’re accessing this episode at a later date. 
So you don’t miss an episode, follow The Stooshie today on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts, and if you know folk like you who want to understand politics in Scotland a little better, suggest they tune into The Stooshie too. 
Be better briefed, with The Stooshie from DC Thomson Media. 
ⓣ https://twitter.com/stooshiescot 
ⓕ https://facebook.com/stooshiescot 

Week 15, 2021: SNP’s generous manifesto spending promises, and the UK Government taking the Scottish Parliament to court

Manifestos launched this week, with the SNP’s bold and generous spending plans immediately criticised for being unrealistically expensive, especially set against the absence of tax rises. But even away from the election, there are stories to unpack, including the news that the UK government is taking the Scottish Parliament to court over its plans to incorporate the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
You can get a free month of unlimited access to The Courier or The Press & Journal websites; just go to https://www.thecourier.co.uk/subscribe or https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/subscribe to be better briefed. New customers only; you can cancel at any time; offer correct at the time of publication, and may not be available if you’re accessing this episode at a later date. 
So you don’t miss an episode, follow The Stooshie today on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts, and if you know folk like you who want to understand politics in Scotland a little better, suggest they tune into The Stooshie too. 
Be better briefed, with The Stooshie from DC Thomson Media. 
ⓣ https://twitter.com/stooshiescot 
ⓕ https://facebook.com/stooshiescot 

Week 14, 2021: Campaign update, and a high-profile scheme runs out of money after just a few days

It’s the week that the election campaign really lurched into life, and we’ve got a nice, easy-to digest summary of the latest polling, and what it feels like to part of a campaign in a pandemic. Plus: the Scottish Government’s flagship First Home Fund, which lends people up to £25,000 towards their deposit, runs out of cash after just a few days. 
You can get a free month of unlimited access to The Courier or The Press & Journal websites; just go to https://www.thecourier.co.uk/subscribe or https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/subscribe to be better briefed. New customers only; you can cancel at any time; offer correct at the time of publication, and may not be available if you’re accessing this episode at a later date. 
So you don’t miss an episode, follow The Stooshie today on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts, and if you know folk like you who want to understand politics in Scotland a little better, suggest they tune into The Stooshie too. 
Be better briefed, with The Stooshie from DC Thomson Media. 
ⓣ https://twitter.com/stooshiescot 
ⓕ https://facebook.com/stooshiescot 

Special edition: Our election manifesto

This is the week that DC Thomson Media launched its Election Hub for The Courier and The Press & Journal, and it’s also the week in which we launched our own election manifesto which details how we pledge to help you make an informed decision this May.
In this special episode, The Courier and The P&J’s editors are in conversation, explaining what their promises are to you, what we got wrong in the past, and how we plan to get better this election year and beyond. But they don’t have it all their own way: we also asked some people on the streets of Dundee and Aberdeen what they thought about the role of the media in an election cycle, and we play these back to David and Frank – who haven’t heard them before – to get their immediate reaction.
If, after listening, this sounds like the sort of fair, independent journalism that you need more of in your life, especially in the run-up to the Holyrood elections, you can get 30 days free, unlimited access to The Courier or The Press & Journal; go to https://www.thecourier.co.uk/subscribe/ or https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/subscribe/ to find out more.
New customers only; you can cancel at any time; offer correct at the time of publication, and may not be available if you’re accessing this episode at a later date.
Be better briefed, with The Stooshie from DC Thomson Media. 
ⓣ https://twitter.com/stooshiescot 
ⓕ https://facebook.com/stooshiescot 

Week 13, 2021: Alex Salmond less popular than Boris Johnson – exclusive poll

It’s the week in which a shiny new party burst onto the Scottish political scene. Led by former First Minister and SNP leader Alex Salmond, it seeks to help create a supermajority for independence, but our exclusive Survation polling suggests only 3% of voters would cast their ballots for the new Alba Party. What, then, will be its legacy, and how will Salmond have reacted to the news? Listen and find out.
Join journalists from across the DC Thomson Media folio of newspapers, and from all across the country, to help you understand the implications of what’s happening in Holyrood, Westminster and beyond. 
Subscribe to The Stooshie today, recommend us to friends and family, rate and review if you have a moment, and let us know what you think of what we cover and how we cover it, on Twitter and Facebook. 
Be better briefed, with The Stooshie from DC Thomson Media. 
ⓣ https://twitter.com/stooshiescot 
ⓕ https://facebook.com/stooshiescot