The Stooshie: the politics podcast from DC Thomson

Special edition: A New Normal

Nothing right now is normal. Our everyday lives have been turned upside down and inside out in the name of keeping the worst ravages of coronavirus at bay. 
There are hopeful signs that some of the most onerous restrictions to our usual activity will be lifted as we start to reap the benefits of our collective discipline. But even as we begin to ease back into the world as we knew it, there are more and more signs that things will never be quite the same again. 
The lockdown has allowed us a glimpse into different futures; acted as an unintended experiment into how things might work if we behaved differently. 
For the last few weeks, journalists across the DC Thomson Media family of newspapers have been talking to experts to gauge what the post-Covid-19 future might look like. You can – and should – read all their essays at pressandjournal.co.uk/a-new-normal or at thecourier.co.uk/a-new-normal – but in this special edition podcast episode, we bring them together to share highlights from their investigations and bring these stories vividly to life. Join us, as we consider whether Covid-19 will usher in a “New Normal”. 
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 

Week 21, 2020: Scottish lockdown exit strategy, and the branding of colleagues working from home as lazy by one MP

It’s the week in which the Scottish government formally laid out its plans and tests for a phased lifting of the lockdown restrictions. We discuss these proposals, how they’ve been received outside Scotland, and swiftly apologise for making a diet version of the gaffe a Conservative MP tweeted regarding how hard people working from home have, in fact, been working.
Join journalists from across the DC Thomson Media folio of newspapers, and from their homes all across the country, to help you understand how Scotland, the UK and the world is fighting coronavirus. 
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 

Week 20, 2020: ‘Tetchy’ Brexit negotiations, as the June 30 deadline looms

Who’d have ever thought talking about Brexit would be a welcome distraction? In the week that a source described negotiations to us as ‘tetchy’, it looks like that ever-present prospect of a no-deal just edged a little closer. Elsewhere on the podcast, our political journalists discuss the latest on coronavirus, and what the weeks and months ahead hold.
Join journalists from across the DC Thomson Media folio of newspapers, and from their homes all across the country, to help you understand how Scotland, the UK and the world is fighting coronavirus. 
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 

Week 19, 2020: Thinking about a post-lockdown future for Scotland – but there are mixed messages from our governments

It’s the week in which the advice from the UK and Scottish governments appeared to diverge about when we can start easing the restrictions designed to slow the spread of coronavirus, but at least in Scotland we have some clarity about what the exit from lockdown might look like. This, plus lots of crunchy chat about what the data tells us – even if it’s sometimes porkie pies – and why we need more of it, and what the team are missing most from the before times. Join journalists from across the DC Thomson Media folio of newspapers, and from their homes all across the country, to help you understand how Scotland, the UK and the world is fighting coronavirus. 
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 

Week 17, 2020: The [Scottish] government’s lockdown exit strategy

It’s the week in which the government – the Scottish government, not the UK government – published a white paper outlining what the lifting of lockdown might look like. Westminster has been criticised not just for failing to be as clear as Holyrood on this, but also for mixing up what numbers on testing relate to the UK and which just to England. Join journalists from across the DC Thomson Media folio of newspapers, and from their homes all across the country, to help you understand how Scotland, the UK and the world is fighting coronavirus. 
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 

Week 16, 2020: Lockdown extended (but it seems to be working)

It’s the week in which the coronavirus lockdown was extended for at least a further three weeks – though there are promising signs in the data that it’s working – and in which attention turned to some of its most vulnerable victims. Join journalists from across the DC Thomson Media folio of newspapers, and from their homes all across the country, to help you understand how Scotland, the UK and the world is fighting coronavirus. 
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 

Week 15, 2020: CMO resigns, virtual FMQs, and PM in ICU

It’s the week in which Scotland’s Chief Medical Officer resigned after she didn’t follow her own advice about staying home in the coronavirus lockdown, in which First Minister’s Questions moved online for the first time in political history, and in which the Prime Minister, who has contracted COVID-19, has been moved to an intensive care unit. 
Join journalists from across the DC Thomson Media folio of newspapers, and from their homes all across the country, to help you understand how Scotland, the UK and the world is fighting coronavirus. 
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 

Week 14, 2020: Confusion over ventilator procurement – but some reasons for cautious optimism too

It’s the week that confusion reigned over procurement responsibilities for ventilators to treat coronavirus patients, and in which the process of gathering data on cases changed to better and more quickly reflect reality. And though it’s a bit of a grim reality for lots of us, there are some reasons for cautious optimism too. 
Join journalists from across the DC Thomson Media folio of newspapers, and from their homes all across the country, to help you understand how Scotland, the UK and the world is fighting coronavirus. 
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 

Week 13, 2020: The Salmond verdict, and coronavirus lockdown

It’s the week that the UK formally went into lockdown in the fight against coronavirus, but it’s also the week in which former First Minister Alex Salmond was cleared of the sexual assault allegations made against him. We hear from the journalist who broke the story of the original allegations on what the verdict means for the future of Scottish politics, plus all the latest on coronavirus, and some tips on working from home. 
Join journalists from across the DC Thomson Media folio of newspapers, and from their bedrooms 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 

Week 11, 2020: Coronavirus formally moves to a new phase

It’s the week in which, well, there may have been a well-received Budget from the UK Chancellor, but there’s only one topic on the minds of politicians and public alike: coronavirus. With us moving formally from the ‘contain’ phase into ‘delay’, we discuss what that means, and what the coming weeks and months could look like. 
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