Living Gratefully

The conversation podcast series Living Gratefully returns for a second season.
In the first episode of the new series, Mona Siddiqui speaks to the multi award winning Scottish comedian, actor and writer Janey Godley. Raised in the east end of Glasgow, Janey knew early on she was funny and could tell a story. She began her stand up career in 1994 in a male-dominated environment. Here she speaks of growing up in poverty, her comedy and politics and her advice to struggling artists today, to go online and simply get out there.

In this podcast Mona Siddiqui speaks to Magnus Llewellin, editor of The Times in Scotland. Born in Shropshire, Magnus has held various senior roles in Scottish journalism and regards Scotland as his home. He is passionate about journalism and views the profession as ultimately one that holds people in public life accountable. For Magnus, most journalists are ethical and trying to do the best they can to publish news in a social media market driven by personal opinions and conspiracy theories.

In this podcast, Mona Siddiqui speaks to Humza Yousaf MSP, who is cabinet secretary for justice in the Scottish government. Having held several ministerial roles from a very young age, Humza speaks about the pull of politics, finding a home in the SNP, the tensions of living a Pakistani Islam and to what extent his faith guides his politics. For Humza, social justice must remain a priority in Scotland, a country which is his home but for all its achievements still has a long way to go on issues of race and equality.

In this podcast, Mona Siddiqui speaks to James Williams, the managing director of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Having grown up with music in a happy home, James speaks about his mother’s strong influence, his love for brass instruments and the associated sense of community, and the reasons why he had to give up on his aspiration of playing the tuba professionally. An advocate of the creative arts and youth justice, James sees his role as managing director of the RPO as keeping orchestral music relevant to a society’s needs, sharing his passion more widely, especially in the challenging times of Covid-19. For James, music heals both physically and mentally.

In the final episode of this series of podcasts exploring the topic of gratitude, Mona Siddiqui speaks to John Crichton, Consultant forensic psychiatrist, Chair of the Royal College of Psychiatrists in Scotland and Vice President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists UK. John speaks about his happy childhood despite his dyslexia, his interest in psychiatry from an early age, and the importance of looking after all aspects of our mental health. For John, it is a privilege that his patients open up to him, and with the stresses of Covid-19, conversation is all we have left.