A LEFT-WING Scottish website is launching a new podcast titled “A People’s History of Scotland” – with one of the episodes to focus on independence.
Based on Chris Bambery’s 2014 book of the same name, the podcast will tell the story of how different generations and events have shaped Scotland.
The series is broad in scope and will focus on everything from ancient clans fighting the Romans to the 2014 independence referendum.
Speaking to The National, Bambery said: “The first edition came out in the summer of 2014 just before the referendum and the conclusion was why I supported a Yes vote.
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“I also stuck my neck out a bit and said many of the people I wrote about, including Robert Burns, would have voted Yes as I thought that aligned with his views.
“During the independence referendum, it became really apparent how much Scotland has changed, how much our identity has changed.”
Bambery notes that as a child Scottish identity was about a “romantic nationalism which sat easily within Unionism”.
“It celebrated a lot of military success. But that romanticism has changed and faded. I think it’s important to map that process and ask what’s come in its place.
“What’s come is what I would term a form of civic nationalism which became obvious during the independence campaign.
“It was this carnival of discussion and debate with lots of cultural input.”
Given that Monday marked nine years since the 2014 independence referendum, Bambery says it was an interesting process looking at the change in that relatively short time.
He said: “I think we need to keep alive and win the idea that this was a carnival of discussion in every community, even the smallest of places.
“It challenged the assumptions of many journalists. Ordinary, working-class Scots knew so much about the issues raised by the referendum and the possibilities of an independent Scotland.
“I try to look back at different times in Scotland. I recall my dad talking to me about the hunger march in the 1930s from Glasgow to Edinburgh when they camped in Princes Street.
“We’ve had different instances in modern Scottish history, moments not the same but similar of debate, discussion and direct action.”
Bambery also confirmed that there would be a full episode dedicated to the independence referendum of 2014, but that it will come later in the series as it has yet to be recorded.
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The podcast is due to launch its first episode on Wednesday with Bambery and host Sara Bennett to be joined by leading historians and activists to discuss a range of issues.
The host said: “Whilst I knew something of Scotland’s history, hosting the podcast has allowed me to journey from its earliest roots through to modern times, and gain a far greater understanding of the role of those so often written out of our records – ordinary working people – in shaping this land.
“I believe that such a history from below is a timely and helpful resource for anyone deliberating Scotland’s present and future.”
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