Edinburgh Napier University Podcast

In the first episode of this series, our host Ross Burns has a chat with honorary graduate and internationally celebrated author of The No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series and many more, Alexander McCall Smith.The famous wordsmith talks about his love of Edinburgh and just how he manages to find his inspiration on this “intriguing” city’s streets. He also gives his personal thoughts on the biggest arts festival in the world, Edinburgh Fringe Festival and just what it was like to live on the notorious “Writer’s Block” in Edinburgh alongside Rebus author, Ian Rankin and Harry Potter author, Jo/JK Rowling. McCall Smith then reflects on his life and lets us into a day in the life of ‘Sandy’ the person and his favourite hotspots in Scotland's capital.Also, Edinburgh Napier's Publishing course celebrated its 50th anniversary this year and to round off this episode we spoke to some of our guests and asked the question, "what do books mean to you?"For more information:Alexander McCall Smithhttps://www.alexandermccallsmith.co.uk/Facebook: @alexandermccallsmithTwitter: @McCallSmithInstagram: @alexandermccallsmithPhoto credit: Kirsty AndersonMusic credit: Alex Finlay

Ross Burns welcomes into the studio Edinburgh Napier’s Mental Health Adviser, Angus MacKenzie along with our very special guests from Canine Concern Scotland Trust, Mel Hughes and Ollie the Collie.We talk about the Therapets programme that the CCST offer that is welcomed by Edinburgh Napier and the impact it has on the wellbeing of our students around exam time in particular. We also discuss why dogs are widely accepted as the favoured animal ahead of others and why. While Mel gives her professional on workplaces becoming more dog-friendly and why it should be handled with caution. For more information:Canine Concern Scotland Trusthttps://www.canineconcernscotland.org.uk/Facebook: @CanineConcernScotlandTrustTwitter: @CanineConcernMusic Credit: Alex Finlay

Friends of the Earth Scotland Director and Honorary Graduate, Dr Richard Dixon and Professor Mark Huxham sit down with Ross Burns after their 'Climate Week' talk for a passionate and engaging discussion about the current climate condition. There’s much discussion over the correct terminology of the changing climate and just how bad the situation is. We also talk about the current wave-makers within the community Greta Thunberg and Extinction Rebellion and how their approach differs from other activist groups and whether their more direct approach is helping or hindering the cause. Mark Huxham also goes into detail about his Leonardo DiCaprio-backed Mangrove project in Kenya and why mangroves are so important and need to be protected.For more information:Association for Coastal Ecosystem Serviceshttps://www.aces-org.co.uk/Friends of the Earth Scotlandhttps://foe.scot/Facebook: @foescotlandTwitter: @FoEScotMusic Credit: Alex Finlay

Ross Burns sits down with Napier alumni and celebrated sports broadcaster of over 20 years, David Tanner and Edinburgh Napier’s International Friendship Club leader, Jessica Doyle.David talks about his friendship with fellow sports broadcaster and fellow alumnus, the late Fraser Robertson, and how he manages to maintain friends while balancing a healthy professional and family life. International Support Officer, Jessica Doyle talks about why she’s leading Napier’s International Friendship Club and reflects on her own first-hand experience of settling students into life in Edinburgh.

The first series of Edinburgh Napier Talks… concludes with a very special episode with our host, Ross Burns, in the studio with Edinburgh Napier technician and I’m A Scientist, Get Me Out of Here winner, Dr James Munro. In the studio together, James fields questions from several pupils from Edinburgh’s Castlebrae High School.Listen on to find out what the most unique phobia James knows of, whether studying Psychology has changed his life in a positive way and if school really is that different to university.This concludes Season 1, thank you to everyone who’s listened and shared it already. The response has been fantastic and so we will get straight to work on Season 2, but while we do that, make sure you check our social media and vote for your favourite episode of the season and let us know your thoughts on what you would like to see in the next season.Music Credit: Alex Finlay

The second series of Edinburgh Napier Talks… is back with an infectious new topic – viruses. Host, Ross Burns, takes his usual position in front of the mic alongside our guest School of Applied Sciences’ Professor of Immunology & Infection AND Head of Research, Peter Barlow.The two sit down and discuss the headline-grabbing Coronavirus, how the world is reacting to it and do the facemasks really work – and more importantly, do they work on our pets? During the episode, we also got Peter’s personal opinion on the “worrying” misinformation surrounding the anti-vaccination movement.The article mentioned in this podcast is: https://theconversation.com/can-you-die-from-a-common-cold-126241 Peter BarlowTwitter: @profpeterbarlowMusic Credit: Alex Finlay