03/04/2016

Louis de Bernières, the author of Captain Corelli's Mandolin joins Cathy to talk about life as a writer and father.

What's it like when you're homeless, and have a pet to care for and feed as well as yourself? A group of student vets in Glasgow have set up a free clinic where homeless people can come with their dogs for basic care. Reporter Anna Magnusson went to find out more.

With the introduction of the new National Living Wage, how will it benefit workers in low paid jobs, particularly care staff? Cathy is joined by Dr Donald Macaskill, Chief Executive of Scottish Care.

Ever wondered what happened to the person who used to sit next to you in the pew - why they left and what they're doing? Dr Steve Aisthorpe, a Mission Development worker with the Church of Scotland, had written about it in his book The Invisible Church". Cathy is also joined by Eildon Dyer, one of the founder members of 'Bert', a community that worships in a non-traditional setting, based in East Pollokshields.

A new play exploring the issue of blasphemy uses a Scottish court case from the 17th century to draw modern parallels with how we confront issues around freedom of speech. The List's theatre critic Gareth K Vile finds out if it deepens our understanding of an often sensitive and complex issue.

We all have dreams, but when Mostafa Salameh woke with a start one night in his Edinburgh flat he was determined to make it a reality. It led him to climb Everest and to succeed in other mountaineering quests. Alongside this has been something of a spiritual quest, chronicled in his new book 'Dreams of a Refugee'.