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Podcast – Iceland, the fire island
Iceland has a stunning landscape with glaciers galore … but is more properly fire island. Lava, earthquakes eruptions and volcanoes dominate life and world headlines.Around Christmas 2023, an eruption forced people from their homes in the fishing port of Grindavik. One year and six eruptions later – the townspeople are back. But another eruption nearby is spewing lava into the car park of the famous Blue Lagoon. By the time you hear this podcast, that eruption could be over… or much worse.Yet despite all the risk and uncertainty, many Icelanders say they live here because of their volcanoes not despite them. Why? That’s what this podcast – recorded in October 2024 – is all about. CreditsThanks to Easyjet for flights – direct to Reykjavik each weekday from Edinburgh. I travelled...Read More
10: Iceland – fire island
Iceland has a stunning landscape with glaciers galore … but is more properly fire island. Lava, earthquakes eruptions and volcanoes dominate life and world headlines. Around Christmas 2023, an eruption forced people from their homes in the fishing port of Grindavik. One year and six eruptions later – the townspeople are back. But another eruption nearby is spewing lava into the car park of the famous Blue Lagoon. By the time you hear this podcast, that eruption could be over… or much worse. Yet despite all the risk and uncertainty, many Icelanders would say they live here because of their volcanoes not despite them. Why? That’s what this podcast is all about. Credits Thanks to Easyjet for flights – direct to Reykjavik each weekday from Edinburgh. I travelled to the Westman Islands in a Eu...Read More
Is Gothenburg Sweden’s green capital?
Gothenburg once boasted the world’s largest shipyards, but faced with Japanese and Korean competition, the oil crisis and a world economic downturn, the city was brought to its knees in the 1980s, with 5 kms of empty dockland and 20 thousand unemployed people. But though shipbuilding was down, Gothenburg was not out. The City Council bought the empty shipyards for one Swedish krona – that’s 2 pence – financed new house-building, new secondary schools and linked up with Chalmers University to set up Lindholmen Science Park. It attracted the Swedish mobile phone maker, Ericsson who created a cluster of ten thousand people in other IT companies round its new HQ. This inter-dependency helped the sector survive the dot.com crash. The biggest advance though, followed the biggest setb...Read More
9: Gothenburg – has this former shipyard city become Sweden’s green capital?
Gothenburg in Sweden once boasted the world’s largest shipyards, but in the face of Japanese and Korean competition, the oil crisis and a world economic downturn, the city was brought to its knees in the 1980s, with 5 kms of empty dockland and 20 thousand people without jobs. So far, so very like the Clyde. But though shipbuilding was down, Gothenburg was not out. The City Council bought the empty shipyards for one Swedish krona – that’s 2 pence – financed new house-building, new secondary schools and linked up with Chalmers University to set up Lindholmen Science Park. It attracted the Swedish mobile phone maker, Ericsson who created a cluster of ten thousand people in other IT companies around its new HQ. This inter-dependency helped the sector survive the dot.com crash. The ...Read More
8: Bot-savvy Finns
Fake news and cyber attacks undermine democracy, legitimise extremist views, push groundless conspiracy theories and provide cover for propaganda by rich individuals and states. But one country is fighting back. And winning. A study by the European Polic
Podcast – Finland’s fight against Russian cyber attacks
Fake news and cyber attacks are helping undermine democracy, legitimise extremist views, push groundless conspiracy theories and provide cover for propaganda by rich individuals and states. But one country is fighting back. And winning. A study by the European Policies Initiative puts Finland top of 35 countries in ‘post-truth’ resilience. Denmark was second and Sweden fourth. The UK was 10th. What’s their secret? Jussi Toivanen is a former adviser to the Finnish PM on media literacy and was recently appointed Head of Communications at Finland’s National Cyber Security Centre. He’s the main speaker in this podcast, produced from an online NH meeting in October 2022. We also hear from Chris Silver – a researcher and PhD student on memory and the Scottish press – and Claire...Read More
PODCAST; Finland – the future is cooperative
While Britain struggles with sky-high bills, and private water, electricity and oil companies make record profits, Finland relies on a unique system of economic shock absorbers. Cooperatives deliver everything from water and electricity to luxury hotel breaks. They started in the late 1800s and there are more cooperative memberships today than Finns – or saunas. How does it work? Lesley Riddoch’s been to Finland to find out. NB The picture shows the wooden wash-handbasins and baths that feature in the Solo Sokos Hotel in Lahti. It may be part of the huge S-Group cooperative with more than 3 million members but is still a uniquely local operation. With thanks to Risto Turanen, Kari Huhtala, VisitFinland, Finnair and Sokos Hotels.
7: The future (in Finland) will be cooperative
While Britain struggles with sky-high bills, and private water, electricity and oil companies make record profits, Finland relies on a unique system of economic shock absorbers. Cooperatives deliver everything from water and electricity to luxury hotel br
6: Nordic Horizons – the explainer podcast
Nordic Horizons has been helping citizens and policymakers learn from Scotland's nearest neighbours for twelve years. Maybe it's time to explain why.
Podcast; Jean Sibelius – Finland’s musical genius
This is a Nordic Horizons podcast with a difference. It isn’t about policy, politics, climate change or kindergarten – it’s about culture. And the enduring cultural impact of a very exceptional Finn. Some clues. Which famous composer heard different musical notes when he glimpsed different colours? Which composer was at the heart of his country’s successful bid for independence but grew reluctant to have his early work performed to avoid being dismissed as ‘just a romantic nationalist’? And which composer inspired the creation of Finland’s largest wooden concert hall and the world’s first orchestral live-stream? The answer is Jean Sibelius, 1865-1957. This special podcast was recorded and produced by Nordic Horizons Director Lesley Riddoch on...Read More
5: Jean Sibelius – a living legacy
This podcast explores the enduring legacy of Jean Sibelius in modern Finland and uncovers fascinating details about the composer's early life, influences, involvement in Finland's struggle for independence from Russia and immersion in nature at Ainola. It
4: Get the bairns oot playing – school can wait
As SNP delegates decide whether to back a motion calling for Scotland's school age to shift from 4/5 to the international norm of 6/7, here's a taste of what Scots kids are missing - life in an outdoor kindergarten in Norway's Arctic capital - Tromsø.