Stark Talk

BBC Sounds

Celebrating 20 years of her conversation series seemed like a good time for Edi Stark to take a look back at her extensive archive of interviews.

The broadcaster launched her Stark Talk show in 2000 and, in the period since, has conducted more than 400 chats for the Radio Scotland programme.

To mark the anniversary, Edi has launched a podcast, selecting highlights from across the series.the two-time gold winner at the Sony Radio Academy industry awards will also add new chats with past guests to update their stories. Names featuring in the podcast include author Irvine Welsh, actor James Cosmo and singer Sharleen Spiteri, as well as former guests who are sadly no longer with us, such as author Iain Banks and Battle of Britain fighter pilot Iain Hutchinson.

Kicking off the series was her chat with poet Norman Maccaig, Edi’s favourite guest.

She recalled:“i was so excited

I could hardly breathe, but I settled down enough to conduct an interview that I enjoyed enormously and which I think has stood the test of time. “He was such a twinkling presence, full of mischief and dry humour, it was impossible not to fall for his charisma and charm.and that was before he read his poetry.”

The most recent interview to feature in the podcast comes from March, a chat with Dr Tommy Curry, newly-appointed head of Africana Philosophy and Black Male Studies at Edinburgh University.

“Neither of us could anticipate how much the world would radically change within weeks,” Edi said.“in the podcast, I will speak to him again.

She added:“it’s been fascinating to go through the recordings and re-live so many memorable moments.the archive is a treasure trove of the recent social and cultural history of Scotland and beyond.”