New history podcast by Edinburgh-based tour guide unearths Scotland's often dark past

AUDIO dramas, radio plays and podcasts have come into their own in Edinburgh this August, becoming one of the most popular go to platforms for those missing the Festival.

Unearthed podcast host Ryan Latto

For Edinburgh-based history tour guide Ryan Latto, however, audio is the medium he knows best and there’s certainly more than a little drama in his new 10-part Scottish history podcast series, Unearthed.

Made for Scotland’s first independent podcast network, The Big Light, the 27-year-old launched the podcast during lockdown. He says, “Scotland has had time to reflect on its own culture, politics, heritage, education, art and identity. I feel that we now have the time to look at our past, to understand where we are now and to help us have a think about our future.”

In each episode Ryan takes the listener on an investigation into Scotland’s past, digging deep to excavate fascinating stories, with contributions from historians, locals, musicians, comedians, and activists.

Janice Forsyth

The Big Light co-founder and broadcaster, Janice Forsyth, says, “Unearthed is a brilliant podcast that will attract listeners around the world.

“Ryan is an exciting new talent, with a fresh, accessible and forensic approach to Scottish history, that’s all about great storytelling.”

Ryan adds, “Each podcast is a stand-alone topic and I have worked hard to go the extra mile to find pertinent commentators and experts on each subject.”

Three topics in particular that have generated more feedback than other, the story of Dr James Barry, the woman who pretended to be a man to become a Doctor (episode 3), that of Henry Dundas (episodes 4 and 5), a man whose deliberate actions postponed the abolition of slavery and sent a further 500,000 people to their death in the plantations, also in episode 5, how Scotland's role in the slave trade has affected people living in Scotland today.

Janice says, “Ryan doesn’t shy away from controversy as long as it is fact based. His social commentary on history has a very contemporary feel to it. The whole series makes for a great boxset binge and includes lighter histories such as the story of Robert Kirk, the minister in Aberfoyle, who wrote The Secret Commonwealth of Elves, Fawns and Fairies.”

Ryan has already been commissioned for his second series on The Highland Clearances which will drop in late October and he states, “There is no need to pull down any statues in order to accept our darker side of history.”

Listen to Unearthed at www.thebiglight.com/unearthed

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