Witches of Scotland

EPISODE 76 DR MARGARET BENNETT Zoe in conversation with DR MARGARET BENNETT “is a Scottish writer, folklorist, ethnologist, broadcaster, and singer. Her main interests lies in the field of traditional Scottish folk culture and cultural identity of the Scots in Scotland and abroad. The late Hamish Henderson, internationally distinguished poet and folklorist, said about her: Margaret embodies the spirit of Scotland.” THIS WAS RECORDED BEFORE WE HAD CONFIRMATION THAT THE UK AND US HARDBACK OF OUR BOOO WILL HAVE THE TARTAN ON IT

CLARE CAMPBELL OF PRICKLY THISTLE talks to Zoe and Claire about the tartan and about how we are releasing the WOS Tartan, clans and much more

Zoe and Claire discuss the witch trials in France and speak to ANNETTE YOUNG, journalist and presenter of the 51% - a feminist French TV show about Gislèle Pelicot. WARNING The discussion includes details of sexual assault.

Zoe and Claire talk to the folks at the Connecticut Witch Trials and find out all about their campaign. They also talk about the Afghanistan Government decision to remove education from women, the internets reaction to a woman celebrating her PHD (Congratulations Dr. Ally Louks) and also talk about middle class women of a certain age.... Those brave listeners who are able to make it to the end of the podcast will be rewarded with raven chat and festive requests.

Zoe and Claire come clean about why there has been no podcast in a while and what they have been up to... SPOILER : They've written a book! Their publishers say "HOW TO KILL A WITCH is a compelling and detailed investigation into the historic persecution of women as witches by Claire Mitchell and Zoe Venditozzi, founders of the world-famous Witches of Scotland campaign. With testimony from a small army of experts, pen portraits of the women accused, trial transcripts, witness accounts and the documents that set the legal grounds for the witch hunts, HOW TO KILL A WITCH builds to form a rich patchwork of tragic stories, helping us comprehend the underlying reasons for this terrible injustice, and raises the serious question - could it ever happen again?

Zoe & Claire speak to Prof Goodare about how the Survey of Scottish Witchcraft came about and Euan McAndrew, Wikimedian in residence at Edinburgh University explains bringing the work to a digital audience along with student Ruby Imrie PLUS BONUS APOLOGY EPISODE with Kristof Smeyers about a topic close to Zoe & Claire’s hearts….

Zoe & Claire speak to the endlessly fascinating Professor Marion Gibson about her new book which spans 700 years of witchcraft trials - from the trial which probably started the European witch hunt to the 21st century allegations of “witch-hunting” of Donald Trump by Stormy Daniels *may include raccoons

Zoe and Claire speak to author Stacey Thomas about her debut novel “The Revels” - all about witchcraft accusations . Stacey Thomas is a contributor to Bad Form Review. She is an alumna of the Curtis Brown Creative novel writing course where she was awarded the Clare Mackintosh Scholarship for Black Writers. In 2021, she was announced as one of the three winners of HarperCollins’s inaugural Killing It Competition for Undiscovered Writers.

Zoe and Claire catch up with Leo Igwe to find out about witchcraft accusations in the present day : what are people being accused of, by whom and why? NB The Aye Write event has now already taken place - sorry to those who missed it! WARNING - Discusses violence against people accused of witchcraft

Zoe and Claire talk to the hugely knowledgeable Dr. Andrew Sneddon, historian of medicine, religion and the supernatural, especially ghosts, magic and witchcraft. Senior Lecturer in History @ Ulster University.

Zoe and Claire speak to Lorraine Murray Archivist at The Watt Institution in Greenock and at The Glasgow Academy in Kelvinbridge. She is an Art and Architectural Historian who has been researching the woman and men accused of witchcraft in Inverclyde

Zoe and Claire speak to author Anya Bergman about her story of the women killed as witches in Vardø. We talk magic, menopause, weather witches and why a Scotsman might have been to blame. Raccoons included

Zoe and Claire speak to Dr. Martha McGill about her game, developed by a team at the University of Warwick, to explore and understand the witch hunt phenomena - based on events in Haddington, Zoe & Claire consider the history of Haddington accused and one of the accusers who owned an enchanted pear. Raccoon chat included

Zoe and Claire speak to the fabulously knowledgeable Judith Langlands Scott about witch confessions in Forfar, John Kincaid’s “expert” expenses and find out where following the money trail gets you on the hunt to uncover the details of those killed as witches

Zoe and Claire speak to Assistant Professor Jem Bloomfield to explore "witches" in crime fiction of the mid-twentieth century. His work explores the intellectual and social worlds of these books, relating them to contemporary concerns around gender, art, magic and  religion.  

Zoe and Claire talk to Anna Day, Cultural Public Programme Manager for Perth about statues in memory of women accused of witchcraft, why memorials are important and Anna shares her own family story of remembering those who died in WWII.

Zoe and Claire interview the brilliant author Jenni Fagan about her new book “Hex” : “ A witch will die here in the morning. It is the 4th of December 1591. On this, the last night of her life in a prison cell several floors below Edinburgh’s High Street, convicted witch Geillis Duncan receives a mysterious visitor – Iris, who says she comes from a future where women are still killed for who they are and what they believe.” (Birlinn Publishers)

Zoe and Claire speak to Professor Malcolm Gaskill about his study of witchcraft accusations in England - from the 17th century jjury trials to the 20th century trial of “Hellish Nell”

Zoe and Claire talk to the criminal defence lawyer - made famous by #thestaircase documentary on Netflix about american injustice - the Salem witch trials, forced confessions, pardons and why they are important and much more! also : cake references

Join Zoe & Claire speaking to Dr Jan Machielsen who studies and teaches about witchcraft accusations and trials - we ask what an apology really means and why each country builds different narratives around the witchcraft trials