Updating

The Carrying Stream

A Podcast for Scottish Words and Ideas

Released: 2025-12-31

Free New

4 Episodes

Audio

Free New

4 Episodes

Audio

Released: 2025-12-31

Most Recent Episode

3. Robert Burns and Mental Health – with Dr Moira Hansen

This episode's guest is Dr Moira Hansen, whose PhD research explores the life and mental health of Robert Burns, Scotland’s national poet. We talk about Moira’s work on Burns, including her argument that he may have experienced bipolar disorder, and

Time: 1:23:22

Play

This episode's guest is Dr Moira Hansen, whose PhD research explores the life and mental health of Robert Burns, Scotland’s national poet.

We talk about Moira’s work on Burns, including her argument that he may have experienced bipolar disorder, and how this might have shaped his life, his relationships, and some of his best-known works — including "Tam o’ Shanter". It’s a thoughtful conversation about literature, mental health, and how we read figures like Burns today.

01:30 – Moira's background and journey into Burns studies.

05:30 – Diagnosing an eighteenth-century poet.

18:40 – Impact of Burns's mental health on his personal, social and creative life.

28:10 – The Irvine episode: Burns's first depression?

40:10 – How Burns understood his own condition.

46:10 – Frances Dunlop: Burns's correspondent and confidante. 57:10 – A new reading of "Tam o' Shanter".

65:30 – Addressing recent controversies about Burns and gender.

74:20 – Moira's influence on Alan Cumming's recent adaptation of Burns for the stage.

77:39 – Moira's forthcoming research work.

Episode ID: 1000743328021

GUID: fd8eb627-abcd-4b4a-b094-b0f5dcf24e6c

Release Date: 31/12/2025, 15:47:52

Description

The Carrying Stream is a podcast for Scottish words and ideas. Hosted by Dr Paul Malgrati, the series offers long-form conversations with scholars, writers, poets, and artists working in and around Scotland. It is a space for criticism, idea-making, and the sharing of cutting-edge work in Scottish literature and culture. With room for Scots, Gaelic, and international voices, the podcast takes its name from Hamish Henderson’s idea of the “carrying stream”: the belief that cultural change emerges through common intellectual labour and the slow but deep sedimentation of voice and verse.

Feed URL

https://anchor.fm/s/10d4df374/podcast/rss

Apple Podcasts: Customer Reviews

No Entry