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Sally Magnusson presents two of the events she recorded recently at the Edinburgh International Festival including her conversation with theatre director David Greig about his first novel, Columba’s Bones, set in 9th century Iona and Booker-nominated author Alan Warner on his book Nothing Left to Fear from Hell which is set in the aftermath of the Battle of Culloden in 1746.

We also hear about the fascinating social history of Tartan. Leonie Bell, director of the V&A in Dundee, and consultant curator and fashion academic Jonathan Faiers join Sally before a studio audience at the Edinburgh International Book Festival to share their thoughts on the textile’s relationship to identity, clanship and creativity.

With children in Scotland returning to school – what are some of the ways that kids can be subconsciously labelled by teachers and classmates – and how does that influence the kind of person they ultimately become? Sally discusses the issue with Fiona Larkin, who works in behavioural support and inclusion, and Nuzhat Uthmani, an Acting Principal Teacher specialising in equalities-based education in primary school.

Earlier this month, a group of over fifty authors sent an open letter to the Edinburgh International Book Festival challenging the green ethics of their main sponsor Baillie Gifford, a global investment company. So how do festival organisers balance sourcing the funding they need to run a festival, with concerns about where the money has come from? Sally is joined by author and historian Alistair Moffat who founded the Borders Book Festival and journalist and editor Mike Small to discuss the ethical questions around arts funding.