In this episode, Kirsty Wark explores the highs and lows of the 1990s and 2000s, a period that begins with the explosion of rave culture and ends with the financial crash.

This was a time when being Scottish became cool, as young Scottish musicians made their voices heard on a world stage, and films such as Shallow Grave, Trainspotting and Braveheart dominated at the box office. It was also a time of political triumph for Scots who had long campaigned for devolution, as the wave of change that accompanied New Labour’s 1997 election victory delivered a Scottish Parliament. However, while Scotland greeted the new millennium on a high there were troubles ahead – from tension on our streets and a growing wealth gap to a war on foreign shores.

This programme tells the story of these years through the memories of those who experienced them, featuring individuals and families from across Scotland along with a host of familiar faces. Kirsty meets the DJs and dancers who rebelled against the individualism of the Thatcher years through rave music, and hears from Alex Kapranos, Stuart Braithwaite and The Delgados who, instead of moving to London, went global from Glasgow. Kirsty also meets producer Andrew Macdonald to hear how a couple of low-budget local films - Shallow Grave and Trainspotting - became global phenomena, and speaks to lawyer Aamer Anwar on subjects as diverse as rave culture and race relations in Scotland.

These were also years when Scotland’s population was transformed. Kirsty will explore immigration to the Highlands, the arrival of asylum seekers and the ways that once-industrial communities reinvented their economies to embrace tourism. She also finds out how the Iraq war divided opinion in Scotland, and talks to celebrated theatre director John Tiffany about how it came to pass that the story of Scottish regiment the Black Watch captured the mood not just of the country, but of people around the world. Show less