Sunday Morning

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Two hours of music and stimulating conversation from a faith and ethical perspective.

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Sunday Morning: with Cathy Macdonald

with Cathy Macdonald

BBC Radio Scotland - Sunday Morning, with Cathy Macdonald

Award winning author Leah Hazard; the origins of Scottish Christmas traditions

Edinburgh's International Magic Festival; Dr Lorna Gold reflects on her experiences at COP28; and faith and Christmas movies.

God’s Gang is a brand new animation series featuring a team of friends of four different faiths who go on extraordinary adventures to save the world together. The series is based on the importance of interfaith unity and seeing past differences to the things that connect us. With a high-profile team of backers and nearly a quarter of a million subscribers to the YouTube pilot, Cathy speaks to series creator, Nimrod Avraham May, about why he wanted to create it, and the importance of seeing interfaith unity on screen.

‘Tis truly the season for Christmas carolling, but just how aware are we of where our favourite seasonal songs came from?  Reverend Philip Blackledge joins Cathy to tell us more about the rich and often surprising history of Christmas carols, their evolution from folk songs and why - centuries on from their composition, for some - they still move us.

Many streaming services right now are pushing their new and classic collections of Christmas films, loved by children and adults alike. Despite the increased consumerism around the festive period, the tenets of love, hope and redemption that proliferate in these films are deeply rooted in faith. Critic Gareth K Vile joins Cathy and the Rev Philip Blackledge to discuss some of their picks, and why many of these films resonate with both secular and religious audiences.


Fresh from presenting at COP28’s brand new Faith Pavilion, Dr Lorna Gold, CEO of UK faith and climate charity Faith Invest chats to Cathy about her thoughts on how the conference went, and her experience of being a part of the official faith Blue Zone.

It may come as something of a surprise but celebrating Christmas was once banned in Scotland and it only became a public holiday in 1958! Bob Davis, Professor of Religious and Cultural Education at the University of Glasgow and historian Dr Jo Riley from The National Trust for Scotland join Cathy to delve into the history of Christmas in Scotland and uncover some of the fascinating stories around the yuletide traditions we now celebrate.


Perhaps the most contested and controversial organ in the body, the womb, is also the one that it could be said we know least about.  Author and midwife Leah Hazard joins Cathy to discuss her book Womb: The Inside Story of Where We All Began, which won dual accolades at last week’s Scottish Book of the Year Awards.  

Edinburgh’s International Magic Festival is upon us, bringing bring wonder, fun – and of course, literal magic - to the festive season. But why does the act of conjuring remain so captivating? Magician Tim Licata and critic Gareth K Vile chat to Cathy about magic’s connection to the wider world and the joy it can bring to us all.

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