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Burning Questions

Rebels with a cause. Dr James Horton takes on the racist science of his day. Accused witches, heretics and traitors rebel against the Kings of Scots.

Burning questions of the day - racism, heresy and witchcraft. Pioneering pan-Africanist Dr James Africanus Beale Horton came to Edinburgh from Sierra Leone for his qualifications only to find the famous university town was a hot bed of a new kind of racism - Dr Henry Dee and Dr James Kennaway take us into that world. Moving back in time: you’ve heard of Henry VIII but how much do you know about the dramatic life and times of his rival James V of Scotland when both heretics and traitors burned? Dr Amy Blakeway of St Andrews University looks at the darker side of James’s brilliant Renaissance reign. James grandson, James VI, presided over burning people too - for witchcraft. We hear from Ashleigh Angus from Curtin University Australia on the Orkney rebels and the accused witches who were in their camp.

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28 minutes

Last on

Sun 27 Dec 2020 16:00

Broadcasts

  • Sun 27 Dec 2020 06:30
  • Sun 27 Dec 2020 16:00

Podcast