Author

In Makar/Unmakar, 12 contemporary poets each provide readers with a literary divining rod, writes Laura Waddell.

It makes me laugh in recognition when The Ideal Scotsman opens with presenter Rachel McCormack saying, ‘Scottish men. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but they’re everywhere,” as she gestures to a panoramic view of Stirling, with customarily deadpan humour.

Politicians need to drop the dehumanising rhetoric amid the debate over trans rights, says Laura Waddell.

A horrific fire in New York is still remembered today because of the safety regulations it inspired, writes Laura Waddell, while Jeremy Corbyn’s decision to wear a green tie in memory of the Grenfell Tower fire’s victims produced jeers from Conservative MPs – until they were rebuked by Theresa May.

Sky and ITV’s decisions to exclude SNP from general election TV debates misrepresents political reality, writes Laura Waddell.

The undervaluing of women is still widespread throughout modern society, writes Laura Waddell.

As we obsess over Brexit, bombast and trumpetry, Big Tech is expanding its reach into our lives, writes Laura Waddell.

A goose who honks at villagers offers catharsis for those feeling helpless amid the epic political and environmental tragedies of the modern world, writes Laura Waddell.

Tommy Sheridan, a divisive figure within the movement for Scottish independence, and nationalism’s answer to Tweedledum and Tweedledee are not going to win over No voters horrified by the populism of Brexit Britain, writes Laura Waddell ahead of an All Under One Banner rally on Saturday.

The Supreme Court judge’s choice of jewellery suits the turning of the season – and the ebbing away of Boris Johnson’s authority, writes Laura Waddell

It should not be left to the victims of racism, sexism and other forms of prejudice to tackle online abuse through campaigns like #DontFeedTheTrolls, writes Laura Waddell.

The prospect of Geoffrey Boycott being knighted – despite his conviction for assaulting a former partner – will play on the minds of women even if they try to shrug it off, writes Laura Waddell.

Boris Johnson, Michael Gove and co are in denial about food shortages despite industry warnings about no-deal Brexit and bookmakers offering odds of nine-to-one on rationing by the end of the year, writes Laura Waddell.

Self-centred hysteria and demands not to face criticism are the reaction of those clinging to the past, writes Laura Waddell.

The Glasgow School of Art is sending mixed messages about who the Mackintosh building is really for. From the outside, it looks like the board has lost its way.

Clowns from across the political spectrum have been putting on quite a show of late with Caroline Lucas’s suggestion of an all-female Cabinet to sort out Brexit, Wings Over Scotland’s plan for a new political party and Labour’s independence-themed performance of the hokey-cokey, writes Laura Waddell.

There was something satisfying in watching a man in Almeria, Spain, struggle to haul a fridge – that he’d chucked down a cliff while joking about recycling – back up, writes Laura Waddell.

The new Culture Secretary Nicky Morgan once said that the idea an arts education is useful for many jobs ‘couldn’t be further from the truth’, notes Laura Waddell.

Respect is key when children develop different values to their parents and two writers – Zeba Talkhani, author of the fascinating memoir My Past is a Foreign Country, and Ocean Vuong – offer different insights on the process of becoming an independent adult, writes Laura Waddell.