Four people. One topic. No filter. Sex educators Reed Amber and Hannah Witton discuss kinks and fetishes with therapist Esther de la Ford and dominatrix Miss Marilyn. There are endless numbers of kinks and fetishes out there from bondage to foot fetishes. Kinks can be harmless but a fetish can be fundamental to someone’s sexual fulfilment and that can cause problems, especially if your partner does share it. So what can you do, get it satisfied elsewhere or try and push it down, never to be satisfied? Producers: Myles Bonnar and Peter McManus Editor: Anthony Browne A BBC Scotland production for Radio 4

Four people. One topic. No filter. Rapper Nova Scotia the Truth and games journalist Jordan Middler discuss their fears for the future with drag artist Lawrence Chaney and poet Iona Lee. From climate change to AI the future can seem a scary place but is it in our nature to fear the future? Producers: Myles Bonnar and Peter McManus Editor: Anthony Browne A BBC Scotland production for Radio 4

Four people. One topic. No filter. Drag Race’s Ellie Diamond and trainee priest Molly Boot discuss coming out with comedian Paul Black and porn performer Kayden Gray. Everyone’s story of coming out is different. For some it’s an anti-climax for others it’s a long, sometimes traumatic journey. What our panel have all learnt is that you have to do it at your own pace. Producers: Myles Bonnar and Peter McManus Editor: Anthony Browne A BBC Scotland production for Radio 4

Four people. One topic. No filter. Sex Educator Reed Amber, political commentator Dominique Samuels discuss if public figures should stay off social media with writer Alistair Heather and trade unionist Lewis Akers What’s the trade-off for public figures between being able to directly reach your audience and the criticism, abuse and distress that are the sad reality of using social media? And from footballers to politicians, if it starts to get in the way of you doing your job should you just give it up? Producers: Myles Bonnar and Peter McManus Editor: Anthony Browne A BBC Scotland production for Radio 4

Four people. One topic. No filter. Activists Jay Hawkridge & Mercy Shibemba discuss living with HIV with Niamh Millar from the Terence Higgins Trust and porn performer Kayden Gray. What is the actual level of information out there about living with HIV; when it comes to new relationships, dealing with the medical profession and handling the stigma? Producers: Myles Bonnar and Peter McManus Editor: Anthony Browne A BBC Scotland production for Radio 4

Four people. One topic. No filter. Twitch streamers Dando and Toastie discuss online gaming culture with journalist Jordan Middler and youtuber MarleyThirteen. With so many more people gaming now, especially because of lockdown has the online gaming environment got better or worse for women? Producers: Myles Bonnar and Peter McManus Editor: Anthony Browne A BBC Scotland production for Radio 4

Four people. One topic. No filter. Politics students Dominique Samuels and Emily Hewertson discuss the future of capitalism with writer Alistair Heather and trade unionist Cat Boyd. In the face of catastrophes like climate change has free market capitalism run its course and if so are there any viable alternatives? Producers: Myles Bonnar and Peter McManus Editor: Anthony Browne A BBC Scotland production for Radio 4

Four people. One topic. No filter. Actor and comedian Paul Black rapper, Nova Scotia the truth, podcast maker Sean McDonald and social media consultant Kumba Dauda discuss if we've become addicted to social media? We use it for news, keeping in touch with friends, even work. There’s no question how important social media has become but what can you do to stop it becoming all consuming? Producers: Myles Bonnar and Peter McManus Editor: Anthony Browne A BBC Scotland production for Radio 4

Four people. One topic. No filter. Sex and relationship educator Esther de la Ford, dominatrix Miss Marilyn, doctor Cerys Barratt and Brenna Jessie of Rape Crisis Scotland discuss life after sexual assault. There’s so much missing from our conversations about living with such a traumatic experience; what does that life look like, how do you regain control of what’s happened to you and how do you reconnect with your body and feel sexual again? Producers: Myles Bonnar and Peter McManus Editor: Anthony Browne A BBC Scotland production for Radio 4

Four people. One topic. No filter. Drag Race contestants Lawrence Chaney & Ellie Diamond discuss the rise of drag with fellow artists Cheddar Gorgeous and Alice Rabbit. The Ru Paul reality TV show has raised the profile of drag like never before but is it only certain aspects that are getting amplified? Drag is a much more diverse and disruptive scene than what makes it on to mainstream media might lead you to believe. Producers: Myles Bonnar and Peter McManus Editor: Anthony Browne A BBC Scotland production for Radio 4

Four people. One topic. No filter. Writer & journalist Charlie Peters, politics student Emily Hewertson, poet Iona Lee and creative director David Chukwujekwu discuss at what age you should be able to vote. The age when you can start voting varies across the UK. In England and Northern Ireland you can’t vote in any elections until you’re 18. But in Scotland and Wales you can vote in local and devolved parliamentary elections at 16. So should the voting age be lowered for all elections or as some people believe should it actually be raised? Producers: Myles Bonnar and Peter McManus Editor: Anthony Browne A BBC Scotland production for Radio 4

Tricky is the place to discuss difficult questions away from the bear pit of social media. Politics students and commentators Dominique Samuels and Emily Hewertson discuss the importance of voting with writer Alasdair Heather and creative director David Chukwujekwu. In simple numerical terms your vote always counts but what if the party you favour have no chance of getting in or you can’t find anyone you can bring yourself to vote for? Is it worth casting your ballot? Producers: Myles Bonnar and Peter McManus Editor: Anthony Browne A BBC Scotland production for Radio 4

Tricky is back with fresh perspectives on challenging topics

Tricky is the place to discuss difficult questions away from the bear pit of social media. Youtuber Kirstie Bryce and Muslim convert Aisha Murray join cancer survivor John McGrogan and embalmer Kelly McBride to consider whether we need to change how we talk about death. They’ve all had to make peace with their feelings about it, whether it be through their profession, faith or personal experiences and can’t understand why it remains such a taboo. For all of them the only way to draw death’s sting is to be open and honest about the one thing we’re all going to experience, whoever we are. Producers: Myles Bonnar and Peter McManus Editor: Anthony Browne A BBC Scotland production for Radio 4

Tricky is the place to discuss difficult questions away from the bear pit of social media. Content creators Aisha Murray & Harleen Nottay join trainee paralegal Amanda Calley and yoga instructor Finlay Wilson to discuss our obsession with body image and how to resist the pressures of the latest trends. They’ve a broad range of experience when it comes to body image; from working in the fitness industry and modelling, to growing up black in rural Scotland or converting to Islam and adopting traditional dress. They’ve all felt pressure of one sort or another but do their best to recognise it as the commodification of beauty - even when it come in the guise of body positivity. Producers: Myles Bonnar and Peter McManus Editor: Anthony Browne A BBC Scotland production for Radio 4

Tricky is the place to discuss difficult questions away from the bear pit of social media. Creative director David Chukwujekwu, Trainee paralegal Amanda Calley, Youtuber Kirstie Bryce, and North Lanarkshire councillor Meghan Gallacher discuss the effectiveness of online activism. Whether it’s Black Lives Matter, Marcus Rashford's crusade over school meals or the global campaign EndSARS drawing attention to police brutality in Nigeria online is steadily becoming the place where people are engaging with political and social issues. But does posting a black square or a hashtag really constitute activism? For our panel there’s nothing worse than taking a selfie at a protest just to be seen there, or a commercial brand jumping on the band wagon of the cause du jour. As for so called influencers activism can be a double edged sword, support every cause and people don’t take you seriously, fail to support something and people call you out for not caring. Producers: Myles Bonnar and Peter McManus Editor: Anthony Browne A BBC Scotland production for Radio 4

Political commentator Dominique Samuels, Relationship educator Esther De La Ford, Ph.D. student Bec Wonders and artist Ruby Streek discuss the acronym TERF (Trans-exclusionary radical feminist). Some of our panel consider it an insult while for others it’s a factual term for transphobic behaviour. They all agree that it’s a source of division and tension amongst feminists. Is it being used to shut down those who have concerns about unintended consequences of trans-activism or a valid way of calling out intolerance? Producers: Myles Bonnar and Peter McManus Editor: Anthony Browne A BBC Scotland production for Radio 4

Tricky is the place to discuss difficult questions away from the bear pit of social media. Writer and podcaster Russell Miller, actress Amy Leith, political commentator Dominique Samuels and gaming journalist Jordan Middler discuss the boom in conspiracy theories. Everyday seems to bring a new one whether it’s about COVID, 'the deep state' in the US or what people in power are really up to. Our panel all have conspiracy theories that they believe to be true but at what point does not accepting what you're told at face value become harmful and counterproductive? The internet should give us access to all the information we need to judge what's going on but yet it seems to only make things worse. Is the truth really out there? Producers: Myles Bonnar and Peter McManus Editor: Anthony Browne A BBC Scotland production for Radio 4

Tricky is the place to discuss difficult questions away from the bear pit of social media. Musician James Alexander Graham, film maker Harleen Nottay, yoga teacher Finlay Wilson & artist Ruby Streek discuss the stigma around depression and what people don't get about it. Despite more information being available than ever, depression is still a subject people are reluctant to talk about. Our panel explore why that's still the case and how they live with depression. They've all had experiences that show there's still plenty people don't understand and this can lead the uneducated to make blunders big and small. Producers: Myles Bonnar and Peter McManus Editor: Anthony Browne A BBC Scotland production for Radio 4

Tricky is the place to discuss difficult questions away from the bear pit of social media. Gray Crosbie (they/them), Lawrence Chaney (she/her), Katy Montgomerie (she/her) and Victor Lockhart (he/him) discuss the importance of pronouns. Our panel represent a diverse range of gender identities, including trans men and women and non- binary. For all them being addressed with the correct pronoun, be it he, she or they is a basic demonstration of respect and acceptance. So how do they handle it when people get it wrong; is it worse when someone deliberately misgenders them as an attack, or when it happens accidentally in day to day life? Producers: Myles Bonnar and Peter McManus Editor: Anthony Browne A BBC Scotland production for Radio 4

Tricky is the place to discuss difficult questions away from the bear pit of social media. Drag artist Vanity Von Glow, poet Iona Lee, relationship & sex educator, Esther De La Ford and actor Karen Bartke discuss the 'Karen' meme. Karen is a slang term for an obnoxious, angry, entitled, and often racist middle-aged white woman, who uses her privilege to get her way or police other people's behaviours. It’s similar to the male term 'Gammon' in that they both refer to furious opinionated white people. ‘Karen’ began as shorthand in the US's black community but was popularised right across all sorts of service industries. For the Karen on our panel it puts her off complaining about anything, in case she's accused of ‘being such a Karen' especially because that's her name! But is it now being used simply as a means to shut women down when they express an opinion that usually a man doesn't like? Who is the arbiter of when the meme is being correctly used or is that simply the nature of these things that once they're out they take on a life of their own? Producers: Myles Bonnar and Peter McManus Editor: Anthony Browne A BBC Scotland production for Radio 4

Tricky is the place to discuss difficult questions away from the bear pit of social media. Gaming journalist Jordan Middler, poet Iona Lee, drag queen Lawrence Chaney and visual artist Sekai Machache discuss lockdown. As restrictions tighten again across the UK we ask if young people are being blamed for the latest surge in cases of COVID 19 while also suffering the most economic hardship. The first lockdown devastated hospitality and retail as well as the arts and entertainment sectors, all areas where young people form the majority of the workforce and it seems the worst is yet to come. While schemes like ‘Eat Out To Help Out’ encouraged everyone to get back out it’s young people’s ‘house parties’ and pub visits that seem to have been singled out as one of the main reasons for these latest restrictions - is that fair? Our panel discuss how confusing and seemingly contradictory messages have left us unsure about what we can and can’t do, with the result that the finger of blame is pointed firmly at the younger generation. Producers: Myles Bonnar and Peter McManus Editor: Anthony Browne A BBC Scotland production for Radio 4

Tricky is the place to discuss difficult questions away from the bear pit of social media. Musician Ransom FA, visual artist Sekai Machache, writer Vanessa Kisuule and David Chukwujekwu from Intercultural Youth Scotland discuss where Black Lives Matter goes from here. The needless death of George Floyd seemed to signal a new phase for those campaigning to end racism both in the US and here in the UK. As a hashtag and a slogan Black lives Matter is the latest in a long succession of rallying cries but have recent events marked a tipping point. Our panel use their own experiences of racism to explore this crucial question and give their thoughts on how to keep up the momentum that's come at such a high cost. Producers: Myles Bonnar and Peter McManus Editor: Anthony Browne A BBC Scotland production for Radio 4

Tricky is the place to discuss difficult questions away from the bear pit of social media. Online sex worker Reed Amber, dominatrix Megara Furie, Onlyfans content creator Ross and retired 'full service' sex worker 'Lucy' discuss the cons and surprising pros of sex work. Working in the sex industry comes with a lot of stigma. And while there are many dark aspects to it there's a much wider range of experiences than you might expect. Our panel all made the deliberate choice to become sex workers either for financial reasons or to pursue their fascination with sex. For many of them it is literally a business and comes with all that that entails; health and safety, marketing, tax returns. But for a job that skirts with illegality there are all sorts of obstacles - staying safe is a priority but if you share a property with another sex worker you run foul of the law of 'brothel keeping', it can be a minefield. Sex work can also take its toll on your other relationships; it can take a particular type of partner to see past society's and their own hang ups to accept that sex can be something you also just do for a living. Producers: Myles Bonnar and Peter McManus Editor: Anthony Browne A BBC Scotland production for Radio 4

Tricky is the place to discuss difficult questions away from the bear pit of social media. Writer and performer Vanessa Kissule, drag artist Vanity Von Glow, online sex educator Reed Amber and dominatrix Megara Furie look at the rise of cancel culture and ask has it gone too far? Should people be cast out because they express opinions we find repugnant? What if that's simply a product of ignorance? Cancelling someone means denying them the opportunity to learn and grow. Who hasn’t said something they've regretted, especially on social media - should they be forever condemned for it? Especially when cancelling can be more than calling someone outand might affect your livelihood as Vanity has experienced. What, if any conversations shouldn’t be had and isn’t it just as important what can be heard as well as what can be said in our digital public spaces? These are the tricky questions we should think about next time our finger hovers over retweet. Producers: Myles Bonnar and Peter McManus Editor: Anthony Browne A BBC Scotland production for Radio 4

The podcast where nothing is off limits and no one goes unheard.