Scottish Independence Podcasts is a weekly podcast about Scottish politics, culture and chat. We passionately support Scottish Independence.
New episodes every Friday. Our website: https://scottishindypod.scot
Data Centres in Scotland: Gold Rush or Bubble?
We join campaign group Pensioners for Independence at the Bacchus Bar in Glasgow to find out more. Dr Craig Dalzell, Head of Policy at the Scottish Common Weal, takes on the most pressing question facing Scotland's energy-rich future and unpacks the real economics behind the hype: Can Scotland afford to pass this up? Or are we about to cover our landscape with massive infrastructure for an industry that could collapse faster than it arrived?
Data centre operators are circling our abundant renewables. Potentially massive investment, likely some jobs, and mitigation of the scandal of curtailment payments — but also ecological concerns, energy competition with households, and the risk of backing tomorrow's obsolete technology.
Should Scotland seize the opportunity to become Europe's AI powerhouse, or are we chasing the next tech bubble? Is it fracking all over again?
If you care about Scotland's economic future, energy policy, or simply want straight answers instead of corporate spin, this is essential viewing.
Key topics:
00:02:17 Why do they want AI?00:05:25 What are data centres?00:10:25 The AI bubble00:12:19 Why so many data centres?00:14:47 What will AI be useful for?00:21:09 Who owns the data centres?00:24:18 Digital sovereignty00:27:33 How to regulate a data centre00:32:08 Will Scotland rein AI in?00:33:40 Commonweal's prospectus for Scotland
00:34:44 Audience Q+A
Find out more about Commonweal's crowdfunder here:https://www.commonweal.scot/crowdfunder
Bella Caledonia article: https://bellacaledonia.org.uk/2026/09/23/where-are-we-in-the-fight-against-hyperscale-data-centres/
#AIdatacentre #hyperscale #techbubble
The Indypodcasters team produce a NEW podcast episode every Friday search for Scottish Independence Podcasts wherever you get your podcasts. Remember to like and subscribe!
Get in touch:Email: indypodcasters@gmail.com Bluesky: @scottishindypod
Visit our website https://scottishindypod.scot for blogposts, newsletter signup and more episodes
Subscribe for free to our Youtube channel @scottishindypodExtra for more of our video footage and clips. Video premieres most Tuesdays at 8pm
We're also on TikTok : scotindypodcasters
If you've enjoyed this podcast you might like to buy us a coffee? https://ko-fi.com/scottishindependencepodcastsor choose us as your Easyfundraising good cause.
Music:
Inspired by Kevin MacLeod
Scottish Independence Podcasts is pro independence but not party political. Opinions expressed by guests do not necessarily represent our views.
25 Sept 2026
Celtic Alliance: The Cardiff Agreement
The Scottish and Welsh parliamentary elections in May this year resulted in three of the four nations of the UK electing First Ministers who support self determination for their people. This week a meeting took place in Cardiff between the party leaders of the SNP, Plaid Cymru and Sinn Fein to explore areas of common cause in which they can co-operate to further their respective agendas. They then held a press conference address and Q+A session.In this episode, Fiona and Marlene pick out some highlights from the press conference and alsohome in on a couple of areas where Scotland seems to be lagging behind the other two nations in making preparations for constitutional change.
Key themes:00:01:08 Lewis from SPVR.org describes the vibe in the room00:07:26 Opening remarks from Rhun ap Iorwerth, Plaid Cymru00:09:27 Opening remarks from John Swinney, SNP00:13:23 Opening remarks from Mary Lou McDonald, Sinn Fein00:16:25 Opening remarks from Michelle O'Neill, Sinn Fein00:21:00 Q: Won't this be just as divisive as Brexit?00:29:13 Q: When and how will Westminster come to an end?00:38:59 Q: What is each nation's ask of Andy Burnham00:47:09 Q: Is this all smoke and mirrors to distract from the day job?
We are grateful to Lewis from https://SPVR.org for sharing his footage from the event with us.
Links from the discussion:
Believe in Scotland petition: https://www.believeinscotland.org/indyref_petition
Commonweal New Prospectus info and crowdfunder: https://www.commonweal.scot/prospectus-for-a-new-state
#celticalliance #scottishindependence #cardiff
The Indypodcasters team produce a NEW podcast episode every Friday search for Scottish Independence Podcasts wherever you get your podcasts. Remember to like and subscribe!
Get in touch:Email: indypodcasters@gmail.com Bluesky: @scottishindypod
Visit our website https://scottishindypod.scot for blogposts, newsletter signup and more episodes
Subscribe for free to our Youtube channel @scottishindypodExtra for more of our video footage and clips. Video premieres most Tuesdays at 8pm
We're also on TikTok : scotindypodcasters
If you've enjoyed this podcast you might like to buy us a coffee? https://ko-fi.com/scottishindependencepodcastsor choose us as your Easyfundraising good cause.
Music:
Inspired by Kevin MacLeod
Scottish Independence Podcasts is pro independence but not party political. Opinions expressed by guests do not necessarily represent our views.
18 Sept 2026
Get Glasgow Moving
What does the future of public transport in Glasgow really look like? In this episode, we chat with Susie Wood from the Get Glasgow Moving campaign to explore one of Scotland's most ambitious transport initiatives.
We look at:
The campaign's manifesto — what are they fighting for, and what's their vision for Glasgow's commuters?The franchising framework — what d opportunities does this model present for the city and how can we overcome the barriers?The petition - how can you get involved?
Find out more about the campaign here: https://www.getglasgowmoving.org/
Sign the petition here: https://petitions.parliament.scot/petitions/PE2246
#getglasgowmoving #betterbuses #busfranchise
The Indypodcasters team produce a NEW podcast episode every Friday search for Scottish Independence Podcasts wherever you get your podcasts. Remember to like and subscribe!
Get in touch:Email: indypodcasters@gmail.com Bluesky: @scottishindypod
Visit our website https://scottishindypod.scot for blogposts, newsletter signup and more episodes
Subscribe for free to our Youtube channel @scottishindypodExtra for more of our video footage and clips. Video premieres most Tuesdays at 8pm
We're also on TikTok : scotindypodcasters
If you've enjoyed this podcast you might like to buy us a coffee? https://ko-fi.com/scottishindependencepodcastsor choose us as your Easyfundraising good cause.
Music:
Inspired by Kevin MacLeod
Scottish Independence Podcasts is pro independence but not party political. Opinions expressed by guests do not necessarily represent our views.
Inside a recent episode
Grangemouth - An Unjust Transition?
Published 25 Feb 2025 · Transcript excerpt
[…] The refinery Grangemouth, as we mentioned, is owned by Petro Nios, which is a company that's adjoined vehicle owned on the one hand by any of us, privately owned tetrachemicals company and refining company that's primarily owned by and controlled by Jim Radcliffe as the chief shareholder and Petro China, which is a subsidiary of one of the biggest oil companies in the world, which is a Chinese state owned oil company. And so these key decisions are not being taken by government in the same way that they were with the closure of the coal industry. On the other hand, there are very, very obvious parallels. […]
Pod Engine is an independent podcast discovery and analytics service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by this podcast. Artwork and show content belong to their owners. Full legal notice.
Explore this show Podcast research with Pod Engine
