Beyond the Noise with David Jamieson is a weekly podcast with CommonSpace journalist David Jamieson, where he gets behind the 24/7 outrage-driven social media news circus and gets to heart of issues, trying to finding the substance behind the headlines.

IN THIS episode, Jamieson discusses the Swedish elections and the battle for Europe between the far right and the left in the context of the collapse of the centre.

Significant figure in both Scottish political thought and culture passes away at age of 62

ECONOMIC and political theorist, internationalist and Scottish folk movement devotee Eberhard ‘Paddy’ Bort has died at the age of 62.

Bort, originally from Germany, passed away in Edinburgh on Friday 17 February.

Documentary photographer Fraser Crichton, who is working on a project looking at the decriminalisation of sex work in New Zealand, tells Tammy's story 

TAMMY* is one of 90 per cent of sex workers who work indoors in Scotland. 

Tammy works discreetly from a flat in Glasgow shared with friends who work together for safety. Although sex work is legal in Scotland, premises with more than one person working in it is deemed an illegal brothel. 

As the UK looks to confirm Brexit and Scotland signals its desire to stay in the EU, there may be a third option

ICELANDIC legal expert Katrin Oddsdóttir has suggested that Scotland might be better off joining the league of small, independent, north Atlantic nations along with her home country and Norway.

The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) is an intergovernmental organisation set up for the promotion of free trade and economic integration to the benefit of its four member states: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland.

CommonSpace talks to American academic and activist George Lakey about the history and lessons of Nordic social democracy

ACADEMIC AND ACTIVIST GEORGE LAKEY has been working to change the world since the late 1950s.

CommonSpace columnist David Carr explores Scotland's connection to the Nordic model

ONE theme of the Scottish independence debate is whether Scotland might model itself on the Nordic nations. To address the desirability, feasibility and likelihood of this, let's analyse what it means.

(Authorial Note: Scandinavia is Norway, Sweden, Denmark. Add Iceland and Finland and you get Nordic.).