As January draws to a close, we take a look back through some of the conversations we have had so far in 2026. 

First, publisher Alessandro Gallenzi joined us to reveal how he turned literary detective and uncovered Dylan Thomas's youthful plagiarism, then Joanna Kavenna explains why she invented a game to write her new novel, Tristram Fane Saunders surveys the poetic landscape and Maria Scott talks us through her discovery of photographs of Jeanne Duval, muse and lover of Charles Baudelaire.

Produced by Charlotte Pardy

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Today it’s the first episode in a new series asking why contemporary political philosophy struggles to make sense of the deepest problems of politics and exploring how the history of ideas might help. David talks to political theorist Paul Sagar about why looking for justice might be the wrong place to start. Instead, Paul suggests we start with Aristotle, for whom the search for justice was the problem not the solution. So what should we do instead?

To keep up with what’s coming next and for more news about the podcast do follow us on Bluesky: @ppfideas.bsky.social

Next time: Learning from Adam Smith

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