David Goodhart argues that our politics is stuck, not for want of clear ideas about what to do, but because of the inability to get important things done. 'Politics has always been about herding cats', he writes, 'but is the current generation of politicians less good at herding? Or perhaps the cats are even less herdable than usual.'Producer: Adele Armstrong Sound: Peter Bosher Production coordinator: Iona Hammond Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith

Tom Shakespeare weighs up his options to avoid being crushed by the tottering pile of books on his bedside table. 'Shutting the blinds a few weeks ago,' Tom writes, 'I was hit on the head by three or four falling Terry Pratchett books'. So act he must...and he came up with a plan to ensure no book goes unread. Producer: Adele Armstrong Sound: Peter Bosher Production coordinator: Iona Hammond Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith

As Americans prepare to go to the polls in the US midterm elections and the COP27 environment conference gets underway, AL Kennedy takes the temperature of debate and of the environment from a barn in upstate New York. And she reflects on being a Brit these days in the US. 'In the normal course of events,' she writes, 'it's Brits who like to make fun of Americans. Now, Americans are bewildered by us'. Producer: Adele Armstrong Production coordinator: Iona Hammond Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith

As warnings are sounded of possible power cuts and lights going out this winter, Rebecca Stott reflects on our relationship with darkness. She looks at how our ancestors experienced the dark and our enduring fascination with celebrating the dark season of winter. Producer: Adele Armstrong Sound: Peter Bosher Production coordinator: Iona Hammond Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith

Will Self ponders the close connection between man and dog, as his dog nears the end of his life. He reflects on lessons learnt: 'You've taught me such a lot these past fifteen years, I wonder, old friend, what you have to teach me now that you're dying?' Producer: Adele Armstrong Sound: Peter Bosher Production coordinator: Iona Hammond Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith

From cancel culture - ancient Greek style - to the binary politics of today, Sara Wheeler argues that the perils of entrenched positions have been clear for a very long time. In ancient Greece, once a year, citizens gathered in the forum to scratch the name of the person they most wanted removed from the political arena on an ostrakon, a shard of broken pot. Too many appearances, and you got banished to a faraway province for a decade...ostracised by the ostraka. 'Once you were out of Athens in the fifth century BCE', Sara writes, 'you were cancelled good and proper'. History, she says, ought to teach us the importance of listening to each other and the value of nuance. Producer: Adele Armstrong Sound: Peter Bosher Production coordinator: Iona Hammond Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith

Howard Jacobson ponders greed, wealth and horse-and-sparrow, or 'trickle down', economics. From King Lear and Deuteronomy to bankers' bonuses and universal credit, Howard extols the concept of sufficiency and concludes that trickle down economics simply doesn't work. Producer: Adele Armstrong Sound: Peter Bosher Production coordinator: Iona Hammond Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith

Bernardine Evaristo reflects on notions of blackness in the aftermath of comments made this week by the Labour MP, Rupa Huq, who described the Chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng, as 'superficially' black.'If one of the most egregious features of racism' Bernardine writes, 'is to reduce people to stereotypes, to homogenise and generalise the qualities of people according to their racialised identities, then what does it say about us when we describe a person as not really being black or Asian because they do not behave according to our values, cultural codes or political interests?'Producer: Adele Armstrong Sound: Peter Bosher Production coordinator: Iona Hammond Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith

As Vladimir Putin warns he is willing to use any military means necessary in the war with Ukraine, Zoe Strimpel - a recent convert to chess - examines how Mr Putin is likely to play his next hand. 'The future of the world once more hangs in the balance of moves between the West and Russia,' she writes.'The question of whether Russia really does have a strategic grandmaster at the helm - and whether the West can outmanoeuvre him - has become a matter of horrible urgency'. Producer: Adele Armstrong Sound: Peter Bosher Production coordinator: Iona Hammond Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith

Michael Morpurgo reflects on the remarkable life of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.'The crown and the jewels were costume, the Palace was a stage. She knew that, we knew that', writes Michael. 'It was a charade, but one that worked wonderfully well, because she was centre stage in our national drama, because enough of us believed in her'. As the world changed around her, Michael argues, the Queen at all times looked to the future, helped us find our place in the world and discover who we are as a people. Producer: Adele Armstrong Sound: Peter Bosher Production coordinator: Iona Hammond Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith