Mike Joseph recounts an uncanny chain of coincidences, drawing on his experience as the child of German Jewish refugees in Cardiff and his career in journalism, which led him to reflect on the histories of Jewish and Black people in Britain, and the racist violence faced by both communities.

Writer Meltem Arıkan recounts how she fled to Wales in fear of her life following persecution in Turkey over her play, which was accused of being a dress rehearsal for the Gezi Park protests. She reflects on how walking across Wales has transformed her, and the new play this has inspired.

Damian Gorman draws on his own experience of the ‘Troubles’ to share the story of how he came to be involved in a project marking fifty years since the start of the conflict. He describes how the project engaged with people on both sides of the divide who were profoundly affected by violence, followed by the poem he wrote which emerged from these dialogues.

A Poem by Damian Gorman

Psychologists for Social Change South Wales detail the devastating impacts of austerity and inequality on the well-being of people in Wales, and introduce radical ways in which the causes of psychological distress can be addressed through new developments in mental health services and poverty policy.

A Poem by Maria Apichella

As the Senedd and Elections (Wales) Bill passes through the legislative process, Catrin Fflûr Huws analyses its proposal to lower the minimum voting age of National Assembly elections to sixteen, and reflects on the bafflingly contradictory ways in which the law sets the age of adult responsibility.

Our series of creative responses to Wales' rail network, Reading Between the Lines, brings new insights into a Wales fragmented by its travel infrastructure. In this issue, Liz Jones’s journey from her hometown of Merthyr to Cardiff starts with memories of a 1975 odyssey for a prized electric-blue midi coat from Howells, and ends in a moral reckoning with a contemporary society where young people live huddled on the streets.

Eluned Gramich reviews an extraordinary exhibition of artworks responding to iconic Welsh novels as part of the Literary Atlas of Wales project, which is touring Wales throughout 2019 and into 2020.