Heledd Fychan MS, Plaid Cymru Spokesperson for Education, Welsh Language and Culture, offers her support for the recent open letter campaign to safeguard Welsh magazines and websites, contextualising this as part of a wider crisis facing cultural organisations. She contrasts the unsustainable situation here with innovative initiatives for the arts and media in Ireland.

Congratulations to the winner of our 2022 New Writers’ Competition! In his article, Emlyn Phillips traces connections between the Celtic Britons and eastern Eurasia, Iolo Morganwg, and the precarity, yet possibility, ahead for Wales as power arguably again shifts eastwards to the ‘New Silk Road’.
Image Left: Panel depicting Zeus-Serapis-Ohrmazd with worshipper, Bactria 3rd Century AD © PHGCOM (CC BY 4.0) https://bit.ly/3CXbNsw Right: Tetradrachm coin of Demetrios I, ruler of Bactria 200-190 BC.

Here you can watch Mike Parker in conversation with former editors Ned Thomas, John Barnie and Helle Michelsen, and with the current editor Emily Trahair, part of our 50^th birthday fundraiser. They discuss why Welsh internationalism and magazine publishing continue to be so vital in the 21^st century, and share some intriguing Planet anecdotes from over 50 years orbiting Wales and the world…
Image: Emily Trahair, Helle Michelsen, John Barnie, Ned Thomas, Mike Parker. Photographer: Hywel Edwards

Here you can watch a special panel discussion which was part of our 50^th birthday fundraiser at Ceredigion Museum.
- What future for Welsh internationalism? – Daniel G. Williams
- What future for the Welsh language? – Mabli Siriol Jones
- What future for environmental justice? – Hussein Said
- What future for Welsh autonomy? – Dan Evans
Image: Daniel G. Williams, Mabli Siriol Jones, Mike Parker, Dan Evans and Hussein Said. Photographer: Hywel Edwards

Congratulations to the winner of our 2021 New Writers’ Article Competition! Phil Jones describes how an Abereiddi folk musical generated reflections on the ways in which the turbulence, profiteering and stark inequality of the industrial revolution are paralleled in our pandemic era. Image: Left: Phil Jones at Abereiddi Bay, October 2021 © Evie Davies. Right: New sign at Abereiddi Bay,

In the second feature in a series of in-depth opinion pieces on Wales’ major parties, historian Daryl Leeworthy draws on Labour’s early twentieth-century achievements in Wales to detail a vision for a new ‘future generations’ administration, and the obstacles that need to be overcome, following the Welsh Labour election victory – a now-rare triumph for a social democratic party in Europe. Image: Mark Drakeford and Boris Johnson © 10 Downing Street Licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0 https://bit.ly/37gdocs

We are delighted to publish this recording of an extraordinary lecture by our former Patron Raymond Williams in celebration of his centenary. The lecture was organised by the Extra-Mural Department at UCW Aberystwyth in collaboration with the Welsh Arts Council, and was held in 1978 at Gregynog Hall.

In the first feature in a series of in-depth analyses of Wales’ major parties, historian Sam Blaxland draws on his research into the Conservative Party in Wales since the Second World War to identify why the Welsh Tories are currently endorsing deeper Westminster involvement with Wales as a key element in their Senedd election strategy. Image: Andrew R.T. Davies, 2016 © Senedd Cymru/Welsh Parliament (CC BY 2.0) https://bit.ly/3vUDxIM

A range of pieces by students responding to content in the magazine

Congratulations to the winner of our 2020 Young Writers’ Competition! In his winning article, Harry Waveney reflects on the values and democratic structures he’s discovered while engaged in Kurdish solidarity activism; and how this all connects to an old song of friendship. Image: Îmam Şîş being interviewed by the BBC at the end of his 161-day hunger strike © Harry Waveney

In 2020, Planet celebrated 50 years as Wales' liveliest cultural and political periodical. Watch this video of founding editor Ned Thomas and current editor Emily Trahair in conversation with author Mike Parker at this event from December 2020 to see what's changed, what hasn't, and why a publication subtitled 'The Welsh Internationalist' is needed now more than ever.

This year, as the pandemic necessitated Planet’s 50^th birthday party to be postponed until regulations are lifted, we invited our readers to send in their stories and anecdotes about the magazine. We thank everyone who replied for sharing their thoughts, and hope to welcome readers near and far to a celebratory event before too long…

Ted Parry draws on his experience of participating in Covid-19 mutual aid activity, and interviews with community groups to make the case that organisations such as Tarian Cymru and Valleys Underground continue to be vital in the wake of UK and Welsh government failure to protect their citizens. However, he argues that some forms of mutual aid are potentially harmful in giving strength to government strategies that endanger us further.Image: Valleys Undergroud © Valleys Underground

Mark S. Redfern won our 2019 Young Writers' Essay Competition. In his winning essay he argues that a globally popular Vice documentary, repackaged for YouTube, gives a condescending and sensationalist angle on Swansea’s heroin crisis, and has left a poisonous legacy in capturing for posterity humiliating depictions of the protagonists, and misrepresenting working-class Welsh culture. This essay subsequently won the 2020 WalesPENCymru Emyr Humphreys Award.
Image: Detail of Swansea panorama © Matty Ring (CC BY 2.0) https://bit.ly/33yPtkG

Lila Haines addresses the lack of Western media focus on the fate of indigenous peoples in Bolivia and Chile following recent political unrest and repression, and the forest fires of 2019. Image: Wiphala of Qulla Suyu, official variant flag of Bolivia since 2009 © https://bit.ly/2V1ewf7

Ned Thomas draws on his archival research into the extraordinary story of the Welsh journalist Gareth Jones, his work on George Orwell and his experience working in the USSR to give an in-depth review of the new film Mr Jones ̶ an exploration of the ideological conflict surrounding the famine in 1930s Ukraine Image: © Signature Entertainment

Following the UK government’s rejection of the APPG on British Muslims’ definition of Islamophobia, could Wales adopt it? Mairi Hughes reports on a wide range of perspectives within the public sphere on the complexities of fighting prejudice via a formal definition. Image: Mosque in Crwys Road, Cardiff © Ceridwen (CC BY-SA 2.0) https://bit.ly/2YSxjsZ

In the lead up to the General Election, poet Patrick Jones gives the case for why independence for Wales is the only way out of our current malaise of austerity, hopelessness and xenophobia, and celebrates the people and historical movements that have inspired his stance.

In 2013, The Dragon Has Two Tongues director Colin Thomas wrote an article for Planet entitled ‘From Blacklist to Oscar Shortlist: Paul Turner, MI5 and the BBC’ on how the career of Hedd Wyn director Paul Turner had been affected by political blacklisting within the BBC, and examined whether blacklisting continues to blight the UK media. Image © Melisa Annis

Jonathan Edwards MP, Plaid Cymru’s Shadow Spokesperson on Foreign Affairs, argues that Trump’s withdrawal of US troops from Syria has disastrous implications, and details the urgent steps that the Westminster Government now needs to take. Image © Plaid Cymru

Absolutely Huge author Luke Upton imagines how rugby and Welsh history itself could have very different had the Rugby World Cup started earlier… On reaching 1987, he relates his personal history of the World Cup, from toddlerhood to fatherhood. Image © Luke Upton.

Mae’n bleser mawr gan Planet gyflwyno ein digwyddiad ar gyfer yr Eisteddfod 2019. ‘Beth yw ystyr “rhyng-genedlaetholdeb Cymreig” yn 2019?’ oedd teitl y digwyddiad. Llun © Hywel Edwards

Responding to the current Brexit stalemate and the looming prospect of No-Deal, Daryl Leeworthy proposes how to strengthen the Remain campaign in Wales, and reflects on how this feeds in to creating a new, 21st-century social democracy, designed by Welsh Europeans. Image © Swansea For Europe (CC BY-NC 2.0) https://bit.ly/2GPBLRB

Rebecca Brown won our 2018 Young Writers' competition. In her winning article she reflects on how nations are piecing together new meta-narratives, after twentieth-century postmodernism shattered old certainties. She contrasts Trump’s Make America Great Again myth-making with endeavours in Wales to create a narrative of hope and intergenerational justice.
Image © Kristian Buus (CC BY 2.0) https://bit.ly/2QYWcOj

Kirsti Bohata reflects on her experience of protesting with Extinction Rebellion and points to how existing alliances between environmentalists, farmers and the national movement can be strengthened for the benefit of everyone in Wales.
Extinction Rebellion protest, London 2019 ©Kirsti Bohata

A range of pieces by students responding to content in the magazine

Sam Christie tells the story behind his documentary on the closure of a uniquely radical institution for adult education. He argues why this pedagogical experiment is still so needed in contemporary Wales, and that its loss has something significant to say about encroaching neoliberalism.
Coleg Harlech © Rachel Alice Gibson

Charmian Savill reviews the theatre production Anweledig by Aled Jones Williams
Image © Frân Wen

A decade after the Great Crash, Steve Groves argues that a top priority for Mark Drakeford must be to develop a radical anti-poverty programme for Wales to help counteract Westminster austerity politics. Image © Ben Salter, https://bit.ly/2S8pBGP (CC BY 2.0)

500 years ago, the poets portrayed birds as messengers and counsellors bearing important messages. Here an anonymous author reflects on what the red kite may tell us today about Welsh independence... Image: National Assembly for Wales, CC BY 2.0 (https://bit.ly/2EBcIlo), via Wikimedia Commons

Yasmin Begum draws on Welsh history to argue that a future independent Wales should make a radical break with white supremacism and a racist immigration policy as much as a radical break with the British state. Image: National Assembly for Wales, CC BY 2.0 (https://bit.ly/2EBcIlo), via Wikimedia Commons

Simon Brooks cautions against the loss of intellectual independence in progressive Welsh thought, arguing that a particular Anglo-American discourse of identity politics renders Welsh-speaking communities invisible. While an inclusive, independent future for Wales remains a possibility, do Welsh-speaking communities face inevitable erasure? Image: National Assembly for Wales, CC BY 2.0 (https://bit.ly/2EBcIlo), via Wikimedia Commons

As Jews worldwide become increasingly critical of Israel, Mike Joseph draws on his family’s history as German-Jewish refugees, recently published secret Israeli documents, and original material on the Sabra and Shatila massacre to argue that Christians played a vital role in the development of Zionism, that Christians planned with Israel to perpetrate the 1982 massacre of Palestinians, and that Christians are now seen as Israel's most reliable supporters.

Rajvi Glasbrook Griffiths reviews the festive production Margaret and the Tapeworm that is touring Wales this December. Photo above Margaret and the Tapeworm© Kirsten McTernan

As another carnival season has come to an end, Nia Edwards-Behi reflects on how attitudes towards racism have evolved since the blackface controversy at the 2017 Aberaeron Carnival, and how an activist response to racism in rural Wales is now emerging.

We were especially privileged to film this interview, where art historian Paul Joyner was in conversation with artist Karel Lek, who at nearly 90 recounted the story of how he and his Jewish family fled the Nazis before arriving in north Wales.

Genocide historian Mike Joseph argues that the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism dangerously conflates anti-Zionism and antisemitism. He collages Jewish voices from Wales and beyond, and draws on his family history to warn Labour and Plaid Cymru that they would harm Welsh Jews by adopting the definition in full. Image © Mike Joseph.

M.Wynn Thomas remembers Meic Stephens. Photograph of Meic Stephens taken during the 2012 Eisteddfod. Meic is holding a copy of his Cofnodion, published by Y Lolfa. Image © Y Lolfa

In the lead-up to Trump’s official visit to London, Leanne Wood argues that confronting Trump is not enough: we must defeat the ideas that sustain him by addressing the root causes of inequality and hopelessness. Left: Donald Trump speaking with supporters at a campaign rally, 2016 © Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 2.0 https://bit.ly/2u9Dqdw. Right: Leanne Wood, 2017 © Plaid Cymru, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 https://bit.ly/2tXQrHK

Poet Patrick Jones pays tribute to the NHS as it reaches its 70^th birthday, remembering the extraordinary care given to his mother Irene, who passed away in June this year after suffering from leukaemia. Photograph: © Patrick Jones

With a potential leadership election looming, Daniel G. Williams offers his perspective on the state of Plaid Cymru under Leanne Wood, and argues that the criticisms directed at her expose some of the contradictions within the national movement since devolution.

Russell Deacon proposes ideas for a future direction for the Welsh Liberal Democrats following their recent plummeting fortunes, zooming out to draw lessons from Welsh liberalism’s dramatically fluctuating popularity over the last 100 years.

Congratulations to Polly Manning who won the 2017 Planet Young Writers’ Essay Competition. In her essay, she tells the story of why she transferred from Oxford University to Swansea University after only nine days among the dreaming spires. She argues how higher education in Wales should present a progressive alternative to the cult of the Russell Group and the embedded privilege it represents. Photograph: Radcliffe Camera and All Souls College © Tejvan Pettinger (bit.ly/2x5DmMb)

In the wake of the Welsh Labour deputy leadership elections, Daniel Gerke takes an in-depth look at the historical roots of the democratic deficit within the party. He argues that the vacuousness of Carwyn’s political philosophy has left the party now stranded on the wrong side of the clear red water, and how this position could yet be transformed… Left photograph © Chris McAndrew https://bit.ly/2KoZjgh (CC BY 3.0) Right photograph © National Assembly for Wales https://bit.ly/2ji0lhy (CC BY 2.0)

Hanan Issa reports from Gentle/Radical’s Imagination Forum event in Cardiff, reflecting on the radical power of the imagination to transform how we perceive racial inequality and privilege, and what this might mean for us in Wales. Photograph © Rabab Ghazoul

Wales One World Film Festival Director David Gillam introduces the theme of this year’s festival: Tales from The Silk Road.

Miriam Elin Jones reports from the 2018 Haciaith ‘unconference’, introducing exciting new online projects to help us all enable the Welsh language to flourish. Photograph © Lois Gwenllian

Photographer and writer Seb Cooke accompanies community activists into the streets of Cardiff one freezing February night to gain an insight into the experiences of homeless people, which have become particularly severe following draconian actions by the authorities and protracted cold weather. How can grassroots community action help alleviate this injustice? Photograph © Seb Cooke

Ned Thomas gives an insight into how Spain’s constitution has enabled the oppression of Catalans attempting to hold a referendum on independence, drawing on his experience of working in Spain. However, perhaps the constitution is not as sacrosanct as it seems… Photograph © Teresa Grau Ros

Sara Rhoslyn Moore reviews Y Lle Celf art exhibition at the 2017 National Eisteddfod and finds common thematic threads of international co-operation in the face of inequality and war; breathing new life into the Eisteddfod’s role as a festival of peace. She highlights the work of artists to watch out for in the future, and offers reflections on how the exhibition could evolve in forthcoming years to best give prominence to 21^st-century Welsh visual art. Photograph © Aled Llewellyn

In the third in a series of Planet Extra articles giving in-depth reflections on the 2017 General Election from different perspectives, Iain Lewis offers a detailed insight into why the Conservative Party lost their majority in the election, and suggests how the party might recover their standing in Wales and beyond…

In the second in a series of Planet Extra articles giving in-depth reflections on the 2017 General Election from different perspectives, Daniel Gerke celebrates Jeremy Corbyn’s success, and examines its implications for Wales. He analyses whether the election marks the welcome end of neoliberal orthodoxy in the Labour Party, but cautions that all is not roses and Glastonbury appearances…

Counsel General for Wales Mick Antoniw AM draws on his experience of growing up in the Ukrainian refugee émigré community, and his work as a member of the EU Committee of the Regions, to explore how Wales could retain connections with Europe, and sustain common values of solidarity, peace and equality.

In the first of a series of Planet Extra articles giving an in-depth reflection on the 2017 General Election from different party-political perspectives, Sioned Williams draws on her experience of campaigning for Plaid Cymru. She details the challenges faced by Plaid in June, due to the assertion of an increasingly ‘gladiatorial’ two-party politics, and the alternative Plaid offers should Labour fail to stand up for the Welsh economy as the UK leaves the EU.

Howard Williams gives a tribute to Rhodri Morgan, and offers his wider reflections on how the former First Minister contributed to bringing together polarised political and cultural factions in Wales, following the ‘zero hour’ of the 1979 No result for devolution, and what this meant for the emergence of Wales as a distinctive political community.

An Obituary of Joan Baker: Peter Wakelin remembers the 'fresh, beautiful' work of a very private artist.

A short video document of the exhibition by John Abell held recently in Oriel Myrddin.

Hannah Roberts, the winner of our 2016 Young Writers’ Essay Competition, argues in her essay that the Welsh music scene needs to transcend its linguistic schisms and anxieties in order to promote Welsh music in both languages around the world.

A range of pieces by students responding to content in the magazine

Mick Antoniw AM argues that we face the most important election since 1945, and warns of the devastating implications of a Conservative win for constitutional stability, parliamentary democracy and the rule of law itself.

An image essay by Mathew Browne. With all the Brexit uncertainty surrounding us, enjoy this epic moment of Welsh-European goodwill and fair play: Nantgaredig v Sweden from 18.03.17

A conversation between the author and her daughter about ‘Gwawr’, a short story in Planet 224. The story is set in the ninth century and follows a woman’s experience of the incursion of Norsemen into her area.

Huw Williams offers two potential scenarios for Welsh politics in 2017: one which becomes rapidly dystopian and the other offering possibilities for how Wales can confront growing inequality and xenophobia.

Lloyd Roderick reviews the latest exhibition from Artes Mundi, the Cardiff-based biennial international visual arts show and prize.

Leanne Wood on why Plaid Cymru has secured more support for culture after the EU referendum.

Zoë B. Thompson writes back about the US election and the recent violent attack at Ohio State University.

Roger Owen finds dramatic friction on-stage and off in Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru's most recent production.

Pokémon Go opens up a new world of possibilities for ‘augmented reality’ games, but is ultimately hamstrung by its own lack of adventure and a rural urban/divide, says Ifan Morgan Jones.

Huw Williams looks for a path forward toward a political maturity in Wales after the EU referendum exposed a lack of faith and direction.

Aidan Byrne responds to the recent vote at the House of Commons to replace the UK's nuclear weapons system.

Frustrated by traditional Welsh-language culture, Miriam Elin Jones explores new debates about ‘Welsh futurism’ in music and literature.

Catrin Stewart reports on what she saw when she volunteered in Athens providing support for refugees.

Huw Williams attempts to analyse a fraught week at the Assembly in which no-one seemed to emerge with any glory.

Simon Brooks on a very good election for the Labour Party, as Carwyn the Cheshire Cat smiles on. For we have ‘often seen a Labour cat without a grin but never a grin without a Labour cat’...

When Huw Williams was asked to write something on the Assembly elections he found inspiration hard to come by, until he pondered the implications of UKIP success.

Mike Parker gives his account of the controversial Cambrian News distortion of his 2001 article in Planet, and is troubled by what this episode tells us about the media and the politics of race today.

From 2001: Mike Parker responds to the BNP leaderships’s relocation to the heart of Central Wales and the growth of the Far Right.

Following the 2015 General Election, Simon Brooks surveys the political landscape.

Richard Marggraf Turley reads 'Delivery' from his latest title, The Cunning House.

A video giving an insight into Alison Lochhead's sculptural response to Ceredigion's lead mines.

Daf Prys on the power of the headline and how it can be deployed to great effect.

Kelvin Mason on fracking in Wales - where does everyone stand?

James Luchte asks what the purpose of a ‘family of nations’ should be. If it is to care for its members, then the British state is a failed and dysfunctional family...

The painter John Knapp-Fisher persuaded people to see the rugged landscapes of the Pembrokeshire coast through his own eyes. Peter Wakelin reflects on his life and work.

Len Arthur looks to Greece and Spain for tips on how to turn the Welsh anti-austerity movement into a political force for change.

Neil Thomas gives a short guide to global finance.

While Natalie Bennett struggles to present the Green party’s policies in the mainstream media, Adam Johannes asks about the real cost of the housing crisis.

James Luchte writes on the genesis of the Anti-Austerity movement in the UK.

Tim Holmes puts the left coalition’s success in the context of the suffering inflicted on Greece by a right-wing austerity programme.

John Barnie warns of an increase in Islamist terrorism if we continue to veil the truth about Western military aggression.

Steffan Donnelly and Catherine Ayers talk to Planet about putting on a production of the iconic play Y Twr, by Gwenlyn Parry.

Fiona Owen, Gorwel Owen and Meredith Andrea on the process of collaboration, with readings from Fiona's collection Screen of Brightness and music by Gorwel and Fiona - this link opens an audio file.

We talk to Anna Rolewska (Poland) and Linus Band-Dikjstra (Netherlands). They discuss Welsh in the modernistic context and their motivations for learning - this link opens an audio file

Two border folk, one from each side discuss what it's like growing up with a language on your doorstep and yet still so distant and the process of learning Welsh.

Mary Lloyd Jones visits the studio and reflects on her upbringing, her current work and her ideas on developing the art scene in Wales - this link opens an audio file

Katherine Stansfield and Matthew Jarvis discuss Little Man by Richard James Jones, New Monkey by Stevie Krayer and My Family and Other Superheroes by Jonathan Edwards (Seren) - this link opens an audio file

John Barnie and Richard Marggraf Turley discuss works by Pascale Petit (Fauverie), Nigel Jarrett (Miners at the Quarry Pool) and Landeg White (Letters from Portugal) - this link opens an audio file

Bill Rees scoured the margins of land and sea in pursuit of the enigmatic Welsh scholar, linguist and tramp.

A series of striking images of Ardudwy in north Wales by Aled Gruffydd Jones.

An international creative writing competition as part of Literature Wales’ Developing Dylan 100 education project. Here is the Overall winner, Bryony Campbell.

An international creative writing competition as part of Literature Wales’ Developing Dylan 100 education project. Here is the Best in Wales entry, Ethan Evans.

An international creative writing competition as part of Literature Wales’ Developing Dylan 100 education project. Here is the Runner Up, Phoebe Thomson.

The people of Scotland may have swithered on September 18th, but Stewart Sanderson notes how the result has galvanised disappointed Yes supporters.

Tony Corden tells a tale of tall trees and long memories in a National Park in southern Chile.

Mike Parker reviews the film Pride. Set in 1984 during the Miner's Strike, the London Lesbians & Gays Support the Miners group joins the strikers of Dulais; you are challenged not to be moved.

The people of Scotland may have swithered on September 18th, but Stewart Sanderson notes how the result has galvanised disappointed Yes supporters.

Adam Johannes of Cardiff Stop the War Coalition talks to some of the people intending to demonstrate against the NATO Summit in Newport, south Wales.

Tim Holmes explores the progressive case for an independent Scotland

Reuben Knutson shares his views on the inception of his exhibition The Preseli Hills Transcended (this opens an audio file)

Robin Farrar explains why he's taking direct action in favour of the Welsh language

Siôn Tomos Owen on Valleys politics and the global financial meltdown

Mike Parker writes on his experience of this year's Machynlleth Comedy Festival

David Greenslade wonders if Wales’s ailing economy can be aided by its own currency iconography.

Aled Richards gives an insight into the experiences of a stand-up comedian on the Welsh-language circuit

Tim Holmes explains why he set off an alarm at the Powys County Council budget meeting

Nicholas Murray responds to some questions asked by the Planet team regarding pamphlet poetry in Podcast5 and the work he does with the Rack Press (opens an audio file)

Storytellers Peter Stevenson and Michael Harvey discuss history os storytelling as well as the the importance of place. They talk of power of the gaze in the storytelling experience and what it can do to help bind communities together (opens audio file)

Daniel G. Williams celeberates the life of Nigel Jenkins

An interview with Poetry Wales editor, Nia Davies. She talks about her vision for the magazine, and turning down a visit to Buckingham Palace (opens an audio file)

We grab precious minutes with Jean Portante, Zoe Skoulding and Katherine Stansfield during a teaser event for the North Wales Poetry Festival(tapping here opens an audio file)

Norena Shopland celebrates a few of the remarkable people from Wales who have helped shape international LGBT history

Tony Brown looks back on the centenary year of R.S. Thomas

Tim Holmes on rebalancing transport infrastructure in Wales

Stewart Sanderson reports back from the Radical Independence Conference in Glasgow, 23.11.13

Following on from an inteview with Ros Hudis in podcast 4, Matthew Jarvis reviews the rest of 2013's Rack Press titles

Emerging poet Ros Hudis chats to us about her experience of publishing a pamphlet, Terra Ignota, with Rack press in 2013 (opens an audio file)

Hywel Dix on Welsh National Opera's new Tudor-themed productions of Maria Stuarda and Anna Bolena

Tim Holmes looks on as commentators on Syria tie themselves in knots over the rule of international law

Rhian E. Jones reflects on the longer shadows cast on the centenary of the 1913 Senghenydd disaster

Interview with Philip Gross, winner of the TS Eliot and Wales Book of the Year prizes and featuring the indefatigable Matthew Jarvis

Rhian E. Jones finds a militant melancholy in the video for 'Rewind the Film', the title track from Manic Street Preachers' new album.

Peter Lord drops in to the Planet studio to talk about his book, Relationships with Pictures - Lloyd Roderick poses the questions

The poet Iwan Llwyd gives his thoughts on the National Eisteddfod and its interaction with the outside world: 'There’s something about islands that has always gripped and fired the imagination...'

Jean-François Joubert reflects on the student protests in Québec which brought hundreds of thousands onto the streets in support of free education and the right to demonstrate

Jemma L. King guests while Matthew Jarvis reviews Shadow Dispatches, God Loves You and She Inserts the Key

Tim Hartley on a week in Ukraine at Eurofan 2013 – the friendly football festival marred by persisting signs of fascism and racism.

Damian Walford Davies, John Barnie and Richard Marggraf Turley join Matthew Jarvis to talk blues and poetry in the scorching Planet office. This podcast features live music and a snippet of the Reverend Davies giving soul.

Stuart Evans on the Recent fine-art printmaking exhibition at Aberystwyth Arts Centre

Ellen Bell on Helen Sear's solo exhibition, Lure, at Oriel Davies in Newtown.

Craig Owen Jones on the damage to the credibility of cycling arising from the Lance Armstrong doping scandal

A review of Saer Doliau (Doll Mender) at Finborough Theatre, London

Simon Brooks examines the full census figures regarding Welsh language use

Sian Howys responds to the Assembly's Official Languages Bill