A Point of View

Zia Haider Rahman on why Brexit has made him feel closer to Britain. He says the referendum has revealed deeper schisms in British society than the lines between native and immigrant. "The sociological explanation", he argues, "might be that by confronting everyone with the variety and complexity of native British identities, Brexit has created space for other British identities". Producer: Adele Armstrong

AL Kennedy on why - even with apparent chaos all around us - we can’t afford to despair. "Despairing of justice, positive change, even kindness", she writes, "begins to rob our minds of the capacity to produce those things”. Producer: Adele Armstrong

Tom Shakespeare on why we’re in urgent need of a bit of plain speaking. "I don't mean here to exalt the obnoxious, the downright rude", he writes, "but while civility is a virtue, I think we could do with a little more directness". Producer: Adele Armstrong

AL Kennedy questions her love of cookery shows. "That's when I start to feel uneasy, sitting at home staring at entremets and buttercream, three-foot-high cakes made with pints of fresh eggs, because I have this theory...that television tends to memorialise things, just as they fade away. Producer: Adele Armstrong

AL Kennedy reflects on how the British sense of humour is standing up to our present political woes. "Don't get me wrong," she says, "it's nice to make people smile...but possibly Britain is now too funny". She wonders if the rest of the world is still laughing with us. Producer: Adele Armstrong