In this episode Maggie Gee reads extracts from her stunning new novel, The Red Children (Saqi Books). Set in the near future against a backdrop of increased migration pressure, climate change and increasing isolation, The Red Children explores themes of far right extremism and the aftermath of virus.

Ali talks to Maggie about the enduring power of fable. How characters with radically different personalities to ours can foster a deeper empathy, and how to write the non-human successfully.