As new exhibitions of the work of the renowned 18th-century satirical artist William Hogarth and the contemporary Italian sculptor Maurizio Cattelan open, Mary Beard and her panel discuss whether today’s satirists are up to the job of lampooning contemporary politics and society.

Are politicians fair game for satirists? What is it like to be on the receiving end of cutting and personal satire? Is it true that it is almost impossible to satirise the strange times we are living through? And what can the best satire achieve? Show less