Starting this month in Thorax, we have a new feature in which we will briefly summarise important original articles published in general journals or mainstream specialist journals that are likely to be of interest to Thorax readers. We recognise that it is becoming increasingly difficult to keep up to date with all the available literature, and that sometimes good articles are published in places that our readers may miss. Our intention is to keep this selection topical and up to date, and to this end we have enlisted the help of four enthusiastic Respiratory Trainees who will trawl the medical literature on a monthly basis on our readers’ behalf! Additionally, if we can persuade the authors of our favourite original articles published elsewhere each month to record a podcast, we will link this to the summary. We hope that Thorax readers find this new section useful; it will supplement, not replace, Journal Club articles, and we are still keen for volunteers for this feature. We hope that this new page will be a useful and relatively pain-free way of keeping up to date. Let the trainees take the strain!