This brief comment is a response to the BH Editors timely editorial concerning the issues surrounding peer review. Building on their work, it discusses reviewer education, reviewer recruitment, and the role of associate editors/editors-in-chief. From these perspectives, it suggests ways in which we might prop up the current system – currently creaking under the demands made of it – rather than do away with it in favour of some elusive alterative. It concludes by raising the related issue of what constitutes a ‘contribution’ and suggests a future editorial might look beyond theoretical contributions as the ’holy grail’ of academic publishing.