Thinking Allowed

Traditionalism and Russian Orthodox Converts – Laurie Taylor talks to Mark Sedgwick, Professor of Arab and Islamic Studies at Aarhus University, about the radical project for restoring sacred order. Traditionalism is founded on ancient teachings that, its followers argue, have been handed down from time immemorial and which must be defended from modernity. How has this mystical doctrine come to have contemporary sway on the political right, inspiring ex President Trump's former chief strategist, as well as the Russian philosopher Aleksandr Dugin, sometimes dubbed as “Putin’s brain”?

They’re joined by Sarah Riccardi-Swartz, Assistant Professor of Religion and Anthropology at Northeastern University, Boston, who has uncovered an extraordinary story of religious conversion in one corner of Appalachia. Here, a group of American citizens has embraced the Russian Orthodox Church and through it Putin’s New Russia. They look to Russian religion and politics for answers to Western secularism and the loss of traditional family values.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

THE ENGLISH: Laurie Taylor asks how the country house became ‘English’ and explores changing notions of Englishness over the past 60 years. He’s joined by Stephanie Barczewski, Professor of Modern British History at Clemson University, South Carolina and author of a new book which examines the way the country house came to embody national values of continuity and stability, even though it has lived through eras of violence and disruption. Also, David Matless, Professor of Cultural Geography at Nottingham University, considers the way that England has been imagined since the 1960s, from politics to popular culture, landscape and music. How have twenty-first-century concerns and anxieties in the Brexit moment been moulded by events over previous decades?

Producer: Jayne Egerton

THE PASSPORT: Laurie Taylor explores the cultural history of an indispensable document which has given citizens a license to travel and helped to define the modern world. Patrick Bixby, Professor of English at Arizona State University, delves into the evolution of the passport through the tales of historical figures, celebrities, artists, and writers, from Frederick Douglas to Hannah Arendt. How has the passport become both an instrument of personal freedom as well as a tool of government surveillance? They’re joined by Kristin Surak , Associate Professor of Political Sociology at the LSE and author of a new study which investigates the routes taken by wealthy elites in pursuit of a ‘golden passport’. Through six years of fieldwork on four continents, she discovered how the sale of passports has transformed into a full-blown citizenship industry that thrives on global inequalities.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

The power of song: Laurie Taylor talks to James Walvin, Professor of History Emeritus at the University of York and author of a new study which explores the cultural history of "Amazing Grace," one of the transatlantic world's most popular hymns and a powerful anthem for humanity. How did a simple Christian hymn, written in a remote English vicarage in 1772, come to hold such sway over millions in all corners of the modern world? Also, Angela Impey Professor of Enthomusicology at SOAS, argues that songs in South Sudan can be key platform for truth-telling, often invested with greater moral force than other forms of communication in the context of 50 years of civil war. What role can songs play in the struggle for peace and justice?

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Laurie Taylor talks to Daniel Miller, Professor of Anthropology at University College London, about his highly original exploration of what life could and should be. It juxtaposes a philosophical enquiry into the nature of the good life with an in-depth study of people living in a small Irish town. Just how much can we learn from a respectful acknowledgment of what far from extraordinary people have achieved? By creating community, they’ve provided the foundation for a fulfilling life, one that is ‘good enough’.

Also, Carol Graham, Senior Fellow in the Economic Studies Program at The Brookings Institution, argues for the importance of hope - a concept little studied in economics. She argues that individual unhappiness and public policy problems can’t be solved without the belief that we can make things better.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Intersections - Laurie Taylor talks to world-renowned, Black feminist scholar, Patricia Hill Collins, Distinguished Professor Emerita of Sociology at the University of Maryland and author of a new study looking at how violence differentially affects people according to their sex, class, sexuality, nationality, and ethnicity. These invisible workings of overlapping power relations give rise to what she terms 'lethal intersections,' where the risk of death is much greater for some than others. Drawing on a rich tapestry of cases she asks us to think about what counts as violence today and what can be done about it.

They’re joined by Joyce Jiang, Senior Lecturer in Human Resource Management at the University of York, whose latest research examines abuses against female migrant domestic workers in the UK which include long working hours, harsh working conditions, but also verbal, physical and sexual abuses.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

THE GRAVE AND MEMORIAL BENCHES: Laurie Taylor talks to Allison C. Meier, New York based researcher, about how burial sites have transformed over time. Whilst the grave may be a final destination, it is not the great leveller, and permanency is always a privilege with the indigent and unidentified frequently being interred in mass graves. So what is the future of burial with the rise of cremation, green burial, and new practices like human composting? Can existing spaces of death be returned to community life?

Also, Anne Karpf, Professor of Life Writing and Culture at London Metropolitan University, explores the phenomenon of the memorial bench. Despite the proliferation of online spaces for memorialising a person who has died, there is a growing demand for physical commemorations in places that were meaningful to them, as evidenced by the waiting-lists for memorial benches in sought-after spots. Do such memorials constitute a ‘living obituary’, a celebration of seemingly undistinguished lives, beyond the grave?

Producer: Jayne Egerton

PETS: Laurie Taylor talks to Jane Hamlett, Senior Lecturer in Modern British History at Royal Holloway, University of London, about her study of the British love affair with pets over the last two century. She found that the kinds of pets we keep, as well as how we relate to and care for them, has changed radically. Most importantly, pets have played a powerful emotional role in families across all social classes, creating new kinds of relationships and home lives.

Also Jessica Amberson, Lecturer in Adult and Continuing Education at University College, Cork, takes us on a dog walk and explores what this mundane daily activity means for a canine owner and how it helps shapes the identity of a ‘dog person’?

Producer: Jayne Egerton

SUGAR: Laurie Taylor explores the ways in which the sweet stuff has transformed our politics, health, history and even family relationships. He’s joined by Ulbe Bosma, Professor of International Comparative Social History at the Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, and author of a tour de force global history of sugar and its human costs, from its little-known origins as a luxury good in Asia to transatlantic slavery and the obesity pandemic.

Also, Imogen Bevan, Research Fellow in Anthropology at the University of Edinburgh, considers the bittersweet nature of sugar consumption and kinship in Scotland. During extensive fieldwork in primary schools, homes and community groups, she traced the values and meanings attributed to sugar – its role in cementing social bonding, marking out special occasions and offering rewards to children, in particular. Far from being a simple and pleasurable choice, she found it often had a fraught, morally ambivalent presence in family life.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Woke: Laurie Taylor talks to Susan Neiman, philosopher and director of the Einstein Forum about her analysis of the concept of ‘woke’. Contrary to popular assumption, she argues, it is not a set of attitudes which belong on the left of the political spectrum, but is rather an attack on progressive, universal values and the Enlightenment.

They're joined by Huw Davies, lecturer in digital education at the University of Edinburgh, who offers a dissection of the British ‘war on woke’, suggesting that it is an intensive ideological campaign that is mobilising reactionary tropes within mainstream British political discourse.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Guns: Laurie Taylor talks to Jennifer Carlson, Professor of Sociology at Arizona State University and author of an in depth study of gun sellers in the US. In 2020 they were on the front line of an unprecedented surge in gun purchasing against a backdrop of pandemic insecurities and political polarisation. Interviewing 50 sellers from four states, 84% of whom were on the right of the political spectrum, she found they were not simply selling guns, but also a conservative vision. How then did they react to a new wave of gun buyers which included women and sexual minorities, some of whom were liberal? Did this vindicate or challenge their gun centric world view? And what are the possibilities for a positive transformation in America's harmful gun culture when only one third of the population are opposed to the personal ownership of hand guns? They're joined by Andrew Nahum, historian & Keeper Emeritus at The Science Museum whose latest work considers the impact of the gun on progress, both intellectual and industrial, from the Enlightenment to the American West, the Cold War and contemporary gun culture. How did so many rifles come to be held in private hands and what does the ongoing preoccupation with the creation of ever more effective firearms tell us about human creativity?

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Water Ways: Laurie Taylor wades into the deep end with an exploration of human relationships with water. He talks to Veronica Strang, Professor of Anthropology, affiliated to Oxford University, whose latest study takes us from nature worship to the environmental crisis. Early human societies worshipped ‘nature beings’, including water serpent deities who manifested the elemental and generative powers of water. Such beliefs supported collaborative co-existence with the non-human world. How might an understanding of the role and symbolism of water serpents help us turn back the tide of ecological disaster?

They’re joined by Anna Mdee, Professor in the Politics of Global Development at the University of Leeds, who argues that water poverty isn't confined to the Global South, but takes a different form in the western societies, impacting around 20% of households in England and Wales.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

BOXING AND KICKBOXING: Can they transform lives? Boxing has long been cited as a potential cure for a range of social ills, including criminal justice failures, poor mental health and childhood trauma, yet little research has been carried out into how and why such claims exist. Laurie Taylor talks to Deborah Jump, Reader in Criminology at the Manchester Metropolitan University, about the potential of boxing as a mechanism for change among vulnerable groups.

Also, Amit Singh, Leverhulme Early Career Fellow in the Sociology Department at the University of Manchester discusses his study of a kickboxing gym in East London where people struggle to gain an identity as a ‘fighter’, one that transcends race, class, sexuality and gender.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

The Petite Bourgeoisie - Laurie Taylor talks to Daniel Evans, Research Assistant at Cardiff University and author of a new study which explores the unstoppable rise of the lower middle class. Marx predicted that this insecure class, sandwiched between the working class and the bourgeoisie, would be absorbed into the proletariat as artisans died out during the industrial revolution. In fact, it has grown exponentially and is now a significant player within global politics, courted by the right and the left. Far from losing influence, the individualist values associated with it have been popularised by a society which some say fetishizes “aspiration” and entrepreneurship.

They're joined by Nicola Bishop, cultural historian and Senior Teaching Fellow at Loughborough University, whose latest book analyses white collar workers in British popular culture, from the novels of Charles Dickens to comedy TV sitcoms. Why have lower middle class, suburban values become such a staple of our cultural consumption and what can this tell us about national British identity?

Producer: Jayne Egerton

HIGH FINANCE: Laurie Taylor talks to Brett Christophers, Professor in the Department of Human Geography at Uppsala University, Sweden, whose latest book argues that banks have taken a backseat since the global financial crisis . Today, our new economic masters are asset managers who don’t just own financial assets, they also own the roads we drive on; the pipes that supply our drinking water; the farmland that provides our food; energy systems for electricity and heat; hospitals, schools, and even the homes in which many of us live—these all now swell asset managers’ bulging investment portfolios. They’re joined by Megan Tobias Neely, Assistant Professor in the Department of Organization at Copenhagen Business School and author of a study which takes us behind the designer suits and helicopter commutes to provide a glimpse of the lives and times of the mainly white men who dominate the hedge fund industry where about 10,000 firms manage $4 trillion in assets and the average earnings are $1.4 mm a year - which can rise to several billion.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

FASHION RE-IMAGINED: Laurie Taylor talks to Angela McRobbie, Emeritus Professor at Goldsmiths, University of London about the working lives of independent designers in London, Berlin and Milan, at a time when fashion is under the spotlight due to concerns about the environment and exploitation in the industry. How might we create a more equitable and inclusive fashion future? Also, Kat Jungnickel, Reader in Sociology at Goldsmiths, uncovers the lesser-known clothing inventions which enabled women to access the male preserve of sports, move in new ways and expand female mobility and freedom.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Digital intimacy - Laurie Taylor asks how the algorithms embedded in digital technologies are transforming our relationships. He's joined by Anthony Elliott, Distinguished Professor of Sociology at the University of South Australia and author of a new book which suggests that that machine intelligence is changing the nature of human bonds, from sexual partners to friendship and therapy. Also, Carolina Bandinelli, Associate Professor in Media and Creative Industries at the University of Warwick, discusses her study of Tinder, and other dating apps, and the surprising finding that sex and love are not at the core of how people use them.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

PRISON ABOLITION: Laurie Taylor talks to Tommie Shelby, Caldwell Titcomb Professor of African and African American Studies at Harvard University, about a new study which considers the case for ending imprisonment. Mass incarceration and its devastating impact on black communities have been widely condemned as neoslavery or “the new Jim Crow.” Can the practice of imprisonment be reformed, or does justice require it to be ended altogether? They’re joined by Clare McGlynn, Professor of Law at Durham University, who questions 'anti carceral' approaches from a feminist perspective – do they serve the interests of survivors of male violence against women and girls?

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Taste and Lifestyle: Laurie Taylor talks to Ben Highmore, Professor of Cultural Studies at the University of Sussex, whose latest study explores the ways in which consumer culture remade the tastes of an emerging middle class – from pine kitchen tables to Mediterranean cuisine. Did this world of symbolic goods create new feelings and attitudes?

Also, Michael McMillan, Associate Lecturer for Cultural and Historical Studies at the London College of Fashion, discusses the migrant experience of African-Caribbean families setting up home in the UK in the mid-20th century. How did the artefacts and objects which dressed the West Indian front room provide an outlet for feelings of displacement and alienation in a society where they weren't always made to feel 'at home'?

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Dance Culture: Laurie Taylor takes a journey through the dancefloor with the music writer, Emma Warren, whose latest research combines social history and memoir to answer the question 'why do we dance together?' Also, Melin Levent Yuna, a sociologist and anthropologist at Acibaden University, explains why Istanbul has become the Tango capital of the world, after Buenos Aires, in spite of its conservative government.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Democracy: Quinn Slobodian, Professor of the History of Ideas at Wellesley College, takes Laurie Taylor on the journey of radical libertarians who search for the perfect home, free from the burden of democratic oversight, from Hong Kong to Canary Wharf and the Honduras. What accounts for the explosion of new legal entities, including free ports, gated enclaves, city states and special economic zones?

They're joined by Mukulika Banerjee, Associate Professor of Anthropology at the London School of Economics, whose latest study into the lives of West Bengal villagers finds that they promote democratic values in everyday acts of citizenship at a time when Indian democracy is under threat. How do their creative practices around kinship, farming and religion promote republican virtues of cooperation, civility, solidarity and vigilance?

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Poverty in the UK & US: Laurie Taylor talks to Matthew Desmond, Maurice P. During Professor of Sociology at Princeton University, whose latest study asks why the richest country on earth has more poverty than any other advanced democracy. Also Elizabeth Jane Richards, Senior Lecturer in Social Sciences at Edge Hill University, explores the way in which understandings of poverty have changed over time.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

CLASS AND EDUCATION Laurie Taylor talks to Kalwant Bhopal, Professor of Education and Social Justice at the University of Birmingham, about her research into the inner workings of elite universities and the making of privilege.

They're joined by Iona Burnell Reilly, Senior Lecturer in the Sociology of Education at the University of East London, whose latest study presents a collection of autoethnographies, written by working class academics in higher education, and considers how have they become who they are in an industry steeped in elitism.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Asylum and 'home' - the impact of asylum dispersal and Syrian refugees' quest for home. Laurie Taylor talks to Jonathan Darling, Associate Professor in Human Geography at Durham University, about the system of housing and support for asylum seekers and refugees in Britain, from the first outsourced asylum accommodation contracts in 2012 to the renewed wave of outsourcing pursued by the Home Office today. Drawing on six years of research into Britain's dispersal system, and foregrounding the voices and experiences of refugees and asylum seekers, he argues that dispersal has caused suffering and played a central role in the erasure of asylum from public concern.

Also, Vicki Squire, Professor of International Politics at the University of Warwick, discusses the narrative recollections of people who have survived the current Syrian War, only to confront the challenges of forced displacement and relocation, from the West Midlands to London, Canada. What is the meaning of home to those who are subjected to complex migratory journeys and carry memories of extended family, community and homeland in a conflict which has displaced half the population? How do refugees create home ‘away’ from home?

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Museums - Laurie Taylor talks to Adam Kuper, most recently Centennial Professor of Anthropology at the London School of Economic, about their history and future. Originally created as colonial enterprises, what is the purpose of these places now? How do we regard the ways in which foreign and prehistoric peoples were represented in museums of anthropology? What should be done with the artefacts and human remains in their custodianship and how can they help us to understand and appreciate other cultures?

Kerry Wilson, Reader in Cultural Policy at Liverpool John Moores University, discusses House of Memories, a multiple award-winning dementia awareness programme, led by National Museums Liverpool. The programme promotes the use of social history collections and museum objects to inspire communication and connection between carers and people with dementia, via dedicated museum-based events. Is this an example of how museums can offer social value to local communities today?

Producer: Jayne Egerton

The religion of work and welfare: Laurie Taylor explores the way in which our understanding of jobs and joblessness has become entangled with religious ideologies. He's joined by Tom Boland, Senior Lecturer in Sociology at University College, Cork, who argues that Western culture has ‘faith’ in the labour market as a test of the worth of each individual. For those who are out of work, welfare is now less a means of support than a means of purification and redemption where job seeking becomes a form of pilgrimage.

Also, Carolyn Chen, Professor of Ethnic Studies at the University of California, Berkeley, explores how the restructuring of work is transforming religious and spiritual experience in late capitalism. She spent five years conducting an ethnographic study in Silicon Valley and found that tech companies have brought religion into the workplace, in ways that replace churches, temples, and synagogues in workers’ lives and satisfy needs for belonging, identity, purpose, and transcendence. What happens when work replaces religion and are there wider lessons for workers beyond the niche world of high tech?

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Parenting - Laurie Taylor explores its cultural history and the shift towards intensive parenting. Andrew Bomback, Associate Professor of Medicine at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, investigates the emergence of an immersive, all-in approach to raising children that has made parenting a competitive sport. Drawing on “how-to” parenting books and historical accounts of parental duties he charts the way in which being a parent became a skill to be mastered.

They're joined by Benedetta Cappellini, who considers the impact of these social transformations on Grandmothers.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Dirty work - Laurie Taylor explores the invisible labour we choose not to see.

The writer and sociologist, Eyal Press, considers the morally dubious, even dangerous jobs, which sustain modern society but which are concealed from view, from the prison guards who patrol the wards of America's most violent and abusive prisons to the migrants who work in industrial slaughterhouses. What are the ethical, as well as physical costs of doing this kind of labour? Why do those individuals carry the stigma and shame of doing 'dirty work', rather than the society which condones it?

Ellie Johnson, Research Fellow in the School for Policy Studies at the University of Bristol, discusses the treatment of older people in two English residential care homes, sketching out the workers' attitudes and practices concerning hygiene and bodily waste and the ways in which they do, or don't, offer dignity and respect to those receiving care. Is the mistreatment of older people simply an outcome of a deeply inequitable market for care provision or can it also tell us something about the way in which marginalised groups, such as elderly and disabled people, can be dehumanised?

Producer: Jayne Egerton

SELF IMPROVEMENT: Laurie Taylor explores the 'wellness' and 'confidence' cultures that injunct us to be better versions of ourselves. He talks to Shani Orgad, a Professor in the Department of Media and Communications at the LSE and co-author of a new study arguing that imperatives directed at women to “love your body” and “believe in yourself” imply that psychological blocks rather than entrenched social injustices hold women back. Why is there now such an emphasis on confidence in contemporary discourse about body image, workplace, relationships, motherhood, and even international development? They’re joined by Stephanie Alice Baker, a Senior Lecturer in Sociology at City, University of London, whose latest work traces the emergence of 'wellness culture' from a fringe countercultural pursuit to a trillion-dollar industry. Wellness has become synonymous with yoga, meditation, and other forms of self-care and is no longer simply an alternative to mainstream medicine. As it's coalesced with consumer culture, it's become synonymous with an industry of exclusive products and services. In addition, in the Covid moment, it's become associated with harmful conspiracy theories. So is 'wellness' culture delivering on its myriad promises, or does it have a darker side?

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Betting and Investment: Laurie Taylor explores the connections and the differences between two apparently very different phenomena - the football pools and the stock market.

He's joined by Keith Laybourn, Professor Emeritus of History at the University of Huddersfield, who charts the rise and fall of the football pools over the 20th century. In its heyday, millions of working class people hoped for a life-changing jackpot cheque presented by a sporting personality and stories of big wins punctuated the news. So what led to a flutter on the pools falling out of favour?

And Amy Edwards, lecturer of Modern British History at the University of Bristol, asks ‘are we rich yet?’ in a study which considers the way in which a growing number of British people engaged in stock market investment as financial markets became part of daily life from the 1980s following the privatisation of British Telecom. Did this development take investment away from the oak-panelled world of the City and give the wider public a genuine stake in popular capitalism?

Producer: Jayne Egerton

The Internet and time – how the World Wide Web has transformed our understanding of history as well as the future.

Laurie Taylor talks to Jason Steinhauer, public historian and Global Fellow at the Wilson Centre, Washington, DC, whose latest study argues that the tangled complexity of history that we see via Instagram and Twitter is leading to an impoverished, even a distorted knowledge of the past. Algorithms play in a big role in determining the versions of history which we are seeing. Content does not rise to the top of news feeds based on its scholarly or factual merits. Political agendas and commercial agendas are almost always at play. So how can we become more discerning consumers of historical knowledge?

They're joined by Helga Nowotny, Professor Emerita of Social Studies of Science a ETH Zurich, whose research suggests that our dependence on predictive algorithms might be closing down the horizon of our future, giving us a feeling of control whilst narrowing our choices.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

The NHS and the 'sick note': Laurie Taylor talks to Gareth Millward, Assistant Professor in the Department of History at the University of Southern Denmark (SDU) in Odense, and author of a new study which explores the history of the British welfare state via the story of the ‘sick note’. It turns out that the question of ‘who is really sick? was never straightforward. At various times, it was understood that a signed note from a doctor was not enough to 'prove' whether someone was really sick, yet with no better alternative on offer, the sick note survived in practice and in the popular imagination - just like the welfare state itself.

They’re joined by Sally Sheard, Professor of History at the University of Liverpool, who charts the cultural history and changing understandings of healthcare and the NHS in Britain.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Protests: from Occupy to MeToo and the current situation in Iran. Laurie Taylor is joined by Sara Burke, Senior Policy Analyst at Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung political foundation in New York, and co-author of a recent study which analyses the myriad protests which have shaken the world since 2010. She explores their main causes, which include the perceived failures of democracies, as well as the oppression of women and economic inequality. Which protests are likeliest to achieve success and how do we measure success, in the first place?

They're joined by Maryam Alemzadeh, Associate Professor in the History and Politics of Iran at the University of Oxford, who discusses the characteristics and trajectory of the women-led protests in Iran.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Gender and Alcohol: Laurie Taylor talks to Thomas Thurnell-Read, Senior Lecturer in Sociology at Loughborough University, about the masculine domain of craft drinks, an area of the alcohol industry associated with liberal and progressive values but where assumptions about tastes are still informed by gender stereotypes, the marketing of products may draw heavily on sexist imagery and men are seen as the gatekeepers of expertise.

They’re joined by Kath Hennell, Senior Lecturer in Childhood and Youth Studies, who explores the key ingredients of a 'proper night out' for young women and men. What are the hidden, gendered rules which inform a ritual involving extreme intoxication?

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Futilitarianism & Extreme Pessimists: Laurie Taylor talks to Neil Vallelly, Researcher at Economic and Social Research Aotearoa (ESRA) at the University of Otago, New Zealand about a new study which argues that the current moment is characterised by feelings of futility and uselessness. If maximising utility leads to the greatest happiness of the greatest number of people, as utilitarianism has always proposed, then why is it that as many of us currently maximise our utility—by working endlessly, undertaking further education and relentlessly marketing ourselves—we are met with the steady worsening of collective social and economic conditions? They're joined by Monika Mühlböck, Assistant Professor at the University of Vienna and Senior Researcher at the Institute for Advanced Studies, whose research finds that expected downward mobility is impacting the political attitudes & voting behaviour of young people. Drawing on data from a survey among young adults aged 18–35 in eleven European countries, she asks to what extent that young adults who expect to do worse than their parents in the future are more likely to locate themselves at the extreme ends of the ideological scale.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Rules & Order: Laurie Taylor talks to Tim Newburn, Professor of Criminology and Social Policy at the LSE, about the social history of ‘orderly Britain’ – the way in which we’ve resolved everyday problems, from dog fouling to smoking and queuing. They’re joined by Lorraine Daston, Director Emeritus at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, who traces the development of rules in the Western tradition, ones which have set out work hours, dictated how we set the table, told us whether to offer an extended hand or cheek in greeting, and organised the rituals of life. Why do we need such rules and could we live without them?

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Gentrification revisited: Laurie Taylor talks to Leslie Kern, Associate Professor of Geography and Environment at Mount Allison University, Canada and author of a new study unpacking the meaning and impact of gentrification six decades after the term was first coined. She travelled from Toronto to New York, London, Paris and San Francisco, scrutinising the myth and reality that surround this highly contested phenomenon. Beyond the yoga studio, farmer's market and retro cafe, she argues that this is not a 'natural' process, but one which impacts the most vulnerable.

They’re joined by Dr Charmaine Brown, Senior Lecturer in Politics, Education and Cultural Studies at the University of Greenwich, whose research in Peckham, South East London, finds contrasting perspectives amongst different residents. Beautiful shop fronts, fewer police sirens and new street furniture appeal to incomers but Dr Brown sees a loss of social capital, opportunity and support for the original mainly Black communities.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

The Sea – Laurie Taylor explores the privatisation of our oceans and the threat of plastic pollution. He gets into deep waters with Guy Standing, Professorial Research Associate at SOAS University of London, and author of new study which argues that exploitation and extraction now drive all aspects of the ocean economy, destroying communities, intensifying inequalities, and driving fish populations and other ocean life towards extinction. How can we rescue the economy of the sea? Alice Mah, Professor of Sociology at the University of Warwick discusses her recent work on the escalating plastics crisis. Even as public outrage has been prompted by viral imagines of choking marine wildlife, the demand for plastics continues to rise. Is it unstoppable?

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Survival of the City: Laurie Taylor talks to Edward Glaeser, Fred and Eleanor Glimp Professor of Economics at Harvard University and author of a study examining the future of urban life at a time when the pandemic has exposed failures of governance. Whilst cities have been engines for creativity and wealth, they have also, of late, exposed deep inequities in health care and education and advances in technology mean many can opt out of city life as never before. So are we moving to a post urban world? Or will the city continue to thrive and re-invent itself?

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Package holidays and ‘authentic’ travel: Michael John Law, retired research fellow in History at the University of Westminster, investigates the origin of budget tourism and how the package deal opened up a previously unaffordable world to working class holidaymakers. Also, Kaylan Schwarz, assistant professor in the School of Liberal Education at the University of Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, explores the experience of international volunteers who insist on experiencing ‘authenticity’ and claim superiority to every day tourists.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Shopping: Laurie Taylor talks to Rachel Bowlby, Professor of Comparative Literature at University College London, about the history of shops & shopping, from pedlars to chain stores, markets to home delivery. Shops have occupied radically different places in political arguments and in our everyday lives, over time. They are sites of purchase but also of community. What’s their future in the age of Covid? Also, Robin Sheriff, Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of New Hampshire, explores young American women's dreams of shopping. What can dreams tell us about cultural change and consumption?

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Ballroom dancing: Laurie Taylor explores its social history and sexual politics with Hilary French, Professor of Design Studies at Bath Spa University and author of a new book which charts the evolution of a form of dance which originated in upper class, private balls but became a mass, working class pastime in the early 20th century. From Hollywood movies to Mecca dance halls. What explains its rise and fall and rise again, in the current moment? They're joined by Vicki Harman, Reader in Sociology at University of Surrey, who unpacks the intriguing appeal of ballroom in the light of changing gender norms which question the notion that a man should 'lead'.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Plutocratic London and dynastic wealth. Caroline Knowles, Professor of Sociology at Goldsmiths, University of London, takes Laurie Taylor on a tour of plutocratic London, a city with more resident billionaires than New York, Hong Kong or Moscow. How have the fabulously rich re-made London in their own image and what is the cost to ordinary Londoners? They’re joined by Katie Higgins, Postdoctoral Fellow in the Sociology of Elites at the University of Oxford, and author of a study exploring the inheritance practices of the ultra wealthy. How do they maintain a belief in the value of work whilst preserving inheritance for the generation to come?

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Covid: Laurie Taylor explores the impact of the pandemic on our working and home lives. Will Davies, Professor in Political Economy at Goldsmiths, University of London, suggests it has revealed the politics of our economy, offering prosperity to some and hardships to others. He’s joined by Heejung Chung, Professor of Sociology and Social Policy at the University of Kent, whose research explores the impact of Covid on flexible working . Has it led to a more equal division of labour for heterosexual couples or entrenched existing inequalities?

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Workplace Misbehaviour: Laurie Taylor talks to Paul Thompson, Emeritus Professor of Employment Studies at the University of Stirling, about workers behaving badly, from pilferage and absenteeism to the deployment of satirical humour and dissent on social media. In what ways has the modern workplace facilitated new kinds of recalcitrance? Also, Rebecca Scott, Senior Lecturer in Marketing at the University of Cardiff, explores bullying and aggressive behaviour among chefs employed in fine dining restaurants. Does the isolation of the work itself, combined with the geography of elite kitchens, lead to outrageous conduct that would be condemned elsewhere?

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Psychiatry: Laurie Taylor explores the social history of modern psychiatric practice. He's joined by Andrew Scull, Emeritus Professor in Sociology at the University of California and author of a magisterial study which asks if we are any closer to solving serious mental illness than we were a century ago. He traces the history of psychiatry's attempts to analyse and mitigate mental disorders: from the era of the asylum and psychosurgery to the rise and fall of psychoanalysis and the drugs revolution. Why is this history littered with examples of 'care' which so often resulted in dire consequences for the patient?

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Prison protest: Laurie Taylor explores the way in which prisoners have sought to transform the conditions of their imprisonment and have their voices heard. Nayan Shah, Professor of American Studies and Ethnicity and History at the University of Southern California, considers the global history of hunger strikes from suffragists in the US and UK to Republican prisoners in Northern Ireland and anti apartheid campaigners in South Africa. What is the meaning and impact of the refusal to eat? They’re joined by Philippa Tomczak, Director of the Prisons, Health and Societies Research Group at the University of Nottingham, and author of a study which examines the way in which the 1990 riots at HMP Strangeways helped to re-shape imprisonment. Was the change lasting or significant?

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Footwear - the ‘magic’ & the material reality. Laurie Taylor talks to Claudio Benzecry, Associate Professor of Communication Studies and Sociology at Northwestern University, about the people and places involved in the global manufacture of women’s shoes. They’re joined by Elizabeth Ezra, Professor of Cinema and Culture at the University of Stirling, and author of a study about magic shoes, from Wizard of Oz to Cinderella, which finds that 'the perfect fit' relates to more than size and that our culture invests footwear with symbolic meanings beyond their status as mere commodities.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Strongmen – what accounts for the global rise of authoritarian leaders? Laurie Taylor talks to Ruth Ben-Ghiat, Professor of History and Italian Studies at New York University, and analyst of the blueprint which autocratic demagogues, from Mussolini to Putin, have followed over the past 100 years. What lessons might be learned to prevent disastrous rule in the future? They're joined by Christophe Jaffrelot, Professor of Indian Politics and Sociology at King's College, London, whose recent study of Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India, examines how a popularly elected leader has pursued Hindu nationalist policies, steering the world's largest democracy towards further ethnic strife and intolerance, according to many observers.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

The ‘Underclass’: Laurie Taylor explored a vexed concept which has engaged social scientists, philanthropists, journalists, policy makers and politicians. He’s joined by Loic Wacquant, Professor of Sociology at the University of California Berkeley, and author of a magisterial study which traces the rise and fall of a scarecrow category which, he argues, had a lemming effect on a generation of scholars of race and poverty, obscuring more than it illuminated. They're joined by Baroness Ruth Lister, Emeritus Professor of Social Policy at Loughborough University, who charts the way in which the notion of an underclass travelled to the UK, via the New Right sociologist, Charles Murray. She describes its impact on the debate about 'welfare' dependency, across the political spectrum, and argues for a 'politics of renaming' one which accords respect and recognition to people who experience poverty.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

SKILL: Laurie Taylor explores the social construction of skilled and unskilled work. Far from being objective categories, Chris Warhurst, Professor & Director of the Institute for Employment Research at the University of Warwick, suggests a more complex history, one which has favoured male workers. They're joined by Natasha Iskander, Associate Professor of Urban Planning and Public Service at NYU, whose new study takes us into Qatar’s booming construction industry in the lead-up to the 2022 World Cup. She argues that the experiences of migrant workers reveals the way in which the distinction between the “skilled” and “unskilled” is used to limit freedom and personhood. Does skill make us human?

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Extremism: Laurie Taylor talks to Julia Ebner, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, about her experience of going undercover amongst political extremists, including neo Nazis, Islamic jihadists and anti feminists. Also, Daniel Koehler, founding Director of the German Institute on Radicalization and De-Radicalization Studies (GIRDS) discusses the side-switchers and defectors who migrate across extremist groups and ideologies. Ray Hill is a positive example of a former British fascist, turned informant on the far right. Unlike Sascha Lemanski, a German far right activist who crossed over into Islamic jihadism. Can an understanding of the phenomenon of side-switching help us understand the way in which people become radicalised and help combat terrorist violence?

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Laurie Taylor explores the meaning and purpose of public sociology with Michael Burawoy, Professor of Sociology at the University of California, Berkeley and author of a new book which describes his own contribution to reshaping the theory and practice of sociology across the Western world. He argues that social scientists should engage with the world they inhabit, rather than refusing to take positions on the most pressing issues of the twenty-first century. They're joined by Celine-Marie Pascale, Professor of Sociology at the American University, Washington, whose research advocates for, as well as describes, the daily lives of people in communities marked by poverty, racism, violence and misogyny. From Appalachia to the Standing Rock and Wind River Reservations and Oakland, California, she spoke to the self described 'struggling class'. She suggests that their stories can't be reduced to individual experience but illustrate a nation's deep economic and moral crisis and the collusion between governments and corporations that prioritise profits over people and the environment.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Strangers: Laurie Taylor explores Xenophobia, the fear or hatred of those we do not know. Evolutionary psychologists often describe it as a natural and timeless phenomenon rooted in ancient history. But how accurate is that bleak assessment? George Makari, historian and Director of the DeWitt Wallace Institute, has authored a new study sparked by the resurgence of Xenophobia in 2016. He set out to explore the origins of the concept: Coined by late nineteenth-century medics and political commentators, it emerged alongside Western nationalism, colonialism, mass migration, and genocide. Can an understanding of its complex history offer a more hopeful vision of human co-operation in the future? They're joined by Jonathan Purkis, an independent academic and lifelong aficionado of hitchhiking culture. His history of hitchhiking argues that 'driving with strangers' can offer unique opportunities for cooperation, friendship and an openness to the feared 'other'.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

FOOD, IDENTITY AND NATION - At a time when many of us are feeling overstuffed by festive eating, Laurie Taylor asks why food matters. He’s joined by Paul Freedman, Chester D. Tripp Professor of History at Yale University, who explores food’s relationship to our sense of self, as well as to inequality and the environment. Joy Fraser, Adjunct Professor in the Department of Folklore at Memorial University, Newfoundland, Canada, also joins the conversation. She asks why Scottishness has so often been signified, in a derogatory way, through food - from haggis to the deep-fried Mars bar. Does it say something about the relationship between England and Scotland?

Producer: Jayne Egerton

The value of things: At a time when many of us are sorting through Christmas presents, both wanted and unwanted, Laurie Taylor explores the value of attachment in a disposable world. Christine Harold, Professor of Communication at the University of Washington, asks why we hang on to certain objects and discard others. How might our emotional investment in things be harnessed to create less wasteful practices? Also, clutter in our homes, from the meaningless to the meaningful. Sophie Woodward, Professor of Sociology at the University of Manchester, challenges the moralistic view of clutter, one which sees it as a sign of individual failure to organise one’s domestic life. Instead, she argues, it is central to the ways we negotiate and manage our intimate relationships.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Covid: Laurie Taylor explores the financial impact of the coronavirus & asks if it represents an opportunity, as well as a crisis. He's joined by Lisa Suckert, Senior Researcher at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies in Cologne, whose recent study examines the way in which the pandemic has disrupted our sense of time and the temporal logic of the capitalist economy. Also, Adam Tooze, Shelby Cullom Davis chair of History at Columbia University, considers the shockwaves unleashed by the shutdown of the global economy. Will they yield any positive changes to our way of life?

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Freedom: Laurie Taylor explores an unruly & disputed concept. Annelien de Dijn, Professor of Modern Political History at Utrecht University, asks how it came to be identified with limited government. Does our view of freedom owe more to the enemies of democracy than the liberty lovers of the Age of Revolution? Also, Tyler Stovall, Professor of History at Fordham University, considers the intertwined histories of racism and freedom in the United States, a nation that has claimed liberty as at the heart of their national identity.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

LOVE & ROMANCE – Laurie Taylor unpacks different conceptions of love. He’s joined by Raksha Pande, Senior Lecturer in Social Geography at Newcastle University, whose latest research explores arranged marriages amongst people in the British-Indian diaspora. She finds that they have skilfully adapted cultural norms to carve out an identity narrative that portrays them as modern migrants offering a different take on romantic love. She’s joined by Eva Illouz, Rose Isaac Chair of Sociology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, who considers the ways in which romantic affairs in Western culture fail to spark or break up. What can ‘the end of love’ tell us about the effects of consumer culture on personal relationships?

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Afghanistan: The lives of Afghans in Britain today and the role of corruption in the return of the Taliban. Laurie Taylor talks to Nichola Khan, Reader in Anthropology and Psychology at the University of Brighton, about her monumental study of Afghan migrants in Sussex, England, at a time when we are seeing a fresh wave of migration from their home country. Also, Sarah Chayes, former Senior Associate in the Democracy and Rule of Law Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, explores the role of political corruption in the renewed ascendency of the Taliban.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Office life: As more people return to the conventional workplace, Laurie Taylor talks to Craig Robertson, Associate Professor of Media Studies at Northeastern University, about a new study which charts the ‘vertical’ history of the filing cabinet and its role in capitalist modernity. Why was it advertised alongside gleaming skyscrapers & how did the logic of the cabinet come to penetrate the domestic sphere? Also, Harriet Shortt, Associate Professor in Organisation Studies at UWE, Bristol, considers the ways in which people deploy private possessions, from toys to photos, to personalise their increasingly sanitised working environments. Has Covid changed our relationship to such objects at work, as Zoom meetings have blurred the private and professional allowing us to enter our colleagues homes?

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Cool Consumers: Laurie Taylor considers how music acquires the social connotations of “cool” & its implicit association with youth and outsider status. He's joined by Jo Haynes, Associate Professor in Sociology at the University of Bristol. Also, the way in which racial marketing promoted menthol cigarettes to African Americans, linking them to notions of ‘cool’, with enduringly harmful effect. Keith Wailoo, Professor of History and Public Affairs at Princeton University, unpacks a poignant and intricate story which reveals why 85% of Black smokers prefer menthol brands and how difficult it has been to ban them, not least because of the way that tobacco companies forged deep connections with Black media publishers and civil rights campaigners. He argues that the cry of 'I can't breathe' has multiple meanings in America's painful racial history.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

The Smartphone: Nearly 90 per cent of British adults now own a smartphone and ownership among those aged 55 and over has soared from 55 per cent in 2019 to 70 per cent in 2020. Laurie Taylor explores the ways in which this ubiquitous object is transforming everyday life, from China to Ireland, & considers its impact on intimate relationships. He's joined by Daniel Miller, Professor of Anthropology at UCL and co-author of a new study involving 11 anthropologists who each spent 16 months living in communities in Africa, Asia, Europe and South America, focusing on the take up of smartphones by older people. They found that smartphones are technology for everyone, not just for the young, and are transformed by their users & national context. Also, Mark McCormack, Professor of Sociology at the University of Roehampton, considers the impact of smartphones on relationships in the UK. Are they keeping couples together when apart, and driving them apart when together?

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Governments and arts organisations claim that culture brings joy to many lives and unites communities. But a recent study signals a note of scepticism. Orian Brook, AHRC Creative and Digital Economy Innovation Leadership Fellow at the University of Edinburgh, talks to Laurie Taylor about the mechanism of exclusion in cultural occupations which ensures that women, people of colour, and those from working class backgrounds experience systematic disadvantage in terms of gaining such jobs, in the first place, or progressing within these industries. In addition, only a very small percentage of people in England & Wales ever go to an art gallery, the theatre or opera. Only 60% go to cinemas, even though this is seen as accessible to all. So why do so few people participate in or produce 'culture'?

They’re joined by Dave O’Brien, Chancellor's Fellow in Cultural and Creative Industries at the University of Edinburgh, who asks why people from privileged class backgrounds often misidentify their origins as working class. Drawing on 175 interviews with those working in professional and managerial occupations, he finds that such misidentification allows them to tell an upward story of career success ‘against the odds’ that casts their progression as well deserved while erasing the structural privileges that have shaped key moments in their lives. Revised repeat.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

The changing nature of crime: What do current day thieves, gangsters and dealers say about their ‘business’ and how its evolved over time? How strict a division is there between the 'respectable' and the 'illicit' world? To what extent are our notions of crime rooted in Hollywood myth making about sharp suited gangsters rather than the more mundane reality? Laurie Taylor explores these questions with Richard Hobbs, Emeritus Professor of Criminology at the University of Essex and author of a new study which analyses the essence of illegal capitalism, from anonymous warehouse thieves to exalted underworld figures such as the Krays. They’re joined by Tuesday Reitano, Deputy Director of the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, whose research highlights the impact on Covid 19 on the illegal economy. She finds that shortages, lockdowns and public attitudes have brought the underworld and upperworld closer together allowing criminals to taking advantage of the virus, finding new routes for illegal commodities, from narcotics to people.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Tourism & travel: Laurie Taylor explores their past, present and future. He's joined by the Italian social theorist, Marco D' Eramo, whose latest book unpacks a global cultural phenomenon at the point at which some of us are considering the possibilities of foreign travel, once again. How did travelling, as an elite pastime, evolve into mass tourism? Why do tourists often despise other tourists? How 'authentic' is the average heritage site? What impact does tourism have on our cities and the environment? Might we find more 'otherness' by staying at home? They're joined by Emily Thomas, Associate Professor of Philosophy at Durham University, whose research has found that philosophers have theorised extensively about the meaning and purpose of travel in a quest to understand the complexity of the world and of ourselves. Thinking Allowed is produced in partnership with the Open University.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

The handshake & social interaction. Laurie Taylor explores the history and meaning of a commonplace ritual which has played a role in everything from meetings with uncontacted tribes to political assassinations. He's joined by the paleoanthropologist, Ella Al-Shamahi, who asks what this everyday, friendly gesture can tell us about the enduring power of human contact. They're joined by Steven Shapin, Franklin L. Ford Research Professor of the History of Science at Harvard University, & author of a recent article which considers the way in which social distancing and self isolating have put us 'out of touch' with each other. As he says, COVID is a social disease, a pathological experiment on the nature of our social relations. Will it irrevocably change the way we interact with other human beings? Thinking Allowed is produced in partnership with the Open University.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Coalmining & Luddism: Laurie explores the meaning of progress, from the former pit villages of South Wales & Durham to contemporary high tech industry. He's joined by Huw Beynon, Emeritus Professor in the School of Social Sciences at the University of Cardiff, who charts the rise and fall of coalmining. What has happened to those communities in a post industrial era? Those who opposed the closure of the mines were often described as Luddites, trapped in a romanticised version of a lost world, but Gavin Mueller, a Lecturer in Media Studies at the University of Amsterdam, suggests that Luddism may not always be regressive. His research provides an innovative rethinking of labour and machines & argues that improvement in people's working lives may depend on subverting or halting some technological changes. Thinking Allowed is produced in partnership with the Open University.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

MIGRANTS IN LONDON: how has London been shaped by the history of immigration? Laurie Taylor talks to Panikos Panayi, Professor of European History at De Montfort University, & author of a new study which examines the contribution of immigrants to London’s economic success and status as a global capital - from Jewish & Irish immigrants in the 19th century to the Windrush generation and beyond. They’re joined by Esther Saraga, a retired social scientist, whose recent book charts the emotional journeys of her parents, two German Jewish refugees, reconstructing their story from a substantial collection of family material, archives and secondary historical sources. She argues that their contradictory experiences of welcome and restriction challenge simple views of Britain's liberal tradition of welcoming refugees. Thinking Allowed is produced in partnership with the Open University.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Fitness & fatness: Laurie Taylor asks if they are two sides of the same coin. He's joined by Jürgen Martschukat, Professor of North American History at the University of Erfurt and author of a new book which looks at the history of self-optimisation from the Enlightenment to the present. What’s the relationship between neoliberalism and phenomena like Viagra & aerobics? How did the body come to symbolise success and achievement? Also, Sarah Trainer, medical anthropologist at Seattle University, discusses her study on extreme weight loss, via bariatric surgery. Her in depth interviews with patients reveal, in painstaking detail, how the journey to drastic weight - often half a person's body weight - can be at once painful and liberating, revealing which bodies are treated as though they don't belong in modern societies. Thinking Allowed is produced in partnership with the Open University.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

BLACKFACE & MINSTRELSY - At its most basic level, 'blackface' is the application of any prosthetic to imitate the complexion of another race. In theory, it's a performance available to all, yet 'whiteface' is relatively unknown. Laurie Taylor talks to Ayanna Thompson, Regents Professor of English at Arizona State University, about the painful history of ‘blackface’, an ancient European theatrical device that the Europeans brought with them to America. What connects it to Blackface minstrelsy, a specific comedic performance tradition rooted in slavery, and why does this racist practice endure today?

Also, Christine Grandy, Associate Professor in History at the University of Lincoln, discusses the origins of the British Black and White Minstrel Show, a prime time, BBC variety programme which lasted for 20 years, from 1958-1978. She uncovers a little known history in which broadcasters, the press, and audience members collectively argued that the show had nothing to do with race whilst the complaints and anger of Black people were dismissed. Thinking Allowed is produced in partnership with the Open University.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

PERFUME: What’s the connection between perfume & politics in the 20th century and how do scents become invested with meaning? Laurie Taylor talks to Professor Karl Schloegel, Chair of East European History at the European University Viadrina in Frankfurt, and author of a new study which examines contemporary history through the prism of two scents – Moscow Red and Chanel No 5. They’re joined by Karen Cerulo, Professor of Sociology at Rutgers University, who asks how individuals make sense of certain fragrances and correctly decode perfume manufacturers’ intended message and target users. To what extent do our every day readings of scent produce a world bound by class and race? Thinking Allowed is produced in partnership with the Open University.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

The Rural Idyll? Last year the National Trust produced a controversial report which revealed that 93 of its properties have direct links to colonialism and slavery. In this programme, Laurie Taylor talks to Corinne Fowler, Professor of Post Colonial Literature at the University of Leicester, whose new study engages directly with this painful history, uncovering the countryside’s repressed colonial past and its relationship to notions of Englishness. How have pastoral mythologies in English literature served to erase the story of Empire? In what ways do contemporary writers of colour offer a challenge to uncritical celebrations of our 'green and pleasant' land? They’re joined by Paul Readman, Professor of Modern British History at King's College London, whose recent research considers the relationship between landscape and English national identity, from the rural to the urban. Thinking Allowed is produced in partnership with the Open University.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Life imprisonment - Why is it that such sentences were almost unheard of a generation ago and what is their impact on prisoners, as well as society? Ben Crewe, Deputy Director of the Prison Research Centre at the University of Cambridge, talks to Laurie Taylor about the largest ever sociological study of long term imprisonment conducted in Europe. Focusing on prisoners convicted of murder & serving life sentences of 15 years or more from young adulthood, it asks how they manage time, think about the future, and deal with existential issues of identity and the meaning of their lives. They’re joined by Elaine Player, Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Kings College, London, who discusses the different needs and experiences of the much smaller number of female ‘lifers’, many of whom are victims of multiple trauma & male violence, drawing on research conducted in a democratic therapeutic community in a women’s prison. Thinking Allowed is produced in partnership with the Open University.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

The Orange Order in Northern Ireland and Scotland: Its origins, practices and principles, from the Battle of the Boyne to the Good Friday Agreement.. Laurie Taylor talks to Joseph Webster, Lecturer in the Study of Religion at the University of Cambridge, and author of a new book about the Orange Order in Scotland which explores the politics of anti Catholic sectarianism and ultra Britishness, as well as the tensions between grassroots Orangemen and a hierarchy wishing to cultivate a respectable image beyond controversial parades and football hooliganism. Also, Karine Bigand, Senior Lecturer in Irish Studies at Aix-Marseille University, considers the history of Orange politics in Northern Ireland and current attempts to memorialise the Orange Order and contribute positively to reconciliation between divided communities post the GFA in 1998. Produced in partnership with the Open University.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Community & social capital. Laurie Taylor talks to Robert D Putnam, Malkin Research Professor of Public Policy at Harvard University and co-author of a new study which revisits some of the themes of 'Bowling Alone' his 20 year old, groundbreaking book, which argued that Americans were losing their connections with one another. His latest research takes a look at trends over the last century which have brought us from an “I” society to a “We” society and then back again. What lessons can be drawn from the past, especially at a time of increased economic inequality, political polarisation and loss of social capital and trust, all of which are playing out against the backdrop of a global pandemic? Is it, as he suggests, time for an 'upswing', more focused on our responsibilities to each other and one which, for the first time, must properly account for the way in which racism has shaped America?

They’re joined by Emily Falconer, Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Westminster, who considers the extent to which Robert Putnam's arguments apply to the UK. She also discusses her own research, which focuses on collective singing as a manifestation of social capital and community, in action. Her study of an Online Zoom community choir - at a time when so many face-to-face activity have disappeared - suggests that virtual, group singing has afforded deep connections between people in a landscape in which the future of social gatherings remains uncertain.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Produced in partnership with The Open University

THE BED: Laurie Taylor talks to Nadia Durrani, writer on archaeology and co-author of a study which explores 'what we did in bed', offering a social history of an often taken-for-granted object. In a story spanning millennia, she illuminates the role of the bed through time, reminding us that it was not always simply a private space for sleep, sex and relaxation; it's also been a place for sharing with strangers, issueing decrees, even taking us to the afterlife.

Also, the rise and fall of twin beds for couples. Hilary Hinds, Professor of English Literature at Lancaster University , charts shifting attitudes towards separate sleeping. Whereas it was once seen as the sign of a modern, hygiene conscious and forward thinking relationship, it came to be regarded as the enemy of intimacy. Why did so many couples abandon a sleeping arrangement which used to be regarded as one of the keys to re-imagining domestic relations, promoting equality between the sexes and personal autonomy?

This is the last of our current series, as Thinking Allowed heads for a long 'lie in' until April 2021.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Laurie Taylor talks to Annie Kelly, a researcher of the Digital Far Right, about the QAnon conspiracy theory and why it has attracted a striking number of female followers, many of whom are mothers. She argues that their rhetoric and slogans have cleverly smuggled legitimate concerns about the welfare of children into a baseless and dangerous set of entirely false claims about the nature of child trafficking. What role have social media sites dominated by women played in the circulation of QAnon theories and how can they be challenged?

Also, Nina Jankowitz, Global Disinformation Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Centre for Scholars, examines Russia’s role in the spread of disinformation, not only in the USA but also in Eastern and Central Europe. What lessons can be learned from these experiences? She argues that the best types of disinformation are able to amplify and exploit the already existing divisions in society, including racism and inequality in the US context.

The anthropologist, James Suzman, explores the shifting meaning of work, and argues that for 95% of our species' history, it held a radically different importance – it did not determine social status, mould our values or dictate how we spent most of our time. How did it become the central organisational principle of our societies and is it time for a dramatic re-think?

Also, Ella Harris, Leverhulme Fellow in the Geography department at Birkbeck, University of London, examines ‘pop up culture’. Temporary or nomadic sites such as cinemas, supper clubs and container malls are now ubiquitous in cities across the world. But what are the stakes of the 'pop-up' city? Has economic insecurity and precarity been re-branded as desirable and exciting?

Presenter Laurie Taylor Producer Jayne Egerton

DIRT: Laurie Taylor explores its material & symbolic meanings. Stephanie Newell, Professor of English at Yale University, traces the ways in which urban spaces and urban dwellers come to be regarded as dirty, as exemplified in colonial and postcolonial Lagos,Nigeria. They’re joined by Lucy Norris, Guest Professor of Design Anthropology and Material Culture at the Weissensee School of Art and Design, Berlin, who asks if the resistance to recycled clothes relates to our fear that they may intimately link us with 'dirty' & contagious bodies.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

TEA: A dark history. Laurie Taylor talks to the historian, Seren Charrington-Hollins, about the exploitation, wars & intrigue at the heart of the history of that most 'British' hot beverage. Also, Sarah Besky, Associate Professor in the Departments of International and Comparative Labour & Labour Relations, Law, and History in at Cornell University, discusses her study of mass market black tea, one of the world’s most recognized commodities, and one which is still rooted in the colonial plantation.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Gambling: Laurie Taylor talks to Rebecca Cassidy, Professor of Anthropology at Goldsmiths, University of London, about her research into a pastime which was once a criminal activity but is now a respectable business run by multinational corporations listed on international stock markets. Who are the winners and losers created by this transformation? Also, Emma Casey, Associate Professor of Sociology at Northumbria University, discusses her research on gambling and social mobility.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

DEPORTATION: Laurie Taylor explores the lives of people whose criminal convictions have led to them being deported to Jamaica, although many of them left the Caribbean as children and grew up in the UK. Luke de Noronha, Simon Research Fellow in the School of Social Sciences at the University of Manchester, describes the experiences of a group who are regarded as undeserving of sympathy, compared to the victims of the Windrush scandal of 2018. But are such hard and fast divisions fair or accurate? They’re joined by Adam Goodman, Assistant Professor of History and Latin American Studies at the University of Illinois, who traces the long history of deportation in the US, beyond current headlines about detention camps and anti migrant ‘walls’, and asks if America is deserving of its reputation as a country which has always welcomed immigrants.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Corruption: Laurie Taylor talks to Sarah Chayes, writer and former Senior Fellow in the Democracy and Rule of Law programme at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, about the ways in which vested interests have corrupted America - from unjust Supreme Court rulings to revolving doors between the private and state sector - and challenges the notion that this phenomenon is principally caused by wicked individuals lining their own pockets. Instead she reveals a many headed hydra of sophisticated networks spanning political and national boundaries. They’re joined by Dan Hough, Director of the Sussex Centre for the Study of Corruption at the University of Sussex, who provides a British & global perspective on a phenomenon which is threatening democracy. How can it be tackled at a personal, political and collective level? Edited since first transmission.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

CIVILIANS IN THE LINE OF FIRE: Laurie Taylor talks to Nicola Perugini, Senior Lecturer in International Relations at the University of Edinburgh, about the global history of human shields, from civil wars to Black Lives Matters. How have ordinary people come to be both voluntary and involuntary shields for protection, coercion, or deterrence? Also, war lawyers. Craig Jones, Lecturer in Political Geography at Newcastle University, discusses the way in which legal professionals have increasingly been invited to advise on military operations which were once the exclusive preserve of commanders. What implications has this had for the conduct of war, in general and the treatment of civilians, in particular? Why has it allowed for an extension, rather than a curtailment, of civilian deaths?

Producer: Jayne Egerton

The Rich: Laurie Taylor talks to Rowland Atkinson, Research Chair in Inclusive Societies at the University of Sheffield, about his study of London as an 'Alpha City'. Compared to New York or Tokyo, the two cities that bear the closest comparison, it has the largest number of wealthy people per head of population. Has London been transformed into a 'capital for capital' , marginalising the needs of the majority of its population? They're joined by the historian and sociologist, Rainer Zitelmann, who has conducted the first, large scale study into attitudes towards the rich and argues that social envy can lead to scapegoating and finds intriguing differences of opinion amongst Americans, Germans, the British and French.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Fashion & VIP parties - Laurie Taylor explores the hidden stories behind the glamour and wealth. He's joined by Giulia Mensitieri, Social Anthropologist and Ethnologist Research Fellow at the Université Paris Nanterre, and author of a study which investigates the fashion industry and uncovers the harsh and exploitative realities which lurk beneath the glittering façade. Also, Ashley Mears, Associate Professor in Sociology at Boston University, describes the exclusive global nightclub and party circuit, from New York City to Saint-Tropez, revealing a culture of ostentatious display & waste.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

REVOLUTION: Are all radical upheavals in the social, economic and political order destined to fail? Laurie Taylor talks to Daniel Chirot, Herbert J. Ellison Professor of Russian and Eurasian Studies at the University of Washington, about his study into why so many of the iconic revolutions of modern times have ended in bloody tragedies. Does radical idealism inevitably have tragic consequences? Also, the Rojava Revolution, how a region in Northeastern Syria, has become the site of extraordinary transformation. The writer and activist, Rahila Gupta, describes an experiment in direct democracy, inter-ethnic co-operation and women's liberation which has taken place against a backdrop of civil war.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Elites: Laurie Taylor explores the anti elitism which has become a common staple of media commentary and political rhetoric. He talks to Eliane Glaser, Reader in Creative Writing at Bath Spa University, and author of a new study arguing that we are taking aim at the wrong enemy and confusing a corporate elite, which does pose a threat to many of us, with people who make our lives worth living, even save our lives – from doctors and lawyers to writers and artists. Are we letting the ‘real’ elite off the hook? They’re joined by William Davies, Professor of Political Economy at Goldsmiths, University of London, whose latest book takes stock of our historical moment and claims that the basic norms of public life have been thrown into question, as the status of political parties, mainstream media and public experts have been undermined.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

CARS: How do cars transmit our identities behind the wheel? Laurie Taylor explores the meaning of cars from Bradford to China. Yunis Alam, Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Bradford, discusses his study of car ownership amongst Bradfordians of Pakistani heritage. How do cars project status, class, taste and racial identity? Also, Jun Zhang, Assistant Professor of Asian and International Studies at City University of Hong Kong, describes the rise of car consumption in China and the ways in which it has shaped the emerging, but insecure, middle class.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Bunkers: The bunker has become the extreme expression of our greatest fears: from pandemics to climate change and nuclear war. Laurie Taylor talks to Bradley Garrett, Assistant Professor in Human Geography at University College Dublin, about the global movement of 'prepping' for social and environmental collapse, or 'Doomsday'. They're joined by Diane Morgan, Lecturer in Cultural Studies at the University of Leeds and author of a study examining the symbolic meaning of the bunker and the way in which demilitarised bunkers have taken on a new cultural life.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

CEO Society – Laurie Taylor talks to Peter Bloom, Head of the Department of People and Organisations at the Open University and author of a new book which asks why corporate leaders such as Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg have become cultural icons of the 21st century. Also, how did productivity emerge as a way of thinking about job performance? Melissa Gregg, Research Director at Intel, explains why she thinks that time management is actually counterproductive. Repeat.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

With her 1974 study The Sociology of Housework, Ann Oakley offered a comprehensive sociological study of women’s work in the home. Analysing interviews with urban housewives, she found that most women, regardless of class, were dissatisfied with housework. It was a finding that contrasted with prevailing perspectives, and a study that challenged the scholarly neglect of housework. Now that this landmark text has been reissued, Ann talks to Laurie Taylor about its significance and reflects on what has changed in the decades since it was published.

Also, Rosie Cox discusses her co-authored study of au pairing in the twenty first century, As an Equal? Drawing on detailed research, the book examines the lives of au pairs and the families who host them in contemporary Britain, arguing that au pairing has become increasingly indistinguishable from other forms of domestic labour. Revised repeat.

Producer: Alice Bloch

Surveillance: Laurie Taylor explores the way in which we have become the watchers, as well as the watched. From 9/11 to the Snowden leaks, stories about surveillance increasingly dominate the headlines. But surveillance is not only 'done to us' – it is something we do in everyday life. We submit to surveillance, believing we have nothing to hide. Or we try to protect our privacy. At the same time, we participate in surveillance in order to supervise children, monitor other road users, and safeguard our property. Social media allow us to keep tabs on others, as well as on ourselves. Laurie Taylor explores the contemporary culture of surveillance. He's joined by Kirstie Ball, Professor of Management at the University of St Andrews, and David Lyon, Professor in the Department of Sociology at Queen's University, Canada. Revised repeat.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

The Politics of Memorials: Remembering Emmet Till – in 1955, a young African-American was lynched in Mississippi at the age of 14, after being accused of offending a white woman in her family's grocery store. Driving through the Mississippi Delta today, you’ll find a landscape dotted with memorials to major figures and moments from the civil rights movement, none more tragic than this murder. The ways in which his death is remembered have been fraught from the beginning, revealing the political controversies which lurk behind the placid facades of historical markers. Dave Tell, Professor of Communication Studies at the University of Kansas, analyses the various ways that this landmark event in the civil rights movement has been commemorated. Also, Margaret O’Callaghan, Reader in History, Queen’s University Belfast, discusses commemoration in the context of Irish history. How has the marking of the Easter Rising shifted over time? What roles are played by memorials in any society? And what forces dictate what gets remembered and what is forgotten? Revised repeat.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Skateboarding and parkour: Laurie Taylor explores lifestyle sports in the hyper regulated city. Iain Borden, Professor of Architecture and Urban Culture at UCL, considers the origins, history and thrill of skateboarding. They're joined by Thomas Raymen, a senior lecturer in the Social Sciences department at Northumbria University, who followed a group of Newcastle free running enthusiasts, from wall to rooftop, and probed the contradictions between transgression and conformity to the values of consumer capitalism. Revised repeat.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Laurie Taylor explores the increasing use of metrics across diverse aspects of our lives.

From education to healthcare, charities to policing, we are are target-driven society which places a heavy emphasis on measuring, arguably at times at the expense of individual professional expertise.

Laurie is joined by Jerry Muller, Professor of History at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., who asserts in his book, The Tyranny of Metrics, that we are fixated by metrics, to the extent to which we risk compromising the quality of our lives and most important institutions. He is also joined by Btihaj Ajana, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Digital Humanities at King's College London, who, in the introduction to the book, Metric Culture - Ontologies of Self-Tracking Practices, explains the concept of the 'Quantified Self Movement' - whose philosophy is 'self-knowledge through numbers'.

With such a plethora of personal information about ourselves being generated daily are we complicit in creating a culture of surveillance with the blurring of boundaries between the private and public? Stefan Collini, Professor of Intellectual History and English Literature at the University of Cambridge, joins the discussion. Revised repeat.

Producer Natalia Fernandez

Maoism: the changing face of a revolutionary ideology. Julia Lovell, Professor in Modern Chinese History and Literature at Birkbeck, University of London explores the origins and development of global Maoism; Alpa Shah, Associate Professor in Anthropology at LSE, provides a glimpse into the lives of a group of Maoist guerrillas in modern day India and Dennis Tourish, Professor of Leadership and Organisation Studies at the University of Sussex, looks at Maoist organisations in the context of his research into political cults. Revised repeat. Producer: Jayne Egerton

Strategic ignorance and knowledge resistance: Laurie Taylor talks to Mikael Klintman, Professor of Sociology at the University of Lund, Sweden about our capacity for resisting insights from others. At all levels of society, he argues, our world is becoming increasingly dominated by an inability, even refusal, to engage with others' ideas. It does not bode well either for democracy or for science. They're joined by Linsey McGoey, Professor of Sociology at the University at Essex, whose new study explores the use of deliberate and wilful ignorance by elites in pursuit of the retention of power - from News International's hacking scandal to the fire at Grenfell Tower.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Rummage & waste: Laurie Taylor talks to Emily Cockayne, Senior Lecturer in Early Modern History at the University of East Anglia, about the overlooked story of our throwaway past, from ladies of the First World War who turned dog hair into yarn to Girl Guides inspired to collect bottle tops by the litter collecting Wombles of Wimbledon. What lessons can be drawn from the past to address urgent questions of our waste today? Patrick O'Hare, Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Social Anthropology at the University of St Andrews, joins the conversation and considers our shifting definitions of waste, from domestic homes in the Global North to the rubbish dumps of Uruguay.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Traders and finance: Daniel Beunza - Associate Professor in the Cass Business School at City, University of London, talks to Laurie Taylor about his study of a Wall Street derivatives-trading room. In particular, he explores how the extensive use of financial models and trading technologies over recent decades has exerted a far-ranging influence on Wall Street , one which should alert us to the risks of moral disengagement caused by a dependence on ‘models’. Also, Anastasia Nesvetailova, Director of City Political Economy Research Centre at City, University of London , argues that financial malpractice is not an anomaly, but part of a business model of finance which involves the sabotaging of competitors, clients and even the state.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Blood - Laurie Taylor explores the metaphorical, as well as material, reality of blood. He's joined by Gil Anidjar, Professor of Religion and Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African studies at Columbia University, and author of a study which explores the relationship between the history of Christianity and blood. What are the social and political implications of the way in which Christian blood come to be associated with purity and kinship?

Also, Janet Carsten - Professor of Social and Cultural Anthropology at the University of Edinburgh, considers the extraordinary symbolic power of blood. She traces the multiple meanings of blood as it moves from donors to labs, hospitals, and patients in Penang, Malaysia, telling the stories of blood donors, lab staff and hospital workers. In the process, she shows that blood is a lens for understanding the entanglements of modern life.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Trust in a time of pandemic. Laurie Taylor explores the role of social capital and trust in combatting Covid-19. He's joined by Michael Calnan, Professor of Medical Sociology at the University of Kent and Tannistha Samanta, Assistant Professor at the Indian Institute of Technology in Gandhinagar.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

KIDNAP - Millions of people live, travel, and work in areas with significant kidnap risks, yet kidnaps of foreign workers, local VIPs, and tourists are surprisingly rare and the vast majority of abductions are peacefully resolved. Anja Shortland, Reader in Political Economy, King's College London, explores this lucrative but tricky business. Also, Jatin Dua, Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the University of Michigan, examines the upsurge in maritime piracy off the coast of Somalia, taking us inside pirate communities in Somalia. In what ways are modern day pirates connected to longer histories of trade and disputes over protection?

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Loneliness - Fay Bound Alberti, Reader in History at the University of York, charts the emergence of loneliness as a contemporary emotional state. Also, Janne Flora, postdoctoral scholar at Aarhus University, explores the deep connections between loneliness and modernity in the Arctic, tracing the history of Greenland and analysing the social dynamics that shaped it.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Citizenship - Carol Vincent, Professor of Sociology of Education, explores the way in which children are being taught about ‘fundamental British values’ such as democracy and tolerance. Does this government imposed requirement too easily result in a celebration of reductionist symbols and stereotypes of Britishness - 'tea and the Queen'? Also, David Bartram, Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Leicester, takes a critical look at a UK ‘citizenship process’ which subjects immigrants to a test designed to enhance their participation in British political and civic life. Does it work?

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Loss: How should we understand the 'road not taken'? Laurie Taylor talks to Susie Scott, Professor of Sociology at the University of Sussex, about her study of lost experience - that vast terrain of things we have not done, that did not happen or that we have not become. Also, Tim Strangleman, Professor of Sociology at the University of Kent, reveals a lost world of paternalistic employment in which people enjoyed a well-paid job for life, free meals in silver service canteens, after work sports & theatre clubs & a generous pension on the horizon – the story of the Guinness Brewery in West London.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

WATER – Laurie Taylor explores the cultural life of a natural substance. Sophie Watson, Professor of Sociology at the Open University, considers the taken for granted-ness of this vital fluid and the everyday connections it forges amongst human beings. They’re joined by Benjamin J. Pauli - Assistant Professor of Social Science at Kettering University in Flint, Michigan, whose study of the Flint water crisis describes the way in which “water warrior” activists have expanded the struggle for water justice, connecting it to a broader fight for democracy.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

NUDITY – Laurie Taylor explores the cultural history of nudity and its impact on ideas about the body from the early twentieth century to the present. He talks to Sarah Schrank, Professor of History at California State University, about the unusual eras and locations in which it thrived - from Depression-era collectives to 1950s suburban nudist communities—as well as the more predictable beaches and resorts. They’re joined by Barbara Górnicka, Assistant Professor in Sociology at University College, Dublin, who asks why we find exposing bodies shameful and draws on her own participation in a nudist swimming club.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Hidden gay lives: Laurie Taylor uncovers the ‘fabuloso’ history of Polari, Britain’s secret gay language with Paul Barker, Professor of English Language at Lancaster University. He also talks to the cultural historian, James Polchin, about the ways in which 20th c American crime pages recover a little discussed history of violence against gay men, one in which they were often held responsible for their own victimisation.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Borders: Laurie Taylor explores the control of national borders. He talks to Nira Yuval Davis, Director of the research centre on Migration, Refugees and Belonging at the University of East London and co-author of a new book which asks why borders have moved from the margins into the centre of political life and turned many ordinary citizens into untrained border guards. They’re joined by Jeremy Slack, Assistant Professor of Geography at the University of Texas, who charts the way in which Mexican deportees from the United States become the targets of extreme drug related violence upon their return to Mexico.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

The Power of oil - Laurie Taylor explores the role of oil in shaping our society, economy and environment. He talks to James Marriott of Platform, co-author with Mika Minio-Paluello of 'The Oil Road'. Their research took them from the oil fields of the Caspian Sea to the refineries and financial centres of Northern Europe. Timothy Mitchell, Professor of Middle Eastern Studies at Colombia University, joins the discussion, considering the relationship between democracy and oil. John Urry (1946-2016) also took part in the programme. He was Distinguished Professor of Sociology at Lancaster University and author of a book which pioneered a sociology of energy, analysing our carbon addiction in the light of ever dwindling resources and asking if an oil free society was possible or desirable. Sadly, John died several years after the programme was first transmitted. He had done more than most British sociologists to characterise the complexities of global society. Revised repeat.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

The Happiness Industry: Laurie Taylor talks to Will Davies, Professor in Politics at Goldsmiths, University of London, who asks why policy makers have become increasingly focused on measuring happiness. Also, 'wellness syndrome': Andre Spicer, Professor of Organisational Behaviour at City University, argues that visions of positive social change have been replaced by a focus on individual well-being. They're joined by Laura Hyman, Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Portsmouth. Revised repeat. Producer: Jayne Egerton

Consumer pleasures - Laurie Taylor explores the place of shopping in our lives, as well as within sociological thought. He's joined by Professor Colin Campbell, Dr Kate Soper and Professor Rachel Bowlby. Revised repeat.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

A Thinking Allowed special on 'love'. What are the origins of our notions of high romantic love? Was the post war period a 'golden age' for lifelong love? Has marriage for love now failed? Laurie Taylor hopes to finds some answers with the help of the social historian, Claire Langhamer, the philosopher, Pascal Bruckner, and the sociologist, Professor Mary Evans.Revised repeat. Producer: Jayne Egerton

The religious right in the US - Laurie Taylor talks to Anne Nelson, writer and Adjunct Research Scholar in the Faculty of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University, about her exploration of the way in which the religious right in the US has risen to political power. Who are the Council for National Policy and why does she consider they represent a 'shadow network'? Also Gregory Smith, associate director of research at Pew Research Center in Washington, provides facts and figures on the white evangelical vote. Repeat.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Black music culture: Laurie talks to Caspar Melville, Lecturer in Global Creative and Cultural Industries at SOAS, about his study of the musical life which emerged in post-colonial London at the end of the twentieth century – from reggae and soul in the 1970s, to rare groove and rave in the 1980s and jungle in the 1990s. They're joined by Kim-Marie Spence, Post Doctoral Student at Solent University, Southampton, who explores the mixed fortunes of reggae and dancehall within Jamaica and beyond.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Thrift: Through the strictures of the global financial downturn and its aftermath citizens have been urged to ‘keep calm and carry on’. This slogan, first coined in the 1940s and revived in the 2000s, found its way into political rhetoric and popular culture. Laurie talks to Rebecca Bramall, lecturer in media and communications at the London College of Communication, about the cultural politics of austerity. Also, Alison Hulme, lecturer in International Development at the University of Northampton, surveys the history of 'thrift' from the early Puritans to Post-war rationing and into consumer culture. What are the overlaps between thrift and austerity?

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Time: Laurie Taylor considers the extent to which the way we spend our time has changed over the last fifty years. Is it true that we are working more, sleeping less and addicted to our phones? What does this mean for our health, wealth and happiness? Oriel Sullivan, Professor of Sociology of Gender at the UCL, has taken a detailed look at our daily activities and found some surprising truths about the social and economic structure of the world we live in. Also, Daniel S. Hamermesh, Distinguished Scholar at Barnard College, examines the pressure to do more in less time. Which people are the most rushed & why - from France and Germany to the UK and Japan.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Disasters: Kathleen Tierney, Professor of Sociology at the University of Colorado, sheds light on the social roots of disaster vulnerability. We know that hurricanes and tsunamis kill, maim, and generate huge financial losses – but they do not wreak their damage equally across populations. How do countries recover from disasters? Greg Beckett, Assistant Professor in Sociocultural Anthropology at Western University, Ontario, talks about the lives of Haitian people struggling to survive amid the ruins of ecological devastation and economic collapse. In what ways do natural disasters – principally the 2010 earthquake - amplify existing crises?

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Immortality: Pursuing a life beyond the human. Anya Bernstein, Associate Professor of the Social Sciences at Harvard University, talks to Laurie Taylor about the Russian visionaries and utopians who seek to overcome the limitations of our material bodies. Also, Alex Thomas, Lecturer in Media Production at the University of East London, explores the ethical dilemmas relating to transhumanism. Who will benefit from technologies which assist the desire to transcend our mortal state?

Producer: Jayne Egerton

'Cool' - Laurie Taylor traces the trajectory of the notion of ‘cool’ with Joel Dinerstein, Professor of English and American Studies at Tulane University, and author of a study which suggests it originated in American jazz clubs as a stylish defence against racism and cross fertilised with French existentialism and film noir.

Also, ‘cool shades’: Vanessa Brown, Senior Lecturer in the School of Art and Design at Nottingham Trent University, explores the enduring appeal of sunglasses as the ultimate signifiers of ‘cool’ in mass culture.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Serial killers: Laurie talks to Ian Cummins, Senior Lecturer in Social Work at the University of Salford, about the media and cultural responses to the child murders committed by Ian Brady and Myra Hindley two decades earlier. The Moors Murders were to provide an unfortunate template for future media reporting on serial killing, including the crimes committed by Peter Sutcliffe - the Yorkshire Ripper - as described in a new study by Louise Wattis, Senior Lecturer in Criminology and Sociology at Teesside University. Sutcliffe murdered 13 women in the North of England between 1975 and 1980. Dr Wattis discusses the way in which these crimes shed light on how we think about fear of crime, gender and serial murder and the representation of victims and sex workers.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Council estates: Laurie Taylor talks to Insa Lee Koch, Associate Professor in Anthropology at LSE, and author of a new study which explores the history of housing estates and the everyday lives of residents on one such estate in southern England. How did council housing turn from being a marker of social inclusion to a marker of abject failure? Also, the origins and symbolism of the ‘sink estate’, a term invented by journalists and amplified by think tanks and politicians. Tom Slater, Professor of Urban Geography at the University of Edinburgh, traces the usage of this term and the long-term impact of associating council estate residents with effluence and sewage. Revised repeat.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Land Struggles: From Bolivia to Britain, the way that land is owned and controlled is central to many contemporary inequalities and political battles. Laurie Taylor talks to Brett Christophers, Professor in the Department of Social and Economic Geography at Uppsala University, Sweden, about ‘the new enclosure’, a UK study into the appropriation of public land by the private sector – an astonishing two million hectares worth £400 billion – in recent decades. This ownership now forms the largest component of wealth in Britain and is the largest privatisation of a public resource in European history. Also, Penelope Anthias, Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography at University of Durham, describes the lives of indigenous people in Bolivia as they struggle to regain ancestral territory after a century of colonialism and state backed dispossession.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

War in the air: Laurie Taylor explores the history of aerial bombing and tear gas; from the battlefield to urban streets. He's joined by Thomas Hippler, Professor of Modern History at Caen University, Normandy, Anna Feigenbaum, Senior Lecturer in Digital Storytelling at Bournemouth University and Steve Graham, Professor of Professor of Cities and Society at Newcastle University. Revised repeat. Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Laurie Taylor asks why so many Islamist extremists come from an engineering background. He talks to Steffen Hertog, Associate Professor of Comparative Politics at the London School of Economics, about a new study which finds that Islamist and right-wing extremism have more in common than either does with left-wing extremism, in which engineers are absent while social scientists and humanities students are prominent. Is there a mindset susceptible to certain types of extremism? They're joined by Raffaello Pantucci, Director of International Security Studies at the Royal United Services Institute. Orange prison jumpsuits: Elspeth Van Veeren, Lecturer in Political Science at the University of Bristol, discusses the US prisoner uniform which took on a transnational political life due to the Global War on Terror. Revised repeat. Producer: Jayne Egerton

Prison TV: Laurie Taylor considers the therapeutic role of television in the modern day jail. He talks to Victoria Knight, Senior Research Fellow at De Montfort University, Leicester, and author of a new study examining the way in which TVs in cells manage the everyday life and emotions of prisoners; helping deliver both care and control. In addition, she offers insights into how technology in prison is evolving globally. They're joined by David Wilson, Professor of Criminology at Birmingham City University.

Also, prison 'blues': BB King, the African American Blues musician, died on 14 May 2015. One year on, Les Back, Professor of Sociology at Goldsmiths, London, focused on his performances in prisons. Over a 25-year period, B.B. King performed for free in 47 different jails across America. Situating his concerts within a wider political context in which a crisis was unfolding in US prisons, Back explores the implications of King's prison 'blues' and interrogates the meaning of music behind bars. Revised repeat. Producer: Jayne Egerton

Organised crime in the UK - how has it changed? Professor Dick Hobbs, joins Laurie Taylor, to discuss his work on 'Lush Life', a rich, ethnographic study into 'Dogtown', a composite of several overlapping neighbourhoods in East London. Looking behind the clichéd notions of criminal firms and underworlds, he finds that activity which was once the preserve of professional criminals has now been normalised. He invites us to consider whether or not the very idea of organised crime has become outdated in a predatory, post industrial world in which many fight, by illegal as well as legal means, to survive on the margins. Also, the presence and activities of Mafia style crime both in Italy, as well as in the UK. Dr Felia Allum, a Lecturer in Italian History and Politics, discusses how Italian organised crime functions outside its territory of origin. Revised repeat.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

The ways women age: Laurie Taylor talks to Abigail Brooks, Assistant Professor of Sociology at Providence College USA, and author of a study which asks why women choose or reject cosmetic anti ageing proceedures. Also, beauty politics in the Neoliberal age. Ros Gill, Professor of Social and Cultural Analysis at City University, discusses the ways in which women are required to be 'aesthetic entrepreneurs', maintaining a constant vigilance about their appearance. They're joined by Rachel Wood, Research Associate in the Department of Psychology, Sociology and Politics at Sheffield Hallam University. Revised repeat.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

The meaning of the face: How critical is it to our sense of identity, and relationship with others? Sharrona Pearl, Assistant Professor in Communications at the University of Pennsylvania, discusses her study of face transplant surgery. She's joined by Anne-Marie Martindale, Post-Doctoral Research Associate at the University of Manchester, who has studied the impact of facial disfigurement; as well as Professor Jonathan Cole, consultant in clinical neurophysiology, and author of two books examining the relationship between facial expressions, communication and the self. Revised repeat.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

A special programme on Pierre Bourdieu: Laurie Taylor explores the ideas and legacy of the French sociologist, best known for establishing the concepts of cultural, social, and symbolic forms of capital (as opposed to traditional economic forms of capital). His book 'Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgment of Taste' was judged the sixth most important sociological work of the twentieth century by the International Sociological Association. His work is credited with enhancing the understanding of the ways in which the social order and power are transferred across generations. Laurie is joined by Diane Reay, Professor of Education at Cambridge University, Derron Wallace, Post Doctoral Fellow at Brandeis University and Kirsty Morrin, Phd Student at the University of Manchester and co-convenor for the Bourdieu Study Group. Revised repeat Producer: Jayne Egerton

Michel Foucault - Laurie Taylor presents a special programme on the life and work of the iconoclastic French philosopher and theorist. He's joined by Professor Stephen Shapiro, Professor Vikki Bell and Professor Lois McNay. Revised repeat.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Erving Goffman - Laurie Taylor presents a special programme on the work and influence of this groundbreaking Canadian sociologist. He's joined by Professor Gregory Smith, Dr Rachel Hurdley and Dr Susie Scott. Revised repeat.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

What is the value of forgotten histories, of possibilities not realised? What can a quite amble down a backstreet tell us about the nature of modernity? How has technology affected the nature and purpose of art? In the mid-twentieth century Walter Benjamin explored all these questions and brought Marxist thinking to high culture, exploring people's relationship to objects and art. His influence is probably felt now more than ever. Laurie Taylor presents a special programme on the work of this pioneering German intellectual and theorist. He's joined by the philosopher Jonathan Ree and the professor of political aesthetics, Esther Leslie. Revised repeat

Producer: Charlie Taylor

Conspiracy theories: Laurie Taylor talks to Thomas Konda, Professor of Political Science at SUNY, Plattsburgh, about the history and changing nature of conspiracy theories. Why have such wild theories overrun America? Also, Hugo Leal, Methods Fellow at the University of Cambridge discusses the most comprehensive examination of conspiracy theories ever conducted. About 11,500 people were surveyed in a study covered nine countries - the US, Britain (excluding Northern Ireland), Poland, Italy, France, Germany, Portugal, Sweden and Hungary. The research found that Trump and Brexit voters were more likely to believe in conspiracy theories than others.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Laurie Taylor discusses the complex relationship between danger, travel and tourism.

Ruben Andersson asks whether Western powers should reconsider their treatment of some no-go zones and move away from a politics fired by fear.

How can we best calculate the risks of visiting countries where there is the possibility of unrest or worse? Debbie Lisle turns the lens on tourism in areas of conflict and considers what happens when soldiers become tourists and tourists enter war zones.

Producers: Natalia Fernandez and Alice Bloch

Detecting the social – how the changing nature of crime stories illuminates shifts in society. Also, homicide confessions on social media. What does it mean when killers confess online? Laurie Taylor is joined by Mary Evans, Emeritus Professor of Sociology at the LSE and Elizabeth Yardley, director of the Centre for Applied Criminology at Birmingham City University.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Branding: Laurie Taylor explores the 'persuasion industries' and their role in creating modern consumer society. How has their use of an emotional model of brand communication, whether in political campaigning or product advertising, transformed our understanding of the rational consumer? He's joined by Steven McKevitt, Visiting Professor in Brand Communication, at Leeds Beckett University. Also, how 'branding' can desensitize far right consumers to extremist ideas. Cynthia Miller-Idriss, Associate Professor of Education and Sociology at American University, discusses her study into the ways in which extremism is going mainstream in Germany through clothing brands laced with racist and nationalist symbols.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Cute and kitsch - Simon May, visiting professor of philosophy at King’s College London, explores cuteness and its immense hold on us, from emojis and fluffy puppies to its more uncanny, subversive expressions. Also, the changing significance of kitsch, from garden gnomes to Eurotrash. Ruth Holliday, Professor of Gender and Culture at the University of Leeds, suggests that judgements of taste have shifted ground rather than relaxed. They’re joined by the cultural critic, Peter York.

This programme was first broadcast in March 2019

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Debt: we live in a culture of credit with a dramatic surge in private borrowing due to wage stagnation over several decades. Many people will now be indebted until death. Johnna Montgomerie,Reader in International Political Economy King's College London, tells Laurie Taylor why she proposes the abolition of household debt in the context of a chronically dysfunctional situation, both individually and collectively. Also, the story of the National Debt. Martin Slater, Emeritus Fellow in Economics at the University of Oxford, explores its changing fortunes and role in shaping the course of British history. How has Britain been moulded by attempts to break fee of the debt, from post war Keynesian economics to today's austerity?

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Spectacular urbanisation: The world’s tallest building is in Dubai and the 2022 World Cup in soccer will be played in fabulous Qatar facilities. But what role do the sensational cities of the Arabian Peninsula play in urban development across the Earth? Laurie Taylor talks to Harvey Molotch, Professor of Sociology at New York University and to Davide Ponzini , Associate Professor of Urban Planning at Politecnico di Milano, Italy. Also, Natalie Koch, Associate Professor of Geography at Syracuse University, asks why autocrats in resource rich nations build spectacular new capital cities.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Corridors: We spend our lives moving through hallways and corridors, yet these channelling spaces do not feature in architectural histories. They are overlooked and undervalued. Laurie talks to Roger Luckhurst, Professor of Modern Literature at Birkbeck, University of London, whose new book charts the origins and meaning of the corridor, from country houses and utopian communities in the eighteenth centuries, through reformist Victorian prisons to the "corridors of power," as well as their often fearful depiction in popular culture. They’re joined by Kate Marshall, Associate Professor of English at the University of Notre Dame and author of a study of the intriguing place of the corridor in modernist literature.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Snobbery is defined as the behaviour or attitude of people who think they are better than others. Laurie Taylor explores the social history, meaning and changing nature of this sense of superiority. He talks to David Morgan, Emeritus Professor of Sociology at the University of Manchester, Bev Skeggs, Professor of Sociology at the LSE and Florence Sutcliffe Braithwaite, Lecturer in 20th Century History at University College, London.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Walls: A social history of the human made barrier which has divided people into those who should be kept safe and those who should be excluded. From Hadrian’s Wall and the Great Wall of China to the Berlin Wall. Laurie Taylor talks to David Frye, Professor of History at Eastern Connecticut University and Wendy Pullan, Professor of Architecture and Urban Studies at the University of Cambridge.

Motorbikes: Born to be wild. Randy McBee, Professor of Labor and Social History at the Texas Tech University, considers the rise of the American Motorcyclist from its largely working-class roots to the growth in "outlaw" motorcycle culture in the 1950s through to the development of the motorcycle rights movement of the 1960s and the emergence of the rich urban biker more recently. What impact has the 'biker' had on American culture and politics? He's joined by Esperanza Miyake, Lecturer in Digital Media and Communications at Manchester Metropolitan University, and author of a new study of the 'gendered motorcycle' in film, advertising and TV. She asks why biker culture is often seen as essentially masculine and what happens to gender at 120mph.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

The Class Ceiling: Why it pays to be privileged. Drawing on four in-depth case studies – acting, accountancy, architecture and television – Sam Friedman, Associate Professor in Sociology at the LSE, argues that the ‘class ceiling’ in the elite professions can only be partially attributed to conventional measures of ‘merit’. Instead, he suggests that more powerful drivers include the misrecognition of classed self-presentation as ‘talent’ and the affordances of the ‘Bank of Mum and Dad’. He's joined by Louise Ashley, Senior Lecturer in Organization Studies at Royal Holloway, University of London and Anna Williams, Director of Research, Advocacy and Communications at the Sutton Trust.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Migrants and refugees: Laurie Taylor explores the historical and contemporary realities of the marooned, unhomed and displaced peoples of the world. Today's refugee 'crisis' has its origins in the political–and imaginative–history of the last century. Exiles from other places have often caused trouble for ideas about sovereignty, law and nationhood. Lyndsey Stonebridge, Professor of Humanities and Human Rights at the University of Birmingham, charts the changing meaning of exile. Also, how do the lives of migrants in London illuminate our complex, urban multiculture? Les Back, Professor of Sociology at Goldsmiths, University of London, and Shamser Sinha, Senior Lecturer in Sociology and Youth Studies at the University of Suffolk, talk about a unique, collaborative study which involved 30 young migrants.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Work: What is it good for? Laurie Taylor presents a special programme which takes a provocative look at work as a cultural norm. Josh Cohen, Professor of Modern Literary Theory at Goldsmiths, University of London, considers the joys of inertia - of being rather than doing; Andrea Komlosy, Professor in the Department of Economics and Social History at the University of Vienna, probes the debate about work as burdensome toil versus work as creative expression and Anthony Lloyd, Senior Lecturer in Criminology and Sociology at Teesside University, examines workplace harms in the service sector. Producer: Jayne Egerton

Identity: Laurie Taylor presents a special programme exploring the ways in which we define ourselves and gain a sense of belonging – from race, religion and nationality to membership of a subcultural tribe. He talks to Kwame Anthony Appiah, Professor of Philosophy and Law at New York University, and author of a new book which takes issues with fixed notions of identity; Carrie Dunn, author of a study of female football fandom and Karl Spracklen, Professor of Music, Leisure and Culture at Leeds Beckett University and author of a new book about the ‘Goths’, a counter cultural identity originating in the 1980s.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

The White Power Movement in the US: Laurie Taylor talks to Kathleen Belew, Assistant Professor of US History at the University of Chicago, and author of a new book which traces the origins and development of the racist far right. They're joined by Liz Fekete, Director of the Institute of Race Relations, who discusses her study of similar (and different) forces in Europe.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

The Night-time Economy: Laurie Taylor talks to Adam Eldridge, Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Westminster, about the origins and changing nature of the after dark economy. They're joined by Emily Nicholls, Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Portsmouth and author of a new, Newcastle based study into the phenomenon of the 'girls night out'. How do young women negotiate friendships, flirtations and fun on a night out with mates? Producer: Jayne Egerton

Architecture, housing and health. Laurie Taylor explores a neglected aspect of well being. He's joined by the writer, Iain Sinclair, Daryl Martin, Lecturer in Sociology at the University of York and Christine Murray, founder of the “Women in Architecture” Awards.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Shoes: Laurie Taylor explores their cultural history and sociological meanings. He's joined by Elizabeth Semmelhack, Senior Curator of the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto, Tim Edwards, Honorary Fellow in Sociology at the University of Leicester and Naomi Braithwaite, Senior Lecturer in the School of Art & Design at Nottingham Trent University.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Racial ambiguity in America: Lisa Kingstone, Senior Teaching Fellow in Race and Identity at Kings College, London, asks what happens to a country that was built on race when the boundaries of black and white have started to fade. She’s joined by the writer, Bidisha. Also, what is meant by white privilege? Kalwant Bhopal, Professorial Research Fellow at the University of Birmingham, discusses her new study.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Maps and postcodes. Is there such a thing as a predictive postcode? Can it reveal more about us than our bank account, ethnicity or social class? Laurie Taylor poses the question to Roger Burrows, Professor of Cities at Newcastle University. Also, Mapping Society - Laura Vaughan, Professor of Urban Form and Society at the Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL, examines how maps not only serve as historical records of social enquiry, but also reveal the ways in which difference and inequality are etched deeply on the surface of our towns, villages and cities.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Rich Russians: Laurie Taylor talks to Elisabeth Schimpfossl, Lecturer in Sociology at Aston University, about her study of the changing nature of the Russian elite, from oligarchs to bourgeoisie. Also, millionaire tax flight - myth or reality? Cristobal Young, Associate Professor of Sociology at Cornell University, suggests that location is surprisingly important to the rich.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Palaces for the People: can social infrastructure fight inequality and the decline in civic life? Laurie Taylor talks to the American sociologist, Eric Klinenberg. They’re joined by Kate Pahl, Professor of Arts and Literacy at Manchester Metropolitan University and Katie Williams, Director of the Centre for Sustainable Planning and Environments at the University of the West of England. Producer: Jayne Egerton

Push Buttons: Laurie Taylor explores the pleasure, panic and the politics of pushing. The touch of a finger can summon a taxi, turn on a TV, call for an elevator or 'like' a Facebook post. But are buttons simply neutral and natural mechanisms which ease our daily lives? He's joined by Rachel Plotnick, Assistant Professor of Cinema and Media Studies at Indiana University, Steven Connor, Professor of English at the University of Cambridge and Barbara Speed, Acting Managing Editor at the i newspaper. Revised repeat.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Creativity - has it become the meaningless buzz word for our times? Oli Mould, Lecturer in Human Geography at Royal Holloway, University of London, delivers a broadside against the injunction to 'be creative' and the 'creative economy' itself. He's joined by David Hesmondhalgh, Professor of Media, Music and Culture and Eliza Easton, Principal Policy Researcher in the Creative Economy and Data Analytics team at Nesta. Producer: Jayne Egerton

Post-Truth – Laurie Taylor explores a very modern phenomenon, or is it? He’s joined by Steve Fuller, Professor of Sociology at the University of Warwick, Helen Pluckrose, Editor of Areo, a digital magazine focused on Enlightenment liberalism and Andrew Chadwick, Professor of Political Communication at Loughborough University.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Drifters: What place does the train hopping hobo have in working class history and the popular imagination? The travelling vagrant is a figure, at once romantic and pitiable, associated with the freedom of the open road, but also with destitution. How linked were drifting communities to a specifically American form of capitalism, one which demanded transient labour? Laurie Taylor takes a cross cultural and historical look a life of uncertain mobility, from America to Britain, and explores its contemporary equivalent. He's joined by Jeff Ferrell,Professor of Sociology at Texas Christian University, Selina Todd, Professor of Modern History at the University of Oxford and Amy Morris, Lecturer in American Literature at the University of Cambridge.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Smart Cities: Laurie Taylor presents a special edition of Thinking Allowed which was recorded at the Open University in Milton Keynes. He was joined by Sophie Watson, Professor of Sociology at the Open University, Oliver Zanetti, Visiting Fellow at the Open University and Gillian Rose, Professor of Human Geography at Oxford University. Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Beauty and ugliness - to what extent are our ideas about physical perfection culturally and socially constructed? Laurie Taylor talks to Gretchen Henderson, Lecturer in English at Georgetown University & author of a study of perceptions of ugliness throughout history and to Heather Widdows, Professor of Global Ethics at the University of Birmingham, whose latest book explores the radical transformation of the status of beauty and the increasing emergence of a global ideal.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Suburbia Revisited: Has it ceased to be a place of leafy affluence as poverty has migrated from the city? New research suggests the decline of an American 'golden age' of white picket fences and two garage homes. Laurie Taylor explores the origin, myth and reality of the suburban dream, in Britain as well as the US. Is the suburbanisation of poverty a widespread phenomenon? He's joined by Mark Clapson, Professor of Social and Urban History at the University of Westminster, Scott Allard, Professor of Social Policy at the University of Washington and Anne Power, Professor of Social Policy at the London School of Economics Producer: Jayne Egerton.

'Selfies' - every day Facebook users upload 350million photos, Instagrammers share 95 million photos and there are 3 billion Snapchat snaps. A central element of visual sharing online involves 'selfies' -which often generate more comment than anything else. But why this fascination with images that can often be repetitive and unimaginative? Do they feed a culture of unhealthy narcissism, as critics assert, or are they a more complex cultural phenomenon? Also, Disconnected - why are some people turning their back on the use of any information communication technologies? Laurie Taylor talks to Mariann Hardy, Acting Director, Advanced Research in Computing at Durham University, about new research which uncovers the motives and lives of a global population which explicitly rejects our hyper connected world. Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Gangs, spirituality and desistance from crime - what leads people away from criminality? Laurie Taylor talks to Ross Deuchar, Director of the Interdisciplinary Research Unit on Crime, Policing and Social Justice at the University of the West of Scotland. His new study draws on in-depth interviews with male gang members and offenders and spans three continents, focusing on the USA, Scotland, Denmark and Hong Kong. They're joined by Ruth Armstrong, Senior Research Associate in the Institute of Criminology at the University of Cambridge and author of a study exploring the role of fatalism in offenders' relapses into crime. A final guest, Shadd Maruna, Professor of Criminology at the University of Manchester, asks if the future of desistance lies in its transformation into a social movement. Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Will China rule the world? Laurie Taylor talks to Yuen Yuen Ang, Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Michigan, and author of a study which explores China's unusual route out of poverty. They're joined by David Tyfield, Co-Director of the Centre for Mobilities Research at Lancaster University, and author of new book examining the prospects for an alternative global power regime. Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Illumination and darkness: Laurie Taylor is joined by Tim Edensor, Reader in Cultural Geography at Manchester Metropolitan University, and author of a study into the ways in which light and dark produce everyday life and the stories we tell about ourselves. In examining the modern city as a space of fantasy through electric illumination, he considers how we are seeking-and should seek-new forms of darkness in reaction to the perpetual glow of urban lighting. They're joined by Robert Shaw., lecturer in geography at Newcastle University, who has studied the relationship between night and society in contemporary cities. He claims that the economic activity of the 'daytime' city has so advanced into the night, that other uses of the night as a time for play, for sleep or for escaping oppression have come increasingly under threat.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Laurie Taylor is joined by Lynne Vallone, Professor of Childhood Studies, to discuss her book, Big and Small, in which she explores the often uncomfortable implications of using physical measures to judge normalcy and perceptions of beauty.

Tanya S Osensky is an attorney who has made it her personal crusade to highlight the discrimination faced by short people in our society and to suggest ways of changing this. In her book, Shortchanged, Tanya reflects on her own experiences of being short as well as addressing 'heightism' in the workplace, in social situations, and beyond. She joins the discussion on the line from Atlanta, Georgia.

Producer Natalia Fernandez.

Laurie Taylor examines the role of business schools in the UK and abroad.

Martin Parker joins him in the studio to discuss the arguments in his book Shut Down the Business School - What's Wrong with Management Education. Laurie is joined on the line from New York by the author of The Golden Passport - Harvard Business School, the Limits of Capitalism, and the Moral Failure of the MBA Elite, Duff McDonald. Are there similarities between the American business school model and its British counterpart?

With some MBAs costing in excess of £75,000 in the UK, what is the lure for prospective students and is the qualification worth the money? Or should we be thinking beyond the monetary value of MBAs and focus instead on what MBA graduates could be giving back to society and the importance of corporate responsibility? Maeve Cohen is the Director of Rethinking Economics, an organisation which argues for a change in the way that economics is taught and calls for more diversity and historical context in the economics curriculum, and she also joins the discussion.

Law and Order: the legacy - 40 years ago, GF Newman's quartet of plays, Law & Order, provoked calls from MPs for the author to be arrested for sedition and the summoning of the director-general of the BBC to the Home Office to explain himself. The dramas explored the role of the Metropolitan Police, the criminal, the solicitor and the prison system around one central story. They provided a savage and uncompromising assessment of the criminal justice system, one in which corruption and stitch ups were common. Laurie Taylor considers the impact of those plays and the extent to which they created a public and political debate which produced positive reform. Four decades later, have we any cause for complacency? He's joined by the writer, GF Newman, Tim Newburn, Professor of Criminology at the LSE and Charlotte Brunsden, Professor of Film & Television Studies at the University of Warwick. Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Sociological discussion programme. May 2018 sees the 200th anniversary of Karl Marx's birth. Laurie Taylor explores the philosopher's ideas and legacy.

The Internet and Democracy: Laurie Taylor analyses the social and political consequences of our digitised world. In light of recent data breach scandals around companies like Facebook and Cambridge Analytica, what does that mean for democracy? Why has the Internet failed to set us free? He's joined by Jamie Bartlett, Director of the Centre for the Analysis of Social Media for Demos, in conjunction with The University of Sussex; Monica Horten, Visiting Fellow at the London School of Economics & Political Science and Will Davies, Reader in Political Economy at Goldsmiths College. Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Universal Basic Income: Laurie Taylor asks if it's the answer to an increasingly precarious job landscape. Could it bring greater financial freedom for women, tackle the issue of unpaid but essential work, cut poverty and promote greater choice? Or is it a dead-end utopian ideal that distracts from more practical and cost-effective solutions? He's joined by Stewart Lansley, Visiting Fellow at the School of Policy Studies, University of Bristol and editor of a new book which shares research and insights from a variety of nations including India and Finland; John Rentoul, Visiting Professor at King's College, London and Ursula Huws, Professor of Labour and Globalisation at the University of Hertfordshire Business School

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

The menswear revolution: Laurie Taylor explores the transformation in men's clothing with Jay McCauley Bowstead, lecturer in Cultural and Historical Studies at London College of Fashion. Also taking part is John Harvey, Life Fellow at the University of Cambridge, and author of a book charting the history of men's dress from the toga to the suit. They're joined by Julia Twigg, Professor of Social Policy and Sociology at the University of Kent, who talks about her research on older men and fashion.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

The winner of the 2018 BSA/Thinking Allowed Ethnography award. Laurie Taylor talks to Anna Lora-Wainwright, Associate Professor in the Human Geography of China at the University of Oxford, and author of 'Resigned Activism: Living with Pollution in Rural China' . Her study revealed the health consequences of drinking tainted water and breathing visibly dirty air in villages effected by phosphorous mining & fertiliser production, lead and zinc mining and electronic waste production. Residents suffered a range of ailments, from arthritis to nosebleeds, in areas with a high incidence of cancer. Her extensive fieldwork found that villagers often felt powerless to challenge the 'slow violence' and human costs of rapid industrialisation - their activism was tempered by resignation. Isabel Hilton, international journalist and broadcaster joins the discussion. Isabel is the founder and editor of chinadialogue.net, an online publication that focuses on the environment and climate change. She was awarded the OBE for her work in raising environmental awareness in China.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

This year's winning entries explored complex lives and worlds. How did Dalits, member of India's lowest caste, shake the political establishment in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu? What's the impact on the health of people living in a heavily polluted area in rural China? How do Liberian refugees earn a living in a refugee camp in Ghana? Laurie discusses this year's shortlist with two of his fellow judges - Hilary Pilkington, winner of the 2017 award and Professor of Sociology at the University of Manchester and Nayanika Mookherjee, shortlisted for the 2015 award and Associate Professor (Reader) in Socio-Cultural Anthropology at Durham University.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

'Mixed-race' is the fastest growing ethnic group in the UK. But how do multiracial parents identify their own children? When is a mixed-race heritage passed down to the next generation and when is it not? Miri Song, Professor of Sociology at the University of Kent tackles these questions in her new book, Multiracial Parents: Mixed Families, Generational Change, and the Future of Race (2017).

Joining the discussion is socio-linguist Marta Wilczek-Watson whose work on trans-national relationships finds there has traditionally been too great a focus on the apparent difficulties faced by couples who come from different countries.

And we hear from one of those tasked with recording the UK's shifting demographics in the British Census, Pete Benton, Director of Population and Public Policy Operations at the Office of National Statistics.

'Hook up' culture - Laurie explores a new sexual culture on American campuses and asks if it has a British counterpart. Casual sex in higher education has a long history but Lisa Wade, Professor of Sociology at Occidental College Los Angeles, suggests a significant shift in the culture - one which benefits some students at the expense of others. They're joined by Zoe Strimpel, a researcher and historian from Sussex University, who has analysed the changing nature of dating. Also, Josue Ortega, lecturer in economics at the University of Essex, analyses the impact of online dating. Tinder and other such apps are often thought to be routes to temporary hook ups. But this new study suggests that these tools may actually be helping more people to get together in new ways, and for good. Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Sacrifice - Laurie Taylor explores the many meanings of the term. Terry Eagleton, Distinguished Professor of Literature at the University of Lancaster, argues that sacrifice has a bad press in the modern age. The notion of giving anything up fails to appeal in a world devoted to self-fulfilment. But is there more to sacrifice than burnt offerings and self-denial? Can it ever be radical? Also, Chetan Bhatt, Director for the Centre on Human Rights at the LSE, examines the idea of sacrifice as invoked by Salafi-Jihadist suicide bombers. Does the inherently de secular nature of sacrifice inevitably pose the risk of promoting political violence? Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Racial inequality now - what explains its persistence? Nasar Meer, Professor of Race, Identity and Citizenship at the University of Edinburgh asks why racial and ethnic disparities continue to be fundamental to our society. Also, women and political language. Deborah Cameron, Rupert Murdoch Professorship in Language and Communication at Oxford University, discusses her study of the speech styles of the leaders of the main political parties in the 2015 General Election. (The latter was a pre-recorded interview which was transmitted in an earlier Thinking Allowed. The billed interview with Miri Song, Professor of Sociology at the University of Kent, had to be abandoned due to problems with the line from America). Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Has Democracy Failed Women?' Drude Dahlerup, Professor of Political Science at Stockholm University asks why women are still under-represented in politics, from the UK to the Global South. Some argue that we are on the right track to full gender equality in politics, while others talk about women hitting the glass ceiling or being included in institutions with shrinking power. Also, how 'normality' is established in language. Do the words we use-and don't use-reinforce dominant cultural norms? What are the unspoken assumptions behind terms like "male nurse," and "working mother"? Eviatar Zerubavel, Distinguished Professor of Sociology at Rutgers University, explores the word choices we make every day, without even realizing it, and exposes the subtly encoded ways we talk about race, gender, sexual orientation and more. Producer: Jayne Egerton.

The white working class - are they the left behind? Noam Gidron, a Fellow at the Niehaus Center for Globalization and Governance at Princeton University, asks if the right wing, populist vote is a reflection of the declining social status of this group. He's joined by Gurminder Bhambra, Professor of Postcolonial and Decolonial Studies at the University of Sussex, who argues that a concern with economic disadvantage, when talking about the election of Trump, as well as Brexit, has led to a new 'identity politics' of race - one where class takes second place to 'whiteness'. The writer and broadcaster, Kenan Malik, joins the discussion.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

The politics and meaning of 'alternative' foods: Laura Miller, Associate Professor of Sociology at Brandeis University, discusses her study of 'Natural Foods'. How did what was once a culturally marginal set of ideas evolve from associations with spirituality and bohemian lifestyles to being a mainstream consumer choice? She's joined by Ton Hayward, food writer and broadcaster. Also, Harry West, Professor of Anthropology at the University of Exeter, considers the 'authenticity' of artisanal and heritage foods. Producer: Jayne Egerton.

A Valentine Day's Special. Laurie Taylor explores changing attitudes to infidelity and considers a cross cultural history of rings. Wendy Doniger, Distinguished Service Professor of the History of Religions at the University of Chicago, asks why this piece of circular jewellery keeps re-occurring in myths and stories about seduction, love, sex and betrayal. What can it tell us about the shifting nature of power relations between men and women? She's joined by Adam Kuper, Visiting Professor in Anthropology at Boston University. Also, have attitudes hardened towards adultery? The visibility of non-monogamy suggests a challenge to dominant assumptions about the feasibility of lifelong sexual fidelity. However, infidelity remains the lone area of adult sexual practice that is disapproved of under any circumstances. Dr Jenny van Hooff, Senior Lecturer in Sociology at Manchester Metropolitan University, examines claims about the extent to which relationships have been de-traditionalised.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Populism - Laurie Taylor explores the origins, meaning and rise of populist politics, across the Left as well as the Right. He's joined by Mukulika Banerjee, Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology, LSE; Luke March, Deputy Head of Politics and International Relations at Edinburgh University and Thomas Osborne, Leverhulme Research Fellow in Liberalism & Political Ethics and Prof of Social & Political Theory at the University of Bristol.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Stigma - Laurie Taylor explores the origins and meaning of Erving Goffman's famous sociological concept and the ways it's being re-cast by social scientists in the 21st century. He's joined by Graham Scambler, Emeritus Professor of Sociology at University College, London, Lisa Morris, Lecturer in Social Work at the University of Birmingham and Joanna Latimer, Professor of Sociology at the University of York.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Counter cultural seekers: Laurie Taylor talks to Mark Liechty, Professor of Anthropology at the University of Illinois, Chicago, and author of a new book exploring the origins and meaning of the hippy trail to Kathmandu. Also, slum tourism in Mumbai. Does it de-politicise poverty? Melissa Nisbett, Senior Lecturer in Arts and Cultural Management at Kings College, London, found that many white westerners viewed such visits as personally enriching but saw no need for structural change. Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Counter cultural seekers and meaning of the hippy trail. Also, slum tourism in Mumbai.

Police culture, socialisation and identity. Laurie Taylor explores the process by which police officers become 'blue'. He's joined by Sarah Charman, a Reader in Criminology at the University of Portsmouth, Carol Cox, Acting Head of the School of Forensic and Applied Sciences at The University of Central Lancashire and Louise Westmarland, Professor of Criminology at the Open University.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

The sensory landscape of the city. Laurie Taylor explores the scenes, sounds, smells and tastes of urban life. He's joined by Daniel Silver, Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Toronto, Alex Rhys-Taylor, Lecturer in Sociology at Goldsmiths, University of London and Monica Degen, Reader in Sociology at Brunel University London. Producer: Jayne Egerton.

The housing crisis and beyond: Laurie Taylor talks to Anna Minton, Reader in Architecture at the University of East London & author of 'Big Capital: Who Is London For?' and David Madden, Assistant Professor in Sociology at the LSE. They explore the way in which homes have come to be seen as sites of capital investment and accumulation rather than as places of shelter and security. Also, the anthropologist, Nazima Kadir, discusses her study of the 'autonomous' life of politically motivated squatters in Amsterdam.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Working class actors: Laurie Taylor asks if acting is becoming an increasingly exclusive and elite profession. He talks to the actor Julie Hesmondhalgh and to Dave O'Brien, Chancellor's Fellow, Cultural and Creative Industries at the University of Edinburgh, and author of a new study which suggests that working class actors face increasing economic, as well as cultural obstacles, comparable to skydiving without a parachute. Also, class and classical music. Anna Bull, lecturer in the School of Social, Historical and Literary Studies at the University of Portsmouth, considers why this musical genre is seen as such a middle class preserve.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Christmas Television: Laurie Taylor explores the history, meaning and variety of this very British tradition. What's its role in the construction of a real or imagined 'national' family? He's joined by Martin Johnes, Reader in History at Swansea University, Helen Wood, Professor of Media and Communication at Leicester University and Brett Mills, Senior Lecturer in Media and American Studies at University of East Anglia.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Laurie Taylor asks if there was an attempt to Islamicise schools in Birmingham.

The New Economy: How people turn themselves into 'brands' in the quest for work. Laurie Taylor talks to Ilana Gershon, Associate Professor of Anthropology at Indiana University, and author of a new study exploring the way that people do (and don't) find work by re-defining themselves as unique business enterprises. Also, the death of homo economicus. Peter Fleming, Professor of Business and Society at Cass Business School, argues that the creation of a fake persona - the rational, self interested economic 'man' - originated by classical economists such as Adam Smith, no longer serves any purpose in the contemporary world. Producer: Jayne Egerton.

A revolution in feeling: How the Enlightenment forged our understanding of human emotion and the ways in which this relates to the contemporary political world. Laurie Taylor talks to the literary historian, Rachel Hewitt; Russell Foster, political scientist at King's College London; and to Karin Wahl-Jorgensen, Director, Research Development and Environment, Cardiff School of Journalism, Cardiff University. Revised repeat.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

GDP - Laurie Taylor talks to Lorenzo Fioramonti, Professor of Political Economy at the University of Pretoria, and author of a new book which exposes the flaws of an economic system which values this statistic, above all others, as a measure of prosperity and growth. They're joined by Douglas McWilliams, Deputy Chairman of the Centre for Economics and Business Research. Also, Mali music - Caspar Melville, Lecturer in Global Creative and Cultural Industries at SOAS, discussed his study into the ways in which Eurocentric copyright is impacting on African musical traditions.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Affluence - from the Kalahari desert to Wall St; Laurie Taylor explores contrasting conceptions of material plenty and the 'good life'. He's joined by James Suzman, an anthropologist who has spent 30 years studying and spending time with the bushmen of Namibia and Rachel Sherman, Associate Professor of Sociology at The New School whose study of wealthy New Yorkers found an uneasiness, as well as an enjoyment in affluence.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Laurie Taylor talks to David Harvey, world authority on Marx's thought.

Laurie Taylor explores the history of aerial bombing and tear gas.

Laurie Taylor explores end of life care through the ages.

Laurie Taylor examines the history of the welfare state.

Laurie Taylor gets under the skin of the restaurant.

Laurie Taylor takes a cool, non dystopian look at future possibilities

Laurie Taylor asks if a new theory offers an explanation for conflicts in the Arab world.

The Mafia and organised crime from Sicily to Japan and the UK

Why is meaningless speech in the workplace so ubiquitous?

Exhaustion: is extreme fatigue a peculiarly modern phenomenon?

Laurie Taylor goes underground - from New York to Delhi.

An anthropological journey through the world of hair.

Laurie Taylor discusses a study of IVF tourism and also male infertility.

Is the Global South catching up with the North?

Heritage beyond saving: Laurie Taylor talks to Caitlin DeSilvey, associate professor of cultural geography & author of a new book which journeys from Cold War test sites to post industrial ruins. Do we need to challenge cherished assumptions about the conservation of cultural heritage? Might we embrace rather than resist natural processes of decay and decline? They're joined by Haidy Geismar, reader in anthropology at University College, London & Tiffany Jenkins, sociologist & cultural commentator.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

The philosophy of sport, and the evolution of a African Caribbean football club.

Fashion and Class: Laurie Taylor talks to Daniel Smith, Lecturer in Sociology at Anglia Ruskin University, and author of a study of the 'branded gentry' the target buyers of the Jack Wills clothing brand. How did a fashion company come to be associated with elite educational institutions and what can it tell us about the maintenance and reproduction of social and economic privilege? How has the relationshio between class, style and fashion democratised, or not, over the years? They're joined by Angela McRobbie, Professor of Communications at Goldsmiths, University of London and Angela Partington, Associate Dean at Kingston University.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Doctors at War: a candid account of a trauma surgical team based, for a tour of duty, at a field hospital in Helmand, Afghanistan. Laurie Taylor talks to Mark de Rond, a professor of organizational ethnography at Cambridge University, about the highs and lows of surgical life in a morally ambiguous world in which good people face impossible choices and in which routines designed to normalize experience have the unintended effect of highlighting war's absurdity. The doctor and reporter, Saleyha Ahsan, joins the discussion.

Also, Dr Nadia Llanwarne, Research Fellow at the Department of Primary Care at the University of Cambridge, discusses her study of patient's fears of wasting their GP's time.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Relatives of Russian Prisoners: Judith Pallot , Professor of the Human Geography of Russia at the University of Oxford talks to Laurie Taylor about her research into the experiences of the wives, mothers, girlfriends, daughters who, as relatives of Russia's three-quarters of a million prisoners, are the "invisible victims" of the country's harsh penal policy. She's joined by Laura Piacentini, Professor of Criminology at the University of Strathclyde.

Also, how to bridge the boundary that divides prison and society. Jennifer Turner, Lecturer in Human Geography at the University of Liverpool, discusses her study.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Masters of Craft: Laurie Taylor talks to Richard Ocejo, Associate Professor of Sociology at City University of New York and author of a study which explores the renaissance of bartending, distilling, barbering, and butchering, traditionally low status manual labour jobs which are being re-created as upscale careers by middle class, well educated young men. How does this complicate our notions of upward and downward mobility? They're joined by Phil Hubbard, Professor of Urban Studies at Kings College London.

Also, 'dirty work': Ruth Simpson, Professor of Management at Brunel Business School, finds out how street cleaners and refuse collectors retain their self esteem in jobs which are sometimes stigmatised and held in poor regard. Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Disaster insurers: Laurie Taylor talks to Rebecca Bednarek, Senior Lecturer in Management at Birkbeck, University of London, about a study into a global re-insurance market in which 'Acts of God' provide formidable opportunities for financial markets. Also, amateur traders: why do they risk so much for so little? Alex Preda, Professor of Accounting, Accountability and Financial Management at King's College, London, explores how ordinary people take up financial trading in a world far removed from the glamour and wealth of investment bankers. They're joined by Dan Barnes, the business journalist.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

DRUGS IN WARFARE: Laurie Taylor talks to Lukasz Kamienski, Lecturer in Political Science at at Jagiellonian University, Poland, and author of a book which examines how intoxicants have been put to the service of states, empires and their armies throughout history. They were prescribed by military authorities but there's also been widespread unauthorised use by soldiers from the American Civil War to the Vietnam War and the rebel militias of contemporary Africa. Whether to improve stamina, increase fighting spirit or deal with shattered nerves, drugs turn out to have been a 'secret weapon' in warfare. Also, the writer, Norman Ohler discusses his study into the overwhelming role of drug-taking in the Third Reich. According to his research, Nazi Germany was permeated with cocaine, heroin, morphine and, most of all, methamphetamines, or crystal meth, and crucial to troops' resilience.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

ELITE EDUCATION: Laurie Taylor explores the ways in which the most prestigious schools and universities around the world sustain inequality. Debbie Epstein, Professor of Cultural Studies in Education at Roehampton University, talks about a far reaching study looking at the origins and costs of the 'export' of the British public school to other countries including Hong Kong and South Africa. Also, Natasha K. Warikoo, Associate Professor of Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education consider how elite students in America and Britain think about merit, race and privilege having gained admittance to one of the world's top universities.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

The winner of the British Sociological Association/Thinking Allowed Ethnography award 2017 is Hilary Pilkington, Professor of Sociology at the University of Manchester. She talks to Laurie Taylor about her study of the English Defence League. What beliefs and goals animate this right wing populist group? What ethnical issues are raised by studying the extreme Right? She's joined by the celebrated American sociologist, Arlie Hochschild, who took a similar journey to the white heartlands of the American Right. Producer: Jayne Egerton.

A special programme devoted to the BSA and Thinking Allowed Ethnography Award Shortlist for 2017. Thinking Allowed, in association with the British Sociological Association, presents a special programme devoted to the academic research which has been short listed for our fourth annual award for a study that has made a significant contribution to ethnography, the in-depth analysis of the everyday life of a culture or sub culture. Laurie Taylor is joined by the 3 other judges; Sarah Neal , Professor of Sociology at the University of Sheffield, Shane Blackman, Professor of Cultural Studies at Canterbury Christ Church University and Alpa Shah , Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the LSE. Producer:Jayne Egerton.

Grandfathers today: Laurie Taylor talks to Ann Buchanan, Senior Research Associate in the Department of Social Policy and Intervention at the University of Oxford, about the changing nature of grandfatherhood. She brought together a team of international scholars, from Finland to South Africa, who found that grandfathers were re-inventing themselves into a new, caring role in the wake of increased divorce, long parenthood and more active, elder lives. They're joined by the writer and broadcaster, Michael Bywater.

Dementia carers: Simon Bailey, Research Fellow in Sociology at the University of Manchester, talks about the findings of three National Health Service wards and one private care home in England. Staff are expected to provide person centred care which mitigates the loss of insight, personality and capacity associated with dementia. But, as his research demonstrates, direct care staff have only limited training and remuneration to deliver such quality care.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Get out of my room! A social history of teen bedrooms in America. Laurie Taylor talks to Jason Reid, Lecturer in History at Ryerson University who charts the evolution and meaning of this sanctuary for adolescent self expression.They're joined by Sian Lincoln, Senior Lecturer in Media Studies at Liverpool John Moores University who has explored the role of bedrooms in the lives of young British people.

Skydivers & dangerous sports: James Hardie-Bick, Senior Lecturer in Sociology and Criminology at the University of Sussex, discusses the motivations, behaviours and experiences of those who voluntarily engage in high-risk activities

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

The production of money: how to break the power of the banks. Laurie Taylor talks to Ann Pettifor, Director of Policy Research in Macroeconomics (PRIME) and author of a provocative new book which asks how money is created and whose interests it serves. Countering the notion that it's a neutral medium of exchange in which bankers are merely go betweens for savers and borrowers, she says we can claim control over money production and avert another financial crisis. But how might we go about it? Diego Zuluaga, Financial Services Research Fellow at the Institute of Economic Affairs, offers a contrasting perspective. Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Squatting: Laurie Taylor discusses the first popular history of squatting in Europe and North America. Alexander Vasudevan, Associate Professor of Human Geography at the University of Oxford, drew on extensive archival research to retrace alternative forms of housing from Copenhagen's Christiana 'Free Town' to the Lower East Side of Manhattan. He's joined by Lucy Finchett-Maddock, Lecturer in Law at the University of Sussex

Also: 'Streaking', 'mooning' and 'flashing'. Barbara Brownie, Senior Lecturer in Visual Communication at the University of Hertfordshire, explores the many meanings of public disrobement, from the playful to the criminal.

Producer: Alice Bloch.

Platform Capitalism: How the most powerful tech companies of our time are revolutionising the global economy. Laurie Taylor talks to Nick Srnicek Lecturer in International Political Economy at City, University of London, and author of a new study which critically examines how companies ranging from Google, Amazon and Microsoft to Facebook, GE and Airbnb, are turning into platforms: businesses that provide the hardware and software foundation for others to operate on. This transformation in how companies operate offers new possibilities for consumers, but also represents an arguably troubling monopoly control over both distribution and production. How did Platform Capitalism originate, what are its merits - as well as its dangers - and does it have an infinite future? Ursula Huws, Professor of Labour and Globalisation at Hertfordshire School of Business and Andrew Leyshon, Professor of Economic Geography at the University of Nottingham, also join the discussion.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Terrorism: does it ever work? Laurie Taylor talks to Richard English, Professor of Politics at Queen's University, Belfast and author of a historical study exploring the efficacy of political violence from the Provisional IRA to Hamas. They're joined by John Bew, Professor in History and Foreign Policy at Kings College, London. Also, the origins and development of the 'hotline' . Claudia Aradou, Reader in International Politics at Kings College, London charts the chequered history of a form of communication which arose in the context of the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Cold War. Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Vertical cities: Laurie Taylor explores the increasing segregation of cities by height. Stephen Graham, Professor of Cities & Society at Newcastle University, ponders 'class war from above'. His exploration of the built environment around the world, both above and below ground, finds that the wealthy have gone upwards; into "islands" and "archipelagos" of residential towers, hotels, private clubs, roof gardens, restaurants, swimming pools, even heliports. They enjoy fresher air, commanding vistas, safety from crime and speedy travel. Privileged Chinese citizens retreat to air conditioned citadels in the sky; wealthy Thai commuters enjoy the Skytrain, Bangkok's elevated railway for the fortunate few. Graham lays out a landscape where architecture reflects and reinforces divisions with ever greater brazenness. India's property boom. In recent years, India has seen a sudden and spectacular urban transformation. Gleaming business complexes encroach on fields and villages. Giant condominium communities offer gated security and pristine pools. Spacious, air-conditioned malls have sprung up alongside open-air markets. Llerena Guiu Searle , Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the University of Rochester, interviewed estate agents, investors and developers, documenting the new private sector partnerships and practices that are bringing prosperity, but also making India's cities ever more inaccessible to the urban poor Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Globalisation: the history of the movement of goods, knowledge and people. Laurie Taylor talks to Richard Baldwin, Professor of International Economics at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva and author of a groundbreaking new study. They were joined by Diane Coyle, Professor of Economics at the University of Manchester. Juliet Webster, Director of Work and Equality Research at the LSE, explores the brave new world of virtual workers - characterised by short contracts, flexible working hours and the blurring of boundaries between work and free time. Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Health divides: Where we live can kill us. Americans live 3 years less than their counterparts in France and Sweden. Scottish men survive 2 years less than English men. Across Europe, women in the poorest communities may live 10 years less than those in the richest. People who live just a few miles apart can have gaps in life expectancy of up to 25 years. Laurie Taylor talks to Clara Bambra, Professor of Public Health Newcastle University Medical School, whose research draws on international case studies to examine the cause of these health inequalities and to consider what changes would be needed so that geographical location need not be a matter of life or death. Global health: moving beyond metrics - From maternal mortality to malaria, statistical methods are used to measure sickness, injury and suffering across the world. But Vincanne Adams, Professor of Medical Anthropology at the University of California, argues that such well-intentioned 'evidence based' interventions often fail. Drawing on rich case histories from countries including Nigeria and Haiti, she argues that we are missing other ways of knowing and tackling global health problems.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

The 'age of noise': How a preoccupation with unwanted sounds came to characterise modernity. The 20th century saw the expansion of cities and technological change. The sounds of motor cars, vacuum cleaners and gramaphones filled the air, leading social commentators to forecast the end of civilisation and a breakdown in mental health. Did noise provide people with a way of talking about their social anxieties? Does it still serve this function today? Laurie Taylor talks to James Mansell, Assistant Professor of Cultural Studies at the University of Nottingham and Marie Thompson, Lecturer in the School of Film and Media at the University of Lincoln. British drinking and the night time carnival. William Haydock, Visiting Fellow in the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences at the University of Bournemouth, argues that our alcohol consumption is peculiarly 'carnivalesque', combining ritual with risk taking and spectacle. Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Sexual violence in the Bangladeshi War of Independence. Laurie Taylor talks to Nayanika Mookherjee, Reader in Socio-Cultural Anthropology at Durham University, about the internationally unprecedented state designation of raped women as birangonas (brave women) in 1971. Her groundbreaking study was shortlisted for the 2016 BSA/Thinking Allowed Ethnography Award. She analysed the pubic memory or wartime rape perpetrated by the West Pakistani army and local Bengali men in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) during that conflict. This national commemoration of the women's suffering counters the assumption of silence and shame amongst victims of rape in war. But what did it mean to the women themselves? Has their elevation to the status of heroines ensured their integration into their communities and acceptance by their menfolk?

Also, Ruben Andersson, Associate Professor at Oxford University's Department of International Development, discusses the expansion of 'no go' areas of the world since 9/11. He argues that alleged regions of 'risk' are seen as posing a particular danger to Western states and citizens. How can ethnographers who, by definition, do not wish to observe from a distance, address this challenge to their research? Professor Andersson was the winner of the 2015 Ethnography Award for his study of clandestine migration on the borders of Europe.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

The 'Super Rich' - Laurie Taylor presents a special programme on the 1% of the 1%. Rowland Atkinson, Research Chair in Inclusive Society at the University of Sheffield, Roger Burrow, Professor of Cities at Newcastle University and Emma Spence, PhD Researcher at Cardiff University explore the origins of this wealthiest of elites and their impact on our cities and lives.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

What is the relationship between literature and sociology? Laurie Taylor discusses fiction and the real world with crime writer Denise Mina, criminologist Dick Hobbs and English literature lecturer Nick Bentley.

From Charles Dickens' "Oliver" to Alan Sillitoe's "Saturday Night and Sunday Morning", literary descriptions of the social world - and working class life in particular - have often been called "realistic". But how has 'real life' been misrepresented by scholars and novelists alike? Can ethnography produce fictions of its own? And what skills are vital for any writer who wants to capture the complexity of everyday life?

Plus, is it really true, as WH Auden once suggested, that "poetry makes nothing happen"? Laurie and guests discuss the influence of literature and sociology on attitudes and policy, reflecting on how both can make a meaningful impact.

Producer: Alice Bloch.

The Musicians Union: Laurie Taylor explores the history of musicians efforts to be seen as workers, as well as entertainers. Martin Cloonan, Professor of Popular Music Politics at the University of Glasgow, drew on extensive archive and interviews with Union employees and members to provide a comprehensive assessment of the role of the MU in the nation's ballrooms, orchestras, recording studios and radio stations. They're joined by Caspar Melville, Lecturer in Global Creative and Cultural Industries, SOAS, University of London. Also, women heavy metal fans. Rosemary Hill, Lecturer in Sociology at University of Leeds, examines the tensions between being a 'metal' fan and being a woman. From the media representation of women rock fans as groupies to the widely held belief that hard rock and metal is masculine, being a music fan is an experience shaped by gender. How do female fans negotiate their place in a male dominated music scene? Producer:Jayne Egerton.

Men, Masculinities and Violence. Laurie Taylor talks to Anthony Ellis, lecturer in Criminology and Sociology at the University of Salford, about his ethnographic study conducted with men involved in serious crime and violence over the course of two years in the North of England. How do some men come to value physical violence as a resource? Historian Joanna Bourke joins the discussion. Also, stag parties and consumerism. Daniel Briggs, Professor in Criminology at the Universidad Europea de Madrid, unpicks the commercial and emotional motivations of men taking part in stag 'dos'. Is such stereotypical excessive and deviant behaviour ultimately rooted in commercial ideology?

Producer: Natalia Fernandez.

Success and Luck: Good Fortune and the Myth of Meritocracy. Laurie Taylor talks to Robert H. Frank, Professor of Economics at Cornell University's Johnson School of Management, about the role luck has to play in life's successes, or failures. Frank argues that chance is much more significant than people give it credit for. Lynsey Hanley, writer and Visiting Fellow at the Research Centre for Literature and Cultural History at Liverpool John Moores University, joins the discussion. Also, Claire Maxwell, Reader of Sociology of Education at the UCL Institute of Education, University College London, talks about her co-authored paper looking at the attitudes of privately-educated young women towards the idea of cosmopolitanism. Did they feel like global citizens, or were their aspirations confined to the local and the national?

Producer: Natalia Fernandez.

Foie gras: The politics of taste. Laurie Taylor talks to Michaela DeSoucey, Assistant Professor of Sociology at North Carolina State University, about the controversies that surround this luxury product. What makes us see some foods as 'wrong' and worthy of prohibition? They're joined by the distinguished anthropologist, Henrietta Moore. Also, memories of Irish food. Angela Maye-Banbury, Principal Lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University, talks about her research with working class Irish male migrants whose evocative recollections of the food back home illuminate their sense of the past.

Producer: Natalia Fernandez.

Racial segregation in the United States: Laurie Taylor explores a provocative new study which sheds light on the racism which still endures today. Nicholas Guyatt, lecturer in American History at the University of Cambridge, asks why America's founding fathers failed to include Black and Native American people in their cherished ideals of equality. Kehinde Anderws, Associate Professor in Sociology at Birmingham City University, provides a Black British perspective. Also, hairdressing for people with dementia. A new study by Sarah Campbell, Research Associate at the University of Manchester, discovered the importance of salon chat and human touch to women and men who struggled to recall the past. Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Population change - how will it transform the world? Laurie Taylor talks to Sarah Harper, Professor of Gerontology at the University of Oxford, about one of the greatest global challenges of the 21st century. She's joined by Robert Mayhew, Professor of Historical Geography at the University of Bristol. Also, a cross cultural study of chronic illness management. Ivaylo Vassilev, Senior Research Fellow in Health Sciences at the University of Southampton, discusses the different experiences and perceptions of people suffering with diabetes in the UK and Bulgaria. Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Evangelicals in London: Laurie Taylor talks to Anna Strhan, Lecturer In Religious Studies at the University of Kent, about her study of the everyday lives of members of a conservative, evangelical Anglican church at the heart of the modern city. How do they navigate work and faith in a largely secular society? They're joined by Linda Woodhead, Professor of Sociology of Religion, at Lancaster University

Also, 'troubled families': Tracy Shildrick, Professor of Sociology at Leeds University, draws on interviews with different generations of deeply disadvantaged families who are often blamed for their multiple problems, including poverty. Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Drone warfare: from soldiering to assassination? Laurie Taylor talks to the US philosopher, Laurie Calhoun, about her study of remote controlled killing. Has self defence become naked aggression in the Drone age. She argues that 'black ops' are now standard operating proceedure. Professor David Galbreath, Professor of International Security at the University of Bath, offers an alternative perspective. Also, the precarity of personal trainers. Geraint Harvey, Senior Lecturer in Industrial Relations at the University of Birmingham, discusses a new study which claims that their working conditions represent a new form of hyper flexible and insecure work.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Hood: a cultural history of a seemingly neutral garment which has long been associated with violence, from the Executioner to the KKK and inner city gangs. Laurie Taylor talks to the America writer, Alison Kinney, about the material and symbolic meaning of hoods. Also, the blacklisting of employees. Dr Paul Lashmar, Senior Lecturer in Journalism at the University of Sussex, examines a hidden history of discrimination. He's joined by Jack Fawbert, Associate Lecturer at Anglia Ruskin University, who provides the most contemporary and widespread instance of blacklisting in the UK - an extraordinary corporate crime which led to over 150 current or retired building workers reaching a substantial out of court settlement with the country's eight largest building employers earlier this year. All had been blacklisted for their trade union activities and alleged political views. How did this happen? Producer: Jayne Egerton.

The House of Commons - an anthropologist's guide to the political 'tribe'. Emma Crewe, Professorial Research Associate at SOAS, spent two years doing interviews in the Palace of Westminster and MPs constituencies. She talks to Laurie Taylor about her study, which provides a fascinating glimpse into the hidden mechanisms of parliamentary democracy. She's joined by Lord Daniel Finkelstein, political commentator and associate editor at The Times.

Also, Anne Phillips, Graham Wallas Professor of Political Science, asks if inequality impacts on rates of voting in general elections. Producer: Jayne Egerton.

The Corruption of Capitalism & the rise of the rentiers. Laurie Taylor talks to Guy Standing, Professor at the School of Oriental and African Studies, who claims we're living through a Second Gilded Age, one which mirrors the vast inequality and concentration of wealth in the hands of the few which characterised late 19th century America. The difference now is that it's global and its beneficiaries are mainly the owners of property. So is capitalism now rigged in favour of a rentier class? They're joined by David Smith, the Economics Editor of The Times.

Also, Protest camps: Anna Feigenbaum, Senior Lecturer in Digital Storytelling at Bournemouth University, charts the transnational history of tents pitched for political change.

Political polarisation in America. Laurie Taylor talks to Marc Hetherington, Professor of Political Science at Vanderbilt University, about why distrust of the opposite party is now so common in the US. Is the same pattern emerging in Britain? They're joined by Robert Ford, Professor of Political Science at the University of Manchester. Also, an anthropologist's guide to names and naming with Barbara Bodenhorn, Emeritus Fellow, Pembroke College, University of Cambridge. Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Higher education - crisis or change? A special programme exploring the role, meaning and future of a university education in a globalised world. It was once assumed that university graduates, particularly those from working class backgrounds, had a route to social mobility via a degree. Sara Goldrick-Rab, Professor of Higher Education Policy and Sociology at Temple University, tells Laurie Taylor why her new study suggests the end of the American dream of self improvement. Half the students, in her sample of 3,000 disadvantaged young adults, dropped out of college due to a lack of financial resources. Lorenza Antonucci, Senior Lecturer in Sociology at Teeside University, compared the lives of students in England, Italy and Sweden and found that, contrary to what is assumed by HE policies, participating in university education now exacerbates inequality. Thomas Docherty, Professor of English and of Comparative Literature at the University of Warwick, joins the discussion, placing these developments in the context of an increasing marketisation of education which, he argues, has turned the university into the servant of the economy.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Shyness: Laurie Taylor talks to Joe Moran, Professor of English and Cultural History at Liverpool John Moores University and the author of study of the 'shrinking violet' in history and sociology. Also, a sociology of naming. Jane Pilcher, Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Leicester, explores the relationship between names and our sense of identity. Producer: Jayne Egerton.

The male 'suit': Christopher Breward, Professor of Cultural History at the University of Edinburgh, talks to Laurie Taylor about the myriad forms and meanings of a garment which has dominated men's wardrobes for 400 years. From Saville Row to Wall St; in times of crisis, as well as celebration; the tailored suit is so ubiquitous that we take it for granted, ignoring its complex history and many varieties, including the Zoot Suit and Le Smoking. Although it embodies ideas of traditional masculinity and respectability, it has also been subverted by women, musicians and revolutionaries

Also, men 'dressing up'. Barbara Brownie, a senior lecturer at University of Hertfordshire, explores how, in recent years, the wearing of costumes has become an increasingly masculine pursuit. Through historical re-enactment, superhero 'cosplay', and the personalisation of characters in online games, a new generation of men are taking pleasure in costume. Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Airport security: what are the costs of a surveillance regime which turns us all into potential suspects? Laurie Taylor talks to Rachel Hall, Associate Professor in Communications at Syracuse University, New York, about her study into the 'transparent traveller' who must submit their bags and bodies to technologies aimed at countering terrorism. Also, Anya Ahmed, Senior Lecturer in Social Policy at the University of Salford, explores the pleasures and pitfalls of retiring to Spain in her research into the lives and times of working class British women who've made this choice. Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Hunger pains: Life inside foodbank Britain. Kayleigh Garthwaite, Leverhulme Trust funded researcher in the Centre for Health and Inequalities Research , Durham University, interviewed hundreds of people who depend on emergency food provision, one of the most controversial by products of the UK government's 'austerity' programme. Critics of these economic policies claim that food poverty has now become a major issue for many citizens - Trussell Trust foodbank use is at a record high with over one million three-day emergency food supplies given to people in crisis in 2015/16. Beyond the statistics, the study focuses on the experience and feelings of users of foodbanks, as well as the volunteers. Stewart Lansley, Economist and visiting fellow at the School of Policy Studies, University of Bristol, joins the discussion, providing a historical perspective on hunger in Britain.

Also, food poverty in Europe. Owen Davis, Doctoral Candidate in Social Policy at the University of Kent, places hunger in Britain in a wider context. How do we compare to other countries? Producer: Jayne Egerton.

The English Defence League: A study of the individuals who comprise this far right movement. Hilary Pilkington, Professor of Sociology at the University of Manchester, provides fresh and timely insights into a politics built on English identity and opposition to 'Islamism'. They're joined by Nasar Meer, Professor of Comparative Citizenship and Social Policy at Strathclyde University,

Who's a 'real' immigrant and who's 'not really' an immigrant? Martina Byrne, Lecturer in the School of Social Policy, Social Policy and Social Justice at University College, Dublin, discusses her study into middle class attitudes to immigration. Why do white Irish professionals consider that white Eastern Europeans are immigrants but white French and Australians are not? Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Political women, gender and speech: Laurie Taylor talks to Deborah Cameron, Rupert Murdoch Professor of Language and Communication at the University of Oxford, about her analysis of the performances of the three female party leaders who took part in televised debates during the 2015 UK General Election campaign. What were the similarities and differences between the women and their male colleagues, as well as between the women themselves and how was it taken up as an issue in media coverage of the campaign? Also, the morality of sleep medications. Jonathan Gabe, Professor of Sociology at Royal Holloway, University of London, talks about his study into attitudes towards the prescribing and taking of sleeping pills. Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Good Neighbours and the democracy of everyday life. Our neighbours do small favours and greet us on the street. They also, on occasion, startle us with noises at night and even betray us to the authorities. Laurie Taylor talks to Nancy Rosenblum, the Senator Joseph Clark Professor of Ethics in Politics and Government at Harvard University, about her study into our many and varied encounters with the people 'next door' - from suburbia to popular culture; in peaceful times & during disasters and across time and culture. They're joined by Graham Crow, Professor of Sociology at the University of Edinburgh. Also, the connection between sporting events and violence against women. Jodie Swallow, Post Graduate Research Student at Chester University, discusses her research into women's experience of domestic abuse in the context of the FIFA World Cup and the Six Nations Rugby Union Tournament.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Secrecy at Work: the hidden architecture within our organisations. Laurie Taylor talks to Christopher Grey, Professor of Organization Studies at Royal Holloway, University of London, about his study into the secrecy which is woven into the fabric of our lives at work - from formal secrecy, as we see in the case of trade and state secrets based on law and regulation; informal secrecy based on networks and trust; and public or open secrecy, where what is known goes undiscussed.

Also, drug taking and employment: how does the UK anti drugs policy shape our concept of 'employable citizens'? Charlotte Smith, Lecturer in Management at the University of Leicester, argues that drug consumption, in neo liberal times, is positioned as the antithesis of economic potential.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Northern accents at work: Trainee teachers are under pressure to speak the Queen's English. Laurie Taylor talks to Alex Barrata, lecturer in Linguistics at the University of Manchester, & author of a study which finds that certain regional accents are frowned upon in a profession that would normally oppose discrimination. They're joined by Paul Kerswill, Professor in the Department of Language and Linguistic Science at the University of York.

Sensible drinkers: the drinking discourses of real ale enthusiasts. Thomas Thurnell-Read, Lecturer in Cultural Sociology at the University of Loughborough, explores the way in which some drinkers construct themselves as sociable and self controlled, in contrast to their hedonistic and unruly counterparts

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

'Queer' Wars: The claim that LGBT rights are human rights meets fierce, sometimes deadly opposition in many parts of the world. Politicians and religious leaders invoke tradition to deflect such universal claims, accusing Western activists of neo colonial interference. Laurie Taylor talks to Dennis Altman, Professorial Fellow in Human Security at La Trobe University, Melbourne, who has examined the international polarisation over sexual rights. He asks how best we can advocate for change in contexts where people face violence and imprisonment for their sexuality and gender. They're joined by Lama Abu- Odeh, Professor in Law at Georgetown University, Washington.

Also, Nigerian Beauty Pageants. Juliet Gilbert, Teaching Fellow in African Studies and Anthropology at the University of Birmingham, reflects on the popularity of such spectacles in a country where crowned winners use pageantry as a 'platform' for success, hoping to overcome the double bind of gender and generation in a deeply religious and patriarchal society.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Glasgow & Russian gangs: Laurie Taylor explores their origins, organisation and meaning in two strikingly different cultures. He talks to Alistair Fraser, Lecturer in Criminology and Sociology at the University of Glasgow, whose fieldwork with young Glaswegian men, demonstrates that gangland life is inextricably bound together with perceptions of masculinity and identity and the quest to find a place in the community. They're joined by Svetlana Stephenson, a Reader in Sociology at London Metropolitan University, who found that Russian gangs, which saw a spectacular rise in the post Soviet, market economy in the 1990s, are substantially incorporated into their communities, with bonds and identities that bridge the worlds of illegal enterprise and legal respectability.

Alistair Fraser was in the final shortlist of six for this year's BSA/Thinking Allowed Ethnography Award.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Migrant women in Britain: Laurie Taylor talks to Linda McDowell, Professor of Human Geography at the University of Oxford and author of a sweeping study of generations of immigrant working women in Britain. From textile mill workers in the 1940s to shopkeepers in the 50s, nannies of the 90s and software developers of today, these first and second generation migrants have been in the vanguard of a social revolution in women's contribution to the economy in the second half of the 20th century. In factories and hospitals, care homes and universities they've played a lasting role in British society, in spite of recurrent discrimination. But what do they have to say about their work and experience?

Also, Julia Carter, Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the Canterbury Christ Church University, considers the reasons why, in an era when weddings have never been more liberated from cultural norms and official control, couples still choose to follow the same assumed traditions.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Walking in the city: The flaneur and flaneuse. Laurie Taylor presents a themed programme which explores the history and meaning of the urban stroller, past and present. Keith Tester, Adjunct Professor at the Thesis Eleven Centre for Cultural Sociology, LaTrobe University, Melbourne, charts the origins of the 'Flaneur'; the "man of the crowd" of Edgar Allan Poe and Charles Baudelaire, and one of the heroes of Walter Benjamin's Arcades Project. Matthew Beamont, co-director of University College London's Urban Lab, contends that the city idler isn't simply a by product of modernism, illuminating London's past via the nocturnal wanderings of poets, novelists and thinkers. And Lauren Elkin, lecturer in the department of English and Comparative Literature at the American University of Paris, counters the implicit assumption that the city belongs to a figure of masculine privilege and leisure. She introduces us to the transgressive 'flaneuse' who claims the right to city space.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Happiness - Should the government promote it? Danny Dorling, Halford Mackinder Professor of Geography at the University of Oxford, talks to Laurie Taylor about the necessity to inspire a better politics with new measures of what matters most to us. These would include the avoidance of misery, the gaining of long term life satisfaction, the feeling of fulfilment, of worth, of kindness, of usefulness and love. Politicians, he contends, should promote a collective good which incorporates these priorities. They're joined by Paul Ormerod, economist and Visiting Professor at UCL Centre for Decision Making Uncertainty, who contends that policymakers should not claim that they can increase happiness through public policy decisions.

Also, do dominant ideals of 'good' parenting contain a class bias? Esther Dermott. Professor of Sociology, argues that the activities of the most educationally advantaged parents are accepted as the benchmark against whom others are assessed.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

The winner of the 2016 British Sociological Association & Thinking Allowed Ethnography award, Maxim Bolt, Lecturer in Anthropology and African Studies at the University of Birmingham, talks to Laurie Taylor about his groundbreaking study of insecure lives on the border farms between Zimbabwe and South Africa. How do people create homes and stability in times of mass unemployment and uncertainty? Also, transcultural sport: Max Mauro, Associate Lecturer in Sports Studies at Southampton Solent University, considers young Congolese migrants establishing a sense of belonging in a Dublin football team.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

The Ethnography award 'short list': Thinking Allowed, in association with the British Sociological Association, presents a special programme devoted to the academic research which has been short listed for our third annual award for a study that has made a significant contribution to ethnography, the in-depth analysis of the everyday life of a culture or sub culture. Laurie Taylor is joined by three of the judges: Claire Alexander, Professor of Sociology at the University of Manchester, Helen Sampson, Director of the Seafarers International Research Centre at Cardiff University and Olivia Sheringham, Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the School of Geography at Queen Mary, University of London.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Dance halls: a social and cultural history. James Nott, Lecturer in History at the University of St. Andrews, talks to Laurie Taylor about the origins, meaning and decline in a ritual which was once central to many young people's romantic lives and leisure time. He's joined by Caspar Melville, Lecturer in Global, Creative and Community Studies at SOAS.

The 'Seduction Community': a study into the mores and codes of self styled, male 'pick up artists'. Rachel O'Neill, Phd graduate at Kings College London, interviewed men whose attitudes to women have attracted considerable condemnation in the wake of the banning of Julien Blanc, US 'pick up artist', from the UK.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Evicted: Laurie Taylor explores the lives of people who are compelled to leave their homes. Matthew Desmond, Associate Professor in the Social Sciences at Harvard University, went into the poorest neighbourhoods in Milwaulkee to tell the stories of people on the edge of a rapidly expanding form of hardship in America. They're joined by Kirsteen Paton, Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Leeds, who provides a British perspective on evictions.

Self Build: creating a home of their own in the absence of 'Grand Designs' style budgets. Michaela Benson, Senior Lecturer in Sociology at Goldsmiths, University of London, discusses her research amongst people who are determined to make affordable housing for themselves and their families.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Philanthropy & charitable giving: Is there such a thing as a free gift? Laurie Taylor talks to Linsey McGoey, Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Essex and author of a study of contemporary philanthropy. The amount of money placed in philanthropic trusts helps make the charitable sector one of the fastest growing global industries. Is this a new 'golden age' of giving which promises to replace the role of government as provider of social welfare? What are the potential conflicts between good deeds and hard profit? They're joined by Tom Hughes Hallett, philanthropist and Non Executive Chair of the Marshall Institute at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Also, John Mohan, Professor of Social Policy at the University of Birmingham, discusses his British study into the logic of charity in 'hard times'.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Small towns: Laurie Taylor talks to Steve Hanson, Associate Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Lincoln, and author of an ethnographic study of Todmorden in 'austere' times. Dr Hanson returned to his home town, on the border of Lancashire and Yorkshire, to immerse himself in the life and times of a place which has almost halved since its industrial heyday. He finds micro worlds that never encounter each other, debunking the myth that people in small towns all know each other's business. They're joined by Katherine Tyler, Lecturer in Anthropology at the University of Exeter.

Rescuing 'acute' patients: what happens when patients in a hospital ward become acutely unwell? Nicola Mackintosh, Research Fellow at Kings College, London, interviewed doctors, nurses, health care assistants and managers at two UK hospitals, in order to explore the practice of 'rescue' and patient safety on the front line.

The debt collection industry: Laurie Taylor explores what happens when everyday forms of borrowing, such as credit cards, personal loans and store cards, spiral out of control. He talks to Joe Deville, Lecturer in Mobile Work at the University of Lancaster, and author of a study which offers a vivid account of consumer default and the evolution of agencies designed to collect people's debts. He's joined by Adrienne Roberts, Lecturer in International Politics at the University of Manchester, who has researched the growing reliance of households on borrowed money.

Also, how do couples react to spousal job loss? Karon Gush, Senior Research Officer at the University of Essex, considers the ways in which couples re-configure their lives and finances in response to one person losing paid employment.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Refusing adulthood. Laurie Taylor talks to Susan Neiman, the American moral philosopher, who asks, if and why, some people refuse to grow up. She argues that being an adult allows the opportunity for agency and independence rather than signalling decline. Yet a modern tendency to idolise youth prevents us from seeing the rewards of maturity. They're joined by the writer, Michael Bywater, who wonders if we inhabit a culture of creeping infantilisation.

Also, how children and young people feel about being poor. Rys Farthing, social policy researcher, explores how young people living in low-income neighbourhoods feel about their own lives, using data generated as part of a participatory policy project with five groups of young people, aged 11-21.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Museums and the 'nation': What can we learn about nationalism by looking at a country's cultural institutions? Laurie Taylor talks to Peggy Levitt, Professor of Sociology at Wellesley College, and author of a study which explores how museums today represent diversity and make sense of immigration and globalisation. She interviewed a range of museum directors, curators, and policymakers and heard the inside stories of the famous paintings and objects which define collections across the globe; from Europe to the United States, Asia, and the Middle East. They're joined by Julian Spalding, the art critic and writer.

Also, imagining utopias. Professor Craig Calhoun, director of the London School of Economics and Political Science, considers the role of impossible dreams in shaping our reality.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Weather forecasting: Laurie Taylor explores a scientific art form rooted in unpredictability. He talks to Phaedra Daipha, Assistant Professor of Sociology at Rutgers University, who spent years immersing herself in a regional office of the National Weather Service in America. How do forecasters decide if a storm is to be described as severe or hazardous; or a day is breezy or brisk? Do they master uncertainty any better than other expert decision makers such as stockbrokers and poker players? Charged with the onerous responsibility of protecting the life and property of US citizens, how do they navigate the uncertain and chaotic nature of the atmosphere?

Also, young people, populism and politics. How do young Europeans regard the political process and are they more attracted to populist ideologies than their older counterparts? Gary Pollock, Professor of Politics at Manchester Metropolitan University, has used survey evidence from 14 European countries, to explore the mixture of political positions held by young people, finding they don't map easily on to the typical 'left-right' spectrum.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Consumerism: a history of our modern, material world and the endless quest for more 'things'. Laurie Taylor talks to Frank Trentmann, Professor of History at Birkbeck College, University of London and author of a study which examines how the purchase of goods became the defining feature of contemporary life. They're joined by Rachel Bowlby, Professor of Modern English Literature at University College London.

Also, the middle class bias in work/life balance research. Tracey Warren, Professor of Sociology at the University of Nottingham, suggests that working class experience of precarity complicates the debate.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

The Creative Economy: Angela McRobbie, Professor of Communications at the Goldsmiths, questions what's at stake in the new politics of culture and creativity. Talking to a range of artists, stylists, fashion designers and policy makers, she considers if the new 'creative economy' is a form of labour reform which accustoms the young, urban middle classes to a world of work which lacks the security of previous generations. She's joined by Christopher Frayling, Chancellor of the Arts University, Bournemouth and former Chair of the Arts Council England. Grudge spending: Ian Loader, Professor of Criminology at the University of Oxford, explores how we feel about buying security, compared to more enjoyable forms of spending.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Con men in New York: The little known world of the urban hustler. Laurie Taylor talks to Terry Williams, Professor of Sociology at the New School for Social Research in New York, about his study into the ways in which con artists play their game in back alleys, police precincts and Wall St boiler rooms. He spent years studying their psychological tricks as they scammed tourists with bogus tales, sold off knock offs in Canal St and crafted Ponzi schemes. They're joined by Dick Hobbs, Emeritus Professor of Sociology at the University of Essex.

The iconography of punishment. From Piranesi's prison fantasies to Warhol's Electric Chair, images of penal retribution have featured prominently in Western art. Eamonn Carrabine, Professor of Sociology at the University of Essex, asks what we can learn from artistic treatments of the ways in which we've dealt with criminals over time.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Modern Slavery: Laurie Taylor explores the tensions and dilemmas at the heart of contemporary struggles against enslavement; from forced labour to sex trafficking. He's joined by Julia O'Connell Davidson, the author of a new study which argues that the 'new abolitionist movement' fails to address the fundamental realities of injustice and exploitation in a globalised world. The writer and journalist, Rahila Gupta, offers another perspective.

Also, school lunchboxes: Vicki Harman, Senior Lecturer in Sociology at Royal Holloway, University of London, considers the way in which middle class mothers view their children's packed lunches as a reflection of their parenting skills - sometimes struggling to satisfy their children's tastes and keeping on the right side of the school's strict guidelines. Is a home-made cupcake a transgression of rules or a worthy display of good mothering and home baking?

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Identity and work: Laurie Taylor explores selfhood in an era in which our working lives are becoming increasingly uncertain. He talks to Jesse Potter, lecturer in Sociology at Canterbury Christ Church University and author of a new study which interviewed people who'd undergone profound work-life changes. How do individuals achieve meaning and fulfilment when their productive lives fail to satisfy? Also, Paula Jarzabkowski, Professor of Strategic Management at City University London considers how employees use humour to cope with paradox and change.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Fashion:pleasure and danger. Laurie Taylor considers the costs of 'keeping up appearances', then and now. From the flaming tutus of ballerinas to the deaths of garment workers: what perils have accompanied changes in dress, for the producers of clothing, as well as the wearers. How have our ideas of style and good looks shifted according to changing notions of masculinity & femininity? What relationship do beards and facial hair have to our understanding of what it means to be a man? And have the vagaries and demands of fashion invariably hurt women more than men, the poor more than the wealthy?

Laurie is joined by Christopher Oldstone-Moore, Senior Lecturer in History at Wright State University, Alison Matthews David, Associate Professor in the School of Fashion at Ryerson University and Joanne Entwistle, Senior Lecturer in Culture and Creative Industries at King's College London.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Rituals at Christmas & beyond. Laurie Taylor presents a special programme on the place of rituals in everyday life. How have they changed over time and do we still need them? He's joined by Adam Kuper, Centennial Professor in Anthropology at the London School of Economics and Political Science; Marina Warner, writer and mythographer and Elizabeth Pleck, Professor Emeritu of History and Human Development & Family Studies at the University of Illinois.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Chess players: Laurie Taylor talks to Gary Fine, Professor of Sociology at Northwestern University, and author of a study into the complex, committed and conflict ridden worlds of chess communities, both amateur and professional. They're joined by John Saunders, chess player and writer. Also, the competitive culture of the self-made man. Simon Down, Professor of Management at Anglia Ruskin University, discusses his study of businessmen whose talk of luxury cars and loads of cash represented a bid to gain a higher position in the hierarchy of their group.

Producer: Charlie Taylor.

Land ownership in Britain: Laurie Taylor explores our forgotten acres. He talks to Peter Hetherington, writer and journalist, as well as author of a new book which asks if food security and the housing of the nation is being thwarted by record land prices and speculation. They're joined by Michael Edwards, from the Bartlett School of Planning at University College, London. Also, how employees create a sense of 'home' at work. Rachel Hurdley, Research Fellow in the Department of Sociology at the University of Cardiff, discusses her study of the ways in which people conjure feelings of belonging and intimacy in impersonal work spaces.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Everyday life: Laurie Taylor talks to Les Back, Professor of Sociology at Goldsmiths, University of London, about his study into those seemingly unimportant aspects of life which throw a spotlight on the relationship between history, culture and biography. Returning to the council estate in Croydon where he grew up, and where his extended family still live - it tells a story about community formation, housing crisis and the geography of class through Christmas decorations. They're joined by Bev Skeggs, fellow Professor of Sociology at Goldsmiths.

Also, Sarah Neal, Reader in Sociology at the University of Surrey, discusses multicultural conviviality in coffee shops.

Producer: Natalia Fernandez.

'Frauds' of the Left: Laurie Taylor examines the intellectual credibility of key thinkers of the New Left. Roger Scruton, Visiting Professor of Philosophy at the University of Oxford, argues that the modern academy is gripped by a form of 'group think' which fails to challenge the positions of theorists such as Michel Foucault and Antonio Gramsci. Has left wing fashion trumped credible argument? They're joined by Mark Fisher, Lecturer in Visual Culture at Goldsmiths, University of London.

Also, the significance of siblings in constructing a sense of self. Katherine Davies, Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Sheffield, discusses a study which suggests that the stories people tell about their similarity, or difference, from siblings have a critical role in shaping past, present and future identities.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

How elite students get elite jobs. Lauren Rivera, Associate Professor of Management and Organisation at Northwestern University's Kellog School of Management, discusses her study into the hiring practices of top investment banks, consultancies and law firms. Do America's elite keep the top jobs for people just like themselves? Louise Ashley, Lecturer in Management Studies at Royal Holloway, University of London, adds a British perspective.

Also, hairdressing as craft. Dr Helen Holmes, Hallsworth Research Fellow at the University of Manchester, argues that the craft of such service work is obscured by the intangibility of the product, as well as the fact that it is a female dominated profession.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Zoos in the modern world: Laurie Taylor talks to David Grazian, Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Pennsylvania and author of 'American Zoo: A Sociological Safari'. Zoos blur the boundaries between culture and nature; animals and humans and separate civilisation from the 'wild'. They are centres of conservation, as well as recreation and reveal the way we project our desires on to the animal kingdom. So how do zoos juggle their many contradictory meanings and what is their future?

Also, funeral arranging. Isabelle Szmigin, Professor of Marketing at the University of Birmingham, explores 'consumption' choices which are forced through circumstance and can involve a competing range of sentiments, from love to obligation and regret.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

The Transatlantic Trade & Investment Partnership (TTIP) has stirred more passionate controversy than any other trade negotiations. Critics suggest it will undermine democracy and workers' rights, lowering health and safety standards and eroding public services; supporters claim it will produce spectacular growth and job creation. Laurie Taylor explores the likely costs and benefits in a discussion with Gabriel Siles-Brugge, Lecturer in Politics at the University of Manchester and co-author of an analysis of the TTIP. They're joined by the Rt Hon Lord Maude of Horsham, Minister of State for Trade and Investment. Also, the hidden life of domestic things. Sophie Woodward, Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Manchester, explores the dormant objects we stash away in drawers, cupboards and lofts. What can they tell us about the history of our homes, lives and relationships?

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Ambivalent atheism: Laurie Taylor talks to Lois Lee, Research Associate with the Institute of Advanced Studies at University College, London, and author of a study of non religious people. In the UK today a variety of identity labels exist which articulate non belief -atheist, agnostic, humanist, secular, rationalist, free thinker and sceptic. Most of these terms are associated with organised and activist forms of non religion. But what of the ambivalent atheist, whose beliefs may be fuzzier, less clear cut? They're joined by the philosopher, Julian Baggini.

Also, old age and neoliberalism. John Macnicol, Visiting Professor of Social Policy at the London School of Economics, & one of Europe's leading academic analysts of old age and ageing, asks if the idea of retirement is being replaced by the belief that citizens should (or be forced to) work later in life. In a harsher economy is the notion of old age, as a protected stage of life, becoming increasingly anachronistic?

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Northern Ireland & the unusual role of human rights discourse in the peace process. Laurie Taylor talks to Jennifer Curtis, honorary fellow in Social Anthropology at the University of Edinburgh, about her study into the way in which human rights became 'war by other means'.

Also, Vik Loveday, lecturer in Sociology at Goldsmiths College, discusses her research into attitudes to social mobility within higher education.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Modern romance: love in the age of technology. Laurie Taylor talks to Eric Klinenberg, Professor of Sociology at New York University, & co- author of a new study exploring the dilemmas & pleasures of dating in the age of Tinder. He's joined by the writer & blogger, Zoe Margolis.

Also, Ai Ling Lay, lecturer in Marketing & Management at the University of Leicester, discusses her research on 'singles' in the marketplace.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Female Serial Killers: Although there is much written on male serial killers, there's less analysis of their female equivalent, perhaps because of their comparitive rarity. Elizabeth Yardley, Associate Professor of Criminology at Birmingham City University, talks to Laurie Taylor about her new study into the social context in which such killings occur. They're joined by Lisa Downing, Professor of French Discourses of Sexuality at the University of Birmingham.

Also Secular Stagnation: the impossibility of an economic future for our grandchildren? Kevin O'Rourke, the Chichele Professor of Economic History at All Souls College Oxford, discusses the recent revival of the hypothesis that 'secular stagnation' - negligible or zero economic growth - could lead to permanently depressed economies, if no policy counter-measures are taken. What's the history of this theory and how applicable is it today?

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

The 'Red Web': The Internet in Russia is a totalitarian tool but is also a device by which totalitarianism can be resisted. Laurie Taylor talks to Andrei Soldatov, a Moscow based journalist and co-author of a book which explores the Russian government's battle with the future of the Internet. Drawing on numerous interviews with officials in the Ministry of Communications, as well as the web activists who resist the Kremlin, he exposes a huge online surveillance state. What hope is there for ordinary digital citizens? They're joined by Natalia Rulyova, a Lecturer in Russian at the University of Birmingham.

Also, older entrepreneurs. Oliver Mallett, Lecturer in Management at the University of Durham, discusses the obstacles faced by late entrants to enterprise culture.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Cross class marriage: Laurie Taylor talks to Jessi Streib, Assistant Professor of Sociology at Duke University, US, about her study into the lives of people who married a partner raised in a social class very different from their own. Do spouses from blue collar backgrounds take a laissez faire approach to daily life? Are those from white collar, professional families likely to want to take organisational control? They're joined by Mary Evans, Centennial Professor at the Gender Institute at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Also, the social history of women only train carriages: did they promote safety or inequality?

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Stop & Search: Laurie Taylor explores a police practice which is seen as a vital tool against crime by law enforcers, but has been dogged by controversy. He's joined by Michael Shiner, Associate Professor of Social Policy at the LSE, and editor of a new collection of research which assesses the use & misuse of the tactic. How did it arise and what is its future?

Also, Suzanne Moffatt, Senior Lecturer at Newcastle University, discusses her study into a group of cancer patients experience of current welfare reforms.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Prison gangs in the USA. Laurie Taylor talks to David Skarbek, Lecturer in the Department of Political Economy at King's College, London, about his research into the hidden world of convict culture, inmate hierarchy and jail politics. He finds sophisticated organisations, often with written constitutions, behind the popular image of chaotic violence. They're joined by Jane Wood, Senior Lecturer in Forensic Psychology at the University of Kent.

Also, what would children do with an unexpected windfall of a million pounds? Sally Power, Professor of Education at Cardiff University, asked this question in order to explore children's values and priorities. Would they spend, save or give it away?

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Black: the cultural and historical meaning of the darkest colour. From the 'little black dress' which epitomises chic, to its links to death, depression and evil, 'black' embodies many contrasting values. White Europeans exploited the negative associations of 'black' in enslaving millions of Africans whilst artists & designers have endlessly deployed the colour in their creative work. Laurie Taylor talks to John Harvey, Life Fellow of Emmanuel College, Cambridge, about his new book which explores how 'black' came to have such ambiguous and varied meanings. They're joined by Bidisha, the writer and broadcaster.

Also, the last 20 years has seen a major growth in the number of people of mixed racial heritage. Miri Song, Professor of Sociology at the University of Kent, talks about her research into the ways that multiracial parents with white partners talk to their their children about race and identity.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Middle class drug dealers: Laurie Taylor discusses a study into suburban drug selling amongst well heeled teens in a wealthy suburb of Atlanta, USA. The author, Richard Wright, Professor of Criminal Justice and Criminology in the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University, reveals a world which provides a striking counterpoint to the devastation of the drug war in poor, minority communities. Instead, he found that middle class 'dealing' rarely disrupted conventional career paths or involved legal risks and violence. A British perspective is provided by Richard Hobbs, Emeritus Professor of Sociology at the University of Essex.

Also, white collar jobs which move to the Global South. Shehzad Nadeem, Assistant Professor of Sociology at the City University of New York, charts the impact on emerging economies of the globalisation of IT and service sector work. Is it producing upward mobility in countries like India?

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Being Arab in London: diaspora and difference in the city. Laurie Taylor talks to Ramy M. K. Aly, Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the American University in Cairo, about his seven year study of the everyday experiences of young, British-Arab people and the ways in which London has shaped and changed their ethnic identities.

Also, British identity among migrant groups. Dr Saffron Karlsen, Senior Lecturer in Social Research, explores the degree to which ethnic and religious minorities feel themselves to be British.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Factory music:the role that popular music plays in workers' culture. Marek Korczynski, Chair in Sociology of Work at the Nottingham University Business School, talks to Laurie Taylor about his study of a British factory that manufactures window blinds, revealing how pop music can enliven monotonous work, providing a sense of community as well as moments of resistance to the tyranny of the workplace.

Also, volunteering in 'hard times': James Laurence ESRC Research Fellow at the University of Manchester, examines how the 2008-9 recession has affected peoples' willingness to do formal voluntary work as well as informal helping.

Producer:Jayne Egerton.

White, working class boys at school: Laurie Taylor talks to Garth Stahl. Lecturer in the School of Education at the University of South Australia, and author of a new study about boys' underachievement in Britain. Why do so many disengage from education? They're joined by Heather Mendick, Reader in Education at Brunel University.

Also, the grand, French intellectual tradition. Dr Sudhir Hazareesingh, political scientist and writer, explores the prominence of thinkers in the life and history of France. From Voltaire to Foucault, how have intellectuals contributed to the distinctiveness of the nation?

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

The 'Precariat': Laurie Taylor talks to Guy Standing, Professor in Development Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. His highly influential 2011 book introduced the 'Precariat' as an emerging mass class, characterized by inequality and insecurity. Professor Standing argues that that the increasingly global nature of the Precariat is leading to the kind of social unrest which carries grave political risks. Marking the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta, he takes his work a stage further, outlining A Precariat Charter which might award greater rights to this new 'class'. They're joined by Dr Lisa Mckenzie, Research Fellow in Sociology at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Also, whilst humour and laughter have been studied by social scientists, scholars who use wit, jokes and satire may get marginalised from the academy. Cate Watson, Professor in the School of Education at the University of Stirling, argues against this neglect of humour's potential.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Lesbian lives in Russia: Laurie Taylor talks to Francesca Stella, Research Fellow in Sociology at the University of Glasgow, and author of a study which explores the changing nature of same sex relationships amongst women since the demise of state communism. From the metropolis to the provinces, she finds evidence of women negotiating visible, as well as closeted lives.

Also, is 'big data' leading to the pervasive 24/7 surveillance of every moment of our lives? Frank Pasquale, Professor of Law at the University of Maryland, argues that unlimited data collection is having unforeseen and risky consequences.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Anthropology: the future of the A level. Laurie Taylor talks to Joy Hendry, Emeritus Professor of Anthropology at Oxford Brookes University, about the proposed cancellation of this course. At a time of global conflict, is it the right time to axe a discipline which allows insight into cultures and ideas very different from our own?

Also, 'blame' in the criminal justice system. Tim Hillier, Associate Head of Leicester de Montfort Law School, De Montfort University, Leicester, explores the role and parameters of culpability within the legal system. He's joined by Lord Ken Macdonald QC and former Director of Public Prosecutions.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Poverty in Britain: Laurie Taylor talks to Joanna Mack, Learning and Teaching producer at the Open University, about the largest ever survey of UK levels of economic and social deprivation. Her co-authored book, 'Breadline Britain..' claims that poverty is at an all time high.

Also, claimants who reject work. Andrew Dunn, Senior Lecturer in Social Policy at Lincoln University, has conducted research which suggests that some unemployed people turn down 'undesirable' work, thus choosing to remain in financial hardship.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

The gym: Laurie Taylor explores the social history of the gymnasium with the writer and sociologist, Eric Chaline. Although this 'temple of perfection' appears primarily as a site for producing the 'body beautiful', this study finds it has also been a battleground in political, sexual and cultural wars. They're joined by Louise Mansfield, Sociologist of Sport at Brunel University

Also, tattoos at work: Andrew Timming, Reader in Management at the University of St Andrews, talks about prejudices towards body art in the service sector. Does possession of a tattoo impact on job prospects?

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Gentrification: its impact on working class residents. Laurie Taylor talks to Kirsteen Paton, lecturer in the School of Sociology and Social Policy at the University of Leeds, about her groundbreaking research in a neighbourhood undergoing urban renewal and improvement. Many such studies have focused on middle class lifestyles rather than the experience of less well off members of the community. Are working class residents inevitably displaced by gentrification and must traditional ways of life always disappear? Or can poorer people re-work the process and gain on their own terms? They're joined by Melissa Butcher, lecturer in Human Geography at Birkbeck, University of London.

Also, 'sharing the load': the division of domestic labour amongst couples where women are the higher earners. Clare Lyonette, Senior Research Fellow at the University of Warwick, asks if men do more when they earn less.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Post traumatic stress in male combat veterans: Laurie Taylor talks to Nick Caddick, Research Assistant at Loughborough University, and co-author of a study exploring the relationship between masculinity, militarism and mental health. Do conventional notions of male bravery and resilience impede soldiers' ability to access to support? They're joined by Anthony King, Professor in Sociology at the University of Exeter.

Also, managing beds in the NHS. Pressure on beds is an acute challenge to the health service. Davina Allen, Professor of Healthcare Organisation at Cardiff University, discusses her study into bed utilisation from the point of view of UK hospital nurses. How is access to beds granted or denied and who decides?

Producer: Natalia Fernandez.

This year, the BBC's Thinking Allowed, in association with the British Sociological Association, launched the second year of its award for a study that has made a significant contribution to ethnography, the in-depth analysis of the everyday life of a culture or sub-culture. Laurie Taylor presents a special edition of Thinking Allowed to mark the announcement of the winner of the 2015 award.

Laurie and a team of leading academics - Professor Beverley Skeggs, Professor Adam Kuper, Dr Coretta Phillips and Dr Louise Westmarland - were tasked with judging the study that has made the most significant contribution to ethnography over the past year. Ethnographic studies in the past have often illuminated lives which were little understood or stigmatised such as the urban poor in 1930s Chicago and the mods and rockers of 50s Britain.

This year the judges combed through an extraordinary diversity of entries to arrive at a shortlist of 7:

Flip-Flop: A Journey Through Globalisation's Backroads by Caroline Knowles.

The Social Order of the Underworld: How Prison Gangs Govern the American Penal System by David Skarbek

Lesbian Lives in Soviet and Post-Soviet Russia by Francesca Stella.

Illegality Inc: Clandestine Migration and the Business of Bordering Europe by Ruben Andersson.

Songs of the Factory: Pop Music, Culture and Resistance by Marek Korczynski

Human Rights as War by Other Means: Peace Politics in Northern Ireland by Jennifer Curtis.

Educational Binds of Poverty: The Lives of School Children by Ceri Brown.

After much passionate and lively debate, the winner can be announced.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

The Ethnography award 'short list': Thinking Allowed, in association with the British Sociological Association, presents a special programme devoted to the academic research which has been short listed for our second annual award for a study that has made a significant contribution to ethnography, the in-depth analysis of the everyday life of a culture or sub culture. Laurie Taylor is joined by three of the judges: Professor Beverley Skeggs, Professor Adam Kuper and Dr Coretta Phillips.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.