Thinking Allowed

"poor mentality", "placidly bovine", "volubly unreachable", "feeble minded" - just some of the terms used by social workers as they tried to describe the poor in the 1920s and 30s. Much of their case work was given over to discussing whether the poor were deserving or whether they were making fraudulent claims on the charities and government organisations these new professionals were representing. Laurie is joined by Mark Peel, the author of a new study of social work and poverty in the United States, Australia and Britain, and they discuss which attitudes have changed and which remain the same with the historian Selina Todd. Also, how evangelic Christians have turned their backs on fire and brimstone and are seeking to put the Bible into the background of everyday life. Matthew Engelke talks about his study of the Bible Society of England and Wales. Producer: Charlie Taylor.

In 1980 there were around 300,000 students in forty-six universities, now there are some two and a quarter million students studying in 130 universities across Britain. More people than ever before are receiving a university education but despite - or even because of this - there is enormous anxiety about the role that universities should play. Should they be judged on their contribution to the economy or on the pursuit of knowledge for knowledge's sake? How can their 'impact' or success be measured? The intellectual historian Stefan Collini puts these debates in their historical context as he talks to Laurie about his new book, What Are Universities For?And why are we so fascinated with outlaws? Could it be that they offer an alternative way of life without the hierarchies and corporate power that seem to hold us back? Martin Parker, author of Alternative Business: Outlaws Crime and Culture thinks so. He discusses his work with Laurie and criminologist Dick Hobbs.Producer: Charlie Taylor.

Laurie Taylor considers why men 'cheat' in relationships. 78% of young male students have been unfaithful to their current partners according to the sociologist, Eric Anderson. He discusses men, monogamy and the reality of infidelity. They're joined by the sociologist, Lynn Jamieson. Also, the new politics of citizenship - Engin Isin, a Professor of politics at the Open University, explores the ways in which people embrace acts and causes which transcend national boundaries.Producer: Jayne Egerton.

We inhabit a precarious world of crisis and calamity which mocks the post war promise of upward mobility, social equality and job security. We remain attached to the unachievable fantasies of the good life, even though they are thwarted at every turn. That's the cheering claim of the cultural theorist Lauren Berlant. She and Laurie are joined by the sociologist, Professor Bev Skeggs, to analyse what she calls the 'cruel optimism' of contemporary life. Also on the programme, Karen Throsby talks of her ethnographic study of an obesity clinic and the hidden moral element to every aspect of the procedure. Producer: Charlie Taylor.

'Sprezzatura' is an Italian word describing a nonchalant effortless style which conceals the skill and artistry involved in doing something. It is a quality which the sociologist Richard Sennett claims embodies the gentlemanly characteristics of cooperation and modesty which came to the fore in Europe during the Renaissance. However, sprezzatura is under siege from the aggressive and competitive tendencies of finance capitalism, and we are losing the art of working together. That is one contention from his new study of cooperation, and what we can do to operate in closer harmony. He joins Laurie and the philosopher John Gray to discuss the meaning of cooperation. Also on the programme, James Nicholls discusses what it is about the British and booze. Producer: Charlie Taylor.

Do you remember the moon landings? Up to 20% of American believe they never happened. When it comes to 9/11 the public suspicion is even greater. Polls consistently show that between 30% and 40% of Americans think the official account is a cover up, that the US establishment was directly involved in planting explosives in the towers or was guilty of deliberately looking the other way as the attacks were planned. In this country we are scarcely more trusting. Why has suspicion of conspiracy become so widespread? Laurie discusses the lure of the conspiracy theory with David Aaronovitch and Jovan Byford. Also on the programme, the suffering of strangers: What is it that makes us care for people we have never met and have very different lives from our own? A sense of justice or an impulse for charity? Laurie talks to Kate Nash Producer: Charlie Taylor.

Vomiting, urinating openly, dressing up as women and public nudity - some of the features of the Stag Tour which show a new kind of masculinity, claims new research from Thomas Thurnell-Read. He tells Laurie that far from the controlled, contained and emotionally repressed image of traditional men, these young men are letting it all hang out - at least for one weekend. Also on the programme how men experience the process of childbirth. Are they sidelined by the medical process? Alan Dolan talks about his latest research. The social commentator Owen Jones also joins the discussion of modern young men and how masculinity is changing. Producer: Charlie Taylor.

In Britain the market for cosmetic surgery is now estimated to be worth about £900 million per year, and world-wide it is growing fast too, with people increasingly combining surgery with a holiday abroad. The lines between a hospital procedure and a recuperative break are being blurred and Laurie hears of new research from Ruth Holiday exploring the experiences of people who have a face-lift in Costa Rica or liposuction in Koh Samui. Jacqueline Sanchez-Taylor tells him about her study of young British women who view breast augmentation as a beauty treatment, 18 women from one group of friends have all had the op and are very relaxed about the risks. Also on the programme - being in the red is nothing new: David Graeber tells Laurie about his anthropological study of 5,000 years of Debt which shows that dispensing credit precedes even the invention of money. Producer: Charlie Taylor.

How important is the way we dress for work? Laurie speaks to Stephen Timmons who has studied the impact on a hospital of removing professional markers and having almost all staff dress the same. Also how cities are the new battleground of our increasingly urban world: Stephen Graham, author of Cities Under Siege, tells Laurie that from the slums of the global South to the financial districts of the developed world political violence is policed with increasingly military tactics. He claims that the all over the world the city shows more and more features of a war zone. They discuss what he calls the 'new military urbanism' with Melissa Butcher. Producer: Charlie Taylor.

Is there an age in which people should couple-up and settle down? Laurie Taylor visits the home of 6 young people who are extending their student sharing habits into their early thirties. What is the factor that keeps an increasing amount of people living like this - is it economics, good friendships or an antipathy towards what other people might regard as growing up? Laurie and his two sociological companions, Esther Dermott from Bristol University and Josh Richards from the University of Manchester accompany him on his investigation. Producer: Charlie Taylor.

The Anti Psychiatry movement of the 1960s, pioneered by R.D. Laing, asserted that societal ills were at the root of mental illness. Insanity was therefore a sane response to a repressive and unjust world. Michael Staub, Professor of English and author of 'Madness is Civilisation', talks to Laurie Taylor about the once popular, now discredited, theories of anti psychiatry. Also, new research uncovers the hidden history of psychoanalysis. Professor of Jung History, Sonu Shamdasani, suggests that psychoanalysis achieved its cultural power only by re-scripting history in its own image. He's joined by Stephen Frosh, Professor of Psychology. Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Laurie Taylor explores the idea of the Tipping Point using a multidisciplinary project at Durham University as a springboard to examine what tipping points are, how they happen and what effect they have. Professor Tim Clark and Professor Pat Waugh from Durham University and Professor Alex Bentley from Bristol University are all involved in the Durham Tipping Points project and they are joined by Dr Shahidha Bari from Queen Mary, London to discuss the idea of the tipping point and what it might tell us about ourselves and our environment - and how, perhaps, we can use our understanding of it to prevent significant problems in areas as diverse as banking and sociology. Producer: Chris Wilson.

Laurie Taylor examines research into the advice offered to parents with Judith Suissa from the Institute of Education and Frank Furedi from Kent University and looks at comparative research in America and Holland into teenage sex in the parental home with sociologist Amy Schalet from the University of Massachusetts. Producer: Chris Wilson.

Laurie Taylor explores opera fanatics at the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires and compares them to fans in Cardiff, with Professor Claudio Benzecry from the University of Connecticut and Professor Paul Atkinson from Cardiff University. And he explores the popularly held notion that grammar schools aid social mobility with Dr Adam Swift from the University of Oxford. Producer Chris Wilson.

Protests against art and culture occur every day across America. Conservatives object to artworks deemed blasphemous or obscene; liberals rally against depictions they see as racist or misogynist. But why do some parts of the United States see more such controversies than others? Why so many protests in Atlanta and so few in West Palm Beach? The US sociologist, Steven Tepper, talks to Laurie Taylor about his new book 'Not Here, Not Now, Not That..Protest over Art and Culture in America'. They're joined by Jo Glanville, the editor of Index on Censorship. Also, Dr Kip Jones from Bournemouth University discusses the challenges faced by older gay men and lesbians who live in rural areas of The South West of England and Wales. His paper, 'Gay and Pleasant Land?' uses first hand evidence to explore the attitudes of both older gay countryside dwellers and the communities they live in. Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Laurie Taylor examines the limits of science and the machine age with writer Bryan Appleyard and philosopher John Gray and asks whether we are in danger of losing the essence of what it is to be human. And, kiss me quick hats, fortune tellers and buckets and spades. The cliched pleasures of the English seaside. But are those delights equally available to all? The seaside is traditionally inhabited by majority white populations, many of whom are older and retired. And although increasing numbers of ethnic minorities visit and reside by the coast, it remains stubbornly white in our collective imagination. New research by Dr Daniel Burdsey claims that our nation's identity is bound up with monocultural images of coastal resorts. Producer: Chris Wilson.

Laurie Taylor explores new research examining the motives of middle class parents who deliberately send their children to failing or under-performing schools.'White, Middle Class Identities in Urban Schools' is discussed by the paper's author Diane Reay, Professor of Education at Cambridge University and journalist Melissa Benn.Laurie also talks to Dr Lee Miller, Department of Sociology, Sam Houston State University in Texas, about her paper 'Hazards of Neo-Liberalism: Delayed Electric Power Restoration after Hurricane Ike'.Producer Chris Wilson Presenter LAURIE TAYLOR.

Laurie Taylor explores Professor Steven Pinker's notion of a decline in human violence with Anthony O'Hear, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Buckingham. Laurie also examines an apparent rise in heterosexual men kissing other men, with Professor Eric Anderson from the University of Winchester.Producer. Chris Wilson.

Is tradition under threat from capitalism, or are we overly negative about the cultural impact of globalisation? Henrietta Moore challenges what she sees as despair about the impact of international capitalism and new technology and claims that globalisation is just as likely to improve the human experience. She tells Laurie Taylor that her new theory about how we create culture, rejects the notion that it is ever 'imposed' from abroad. Also, there's an absence of visible Muslim female sportswomen. Islamic rules on gender segregation and dress codes can create limitations on women's ability to be athletes. And the secular world of sport doesn't always welcome women who don't wear shorts and swimsuits. But new research suggests that the picture is changing as women find ways to play sport which don't conflict with their faith. The sociologist, Dr Sam Farooq, tells Laurie about the young British Muslim women who see no contradiction between basketball and religious belief.Producer: Charlie Taylor.

Laurie Taylor explores impartiality in TV political interviewing and he examines how the colour 'yellow' became applied to people of Asian origin. Professsor Ian Hutchby from the University of Leicester discusses a recent seminar 'Going Ballistic: Non-neutrality in the Televised Hybrid Political Interview'. In it, he outlines the structures of a new form of televised political journalism, the Hybrid Political Interview (HPI), which combines standard forms of interview technique with much more tendentious, opinionated, and even argumentative reporting. Laurie and Ian are joined by the Director of Broadcasting at City University, Lis Howell. Laurie also discusses a new book called 'Becoming Yellow: A short history of racial thinking'. Professor Michael Keevak from The National Taiwan University explores how the notion of the colour yellow became attached to people of Asian origin.Producer: Chris Wilson.