Thinking Allowed

Place hacking the hidden city. Laurie Taylor talks to Bradley Garrett, Lecturer in Geography and Environment at the University of Southampton, about his research into the world of urban exploration. Bridges, sewerage and underground rail systems are just a few of the sites penetrated by crews of place hackers who want to journey beyond the boundaries of everyday metropolitan life. They are joined by writer and film maker Iain Sinclair whose work also involves uncovering unseen layers of the city. Also, Julia Twigg, Professor of Social Policy and Sociology at the University of Kent, discusses the role of handbags in the lives of women with dementia. How do they function as memory objects and sources of identity, particularly in the transition to care homes? Producer: Torquil MacLeod.

Gay life at home and in the 'city' - a special edition of Thinking Allowed presented by Laurie Taylor. From squatted terraces to rented bedsits, the social historian, Matt Cook, explores the domestic and family lives of gay men - the famous, infamous and unknown - in London over the past century. The social anthropologist, Rachael Scicluna, charts the changing domestic lives of metropolitan lesbians. And US sociologist, Amin Ghaziani, describes the way in which urban enclaves such as Greenwich Village in New York have long provided sexual minorities with a safe haven in an unsafe world.How have gentrification, as well as increasing social acceptance and legal rights, impacted on the existence of gay neighbourhoods? And do lesbian and gay home lives now mirror those of heterosexuals rather than offering alternative models of domesticity, family and belonging?Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Race & consumption - Laurie Taylor talks to Ben Pitcher, Senior Lecturer at the University of Westminster, about the ways in which racial meaning is produced in everyday acts of consumption. From the depiction of 'red Indians' by children's authors to the wearing of Bob Marley T shirts and the enthusiasm for 'ethnic' street food; our ideas of race are made and re-made across the terrain of contemporary culture. They're joined by Lola Young, Crossbench Peer and former Professor of Cultural Studies at the University of Middlesex. Also, Jessica Abrahams, graduate student at the University of Cardiff, explores working class students' refusal to use networks and contacts as a route to career advancement.Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Elevators - a cultural history. Before skyscrapers transformed the urban landscape a new conveyance made them possible. The elevator, invented in New York in the 1850s, became a factor of metropolitan modernity on both sides of the Atlantic - forever in motion and reflecting the intimacy, as well as the anonymity, of capitalist cities. Laurie Taylor talks to Andreas Bernard, Visiting Professor of Cultural Studies at Leuphana University of Luneburg, and author a of new book which explores the origins & meaning of the 'lift'. Also, Hugo Gorringe, Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Edinburgh, discusses his study of political militants in India who move into mainstream electoral politics. Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Rio, protests and the World Cup. Laurie Taylor talks to Jessica Leigh Glass, graduate student in the Department of Anthropology at Georgia State University, about her research into the street protests taking place in Rio since June 2013. Initially arising in reaction to a hike in public transport fares, the protests broadened to target wider social inequalities, expenditure on multi-million dollar projects ahead of the 2014 World Cup & the 2016 Olympics and the clearing of some favelas. What is the impact of such sporting 'mega-events' on the people who live in the host cities.? They're joined by Professor Anthony King from the University of Exeter.Also, men dying in prison. Marian Peacock, Senior Research Associate in the Faculty of Health and Medicine at Lancaster University, discusses the increasing number of elderly men - many of whom are sex offenders - who may end their lives in jail.Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Tennis: From Victorian Pastime to Global Phenomenon. Laurie Taylor talks to life long tennis fan and cultural historian, Elizabeth Wilson. The story of tennis illuminates social change and struggle across the 20th century, going hand in hand with the march of modernity, globalisation, commercialisation and gender equality.Also, Daniel Holman, a post doctoral researcher at the University of Cambridge, discusses class differences in the use of 'talking treatments' for mental health problems with Stephen Frosh, Professor of Psychology at Birkbeck College. Why are these treatments so underused by working class people?Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Flip flops: the world wide trail of an everyday commodity. Laurie Taylor talks to Caroline Knowles, Professor of Sociology at Goldsmiths, University of London, whose study takes a ground level view of the lives and places of globalisation's back roads, via that most ubiquitous of footwear - the flip flop sandal. Also, research into Russia's elite and how they acquire social distinction. Dr Elisabeth Schimpfossl, Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Manchester, looks at the strategies employed by representatives of Russia's new social upper class to gain status and prestige. Distancing themselves from the 'vulgar' excesses of the brutal 90s, they've moved away from ostentatious displays of wealth, seeking legitimacy for their position by developing a more 'cultured' image.Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Surfing - a political history. Laurie Taylor looks beyond the tanned bodies, crashing waves and carefree pleasure, talking to Scott Laderman, Associate Professor of History at the University of Minnesota. His study traces the rise of surfing in the context of the rise of imperialism and global capitalism. From its emergence in post annexation Hawaii and its use as a diplomatic weapon in America's Cold War to the low wage labour of the surf industry today; he uncovers a hidden history involving as much blood and repression as beachside bliss. Also, Pelle Valentin Olsen, graduate student at the University of Oxford, explores the Baghdad coffee shop, idleness and the emergence of the bourgeoisie. He's joined by Graham Scambler, Emiritus Professor of Sociology at University College, London.Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Before the Windrush - Laurie Taylor talks to John Belchem, Professor of History at the University of Liverpool, about his study of race relations in 20th century Liverpool. Long before the arrival of the Empire Windrush after the Second World War, the city was already a teeming mix of different nationalities and races. Black Liverpudlians pioneered mixed marriages and parentage but they also experienced rejection and discrimination. Nisha Katona, city born resident and trustee of National Museums Liverpool, joins the debate.Also, Bjorn Andersen, a sociologist at the University of Gothenburg, discusses the phenomenon of the late modern 'hipster', the young bohemian of the cosmopolitan city.Producer: Jayne Egerton.

IVF - it's 35 years years since the initial success of a form of technologically assisted human reproduction which has led to the birth of 5 million 'miracle' babies. Laurie Taylor talks to Sarah Franklin, Professor in Sociology at the University of Cambridge, about her study into the meaning and impact of IVF. Has the creation of new biological relatives transformed our notion of kinship? They're joined by Henrietta Moore, Professor of Social Anthropology at the University of Cambridge.Also, the male space of the 'bookies'. Betting on horses and dogs has long been seen as a male pastime and the betting shop as a 'man's world'. Rebecca Cassidy, Professor of Social Anthropology at Goldsmiths at the University of London, asks why this should be, interviewing both workers and customers in London betting shops.Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Offshoring - the economy of secrecy. The concealment of wealth in tax havens is part of public debate, but John Urry, Professor of Sociology at Lancaster University, argues that offshore worlds now also involve relations of work, pleasure, energy and security. He talks to Laurie Taylor about new patterns of power which pose huge challenges to democratic government. Also, Dr Aliakbar Jafari, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Marketing at the University of Strathclyde, discusses his research on Iranian women's use of make up, as a form of escape and self expression. He's joined by Dr Ziba Mir Hosseini, Professorial Research Associate at the Centre of Islamic and Middle Eastern Law at the School for Oriental and African Studies at the University of London.Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Chinese women & the resurgence of gender inequality. Laurie Taylor talks to Leta Hong Fincher, about 'Leftover Women', her study of the pressures facing Modern Chinese women who are often locked out of social equality, property rights, and legal protection from domestic abuse.Also, 'smokestack nostalgia' - the meaning of post-industrial imagery. Tim Stangleman, Professor of Sociology at the University of Kent, questions the continuing desire to reflect back and find value in our industrial past.Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Islamophobia and Anti-Semitism - similarities and differences. Comparisons of anti-Semitic and anti-Muslim sentiment are strikingly absent in British accounts of race and racism. Laurie Taylor talks to Nasar Meer, Reader in Comparative Social Policy at Strathclyde University, about a new study which attempts to remedy this omission. They're joined by Rumy Hasan, Senior Lecturer at the Sussex Centre for Migration Research at the University of Sussex. Also, the sociology of 'sleep'. How does sleep fit into our wired awake world? Catherine Coveney, Senior Research Fellow at the University of Warwick, explores the sleeping experiences & strategies of shift workers and students.Producer: Torquil MacLeod.

'Illicit' dance in India. Laurie Taylor talks to Anna Morcom, Senior Lecturer at Royal Holloway, University of London, about her extensive research into marginalised dancers in contemporary South Asia. From bar dancers to transgender erotic performers, she has chronicled their relationship with 'legitimate' performing arts; their struggles against stigma and the ways in which post colonial nation building has excluded these 'non elite' carriers of culture. Also, can war ever be a force for good? The historian, Ian Morris, argues that war, as well as provoking countless deaths & horrors, has also, in the very long term, allowed us to create peaceful societies.Producer: Jayne Egerton.

The rise & fall of the working class: Laurie Taylor talks to Selina Todd, social historian at St Hilda's College, Oxford, about her sweeping study of ordinary British people between 1910-2010. Rooting her analysis in first person accounts from factory workers, servants and housewives, she reveals a hidden history full of the unexpected: How many of us know that cinema audiences once shook their fists at Winston Churchill? Also, US sociologist, Yasemin Besen-Cassino, discusses her research on 'baristas', the preparers of coffee across the urban world. She finds a group of affluent young people who'll work for poor wages if they're associated with a 'cool' brand.Producer: Jayne Egerton.

The winner of Thinking Allowed's first Ethnography award, in association with the British Sociological Association.Laurie Taylor and a team of esteemed academics - Professor Beverley Skeggs, Professor Dick Hobbs, Professor Henrietta Moore and Dr Louise Westmarland - set themselves the task of finding the study that has made the most significant contribution to ethnography over the past year. In the past, ethnographic studies have cast light on hidden or misunderstood worlds, from the urban poor in 1930s Chicago to the mods and rockers in British seaside towns in the 1950s. This year they considered submissions of startling range, colour and diversity, in the process learning much about the struggles of the war wounded 'amputees' of Sierra Leone; the ties between mothers and daughters on a working class housing estate in South Wales; the hedonistic excess of young holidaymakers in Ibiza; and the dreams and desires of young women in hostess bars in Cambodia. After much passionate debate, finally the winner can

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 new 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 Dick Hobbs and Dr Louise Westmarland.Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Gardens of the British Working Class - the historian, Margaret Willes, considers the remarkable feats of cultivation by the working class in Britain, even if the land they planted and loved was not their own: From lush gardens nurtured outside crumbling workers' cottages to 'green' miracles achieved in blackened yards. In doing so, she reveals the ingenious ways in which determined workers transformed drab surroundings. She's joined by Lisa Taylor, Senior Lecturer in Media and Cultural Studies at Leeds Metropolitan University, who has explored the ways in which struggles over classed and gendered tastes are played out in our gardens.Also, 'Why England Fails At Football' - a sociological account of our international 'shame' from Anthony King, Professor of Sociology at the University of ExeterProducer: Torquil Macleod.

Capitalism - renewal or decline? Laurie Taylor explores the future of our market driven economy. He's joined by David Harvey, Distinguished Professor of Anthropology and Geography at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York and Colin Crouch, Professor Emeritus in Sociology at the University of Warwick. Professor Harvey examines the contradictions at the heart of capitalism arguing that it's far from being the permanent or only way of organising human life. Professor Crouch, conversely, suggests that only Capitalism can provide us with an efficient and innovative economy but it should be re-shaped to better fit a social democratic society.Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Kissing - a cultural history. How do we make sense of the kiss and why did it become a vital sign of romance and courtship? Laurie Taylor talks to Marcel Danesi, Professor of Linguistic Anthropology about his new book 'The History of the Kiss' which argues that kissing was the first act of "free romance" liberated from the yoke of arranged unions. When the kiss first appeared in poetry and songs of the medieval period, it was as a desirable but forbidden act. Since then it has evolved into the quintessential symbol of love-making in the popular imagination. From early poems and paintings to current films, its romantic incarnation coincides with the birth of popular culture itself. They're joined by Karen Harvey, Reader in Cultural History at the University of Sheffield, who has studied the meaning of the kiss across different cultures and periods.Also, hitmen for hire: David Wilson, Professor of Criminology, examined 27 cases of contract killing committed by 36 men (including accomplices) and one woman. Far f