Thinking Allowed

Are the stringent checks at airports really for our benefit? 'Against Security', a new book by the acclaimed American sociologist, Harvey Molotch, explores the complex systems which are designed to make us feel safe in public places. He tells Laurie Taylor why he thinks that security measures in airports and subways, post 9.11, have damaged the pleasure and dignity of our daily lives. They're joined by the design critic, Stephen Bayley. Also, Sociology's failure to address the financial crisis. The social scientist, Alberto Toscano's paper 'Reformism and Melancholia' argues that the twin spectres of Fordism and Keynesianism have prevented sociologists from imagining a future beyond austerity.Producer: Jayne Egerton.

The 'New' Arab Man: Middle Eastern, Muslim men are often represented as 'zealots' and oppressors of women. But Laurie Taylor hears how 2 decades of research by the Professor of Anthropology, Marcia Inhorn, is undermining such cultural stereotypes. Her study found that ordinary Arab men who confront childlessness and infertility are re-thinking conventional masculinity. Also, research by Matthew Bond into elite club membership in the House of Lords. Is a British establishment still evident in the club community? Karel Williams, Professor of Sociology, joins the discussion. Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Sickness benefit claimants and their fear of the 'brown envelope'. Laurie Taylor hears about a new study into the views and experiences of the long term sick and disabled in the context of ongoing welfare reforms. The researcher, Kayleigh Garthwaite, highlights their ambivalence - whilst some have a deep seated anxiety about losing rights and income; others hope it will distinguish between the genuinely ill, such as themselves, and those that are 'faking'. Also, the former social science magazine 'New Society' broke new and radical grounds in its creation of a space for thoughtful debate about everyday culture and social issues; showcasing the ideas of academics and intellectuals as diverse as Angela Carter and Richard Hoggart. A former editor, Paul Barker, analyses the heyday and legacy of 'New Society' 50 years after its launch. He's joined by the writer, Lynsey Hanley and the Professor of Cultural Studies, Fred Inglis.Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Bletchley Park, the decoding organisation, was at the heart of British intelligence operations in the Second World War. A mythology has grown around its secret activities, which some claim shortened the war by several years. Professor Christopher Grey talks to Laurie Taylor about his seminal research into the romance and reality of Bletchley Park. They're joined by Professor Anthony King. Also, race and 'belonging' in an English village. The social anthropologist, Katharine Tyler, explores the attitudes of white residents to their British Asian neighbours in a semi suburban village in the Midlands.Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Segregation: a Global History of Divided Cities' Laurie Taylor talks to Carl Nightingale, the author of a groundbreaking new book about the ideology and practice of racial segregation in the city. Traversing continents and millennia, he analyses the urban divide from its imperial origins to postwar suburbanisation; from the racially split city of Calcutta to the American South in the age of Jim Crow. Finally, he considers the extent to which separation by race continues to deform the contemporary city. Also, the sociologist Malcolm Brynin, charts the causes and consequences of pay gaps between different ethnic groups in the UK.Producer: Jayne Egerton.

'Odd Couples' - friendships which cross the boundaries of gender and sexuality. A new book challenges the widespread assumption that men and women are fundamentally different and can only forge significant bonds within romantic relationships. It charts the deep friendships between gay men and straight women, and also between lesbians and straight men. Laurie Taylor talks to the sociologist, Anna Muraco, who claims that such 'intersectional' friendships serve as as a barometer for shifting social and sexual norms. The UK sociologist, Brian Heaphy joins the discussion. Also, an in depth study of the centrality of drinking to student identity. Its author, Maria Piacentini, discusses the ways in which young people neutralise feelings of guilt and stigma regarding their alcohol consumption. Producer: Jayne Egerton.

What has cause the Italian family to decline so fast? What are the prospects for encouraging Italians to start having more children? Laurie is joined in the studio by three experts in order to discuss his explorations of the family in Italy. Geoff Andrews, David Gilmour and Annalisa Piras give their views on what has caused the Italian crisis and what hopes there are for the future. Producer: Charlie Taylor.

Italy, home to the Pope and the Holy See, perhaps the most Catholic of all countries, is undergoing a peculiarly un-Catholic crisis; it now has one of the lowest birth rates in the world. There are so few children being born that if the current trend persists, traditional Italians are at risk of dying out in just a handful of generations. How can the nation famed for Romanticism, for enormous affectionate families, for Mamma Mia and for an enviable certainty that all you need is good food, good wine and your family around you, be the same nation that no longer gives birth? Laurie travels to Milan to unpick the tangled interactions between the individual, the family, the church and the state and discovers why Italians are delaying parenthood and in many cases rejecting having a family altogether. The first of three special editions on the crisis of the Italian family. Producer: Charlie Taylor.

Italy, home to the Pope and the Holy See, perhaps the most Catholic of all countries, is undergoing a peculiarly un-Catholic crisis; it now has one of the lowest birth rates in the world. There are so few children being born that if the current trend persists, traditional Italians are at risk of dying out in just a handful of generations. How can the nation famed for Romanticism, for enormous affectionate families, for Mamma Mia and for an enviable certainty that all you need is good food, good wine and your family around you, be the same nation that no longer gives birth? Laurie travels to the South of Italy and visits the sole-remaining glove maker in Naples, in an attempt to discover whether the Italian family business is heading for extinction. He also explores whether organised crime is a distortion of Italian family values - or their logical extension. Producer: Charlie Taylor.

The first generation of women to establish themselves on Wall Street began their careers in the 1960s. Laurie Taylor hears from Melissa Fisher about her in depth study of the working lives of the women at the heart of America's financial centre, and Liz Bolshaw joins the discussion to bring a comparison with women in The City of London. Also, Beth Hardie joins Laurie to discuss her new report on youth crime in Peterborough called Breaking Rules. Does morality have a role in preventing people committing crime? Her study uncovers its importance. Producer: Charlie Taylor.

What happens when middle class white people move into vibrant, ethnically diverse and challenging areas in inner city London? Emma Jackson talks to Laurie about the developing attitudes of the 'gentrifiers' in Peckham and in Brixton. Also, Irena Grugulis, author of Jobs for the Boys returns to the programme: She address points raised by listeners on her study of networking in the media and discusses the concept of 'social capital'. Producer: Charlie Taylor.

'Jobs for the Boys?' New research presented at the British Sociological Association's 2012 conference claimed that middle class people hoard job opportunities in the UK TV and film industry. In a pre- recorded interview from the conference, Professor Irena Grugulis, suggests to Laurie Taylor that working class people don't get these jobs because they don't have the right accents, clothes, backgrounds or friends. Indeed, it's hard to find an area of the economy where connections and contacts are more significant. But is this mainly due to structural changes in the industry rather than to class based prejudice? The media expert, Sir Peter Bazalgette and Professor of Sociology, Mike Savage, respond to this research and explore nepotism, networking and discrimination in the media world and beyond.Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Advanced CCTV, security cordons and an £80 million pound electric fence: The security impact of the Olympics is already being felt in the London Borough of Newham. Security procedures are some of the most intense and developed in the world, designed to protect not only Olympic visitors but also future residents of the 40,000 new homes due to be completed by the end of the decade. Newham is one of the most impoverished areas in the country and the condition of its current residents stands in sharp contrast to the lives of people flooding into the borough for the Olympics. Laurie Taylor talks to Gary Armstrong about a large scale study of security, policing and the impact of the 'Regeneration Olympics' on the lives of the residents of Newham. Also on the programme, Laurie speaks to Jonathan Grix about 'sport under communism' and why East Germany was, for two decades, one of the most successful nations in the Summer and Winter Olympics. Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Building workers constitute between five and ten per cent of the total labour market in almost every country. We rely on them to construct the infrastructure of our societies yet we know little about their culture. The sociologist, Darren Thiel, talks to Laurie Taylor about his study into their every day lives on a London construction site.Also, drawing on research with musicians in the North East of England, Dr Susan Coulson finds that co-operation, creativity and entrepreneurship make uneasy bedfellows.Producer: Jayne Egerton.

From Victorian seances to schemes which upload our minds into cyberspace, there are myriad ways in which human beings have sought to conquer mortality. The philosopher, John Gray, discusses his book "The Immortalisation Commission: Science and the Strange Quest to Cheat Death" with Laurie Taylor. The cultural historian Marina Warner joins the debate. Also, listeners' response to Thinking Allowed's recent discussion on the sociology of 'evil'. Professor Barry Smith, the director of the Institute of Philosophy, explores contrasting analyses of 'evil' within modern thought.Producer: Jayne Egerton.

From the Paris Commune to the 'Right to the City', cities have long been the centre of utopian dreams and protests. They have generated riches, destitution, celebration and organised and often violent protest. Professor David Harvey, the acclaimed social geographer, talks to Laurie Taylor about the urban roots of the contemporary capitalist crisis and the vision of a city for all. They're joined by the sociologist, Sophie Watson. Producer: Charlie Taylor.

'Evil' is a concept more readily associated with theology and psychology than the social sciences. Tabloid headlines denounce 'evil' crimes but offer little in the way of explanation. Indeed, the very term implies that no explanation is possible. But Michel Wieviorka, the leading French sociologist, tells Laurie Taylor why he thinks that 'evil' can and should be subjected to sociological scrutiny. They're joined by Peter Young, Head of Criminology at the University of Kent. Also, the sociologist, Judith Green, talks about her study into the morality of cycling - do cyclists feel they are 'better' than drivers and have drivers conceded the ethical high ground? Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Annawadi is a makeshift settlement in the shadow of luxury hotels near Mumbai's international airport. The Pulitzer prize winning writer, Katherine Boo, spent 4 years hearing the stories of the slum dwellers who stand little chance of joining the 'new' Indian middle class. She talks to Laurie Taylor about her new book "Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death and Hope in a Mumbai Slum". Also, the sociologist, Jeff Kidder, highlights new research which analyses why so many Americans are morally opposed to taxation. They're joined by British sociologist, Peter Taylor Gooby, who's researched British attitudes to tax. Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Kinship is a key term in Anthropology. It describes the genealogical and biological ties which bind human beings to each other. The French anthropologist, Maurice Godelier, tells Laurie Taylor about his groundbreaking study into the evolution of kinship as a reality, as well as a concept. He disputes the idea that it constitutes the original building block of society; arguing instead that political and religious allegiances cut across family groups. He also suggests that traditional ideas of 'kinship' are complicated by the modern day transformation in family forms. The celebrated British anthropologists, Henrietta Moore and Adam Kuper, join the debate. Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Laurie Taylor explores new research from this year's British Sociological Association conference. Lisa Mckenzie describes the growth in working class alienation on the St Anne's housing estate in Nottingham. Also, Dr Maria Papapolydorou, considers how class impacts on young peoples choice and experience of friendship.Producer: Jayne Egerton.