Thinking Allowed

Latest Episodes:

Northern Ireland Sectarianism and Civility; The Global Pigeon Jul 03, 2013

Show notes

The Global Pigeon - our complex and contradictory relationship with the quintessential city bird. Laurie Taylor talks to Colin Jerolmack, an American sociologist, who spent over 3 years studying pigeon/human interaction across 3 continents. Pigeons were domesticated thousands of years ago as messengers, as well as a source of food. These days they're either treated as a nuisance or scarcely noticed on our city streets and roofs. This new study uncovers the many and versatile lives of these anonymous looking birds; the ways in which people have kept them for sport, for pleasure and profit: From the 'pigeon wars' waged by breeding enthusiasts in the skies over Brooklyn to the Million Dollar Pigeon Race held every year in South Africa. The author argues that our interactions with pigeons offer surprising insights into city life, community, culture, and politics.

Also, sectarianism and civility in Northern Ireland - Dr Lisa Smyth explores how mothers from different religious communities 'get along' in the shared spaces of inner city Belfast.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Welfare reform; Crime in the Armed Forces Jun 26, 2013

Show notes

Crime in the Armed Forces - Laurie Taylor talks to Emeritus Professor of History, Clive Emsley, about his pioneering, historical study into criminal offending by members of British armed forces both during and immediately after the two world wars of the 20th century, and concluding in the present day.

For a quarter of the 20th century, the UK had large conscripted armed forces and it is these services, and in particular the Army, that are the principal focus of this study. Emsley argues that the forces "reflect the society from which they come, both the good and the bad", pointing out that it's predominantly made up of younger men, the social group that commits the most crime. He also examines two popular assumptions about crime and war; namely, that crime decreases when wars begin as young men - those likeliest to commit crimes - are swept up into the forces; and that crime goes up at the end of war as men brutalised by combat returned to the civilian world but, unable to cope with 'peacetime', engage in crime and violence. Dr Deirdre MacManus, from King's College, joins the discussion, having recently completed a study into the relationship between combat experience and violent crime amongst British soldiers returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Also, Ruth Patrick's research into the lived experiences of welfare reform. She's interviewed a range of out of work benefits claimants between 2011 and 2013. Talking to single parents being moved from Income Support onto Jobseeker's Allowance, disabled people waiting to be migrated off Incapacity Benefit and onto Employment and Support Allowance, and young jobseekers experiencing the new Jobcentre/Work Programme and sanctions regime, her study gives a unique insight into the impact of a revolution in 'welfare' provision on 'real' people.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Remembering Diana; Ethnography Award Jun 19, 2013

Show notes

Remembering Diana - did Princess Diana's death lead to a major shift in British culture? Professor of Sociology, Vic Seidler, talks to Laurie Taylor about his new book which analyses the repercussions of Diana, Princess of Wales', death in 1997. He argues that the public outpourings of grief and displays of emotion prompted new kinds of identification and belonging in which communities came together regardless of race, class, gender and sexuality and helped to make visible changes in what might be called 'New' or 'post-traditional' Britain. Did her unexpected death see a challenge to 'stiff upper lip' reserve and to the typical split made in modernity between reason and emotion? The writer, Bea Campbell, who has also written about the Diana 'phenomenon', joins the discussion. Also, the anthropologist, Henrietta Moore discusses the history and significance of Ethnographic research.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Scottish nationalism and identity; Austerity Jun 12, 2013

Show notes

Does Austerity Kill? Laurie Taylor talks to political economist, David Stuckler, about the human costs of the financial crisis as documented in his book 'The Body Economic' (co-authored with Sanju Basu) -the culmination of ten years research. They're joined by David Smith, Economics Editor of the Sunday Times.

We're well aware of the extreme costs of banking crisis in terms of the wealth of nations, but much less idea of how they affect one of the most central issues of all: our physical and mental health. Why has health in Iceland actually got better whilst it's deteriorated in Greece? From the Great Depression of the 1930s to post communist Russia and the US foreclosure scandal; Dr Stuckler study examines the surprising, seemingly contradictory nature of economic disasters' role in public health. They are joined by David Smith Economic Editor of the Sunday Times.

Also, Nasar Meer discusses his study into ethnic minority Scots' relationship to Scottish Nationalism and identity

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

'Long Hours' work culture; Empty labour Jun 05, 2013

Show notes

Empty labour - international statistics suggest that the average time an employee spends engaged in private activities is 1 and a half to 2 hours a day. Laurie Taylor talks to Roland Paulsen, a Swedish sociologist, who interviewed 43 workers who spent around half their working hours on 'empty labour'. Are such employees merely 'slacking' or are such little' subversions' acts of resistance to the way work appropriates so much of our time? They're joined by the writer, Michael Bywater. By contrast, Jane Sturges, discusses her research into professionals caught up, both reluctantly as well as willingly, in a 'long hours' work culture.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Multicultural Prison; Jellied Eels May 29, 2013

Show notes

The multicultural prison - a unique analysis of the daily lives and interactions of both white and ethnic minority inmates in the closed world of the modern, male prison. Diverse British nationals, foreign. and migrant populations, have been brought into close proximity within prison walls. How do they negotiate their tensions and differences? The criminologist, Coretta Phillips, talks to Laurie Taylor about her empirical research in Rochester Young Offenders' Institution and Maidstone Prison.

Also, reactions to jellied eels. Drawing on a series of ethnographic encounters collected while hanging around at a seafood stand in east London, Alex Rhys Taylor explores the relationship between individual expressions of distaste and the production of class, ethnic and generational forms of distinction.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Live Music - from Dance Hall to the 100 Club May 22, 2013

Show notes

Live music - from Dance Hall to the 100 Club.

The social history of music in Britain since 1950 has long been the subject of nostalgic articles and programmes, but to date there has been no proper scholarly study. The writer and Professor of Music, Simon Frith, is one of the co-authors of the first in a three volume series which addresses this gap. He talks to Laurie Taylor about how the organisation and enjoyment of live music changed between 1950 and 1967 offering new insights into the evolving nature of musical fashions; the impact of developing technologies and the balance of power between live and recorded music businesses. The first volume draws on archival research, a wide range of academic and non-academic sources, participant observation and industry interviews. Dr Catherine Tackley, musician and lecturer, and Caspar Melville, lecturer in Global Cultural Industries, join the debate.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Stammering and Identity; Land of Too Much May 15, 2013

Show notes

Poverty versus abundance in the US - why does America have more poor people than any other developed country? How can its great wealth fail to impact on the 46 million Americans, who, according to official figures, live below the poverty line? US sociologist, , Monica Prasad, suggests some reasons. She talks to Laurie Taylor about her new book, 'The Land of too Much: American Abundance and the Paradox of Poverty", arguing that we can't answer these questions by saying that America has always been a liberal, laissez-faire state - it hasn't. Instead, she claims that a particular tradition of government intervention in America has undermined the development of a European-style welfare state. They're joined by Professor of Social Policy, Peter Taylor-Gooby, who provides a British perspective.

Also, stammering and identity - Dr Clare Butler discusses her interview based research into how people who stammer learn to control, conceal and rise above the stigma of having a style of speech which departs from the norm.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Middle Class Enclaves and Escapes May 08, 2013

Show notes

Middle class enclaves and escapes. A special edition of Thinking Allowed partly recorded at the British Sociological Association's 2013 conference.

Privatised neighbourhoods and lifestyle migration are a global phenomenon. Increasingly, it seems, middle class people with sufficient capital are choosing to 'opt out' of urban environments, or, at least, to shield themselves from their more 'dangerous' elements, namely the poorer residents. Laurie Taylor talks to a range of academics who have researched the various manifestations of this desire for enclaves, escapes and the 'good life'. Can the broader social dynamics and conflicts of a society be understood by examining evolving form of housing and urban flight?

Maggy Lee talks about the rapid expansion of residential tourism and 'lifestyle migration' between Hong Kong and mainland China, as the 'well off' buy up high end, gated communities. Nick Osbaldiston looks at 'lifestyle migrants' in Australia who move to small, mainly coastal communities, representing a middle class 'takeover'. And Ceren Yalcin explores the proliferation of 'sealed off' housing complexes in Istanbul. They're joined by Rowland Atkinson who has done extensive research into gentrification, gated communities and housing inequality.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

British class survey; Tribute to Geoff Pearson May 01, 2013

Show notes

Laurie Taylor discusses the 'Great British Class Survey', a unique piece of research conducted by BBC Lab UK and academics from six different universities. The researchers devised a new way of measuring class, which doesn't define it by occupation but by the different kinds of economic, cultural and social resources or 'capitals' that people possess. But how have other academics with an interest in class reacted to this research? Mike Savage, one of the survey researchers and Professor in Sociology at the University of Essex, debates the merits of this new approach to class stratification with Colin Mills, lecturer in Sociology at Nuffield College, Oxford and Beverly Skeggs, Professor of Sociology at Goldsmiths College, London.

Also, Dick Hobbs, Professor of Sociology at the University of Essex, offers a tribute to the eminent criminologist, Geoff Pearson who died recently.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

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