
Laurie Taylor explores the latest research into how society works and discusses current ideas on how we live today.
Wed, 22 Feb 12
Duration:
29 mins
There are currently some two and a quarter million students studying in 130 universities across Britain. Laurie discusses what universities are for with intellectual historian Stefan Collini. Martin Parker talks about his work on outlaws crime and culture with Laurie and criminologist Dick Hobbs.
Wed, 15 Feb 12
Duration:
29 mins
Citizens without frontiers, Laurie talks to Engin Isin about the ways in which people embrace acts and causes which transcend national boundaries; He also discusses with Eric Anderson and Lynn Jamieson new research on male students' attitudes to sexual monogamy and explores why men cheat on their partners.
Wed, 8 Feb 12
Duration:
29 mins
We inhabit a precarious world of crisis and calamity which mocks the post war promise of upward mobility, social equality and job security. Cultural theorist Lauren Berlant calls it the 'cruel optimism' of contemporary life; she discusses her contention with Laurie and sociologist, Professor Bev Skeggs. Also, Karen Throsby talks of her ethnographic study of an obesity clinic and the hidden moral element to every aspect of the procedure.
Wed, 1 Feb 12
Duration:
29 mins
Has modern capitalism made us all obsessively competitive? Laurie is joined by Professor Richard Sennett and Philosopher John Gray to discuss how we can learn to cooperate for the benefit of all; James Nicholls talks about the British and booze.
Wed, 25 Jan 12
Duration:
29 mins
Do you doubt they put a man on the moon? Laurie explores conspiracy theories with David Aaronovitch and Jovan Byford. Kate Nash discusses her forthcoming paper on what makes us care for the suffering of strangers.
Wed, 18 Jan 12
Duration:
29 mins
Once a stag night was more than enough, now young men are taking 'stag tours'. Laurie explores new research on the old male ritual with Thomas Thurnell-Read and Owen Jones; and also how men experience the process of childbirth with Alan Dolan.
Wed, 11 Jan 12
Duration:
29 mins
Cosmetic surgery tourism Ruth Holliday and Jacqueline Sanchez-Taylor tell Laurie why more people are combining a holiday with a nip and tuck. Debt is even older than money, David Graeber tells Laurie about his anthropological study of 5,000 years of Debt.
Wed, 4 Jan 12
Duration:
29 mins
What happens when one uniform is imposed on a hospital? Stephen Timmons tells Laurie. Also, the increasingly military methods of urban policing: Stephen Graham and Melissa Butcher discuss.
Wed, 28 Dec 11
Duration:
29 mins
More people are sharing households than ever before. Laurie continues his exploration of private life as he and two sociologist Esther Dermott and Josh Richards visit the home of 6 young adults who live together.
Wed, 21 Dec 11
Duration:
29 mins
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.
Wed, 14 Dec 11
Duration:
29 mins
Laurie Taylor explores the idea of the Tipping Point with Tim Clark and Pat Waugh from Durham University and Alex Bentley from Bristol University who are all involved in major Tipping Points project at Durham; they are joined by Dr Shahidha Bari from Queen Mary, London.
Wed, 7 Dec 11
Duration:
29 mins
Laurie Taylor examines research into the advice offered to parents with Judith Suissa and Frank Furedi, 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.
Wed, 30 Nov 11
Duration:
29 mins
Laurie Taylor is joined by Dr Adam Swift to discuss new research about the popularly held notion that grammar schools aid social mobility. Laurie also explores opera fanatics at the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires and compares them to fans in Cardiff, with Claudio Benzecry and Paul Atkinson.
Wed, 23 Nov 11
Duration:
29 mins
Laurie Taylor talks to Kip Jones about his research on the challenges faced by older gay men and lesbians who live in rural areas in England and Wales. Laurie also discusses protests over art and culture in America with US sociologist, Steven Tepper and Jo Glanville, the editor of Index on Censorship.
Wed, 16 Nov 11
Duration:
29 mins
Laurie Taylor talks to Dr Daniel Burdsey about race and the British seaside. And Laurie 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.
Wed, 9 Nov 11
Duration:
29 mins
Laurie Taylor talks to Dr Lee Miller about her paper 'Hazards of Neo-Liberalism: Delayed Electric Power Restoration after Hurricane Ike'. He also explores new research examining the motives of middle class parents who deliberately send their children to failing or under-performing schools with Professor Diane Reay and journalist Melissa Benn.
Wed, 2 Nov 11
Duration:
29 mins
Laurie also examines an apparent rise in heterosexual men kissing other men, with Professor Eric Anderson; Laurie also explores Professor Steven Pinker's notion of a decline in human violence with Professor Anthony O'Hear.
Wed, 26 Oct 11
Duration:
29 mins
Samaya Farooq tells Laurie on her new study of muslim sports women who combine faith and fitness. Also, Henrietta Moore with a positive take on globalisation.
Wed, 19 Oct 11
Duration:
29 mins
Laurie Taylor explores impartiality in TV political interviewing with Professor Ian Hutchby and Lis Howell. Laurie also talks to Professor Michael Keevak about his new book Becoming Yellow: A short history of racial thinking.
Wed, 12 Oct 11
Duration:
29 mins
Laurie Taylor talks to Dr Ian Goldin about his book on immigration which argues that successful societies need immigrants. Laurie also talks to Thierry Côté author of 'Popular Musicians and Their Songs as Threats to National Security; Prof John Street, author of Music and Politics joins in the discussion.
Wed, 5 Oct 11
Duration:
29 mins
Laurie Taylor talks to Marc DiPaolo and Matthew Sweet about war politics and comic strip superheroes. He also examines the importance of surnames especially for children, explored in a new article by Dr Hayley Davies from Kings College London.
Wed, 28 Sep 11
Duration:
29 mins
Laurie Taylor explores new research into income mobility and the dynamics of poverty with Stephen Jenkins and John Holmwood. Also, the ups and downs of New York tour guides with Jonathan Wynn.
Wed, 21 Sep 11
Duration:
29 mins
Professor Laurie Taylor examines the history and motivation of suicidal people with sociologists Ben Fincham from the University of Sussex and Dr Mike Shiner from the London School of Economics.Laurie also talks to Professor Carol Smart From Manchester University about family secrets and memories.
Wed, 14 Sep 11
Duration:
29 mins
Does being beautiful help your career? Laurie hears about two new studies from Daniel Hamermesh and Catherine Hakim. Also Louise Westmarland on tales from criminologists.
Wed, 7 Sep 11
Duration:
28 mins
In the third of Laurie's sociological inspections of listeners' homes he visits the house of a nuclear family in Preston. Sociologists Jacqui Gabb and Peter Bramham accompany him.
Wed, 31 Aug 11
Duration:
28 mins
In the second of Laurie's sociological inspections of listeners' homes he visits the house of someone living alone in the countryside of Argyll and Bute. Sociologists Roona Simpson and Bren Neale accompany him.
Wed, 24 Aug 11
Duration:
28 mins
How do modern listeners live? In a sepcial edition Laurie and two experts conduct a sociological inspection of a multi generational family home.
Thu, 18 Aug 11
Duration:
28 mins
Are parents to blame for children being involved in gangsd? Laurei hears new research from Judith Aldridge and Jon Shute. Also, Gordon Matthews' study of Chungking Mansions in Hong Kong.
Wed, 10 Aug 11
Duration:
29 mins
How do young people use mobile phones in their intimate relationships? Emma Bond tells Lurie about her new research. Also, David Byrne and Teofilio Ruiz on Teo's new book The Terror Of History.
Wed, 3 Aug 11
Duration:
28 mins
Roger Luckhurst and Marina Warner discuss the myth of the mummy's curse and Audrey Linkman considers the relationship between photography and death
Wed, 27 Jul 11
Duration:
28 mins
Is there a better way to judge the development of a country than to measure its GDP? The philosopher Martha Nussbaum tells Laurie about her 'human capabilities' approach.
Wed, 20 Jul 11
Duration:
29 mins
Why do we feel it so keenly when our privacy gets invaded? Christena Nippert-Eng talks about her new study of secrets and their betrayal. Also, Mirca Madianou on migrant Fillipina workers parenting their children by mobile phone.
Wed, 13 Jul 11
Duration:
29 mins
Laurie explores the riots of Liverpool 30 years on with Richard Philips and Diane Frost. He talks abotu political influence on children with Dorothy Moss.
Wed, 6 Jul 11
Duration:
29 mins
Comedy is often seen as a social leveller. But new research by Sam Friedman suggests comedic taste is linked to cultural snobbery. Also, Melissa Gregg's new book explores the the blurring of boundaries between work and home.
Wed, 29 Jun 11
Duration:
29 mins
What happens to Goths when they get older? Paul Hodkinson tells lauire. Also, is the working class being demonised? Owen Jones and Imogen Tyler join Laurie to discuss.
Wed, 22 Jun 11
Duration:
28 mins
One on 3 of us claims to be suffering from lack of sleep - what social pressures are encroaching on our time in bed? Laurie speaks to Simon Williams. Also, how the media and judiciary react to women who kill: Louise Westmarland and Lizzie Seal.
Wed, 15 Jun 11
Duration:
29 mins
Should Sociology be founded on the study of Utopias? Ruth Levitas tells laurie that H.G.Wells thought so - and he was right. Also, Steven Connor and Michael Bywater on how the thigns in your pockets have magical meanings.
Wed, 8 Jun 11
Duration:
28 mins
Dirt, filth and why we like to be clean: A special edition recorded with an audience at the Wellcome Collection. Laurie talks to Amanda Vickery, Martin Rowson and Adam Kuper.
Wed, 1 Jun 11
Duration:
29 mins
What impact did Hurricane Katrina have on family break up in New Orleans? Laurie speaks to Michael Rendall. Also how have the former communist countries of Eastern Europe deal with the memories of their history? James Mark and Jovan Byford discuss.
Wed, 25 May 11
Duration:
29 mins
Is Playboy really an ally to the feminist cause? Carrie Pitzulo and Angela McRobbie join Laurie to discuss. Also, are celebrities putting young people off politics? A new report from Sanna Inthorn.
Wed, 18 May 11
Duration:
29 mins
What remains for ever unsaid at the graveside? Kate Woddthorpe discusses her latest research. Also Sophie Watson and Matthew Gandy join Laurie to discuss the future of cities.
Wed, 11 May 11
Duration:
29 mins
Britian and Russia lock up more young people than any other European country. Mary McAuley tells Laurie of her comparative study of their young offender institutions. Also, the paranormal and popular culture - Annette Hill and Matthew Sweet join Laurie to discuss.
Wed, 4 May 11
Duration:
29 mins
How do the poor talk about poverty? Laurie talks to Tracy Shildrick about her study of he underprivileged in Teesside. Also the radical nature of gardening with George McKay and Tim Jordan
Wed, 27 Apr 11
Duration:
29 mins
Does making things really make us happy? How does craft contribute to bringing people together? David Gauntlett and Richard Sennett join Laurie to discuss
Wed, 20 Apr 11
Duration:
29 mins
Laurie speaks to Valerie Walkerdine about the impact of redundancy on a former steel town and hears from Vicki Harman about her study of ballroom dancing as he visits the British Sociological Association's 60th Conference.
Wed, 13 Apr 11
Duration:
29 mins
Mary Gethins tells Laurie about her in-depth study of Catholic police working in Northern Ireland. He discusses Facebook in Trinidad with Daniel Miller and David Wall.
Wed, 6 Apr 11
Duration:
29 mins
Street Politics: protests, policing, revolution and just getting about - Leif Jerram and John Clarke discuss how the geography of cities have contributed to the development of society. Laurie also talks to Jeffrey Alenxander about 'perfoming' the revolution in Tahrir Square.
Wed, 30 Mar 11
Duration:
29 mins
Does organised crime really spread into new territories? Federico Varese tells Laurie about the capacities and limitation of the Mafia. Also live music has overtaken recorded in terms of revenue - Simon Frith and Martin Cloonan tell Laurie why.
Wed, 23 Mar 11
Duration:
29 mins
Professor Laurie Taylor discusses the influence of the 19th Century Temperance Movement and examines the notion of power and prosperity shifting to the frozen North.
Wed, 16 Mar 11
Duration:
29 mins
In a special edition, Laurie speaks to the cultural theorist Stuart Hall about his ideas on politics, national identity and multiculturalism.
Wed, 9 Mar 11
Duration:
29 mins
Call centre workers in India are trained to emulate their callers. Laurie hears from Shehzad Nadeem about this leads to a parallel hybrid culture of westernised names and habits in India. Also, Marek Kohn discusses listeners reactions to the idea that the quest for happiness makes us unhappy.
Wed, 2 Mar 11
Duration:
29 mins
What is the legacy of a poor person? A new study by Patricia Drentea finds that it is something she calls 'ethical capital. Also, Laurie hears that we shouldn't worry about not being happy. Pascal Bruckner says the emphasis on banishing suffering only makes us miserable.
Wed, 23 Feb 11
Duration:
29 mins
What is the work experience of the illegal immigrants taking part in the British economy? Laurie hears about a new report from David Whyte. Also, is the American Death Penalty an anomaly in an age of abolition? David Garland and Ken MacDonald join Laurie to discuss.
Wed, 16 Feb 11
Duration:
29 mins
How do Islamic societies respond to the perceived threat of capitalis? Charles Tripp tells Laurie. Also, Sex Before the Sexual Revolution, Laurie hears of a new study of England between the sheets between the wars.
Wed, 9 Feb 11
Duration:
29 mins
How does class impact men's health? Alan Dolan tells Laurie about his new study. Also the phenomenon of plastic surgery in Brazil, where beauty is a right and the poor can get 'bum lifts' and 'nose jobs' for free. Alex Edmonds talks about his book Pretty Modern.
Wed, 2 Feb 11
Duration:
29 mins
How has the place of the bicycle changed in British Culture? Iain Sinclair tells Laurie. Also a new study on Second Homes by Chris Paris, discussed with Susan Smith.
Wed, 26 Jan 11
Duration:
29 mins
How to get ahead in Politcs - Biol Jones talks to Laurie about shinning up the greasy pole. Also, do freedom and equality sometimes conflict? A.C.Grayling and Ronald Dworkin (author of Justice For Hedgehogs) tell Laurie any supposed conflict is just a misunderstanding.
Wed, 19 Jan 11
Duration:
28 mins
Why do people give more money to natural disasters than they do to those they perceive as man-made? A new report by Hanna Zagefka. Also, brutal punishment attacks in West Belfast - why do they have no impact in stopping youth deviance? Laurie and Dick Hobbs talk to Hannah Hamill about her new study.
Wed, 12 Jan 11
Duration:
28 mins
Laurie Taylor talks to David Held - Graham Wallace Professor of Political Science at the London School of Economics about his philosophical and practical account of contemporary global politics from a cosmopolitan perspective. Laurie also talks to Steven Shapin - Franklin L. Ford Professor of the History of Science at Harvard University about diatetics - a study of the relationship between our bodies, our selves, our place in the world and our knowledge of those things.
Wed, 5 Jan 11
Duration:
29 mins
New research shows secondary school boys to be more relaxed about their gender identity than was expected, Mark McCormack discusses with Laurie. Also it Dr Who a leftish, anti-American, radical polemic? Marc DiPaolo and Matthew Sweet debate.
Wed, 29 Dec 10
Duration:
29 mins
Laurie Taylor discusses utopia with Professor Russell Jacoby, Professor Barbara Graziosi, Professor Ash Amin and The Bishop of Whitby The Right Reverend Martin Warner.
Wed, 22 Dec 10
Duration:
28 mins
Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, children gathered beneath a sparking tree, a table groaning with turkey.....the cliches of the season are as alive and well as they were in Dickens time. But does everybody have equal access to the bounty of Christmas and the good will of others? The geographer, Steve Millington, finds that the distaste some middle class people feel for 'excessive' displays of xmas lights in working class areas reveals a narrative of class hostility which echoes Victorian attitudes to the 'undeserving' poor. He joins Laurie Taylor, the sociologist Bev Skeggs and the historian Julie Marie Strange to explore Christmas, compassion and class, then and now.
Wed, 15 Dec 10
Duration:
29 mins
Why did people say the First World War would be over by Christmas, and did they believe it? Laurie talks to Stuart Hallifax. Also Race and Sport: The creation of the stereotype of the 'black athlete', Ben Carrington and Bret St Louis discuss its impact.
Wed, 8 Dec 10
Duration:
28 mins
How did Cuba manage to become a world leader in bioscience despite and economic blockade and a developing world economy? Laurie talks to Simon Reid-Henry. Also what does the term 'moral panic' mean and is it overused. Jewel Thomas and Chas Critcher discuss.
Wed, 1 Dec 10
Duration:
29 mins
Laurie Taylor discusses the relationship between politics and business and looks at the influence territory has on gangs and gang culture.
Wed, 24 Nov 10
Duration:
29 mins
Laurie Taylor explores the notion of a 'civic core'- people who volunteer in their community and what they do. He also examines new research on the public convenience and finds it to be anything but convenient.
Wed, 17 Nov 10
Duration:
28 mins
Laurie Taylor talks to Professor Philip Smith about his new research looking at public incivility and examines the impact of the AK-47 (the Kalashnikov rifle) with former US Marine and writer C.J Chivers and military historian Richard Holmes
Wed, 10 Nov 10
Duration:
29 mins
Laurie Taylor talks to Dan Hind about his new book examining how best to promote the idea of citizen engagement. They're joined by Jesse Norman, Conservative MP for Hereford and South Herefordshire. Laurie also discusses the UK and US trade publishing industry with Cambridge sociology academic Professor John B. Thompson.
Wed, 3 Nov 10
Duration:
29 mins
Laurie Taylors talks to Dr Sharon Shalev about her new research examining the rise of the use of solitary confinement in American prisons. They are joined by Professor Andrew Coyle, a prison studies expert from Kings College London. Laurie also discusses the hegemony of 'the West' with Professor Ian Morris whose new book 'Why The West Rules- For Now' examines East/West power play through history and predicts a rollcoaster future.
Wed, 27 Oct 10
Duration:
29 mins
Professor Laurie Taylor talks to Pat Thane, Research Professor in Contemporary History at King's College London, about her new research looking at the notion of the ideal family. He also talks to Professor Ian Angell about his new book which attacks the certainty that some scientists have about their work and criticises the application of scientific 'truth' to areas such as economics, computer profiling and the social sciences.
Wed, 20 Oct 10
Duration:
29 mins
Professor Laurie Taylor examines new research which looks at homophobia and football. He also explores the growth of global higher education, looking at academic migration around the World.
Wed, 13 Oct 10
Duration:
29 mins
Professor Laurie Taylor examines migration and happiness centred on the relationship between income and wellbeing. He also looks at being paid to be happy- with a focus on hairdressing.
Wed, 6 Oct 10
Duration:
29 mins
Professor Laurie Taylor examines the sociological background to an experimental drugs trial that went wrong and talks to an American academic about the stigma attached to people accused of communist association or activity during the the McCarthy era.
Wed, 29 Sep 10
Duration:
29 mins
Professor Laurie Taylor explores the history and culture of Liverpool Football Club and examines the experiences of Slovakian au pairs working in England.
Wed, 22 Sep 10
Duration:
29 mins
Professor Laurie Taylor explores the future of capitalism with economic thinkers Anatole Kaletsky and Ha-Joon Chang. And he talks to Pulitzer prize winning writer Mariylnne Robinson about the tension between religion and science.
Wed, 15 Sep 10
Duration:
29 mins
85% of secondarty schools now have CCTV, Emmeline Taylor has asked them how they feel about that. Also Laurie talks to John L Locke and John Mullan about the time-honoured practice of eavesdropping.
Wed, 8 Sep 10
Duration:
29 mins
Hate Crime, filming in prisons, living out of skips...Laurie explores some of the diverse strands of crime research at the British Society of Criminology Conference at Leicester University.
Wed, 1 Sep 10
Duration:
28 mins
Laurie Taylor discusses the decline in French culture with the writer Donald Morrison and former French Minister for European Affairs Noelle Lenoir.
The BBC Podcasts are for your personal non-commercial use only.
All title, ownership rights and intellectual property rights in and to the BBC Podcasts shall remain the property of the BBC or third parties. You may not edit, alter, adapt or add to the BBC Podcast in any way. The BBC Podcasts are made available by the BBC on an "as is" and "as available" basis and the BBC gives no warranty of any kind in relation to the BBC Podcast. To the maximum extent permitted by law the BBC will not be liable for any loss or damage which you may suffer as a result of, or connected to, the download or use of the BBC Podcasts.
Bookmark this page:
© 2012
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more.
This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.