Society & CultureScience

Thinking Allowed

BBC Radio 4

New research on how society works

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20 episodes
Avg 27 min
English

Episodes 20

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July 7 · 27 min
Ageing and Society
Can we age well today? Laurie Taylor explores healthy ageing and poverty in later life.
June 30 · 27 min
Charity Shops and Pocket Money
What do giving and spending money reveal about everyday life?
June 23 · 28 min
Strikes, Solidarity and South Asian Britain
Strikes, anti-racism and the fight for rights among South Asian Britons.
June 16 · 28 min
Rethinking Sociology: Empire, Knowledge and Connection
Rethinking sociology through empire, inequality and global connections.
June 9 · 27 min
Football and gambling
From grass roots and community cohesion to the costs of gambling on football games.
June 2 · 28 min
Ethics in sociological research
Laurie Taylor discusses the importance of research ethics from prisoners' letters to vlogs
May 26 · 27 min
Suicide, Society and Liveability
What shapes a life that feels worth living? How Durkheim's research is being rethought
March 10 · 28 min
Debt and Wealth Inequality
Living with debt - and has inequality become ingrained? Laurie Taylor hears new research.
March 3 · 27 min
Extreme Sports
Laurie Taylor hears about research into ultra running and women mountaineers.
February 25 · 27 min
The demise of Grand Theory?
Laurie Taylor charts changes in current sociological study with Les Back and Imogen Tyler.
February 17 · 27 min
Gentrification in Detroit and London
Failed gentrification in Detroit and the human cost of urban redevelopment in 1920s London
February 10 · 28 min
Prison violence, sound and survival
A prize-winning study of the sounds of prison life, and an exploration of victimisation.
February 3 · 27 min
The go-along research method
Laurie Taylor explores the value of research done in informal settings and on the move.
January 27 · 27 min
Colour in Film
Laurie Taylor with Swarnavel Eswaran and Kirsty Sinclair Dootson on Indian film-making.
Jul 15, 2025 · 28 min
Dogs
Laurie Taylor on the history of keeping dogs as pets and the politics of dog-human links.
Jul 8, 2025 · 27 min
Learning Disabilities
From cruel jibes to institutional care, a history of people with learning disabilities.
Jul 1, 2025 · 28 min
The Irish in the UK
How Irish nurses shaped the NHS. Also, Irish migrants, in London and the UK.
Jun 24, 2025 · 27 min
Russian Propaganda
How propaganda in Russia has intensified since the war in Ukraine.
Jun 17, 2025 · 28 min
Death
A social history of death in the UK. Also, attitudes to dying in China.
Jun 10, 2025 · 27 min
Objects and Stories
How objects like shoes and watches help tell the history of slavery and wartime atrocities

Showing 1–20 of 20 episodes