Thinking Allowed

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.

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.

Laurie Taylor discusses utopia with Professor Russell Jacoby, Professor Barbara Graziosi, Professor Ash Amin and The Bishop of Whitby The Right Reverend Martin Warner.

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.

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.

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.

Laurie Taylor discusses the relationship between politics and business and looks at the influence territory has on gangs and gang culture.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.