Thinking Allowed

The menswear revolution: Laurie Taylor explores the transformation in men's clothing with Jay McCauley Bowstead, lecturer in Cultural and Historical Studies at London College of Fashion. Also taking part is John Harvey, Life Fellow at the University of Cambridge, and author of a book charting the history of men's dress from the toga to the suit. They're joined by Julia Twigg, Professor of Social Policy and Sociology at the University of Kent, who talks about her research on older men and fashion.Producer: Jayne Egerton.

The winner of the 2018 BSA/Thinking Allowed Ethnography award. Laurie Taylor talks to Anna Lora-Wainwright, Associate Professor in the Human Geography of China at the University of Oxford, and author of 'Resigned Activism: Living with Pollution in Rural China' . Her study revealed the health consequences of drinking tainted water and breathing visibly dirty air in villages effected by phosphorous mining & fertiliser production, lead and zinc mining and electronic waste production. Residents suffered a range of ailments, from arthritis to nosebleeds, in areas with a high incidence of cancer. Her extensive fieldwork found that villagers often felt powerless to challenge the 'slow violence' and human costs of rapid industrialisation - their activism was tempered by resignation. Isabel Hilton, international journalist and broadcaster joins the discussion. Isabel is the founder and editor of chinadialogue.net, an online publication that focuses on the environment and climate change. She was awarded the OBE for her work in raising environmental awareness in China.Producer: Jayne Egerton.

This year's winning entries explored complex lives and worlds. How did Dalits, member of India's lowest caste, shake the political establishment in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu? What's the impact on the health of people living in a heavily polluted area in rural China? How do Liberian refugees earn a living in a refugee camp in Ghana? Laurie discusses this year's shortlist with two of his fellow judges - Hilary Pilkington, winner of the 2017 award and Professor of Sociology at the University of Manchester and Nayanika Mookherjee, shortlisted for the 2015 award and Associate Professor (Reader) in Socio-Cultural Anthropology at Durham University.Producer: Jayne Egerton.

'Mixed-race' is the fastest growing ethnic group in the UK. But how do multiracial parents identify their own children? When is a mixed-race heritage passed down to the next generation and when is it not? Miri Song, Professor of Sociology at the University of Kent tackles these questions in her new book, Multiracial Parents: Mixed Families, Generational Change, and the Future of Race (2017). Joining the discussion is socio-linguist Marta Wilczek-Watson whose work on trans-national relationships finds there has traditionally been too great a focus on the apparent difficulties faced by couples who come from different countries. And we hear from one of those tasked with recording the UK's shifting demographics in the British Census, Pete Benton, Director of Population and Public Policy Operations at the Office of National Statistics.

'Hook up' culture - Laurie explores a new sexual culture on American campuses and asks if it has a British counterpart. Casual sex in higher education has a long history but Lisa Wade, Professor of Sociology at Occidental College Los Angeles, suggests a significant shift in the culture - one which benefits some students at the expense of others. They're joined by Zoe Strimpel, a researcher and historian from Sussex University, who has analysed the changing nature of dating. Also, Josue Ortega, lecturer in economics at the University of Essex, analyses the impact of online dating. Tinder and other such apps are often thought to be routes to temporary hook ups. But this new study suggests that these tools may actually be helping more people to get together in new ways, and for good. Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Sacrifice - Laurie Taylor explores the many meanings of the term. Terry Eagleton, Distinguished Professor of Literature at the University of Lancaster, argues that sacrifice has a bad press in the modern age. The notion of giving anything up fails to appeal in a world devoted to self-fulfilment. But is there more to sacrifice than burnt offerings and self-denial? Can it ever be radical? Also, Chetan Bhatt, Director for the Centre on Human Rights at the LSE, examines the idea of sacrifice as invoked by Salafi-Jihadist suicide bombers. Does the inherently de secular nature of sacrifice inevitably pose the risk of promoting political violence? Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Racial inequality now - what explains its persistence? Nasar Meer, Professor of Race, Identity and Citizenship at the University of Edinburgh asks why racial and ethnic disparities continue to be fundamental to our society. Also, women and political language. Deborah Cameron, Rupert Murdoch Professorship in Language and Communication at Oxford University, discusses her study of the speech styles of the leaders of the main political parties in the 2015 General Election. (The latter was a pre-recorded interview which was transmitted in an earlier Thinking Allowed. The billed interview with Miri Song, Professor of Sociology at the University of Kent, had to be abandoned due to problems with the line from America). Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Has Democracy Failed Women?' Drude Dahlerup, Professor of Political Science at Stockholm University asks why women are still under-represented in politics, from the UK to the Global South. Some argue that we are on the right track to full gender equality in politics, while others talk about women hitting the glass ceiling or being included in institutions with shrinking power. Also, how 'normality' is established in language. Do the words we use-and don't use-reinforce dominant cultural norms? What are the unspoken assumptions behind terms like "male nurse," and "working mother"? Eviatar Zerubavel, Distinguished Professor of Sociology at Rutgers University, explores the word choices we make every day, without even realizing it, and exposes the subtly encoded ways we talk about race, gender, sexual orientation and more. Producer: Jayne Egerton.

The white working class - are they the left behind? Noam Gidron, a Fellow at the Niehaus Center for Globalization and Governance at Princeton University, asks if the right wing, populist vote is a reflection of the declining social status of this group. He's joined by Gurminder Bhambra, Professor of Postcolonial and Decolonial Studies at the University of Sussex, who argues that a concern with economic disadvantage, when talking about the election of Trump, as well as Brexit, has led to a new 'identity politics' of race - one where class takes second place to 'whiteness'. The writer and broadcaster, Kenan Malik, joins the discussion.Producer: Jayne Egerton.

The politics and meaning of 'alternative' foods: Laura Miller, Associate Professor of Sociology at Brandeis University, discusses her study of 'Natural Foods'. How did what was once a culturally marginal set of ideas evolve from associations with spirituality and bohemian lifestyles to being a mainstream consumer choice? She's joined by Ton Hayward, food writer and broadcaster. Also, Harry West, Professor of Anthropology at the University of Exeter, considers the 'authenticity' of artisanal and heritage foods. Producer: Jayne Egerton.