Thinking Allowed

Poverty in Britain: Laurie Taylor talks to Joanna Mack, Learning and Teaching producer at the Open University, about the largest ever survey of UK levels of economic and social deprivation. Her co-authored book, 'Breadline Britain..' claims that poverty is at an all time high.Also, claimants who reject work. Andrew Dunn, Senior Lecturer in Social Policy at Lincoln University, has conducted research which suggests that some unemployed people turn down 'undesirable' work, thus choosing to remain in financial hardship.Producer: Jayne Egerton.

The gym: Laurie Taylor explores the social history of the gymnasium with the writer and sociologist, Eric Chaline. Although this 'temple of perfection' appears primarily as a site for producing the 'body beautiful', this study finds it has also been a battleground in political, sexual and cultural wars. They're joined by Louise Mansfield, Sociologist of Sport at Brunel UniversityAlso, tattoos at work: Andrew Timming, Reader in Management at the University of St Andrews, talks about prejudices towards body art in the service sector. Does possession of a tattoo impact on job prospects?Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Gentrification: its impact on working class residents. Laurie Taylor talks to Kirsteen Paton, lecturer in the School of Sociology and Social Policy at the University of Leeds, about her groundbreaking research in a neighbourhood undergoing urban renewal and improvement. Many such studies have focused on middle class lifestyles rather than the experience of less well off members of the community. Are working class residents inevitably displaced by gentrification and must traditional ways of life always disappear? Or can poorer people re-work the process and gain on their own terms? They're joined by Melissa Butcher, lecturer in Human Geography at Birkbeck, University of London.Also, 'sharing the load': the division of domestic labour amongst couples where women are the higher earners. Clare Lyonette, Senior Research Fellow at the University of Warwick, asks if men do more when they earn less.Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Post traumatic stress in male combat veterans: Laurie Taylor talks to Nick Caddick, Research Assistant at Loughborough University, and co-author of a study exploring the relationship between masculinity, militarism and mental health. Do conventional notions of male bravery and resilience impede soldiers' ability to access to support? They're joined by Anthony King, Professor in Sociology at the University of Exeter.Also, managing beds in the NHS. Pressure on beds is an acute challenge to the health service. Davina Allen, Professor of Healthcare Organisation at Cardiff University, discusses her study into bed utilisation from the point of view of UK hospital nurses. How is access to beds granted or denied and who decides?Producer: Natalia Fernandez.

This year, the BBC's Thinking Allowed, in association with the British Sociological Association, launched the second year of its award for a study that has made a significant contribution to ethnography, the in-depth analysis of the everyday life of a culture or sub-culture. Laurie Taylor presents a special edition of Thinking Allowed to mark the announcement of the winner of the 2015 award.Laurie and a team of leading academics - Professor Beverley Skeggs, Professor Adam Kuper, Dr Coretta Phillips and Dr Louise Westmarland - were tasked with judging the study that has made the most significant contribution to ethnography over the past year. Ethnographic studies in the past have often illuminated lives which were little understood or stigmatised such as the urban poor in 1930s Chicago and the mods and rockers of 50s Britain. This year the judges combed through an extraordinary diversity of entries to arrive at a shortlist of 7:Flip-Flop: A Journey Through Globalisation's Backroads by Caroline Knowles.The Social Order of the Underworld: How Prison Gangs Govern the American Penal System by David SkarbekLesbian Lives in Soviet and Post-Soviet Russia by Francesca Stella.Illegality Inc: Clandestine Migration and the Business of Bordering Europe by Ruben Andersson.Songs of the Factory: Pop Music, Culture and Resistance by Marek KorczynskiHuman Rights as War by Other Means: Peace Politics in Northern Ireland by Jennifer Curtis.Educational Binds of Poverty: The Lives of School Children by Ceri Brown.After much passionate and lively debate, the winner can be announced.Producer: Jayne Egerton.

The Ethnography award 'short list': Thinking Allowed, in association with the British Sociological Association, presents a special programme devoted to the academic research which has been short listed for our second annual award for a study that has made a significant contribution to ethnography, the in-depth analysis of the everyday life of a culture or sub culture. Laurie Taylor is joined by three of the judges: Professor Beverley Skeggs, Professor Adam Kuper and Dr Coretta Phillips.Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Free will explored. Laurie Taylor talks to Julian Baggini, writer and Founding Editor of The Philosophers' Magazine, about his latest work which considers the concept of freedom. He argues against the idea that free will is an illusion due to a combination of genes, environment and personal history. Instead he posits a sliding scale of freedom which allows for the possibility of individual agency and responsibility. Also, pets as family: Nickie Charles, Professor and Director of the Centre for the Study of Women and Gender at Warwick University, discusses her study of kinship across the species barrier.Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Making citizens: how countries make public rituals out of endowing new citizens with citizenship. Laurie Taylor talks to Bridget Byrne, Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Manchester, about her in-depth comparative study of citizenship ceremonies. In a mobile, transnational world passports and rights matter now more than ever. So how do states draw and establish the boundaries of citizenship? Using empirical research in the UK, the United States, Canada, Australia, the Netherlands, and Ireland, Dr Byrne roots contemporary concepts of national belonging in colonial history.Family ties in genes and stories: Janice McLaughlin, Professor of Sociology at Newcastle University, discusses her study of families referred to a paediatric genetic service. An increasing number of children are referred for genetic investigation due to physical & learning difficulties. This study found that the clinical discussions which ensue bring family histories to the fore in surprising and unpredictable ways. Sociologists have long recognised the importance of narrative to forming and maintaining family ties. But how are such stories altered as a result of geneticists' involvement in family relations? Which stories can and can't be told?Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Jeans on a journey: Laurie Taylor talks to Andrew Brooks, Lecturer in Development Geography at Kings College London, about his study of the hidden world of fast fashion and second hand clothes. Following a pair of jeans in an around-the-world tour, this research reveals the commodity chains which perpetuate poverty - from Mozambican markets to London's vintage clothing scene.Fur, family and inheritance. Siobhan Magee, Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Edinburgh, discusses her research into the convention of passing down fur clothes from grandmother to granddaughter in the Polish middle class.Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Love, Money and HIV in Kenya. Laurie Taylor talks to Sanyu Mojola, Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Colorado, and author of a study exploring how modern women in developing countries experience sexuality and love. Drawing on a rich variety of interview, ethnographic and survey data from her native country of Kenya, she examines how young African women, who suffer disproportionate rates of HIV infection compared to young African men, navigate their relationships, schooling, employment and financial access in the context of a devastating HIV epidemic and economic inequality.Also, Thomas Thurnell-Read, Lecturer in Sociology at Coventry University, discusses his study of microbreweries and the revival of traditional beer in the UK.Producer: Jayne Egerton.