Thinking Allowed

What happens when middle class white people move into vibrant, ethnically diverse and challenging areas in inner city London? Emma Jackson talks to Laurie about the developing attitudes of the 'gentrifiers' in Peckham and in Brixton. Also, Irena Grugulis, author of Jobs for the Boys returns to the programme: She address points raised by listeners on her study of networking in the media and discusses the concept of 'social capital'. Producer: Charlie Taylor.

'Jobs for the Boys?' New research presented at the British Sociological Association's 2012 conference claimed that middle class people hoard job opportunities in the UK TV and film industry. In a pre- recorded interview from the conference, Professor Irena Grugulis, suggests to Laurie Taylor that working class people don't get these jobs because they don't have the right accents, clothes, backgrounds or friends. Indeed, it's hard to find an area of the economy where connections and contacts are more significant. But is this mainly due to structural changes in the industry rather than to class based prejudice? The media expert, Sir Peter Bazalgette and Professor of Sociology, Mike Savage, respond to this research and explore nepotism, networking and discrimination in the media world and beyond.Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Advanced CCTV, security cordons and an £80 million pound electric fence: The security impact of the Olympics is already being felt in the London Borough of Newham. Security procedures are some of the most intense and developed in the world, designed to protect not only Olympic visitors but also future residents of the 40,000 new homes due to be completed by the end of the decade. Newham is one of the most impoverished areas in the country and the condition of its current residents stands in sharp contrast to the lives of people flooding into the borough for the Olympics. Laurie Taylor talks to Gary Armstrong about a large scale study of security, policing and the impact of the 'Regeneration Olympics' on the lives of the residents of Newham. Also on the programme, Laurie speaks to Jonathan Grix about 'sport under communism' and why East Germany was, for two decades, one of the most successful nations in the Summer and Winter Olympics. Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Building workers constitute between five and ten per cent of the total labour market in almost every country. We rely on them to construct the infrastructure of our societies yet we know little about their culture. The sociologist, Darren Thiel, talks to Laurie Taylor about his study into their every day lives on a London construction site.Also, drawing on research with musicians in the North East of England, Dr Susan Coulson finds that co-operation, creativity and entrepreneurship make uneasy bedfellows.Producer: Jayne Egerton.

From Victorian seances to schemes which upload our minds into cyberspace, there are myriad ways in which human beings have sought to conquer mortality. The philosopher, John Gray, discusses his book "The Immortalisation Commission: Science and the Strange Quest to Cheat Death" with Laurie Taylor. The cultural historian Marina Warner joins the debate. Also, listeners' response to Thinking Allowed's recent discussion on the sociology of 'evil'. Professor Barry Smith, the director of the Institute of Philosophy, explores contrasting analyses of 'evil' within modern thought.Producer: Jayne Egerton.

From the Paris Commune to the 'Right to the City', cities have long been the centre of utopian dreams and protests. They have generated riches, destitution, celebration and organised and often violent protest. Professor David Harvey, the acclaimed social geographer, talks to Laurie Taylor about the urban roots of the contemporary capitalist crisis and the vision of a city for all. They're joined by the sociologist, Sophie Watson. Producer: Charlie Taylor.

'Evil' is a concept more readily associated with theology and psychology than the social sciences. Tabloid headlines denounce 'evil' crimes but offer little in the way of explanation. Indeed, the very term implies that no explanation is possible. But Michel Wieviorka, the leading French sociologist, tells Laurie Taylor why he thinks that 'evil' can and should be subjected to sociological scrutiny. They're joined by Peter Young, Head of Criminology at the University of Kent. Also, the sociologist, Judith Green, talks about her study into the morality of cycling - do cyclists feel they are 'better' than drivers and have drivers conceded the ethical high ground? Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Annawadi is a makeshift settlement in the shadow of luxury hotels near Mumbai's international airport. The Pulitzer prize winning writer, Katherine Boo, spent 4 years hearing the stories of the slum dwellers who stand little chance of joining the 'new' Indian middle class. She talks to Laurie Taylor about her new book "Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death and Hope in a Mumbai Slum". Also, the sociologist, Jeff Kidder, highlights new research which analyses why so many Americans are morally opposed to taxation. They're joined by British sociologist, Peter Taylor Gooby, who's researched British attitudes to tax. Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Kinship is a key term in Anthropology. It describes the genealogical and biological ties which bind human beings to each other. The French anthropologist, Maurice Godelier, tells Laurie Taylor about his groundbreaking study into the evolution of kinship as a reality, as well as a concept. He disputes the idea that it constitutes the original building block of society; arguing instead that political and religious allegiances cut across family groups. He also suggests that traditional ideas of 'kinship' are complicated by the modern day transformation in family forms. The celebrated British anthropologists, Henrietta Moore and Adam Kuper, join the debate. Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Laurie Taylor explores new research from this year's British Sociological Association conference. Lisa Mckenzie describes the growth in working class alienation on the St Anne's housing estate in Nottingham. Also, Dr Maria Papapolydorou, considers how class impacts on young peoples choice and experience of friendship.Producer: Jayne Egerton.