BBC Sounds - Thinking Allowed - Available Episodes

Motherhood

The politics of motherhood and US mums on the sharp end of the law.

25 Mar 2025,29 mins

Smoking

Smoking in modern Britain and the Soviet Union.

18 Mar 2025,28 mins

Dress Culture

How culture, stigma and discrimination impact dress choices.

11 Mar 2025,28 mins

ECOLOGY

Ecological harms: from the Californian desert to the Salisbury Plain.

04 Mar 2025,28 mins

Crowds

The rich and diverse history of crowds in entertainment, sports and politics.

25 Feb 2025,27 mins

Underwear

From the humorous to the sensual, the hidden story of underwear.

18 Feb 2025,28 mins

Wealth

Offshore finance and a millennial history of the wealthy.

11 Feb 2025,28 mins

Touch

Touch: what a single sense can tell us about changing ideas of intimacy and privacy.

04 Feb 2025,29 mins

Crime Stories

Why do stories about true crime exercise such a grip on the popular imagination?

28 Jan 2025,28 mins

Playgrounds

The social history of the playground.

21 Jan 2025,28 mins

Tech Workers

The hidden exploitation of workers at the heart of artificial intelligence.

05 Nov 2024,28 mins

Food Systems

From tin cans to stretch-wrap, the secret life of food packaging.

29 Oct 2024,28 mins

Meaning of Work

What makes work meaningful, from nurses to lawyers? Also, cleaners' quest for dignity.

22 Oct 2024,28 mins

Sea Travelling

Shipboard travels and maritime maps.

15 Oct 2024,28 mins

Gender and Radicalisation

How does gender influence men and women's participation in extremist politics?

08 Oct 2024,28 mins

Architecture and Hope

Can building design create hope, from high security prisons to homeless hostels?

01 Oct 2024,28 mins

Sight and Power

From Bentham's panopticon and surveillance cameras to conflicts over views of Mount Fuji.

24 Sep 2024,28 mins

Medical Icons

Medical revolutions that transformed out relationship to our bodies and the world.

17 Sep 2024,28 mins

Coffee Culture

Hipster baristas in Philadelphia and Chinese-run espresso bars in Italy.

10 Sep 2024,27 mins

The British Elite

Who runs Britain today? Are they a conservative chumocracy or a different kind of elite?

03 Sep 2024,28 mins

Shopping

From the rise of the mall, to the closure of shops during Covid.

25 Jun 2024,28 mins

The swimming pool

The swimming pool: its iconic role in our society and culture. Also, pool etiquette.

18 Jun 2024,27 mins

The politics of the body

The politics of the body: movement and posture.

11 Jun 2024,29 mins

Opioids

Opioids in the US and UK: from illicit drug heroin to pharmaceutical drugs.

04 Jun 2024,29 mins

Garden Utopias

Garden Utopias: from the suburban privet hedge to guerrilla gardening.

28 May 2024,28 mins

Richard Sennett

Richard Sennett: A conversation with a leading cultural and social thinker.

21 May 2024,27 mins

Anonymity - Self-creation

Laurie Taylor explores hidden and crafted identities.

14 Feb 2024,29 mins

Capitalism

Capitalism: the origins of the word and a survey of attitudes to our economic system.

07 Feb 2024,28 mins

Traditionalism - Russian Orthodox Converts

Traditionalism and Russian Orthodox converts.

31 Jan 2024,28 mins

THE ENGLISH

THE ENGLISH: How the country house became ‘English’, and changing notions of England.

24 Jan 2024,29 mins