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 ...
Feb 21, 2018•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast A Valentine Day's Special. Laurie Taylor explores changing attitudes to infidelity and considers a cross cultural history of rings. Wendy Doniger, Distinguished Service Professor of the History of Religions at the University of Chicago, asks why this piece of circular jewellery keeps re-occurring in myths and stories about seduction, love, sex and betrayal. What can it tell us about the shifting nature of power relations between men and women? She's joined by Adam Kuper, Visiting Professor in An...
Feb 14, 2018•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast Populism - Laurie Taylor explores the origins, meaning and rise of populist politics, across the Left as well as the Right. He's joined by Mukulika Banerjee, Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology, LSE; Luke March, Deputy Head of Politics and International Relations at Edinburgh University and Thomas Osborne, Leverhulme Research Fellow in Liberalism & Political Ethics and Prof of Social & Political Theory at the University of Bristol. Producer: Jayne Egerton.
Feb 07, 2018•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast Stigma - Laurie Taylor explores the origins and meaning of Erving Goffman's famous sociological concept and the ways it's being re-cast by social scientists in the 21st century. He's joined by Graham Scambler, Emeritus Professor of Sociology at University College, London, Lisa Morris, Lecturer in Social Work at the University of Birmingham and Joanna Latimer, Professor of Sociology at the University of York. Producer: Jayne Egerton.
Jan 31, 2018•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast Counter cultural seekers: Laurie Taylor talks to Mark Liechty, Professor of Anthropology at the University of Illinois, Chicago, and author of a new book exploring the origins and meaning of the hippy trail to Kathmandu. Also, slum tourism in Mumbai. Does it de-politicise poverty? Melissa Nisbett, Senior Lecturer in Arts and Cultural Management at Kings College, London, found that many white westerners viewed such visits as personally enriching but saw no need for structural change. Producer: Ja...
Jan 24, 2018•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast Counter cultural seekers and meaning of the hippy trail. Also, slum tourism in Mumbai.
Jan 24, 2018•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast Police culture, socialisation and identity. Laurie Taylor explores the process by which police officers become 'blue'. He's joined by Sarah Charman, a Reader in Criminology at the University of Portsmouth, Carol Cox, Acting Head of the School of Forensic and Applied Sciences at The University of Central Lancashire and Louise Westmarland, Professor of Criminology at the Open University. Producer: Jayne Egerton.
Jan 17, 2018•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast The sensory landscape of the city. Laurie Taylor explores the scenes, sounds, smells and tastes of urban life. He's joined by Daniel Silver, Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Toronto, Alex Rhys-Taylor, Lecturer in Sociology at Goldsmiths, University of London and Monica Degen, Reader in Sociology at Brunel University London. Producer: Jayne Egerton.
Jan 10, 2018•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast The housing crisis and beyond: Laurie Taylor talks to Anna Minton, Reader in Architecture at the University of East London & author of 'Big Capital: Who Is London For?' and David Madden, Assistant Professor in Sociology at the LSE. They explore the way in which homes have come to be seen as sites of capital investment and accumulation rather than as places of shelter and security. Also, the anthropologist, Nazima Kadir, discusses her study of the 'autonomous' life of politically motivated sq...
Jan 03, 2018•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast Working class actors: Laurie Taylor asks if acting is becoming an increasingly exclusive and elite profession. He talks to the actor Julie Hesmondhalgh and to Dave O'Brien, Chancellor's Fellow, Cultural and Creative Industries at the University of Edinburgh, and author of a new study which suggests that working class actors face increasing economic, as well as cultural obstacles, comparable to skydiving without a parachute. Also, class and classical music. Anna Bull, lecturer in the School of So...
Dec 27, 2017•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast Christmas Television: Laurie Taylor explores the history, meaning and variety of this very British tradition. What's its role in the construction of a real or imagined 'national' family? He's joined by Martin Johnes, Reader in History at Swansea University, Helen Wood, Professor of Media and Communication at Leicester University and Brett Mills, Senior Lecturer in Media and American Studies at University of East Anglia. Producer: Jayne Egerton.
Dec 20, 2017•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast Laurie Taylor asks if there was an attempt to Islamicise schools in Birmingham.
Dec 14, 2017•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast The New Economy: How people turn themselves into 'brands' in the quest for work. Laurie Taylor talks to Ilana Gershon, Associate Professor of Anthropology at Indiana University, and author of a new study exploring the way that people do (and don't) find work by re-defining themselves as unique business enterprises. Also, the death of homo economicus. Peter Fleming, Professor of Business and Society at Cass Business School, argues that the creation of a fake persona - the rational, self intereste...
Dec 06, 2017•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast A revolution in feeling: How the Enlightenment forged our understanding of human emotion and the ways in which this relates to the contemporary political world. Laurie Taylor talks to the literary historian, Rachel Hewitt; Russell Foster, political scientist at King's College London; and to Karin Wahl-Jorgensen, Director, Research Development and Environment, Cardiff School of Journalism, Cardiff University. Revised repeat. Producer: Jayne Egerton.
Nov 29, 2017•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast GDP - Laurie Taylor talks to Lorenzo Fioramonti, Professor of Political Economy at the University of Pretoria, and author of a new book which exposes the flaws of an economic system which values this statistic, above all others, as a measure of prosperity and growth. They're joined by Douglas McWilliams, Deputy Chairman of the Centre for Economics and Business Research. Also, Mali music - Caspar Melville, Lecturer in Global Creative and Cultural Industries at SOAS, discussed his study into the w...
Nov 27, 2017•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast Affluence - from the Kalahari desert to Wall St; Laurie Taylor explores contrasting conceptions of material plenty and the 'good life'. He's joined by James Suzman, an anthropologist who has spent 30 years studying and spending time with the bushmen of Namibia and Rachel Sherman, Associate Professor of Sociology at The New School whose study of wealthy New Yorkers found an uneasiness, as well as an enjoyment in affluence. Producer: Jayne Egerton.
Nov 15, 2017•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast Laurie Taylor talks to David Harvey, world authority on Marx's thought.
Nov 08, 2017•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast Laurie Taylor explores the history of aerial bombing and tear gas.
Nov 01, 2017•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast Laurie Taylor explores end of life care through the ages.
Oct 25, 2017•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast Laurie Taylor examines the history of the welfare state.
Oct 18, 2017•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast Laurie Taylor gets under the skin of the restaurant.
Oct 11, 2017•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast Laurie Taylor takes a cool, non dystopian look at future possibilities
Oct 04, 2017•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast Laurie Taylor asks if a new theory offers an explanation for conflicts in the Arab world.
Sep 27, 2017•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast The Mafia and organised crime from Sicily to Japan and the UK
Sep 20, 2017•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast Why is meaningless speech in the workplace so ubiquitous?
Sep 13, 2017•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast Exhaustion: is extreme fatigue a peculiarly modern phenomenon?
Jul 26, 2017•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast Laurie Taylor goes underground - from New York to Delhi.
Jul 19, 2017•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast An anthropological journey through the world of hair.
Jul 13, 2017•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast Laurie Taylor discusses a study of IVF tourism and also male infertility.
Jul 05, 2017•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast Is the Global South catching up with the North?
Jun 28, 2017•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
