Thinking Allowed Folgen

Why is modern media teeming with vampires, witches, ghosts and ghouls? Laurie Taylor explores representations of the paranormal. Also, how Russia deals with criminal youngsters.

Gardening is the epitome of a peaceful pasttime, associated as it is with semi-somnolent suburban weekends, the sound of hedges being carefully clipped and the reassuring aroma of freshly mown grass. The notion of 'radical' gardening implies little more than a concerted attack on the mass of weeds accumulated in an herbaceous border or a garden makeover culminating in a fully decked patio. However, there is a radical history to gardening and it has been the site of protest and counterculture in Britain from the Levellers and the Diggers in the 17th century to today's so-called Guerrilla Gardeners. On today's Thinking Allowed Laurie is joined by George McKay and Tim Jordan to discuss the protest, politics and plots of the garden. Also on the programme, Tracy Shildrick on her illuminating study of the underprivileged of Teesside and why nobody describes themselves as poor. Producer: Charlie Taylor.

Is DIY culture and home improvement linked to the ideals of John Ruskin? David Gauntlett, author of Making is Connecting believes it is and he contends that bloggers and online enthusiasts are the inheritors of Britain's creative culture - making communities through their craft in the same way that medieval stone masons used to do. But is posting a skate-boarding dog on YouTube really comparable to carving a gargoyle on a gothic cathedral? The sociologist Richard Sennett joins Laurie Taylor and David Gauntlett to discuss making things, creating communities and what counts as craftsmanship. Producer: Charlie Taylor.