Thinking Allowed Folgen

Laurie Taylor talks to Cambridge sociologist Professor John Thompson about his book 'Merchants of Culture' which approaches the US/UK publishing trade from an anthropological point of view. Laurie also talks to MP Jesse Norman and author Dan Hind about Dan's new book The Return of the Public arguing for more active citizenship. Producer: Chris Wilson.

Laurie Taylor explores the growth of high security prisons in America alongside the increased use of solitary confinement with criminologist Dr Sharon Shalev whose book 'Supermax' examines both topics. Laurie's second discussion is with Professor Ian Morris whose major new book 'Why The West Rules- For Now' examines the rise and fall and rise of Eastern and Western societies and asks whether it's possible for historians to predict the future with any confidence.Producer: Chris Wilson.

Was there ever a golden age of the family? Political debates about the family often invoke a norm of family life in which marriages lasted and children thrived. But a new report suggests that pre-marital sex, cohabitation, single parenthood and illegitimacy have been rife for two centuries. It's the post war period from 1945-1970 which is unusual for its high rates of enduring marriages. Many people in the past didn't ever marry because of the problems in obtaining or affording a divorce. The historian Professor Pat Thane discusses families, real and ideal, with Laurie Taylor. Also, are most scientific claims little more than delusions? The Professor of Information Systems, Ian Angell talks about his co-authored book 'Science's First Mistake' which critiques science's claims to 'truth'. Producer: Jayne Egerton.