Thinking Allowed Folgen

The Creative Economy: Angela McRobbie, Professor of Communications at the Goldsmiths, questions what's at stake in the new politics of culture and creativity. Talking to a range of artists, stylists, fashion designers and policy makers, she considers if the new 'creative economy' is a form of labour reform which accustoms the young, urban middle classes to a world of work which lacks the security of previous generations. She's joined by Christopher Frayling, Chancellor of the Arts University, Bournemouth and former Chair of the Arts Council England. Grudge spending: Ian Loader, Professor of Criminology at the University of Oxford, explores how we feel about buying security, compared to more enjoyable forms of spending.Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Con men in New York: The little known world of the urban hustler. Laurie Taylor talks to Terry Williams, Professor of Sociology at the New School for Social Research in New York, about his study into the ways in which con artists play their game in back alleys, police precincts and Wall St boiler rooms. He spent years studying their psychological tricks as they scammed tourists with bogus tales, sold off knock offs in Canal St and crafted Ponzi schemes. They're joined by Dick Hobbs, Emeritus Professor of Sociology at the University of Essex.The iconography of punishment. From Piranesi's prison fantasies to Warhol's Electric Chair, images of penal retribution have featured prominently in Western art. Eamonn Carrabine, Professor of Sociology at the University of Essex, asks what we can learn from artistic treatments of the ways in which we've dealt with criminals over time.Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Modern Slavery: Laurie Taylor explores the tensions and dilemmas at the heart of contemporary struggles against enslavement; from forced labour to sex trafficking. He's joined by Julia O'Connell Davidson, the author of a new study which argues that the 'new abolitionist movement' fails to address the fundamental realities of injustice and exploitation in a globalised world. The writer and journalist, Rahila Gupta, offers another perspective.Also, school lunchboxes: Vicki Harman, Senior Lecturer in Sociology at Royal Holloway, University of London, considers the way in which middle class mothers view their children's packed lunches as a reflection of their parenting skills - sometimes struggling to satisfy their children's tastes and keeping on the right side of the school's strict guidelines. Is a home-made cupcake a transgression of rules or a worthy display of good mothering and home baking?Producer: Jayne Egerton.