Thinking Allowed

What drives people to make the often difficult choices to change their bodies and change their gender? How is the everyday affection for one's country changing in English life? Laurie Taylor discusses issues of transsexuals and the body modifications they choose. Also the place of ordinary English nationalism, as he meets the joint winners of The British Sociological Association's Philip Abrams first book prize.

The sad story of the hunt for the lone gunman Raoul Moat had many of the ingredients of classic crime fiction: a countryside location; an outsider against the law and an extraordinary set of tragic circumstances that unfolded over time. In this edition of Thinking Allowed Laurie Taylor speaks to Michael Rowe, a criminologist at the centre of the crisis. He gave countless media interviews at the time and has now conducted a study of how 24 hour news media used the rubric of crime fiction to present events in a gripping way. He argues, however, that it was a method in which truth and understanding seem to have been amongst the victims.

Producer: Charlie Taylor.

What is the reality of life for a crack cocaine user in South London? Daniel Briggs new ethnography is a day to day observation of the people who use the drug, and their struggles to get the drug and also to get off it. He takes Laurie Taylor on an unsettling journey through violence and intimidation.

We pay others to take away our household refuse from the front of our house whilst hoarding other junk in the attic. And while most of us wouldn't mind buying other people's discarded clothes in a charity shop, only a few are prepared to take even edible food from supermarket dumpsters. What hidden motives lurk behind our relationship with waste? Martin O'Brien, author of 'A Crisis of Waste?' and Jeff Ferrell, author of 'Empire of Scrounge', join Laurie to sift through the competing ways of understanding refuse.

When the factories close, what happens to the communities they leave behind? In this week's programme, Laurie investigates the effects of industrial decline in Wales, examining in-depth sociological studies of the residents of two industrial Welsh towns.

Britain congratulates itself on the success of its restaurants and its stable of 21 multiple Michelin-starred eateries, but how many people know that Germany has nearly double that figure? What are the Germans cooking up that leaves the Brits behind? Economic sociologist Christel Lane discusses her recent research with Laurie Taylor, arguing that, while French culture still dominates in restaurants awarded multiple stars by the 'little red book', it is a regional emphasis which sets Germany apart. Food critic and editor of Waitrose Kitchen William Sitwell joins the discussion of the extent of globalising factors in the high end restaurant industry. Does the ubiquity of lemongrass or the rise of the Othello Cake show that French influence is starting to wane?

What does the idea of home mean to us in Britain? How is that changing, and are those new needs being met? A new economic landscape and an irresistible pressure on housing are changing the way we live. For the first time since the 1980s home ownership is decreasing, more people are renting longer and people are starting to club together in bigger groups.

Producer: Charlie Taylor.

The MIddle Eastern conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan have been characterised by widespread deployment of private military and security companies. Their job has been to provide protection to army compounds, aid agencies and governments. Most of these men are American but a third are British. Laurie Taylor hears about new research by Professor Paul Higate, a Reader in Gender and Security at Bristol University. His study finds that British operatives see themselves as cool headed professionals but regard their American counterparts as 'trigger happy cowboys'. But is this perception an objective reality or a self serving illusion? The sociologist, Professor Anthony King, joins this discussion. Also, artifice versus authenticity on the traveller trail.

Why do some nations remain mired in poverty whilst others thrive? A new book argues that the clue to prosperity has less to do with a country's climate, culture and geography than with the inclusivity of its institutions. Authoritarian regimes may succeed in the short run, but long term wealth is only ensured by secure private property, the rule of law and democracy. James Robinson, Professor of Government at Harvard University, discusses his thesis with Laurie Taylor. They're joined by Paul Collier, Professor of Economics at Oxford University. Also 'A Straight Left against a Slogging Ruffian' - the origins of different boxing styles in the UK and US. Research by, Kasia Boddy, an English lecturer at University College, London, explores the boxing boom in the years leading up to the First World War. How did anxieties about the pre-war balance of power turn into a debate on the pros and cons of English versus American styles of boxing? And does this cultural clash about sporting technique still get played out today?

"poor mentality", "placidly bovine", "volubly unreachable", "feeble minded" - just some of the terms used by social workers as they tried to describe the poor in the 1920s and 30s. Much of their case work was given over to discussing whether the poor were deserving or whether they were making fraudulent claims on the charities and government organisations these new professionals were representing. Laurie is joined by Mark Peel, the author of a new study of social work and poverty in the United States, Australia and Britain, and they discuss which attitudes have changed and which remain the same with the historian Selina Todd.