Have the working class in modern Britain become objects of fear, scorn and ridicule? That's the claim of Owen Jones who joins Laurie and Imogen Tyler on today's Thinking Allowed. He claims that the media and politicians alike dismiss as feckless, criminal and ignorant a vast, underprivileged section of society whose members have become stereotyped by one, disgust-filled word - 'chavs'. If this is true, then how has the reality of the working-class majority become regularly served up as a feral rump for our contempt and amusement?

One third of us now think we are sleep deprived. Why should that be? Who loses the most and how is society reacting? Laurie is joined by Stephen Williams to discuss a new area for sociology, the contested area of the 'politics of sleep'.

HG Wells was so involved in establishing sociology in this country that he wrote to Prime Minister Balfour to ask for a special endowment so he could give up on his novels. His emphasis was on utopias, he felt that social science could only progress if an ideal version of society was created with which to compare our own. He lost his battle but the sociologist Ruth Levitas tells Laurie that sociology has become boring and that Wells was right!

Dirt is dust, soil, refuse, excrement, bacteria, filth, sleaze, slime, smut. How easily the word changes its meaning from the physical to the moral. It is this fascinating relationship and threat which dirt seems to pose that is explored in the Wellcome Collection's exhibition 'Dirt: The Filthy Reality of Everyday Life'.

In a special edition recorded with an audience of the public at Wellcome, Laurie Taylor and a panel of experts explore the meaning of dirt, its relationship to order and how hygiene and the mass generation of dirt have become such potent symbols of civilisation.

He is joined by the anthropologist Adam Kuper, the writer and cartoonist Martin Rowson and the historian Amanda Vickery to discuss dirt and why it provokes such fear, loathing and occasionally desire.

Producer: Charlie Taylor.

Hurricane Katrina led to the compulsory evacuation of all the residents of New Orleans. They were sent to shelters in distant destinations ranging from Houston to Tennessee. The scale of the disaster meant that most were unable to stay with or near family. But new research finds that this trauma was compounded by the authorities' failure to recognise the prevalence of extended families amongst the New Orleans poor. The trailers to which they re-located were set up for nuclear families as was the reconstructed housing to which they returned. The American social scientist Michael Rendall discusses post Katrina family breakdown with Laurie Taylor. Also, the process of remembering Communism in Central Eastern Europe. The historian James Mark's new book considers how countries come to terms with the legacies of the past. He joins the Psychology lecturer, Dr Jovan Byford, to question whether people's actual memories of the communist era at odds with officially imposed narratives?

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Carrie Pitzulo, the author of a new history of Playboy claims it has "a surprisingly strong record of support for women's rights and the modernisation of sexual and gender roles". Are Bunny Girls and Playmates of the Month really allies of the feminist cause? Laurie is joined by the author Carrie Pitzulo and the sociologist Angela McRobbie to discuss the secret and surprises of the bunny brand.

Cities are growing at an enormous rate all over the world. As they wrestle with overcrowding, pollution, resource vulnerability and an increasing gulf between the rich and poor what will be the dominant factor to define them? Which forces will shape the experience of urban life for the individual and will our imagination and creativity enable cities to survive into the future? The sociologist Sophie Watson and the geographer Matthew Gandy join Laurie Taylor to discuss the future of the city.

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.

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.