Thinking Allowed Folgen

Do today's power brokers correspond to the familiar caricatures of old? Laurie Taylor talks to Aaron Reeves, Professor of Sociology and Social Policy at the University of Oxford, who has delved into the profiles and careers of over 125,000 members of the British elite from the late 1890s to today, as well as interviewing over 200 leading figures from diverse backgrounds. Were they born to rule, travelling from Eton to Oxbridge? Do they espouse different values from their earlier variants? And are those born into the top 1% just as likely to get into the elite today as they were 125 years ago? Also, Rachel Louise Stenhouse, Senior Lecturer in the Sociology of Education at Manchester Metropolitan University looks at private school entry to Oxbridge. By examining a bespoke intervention in a private school in England, she sheds new light on how students are advantaged when applying to elite universities, finding that applicants need to demonstrate that ‘they can think’ and ‘perform’ under pressure. But is an ease of performance evidence of knowledge and skills or, more often, of educational privilege? Producer: Jayne Egerton

In 1986 in Gateshead the MetroCentre opened on the site of a former power station. Laurie Taylor talks to Emma Casey, Reader in Sociology at the University of York about a new study which charts the history and the impact of this mall which created space for more than 300 shops. They're joined by Katie Appleford, Senior Lecturer in Consumer Behaviour at University for the Creative Arts, London and researcher into UK mothers' shopping habits post-COVID. Has the promise of shopping, as represented by the Metro Centre, faltered in the wake of the pandemic?Producer: Jayne Egerton

The swimming pool: Laurie Taylor explores its iconic role in our culture, as well as its unspoken rules, routines and rituals. Piotr Florczyk, forming swimming champion and Assistant Professor of Global Literary Studies at the University of Washington, considers the allure of an azure pool and its place in our cultural imagination, from the Hollywood movie, Sunset Boulevard, to David Hockney's pool paintings. He also asks 'who has access to the pool' and charts North America's shifting attitudes towards race and recreation which turned public bathing into an explosive issue, one leading to violence, segregation and the flight to white suburbia. What is the future of the pool given water shortages and climate change? Also, Susie Scott, Professor of Sociology at the University of Sussex analyses the unspoken social norms which govern swimmers behaviour, including a respect for personal space, a shared disapproval for the 'hairy torpedo' and the firm refusal to notice 'the elephant in the room' - the fact that we are nearly naked. Producer: Jayne Egerton