Thinking Allowed Folgen

Love, Money and HIV in Kenya. Laurie Taylor talks to Sanyu Mojola, Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Colorado, and author of a study exploring how modern women in developing countries experience sexuality and love. Drawing on a rich variety of interview, ethnographic and survey data from her native country of Kenya, she examines how young African women, who suffer disproportionate rates of HIV infection compared to young African men, navigate their relationships, schooling, employment and financial access in the context of a devastating HIV epidemic and economic inequality.Also, Thomas Thurnell-Read, Lecturer in Sociology at Coventry University, discusses his study of microbreweries and the revival of traditional beer in the UK.Producer: Jayne Egerton.

A lost avant garde: Laurie Taylor examines the tension between art & money in the contemporary art museum. He talks to Matti Bunzl, Professor of Anthropology at the University of Illinois, and author of a study which takes a rare look behind the scenes of Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Art. He found that a commitment to new and difficult work came into conflict with an imperative for growth, leading to an excessive focus on the entertaining and profitable.Also, biologising parenthood: recent years have seen claims about children's brains becoming central to child health & welfare policies. Pam Lowe, Senior Lecturer in Sociology at Aston University, Birmingham, argues that this has led to a simplistic construction of the child and one which claims parenting to be the main factor in child development.Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Wombs for Sale: commercial surrogacy in India & beyond. Couples from all over the world can now hire Indian women to bear their children for a fraction of the cost of surrogacy elsewhere. Laurie Taylor talks to Amrita Pande, Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Cape Town, and author of a detailed study into a burgeoning business which has little or no government regulation. She talked to surrogates, their families, clients, doctors and brokers to capture the full mechanics of a labour regime rooted in global gender & economic inequality. They're joined by Michal Nahman, Senior Lecturer in Anthropology at the University of the West of England, who has studied reproductive tourism.Also, the transformation of money in the post crisis world. Nigel Dodd, Professor of Sociology at the London School of Economics and Political Science, highlights the proliferation of new forms and systems of money, from local currencies and social lending to mobile money and Bitcoin. Why has our understanding of money failed to keep pace with these changes?Producer: Jayne Egerton.