Bohemian Soho - Laurie Taylor talks to the writer, Sophie Parkin, about her book on the Colony Room Club, a private members bar whose doors opened in 1948 and shut in 2008. The only criterion for membership was that you weren't dull. For 60 years it played host to an assortment of offbeat and colourful characters from the fashionable to the criminal: the artist, Francis Bacon, rubbed shoulders with the gangster Kray twins. Eccentrics and misfits congregated and drank in a smoky, shabby room with sticky carpets. But what place does the Colony Room have within a wider history of Bohemian life? Professor of Cultural Studies, Elizabeth Wilson, joins the discussion.Also, Melissa Tyler discusses her study of sales workers in Soho sex shops.
Producer: Jayne Egerton.
Folgen von Thinking Allowed
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Folge vom 11.09.2013Bohemian Soho
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Folge vom 14.08.2013Drug users and enforcement; 'Militant' LiverpoolDrug enforcement - does it change the drugs market? Laurie Taylor talks to Neil McKeganey about his research into police crackdowns on illegal drugs in 3 different areas of the UK. The researchers interviewed local heroin users to establish their views and experience of police activity. Although most had found raids to be shocking and distressing, this had little impact on the price or availability of illegal drugs locally. Also, the sociologist, Diana Frost, explores Militant Tendency's domination of Liverpool politics in the 1980s. Interviewing key protagonists of the time, she uncovers mixed memories of a 'city on the edge'.Producer: Jayne Egerton.
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Folge vom 07.08.2013The Minutemen; 'Lay' Witnesses in CourtThe Minutemen - who are they? Laurie Taylor talks to US sociologist, Harel Shapira about the right wing activists who patrol the US border in search of illegal immigrants. How should these men be characterised - as vigilantes, patriots or racists? Shapira met men who fought in Vietnam and Desert Storm and spoke of an America which no longer exists. Living alongside these men, he uncovered narratives of lost identity and community as well as extreme political convictions. Also, Nigel Fielding observed 65 crown court cases in England as part of his study into the effects of criminal trial procedures on 'lay' people, including victims, witnesses and defendants. His research highlights the confusion, anxiety and frustration which is often felt by the legally untrained in the face of courtroom convention.Producer: Jayne Egerton.
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Folge vom 31.07.2013'Teddies' and 'Gollies'; Smart-casual diningSmart/casual dining - Once fine dining meant chandeliers, white tablecloths, and suited waiters. Yet today many of us will queue up for a seat at a loud, crowded noodle bar or eagerly seek out street stalls where the burgers are organic. The US food writer, Alison Pearlman, talks to Laurie Taylor about the forms and flavours taken by this 'foodie' revolution. Through on-the-scene observation and interviews with major players and chefs, she explores the blurring of boundaries between high and low cuisine. She's joined by Alan Warde, Professor of Sociology at the University of Manchester.'Teddies' and 'Gollies' - US English Professor, Rhoda Zuk, talks to Laurie about her historical study into the place and meaning of teddy bears and golliwogs in children's lives and books, as well as in the 'racist' imagination. Producer: Jayne Egerton.