About
New research on how society works
Creator
BBC Radio 4
host
Reviews
Episodes(5)
The demise of Grand Theory?
What explains the apparent decline of grand theory in sociology, and what does this shift mean for the discipline today? Laurie Taylor asks whether sociologists are now less inclined to engage with large, overarching theoretical frameworks, and explores the reasons behind this change. He is joined b
Gentrification in Detroit and London
What do we learn when a city’s future is defined not by rapid change, but by who leaves and who stays? Laurie Taylor looks at two neighbourhoods in different countries, during different periods in history and explores the human cost of gentrification - and what happens when the project fails. Sharon
Prison violence, sound and survival
The winner of the British Society of Criminology Book Award in 2025 was Kate Herrity. Her study looks at the way our different senses contribute to the experience of prison life and is called Sound, Order and Survival in Prison: The Rhythms and Routines of HMP Midtown. Her research looks at the way
The go-along research method
How does the environment we move through shape the way we see and experience the world? Laurie Taylor talks to Alex Prior (London South Bank University) about his research inside Westminster, where he walked alongside MPs and staff to uncover how the corridors of power feel different depending on wh
Colour in Film
How did the arrival of colour and film technology transform cinema and its cultural politics? Laurie Taylor explores the intertwined histories of technology, aesthetics, and identity. Swarnavel Eswaran, filmmaker and scholar at Michigan State University, introduces us to the remarkable story of Koda