Thinking Allowed is a BBC 4 radio discussion programme. First broadcast in 1998 it focuses on the latest social science research and is hosted by Laurie Taylor, who was formerly a Professor of Sociology at the University of York. All programmes are available as podcasts. The range of issues debated is impressive; recent editions have covered the cultural and historical meaning of the word ‘black’, lesbianism in Russia, commercial surrogacy in India, and Romanian economic migrants in Britain.