Thinking Allowed

GDP - Laurie Taylor talks to Lorenzo Fioramonti, Professor of Political Economy at the University of Pretoria, and author of a new book which exposes the flaws of an economic system which values this statistic, above all others, as a measure of prosperity and growth. They're joined by Douglas McWilliams, Deputy Chairman of the Centre for Economics and Business Research. Also, Mali music - Caspar Melville, Lecturer in Global Creative and Cultural Industries at SOAS, discussed his study into the ways in which Eurocentric copyright is impacting on African musical traditions.Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Affluence - from the Kalahari desert to Wall St; Laurie Taylor explores contrasting conceptions of material plenty and the 'good life'. He's joined by James Suzman, an anthropologist who has spent 30 years studying and spending time with the bushmen of Namibia and Rachel Sherman, Associate Professor of Sociology at The New School whose study of wealthy New Yorkers found an uneasiness, as well as an enjoyment in affluence.Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Laurie Taylor talks to David Harvey, world authority on Marx's thought.

Laurie Taylor explores the history of aerial bombing and tear gas.

Laurie Taylor explores end of life care through the ages.

Laurie Taylor examines the history of the welfare state.

Laurie Taylor gets under the skin of the restaurant.

Laurie Taylor takes a cool, non dystopian look at future possibilities

Laurie Taylor asks if a new theory offers an explanation for conflicts in the Arab world.

The Mafia and organised crime from Sicily to Japan and the UK