THE PASSPORT: Laurie Taylor explores the cultural history of an indispensable document which has given citizens a license to travel and helped to define the modern world. Patrick Bixby, Professor of English at Arizona State University, delves into the evolution of the passport through the tales of historical figures, celebrities, artists, and writers, from Frederick Douglas to Hannah Arendt. How has the passport become both an instrument of personal freedom as well as a tool of government surveillance? They’re joined by Kristin Surak , Associate Professor of Political Sociology at the LSE and author of a new study which investigates the routes taken by wealthy elites in pursuit of a ‘golden passport’. Through six years of fieldwork on four continents, she discovered how the sale of passports has transformed into a full-blown citizenship industry that thrives on global inequalities.
Producer: Jayne Egerton
Airport security, Retiring to Spain
Food bank Britain, Food poverty in Europe
The English Defence League; 'Real' immigrants
Political women and language, The morality of sleep medication
Good neighbours, The connection between sport and domestic abuse
Secrecy at Work, Drugs and Employment
Ale drinkers, Northern accents
'Queer' wars, Nigerian beauty pageants
Glasgow gangs - Russian gangs
Migrant women, Wedding paradoxes
The Flaneur - Walking in the City
Happiness and government, Good parenting
Ethnography Award winner, Transcultural football
The BSA and Thinking Allowed Ethnography Award Shortlist
Dance halls, Pick-up artists
Eviction, Self-build
Philanthropy - Charity
Small towns, Patient rescue and resuscitation
The debt collection industry, Spousal job loss
Refusing adulthood, How young people feel about being poor
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Global News Podcast
The Infinite Monkey Cage
Friday Night Comedy from BBC Radio 4
You’re Dead to Me
Elis James and John Robins