Analysis

Just what does the Scottish National Party want? And what could it mean for the UK? Douglas Fraser investigates the SNP's long search for an independence vision that works. He talks to insiders about the party's turbulent past, torn, as one leader put it, between 'Jacobites and Jacobins'. How has the party tried to build a vision of Scottish identity that keeps pace with social change? Does it aim to preserve the old British welfare state, or try something different? What do its plans for continued close links with the rest of the UK mean for its vision of a separate Scotland?Scotland may be diverging more and more from England, whatever happens in next year's independence referendum. With that vote fast approaching, where this debate is heading matters for everyone in the UK. The SNP's journey reveals much about this important change.Presenter: Douglas Fraser Producer: Chris Bowlby Editor: Innes Bowen.

Paul Johnson, the director of the widely-respected independent Institute for Fiscal Studies, has been looking at the latest projections for how much the government will spend in the next five years and how much revenue it will receive. Despite the recent announcement of further cuts in spending, tax rises look difficult to avoid.Paul explores the reasons for this gap in the budget and asks what taxes could help to fill it. With tax avoidance and evasion now at the top of world leaders' agendas, he asks if the increasingly tax-averse companies sector can be made to pay more and how much the rich and wealthy could contribute. He also considers the taxation of our houses and pensions and whether more will be taken from them.Then he focuses on the three levies which contribute the lion's share of government revenue - income tax, national insurance and VAT - and, with politicians, economists and tax experts, finds out how much we are all - young and old, better and worse off - likely to pay. He also drops in on a

Where the Arab Spring overthrew dictators, is the Middle East now dismantling the very 'lines in the sand' imposed by Britain and France a century ago? Edward Stourton investigates.

What do we really know about the effects of pornography?Public debate has become increasingly dominated by an emotive, polarised argument between those who say it is harmful and those who say it can be liberating. Jo Fidgen puts the moral positions to one side and investigates what the evidence tells us. She explores the limitations of the research that's been carried out and asks whether we need to update our understanding of pornography. She hears from users of pornography about how and why they use it and researchers reveal what they have learnt about our private pornographic habits.With pornography becoming increasingly easy to access online, and as policy-makers, parents and teachers discuss how to deal with this, it's a debate that will have far-reaching implications on education and how we use the internet.Producer: Helena MerrimanInterviewees:Professor Neil Malamuth - University of California Dr Miranda Horvath - Middlesex University Dr Ogi Ogas - Author of A Billion Wicked Thoughts Professor Roger Sc

Predistribution is Labour's new policy buzzword, used by leader Ed Miliband in a keynote speech. The US thinker who coined the phrase tells Edward Stourton what it means.

Self knowledge through numbers is the motto of the "quantified self" movement. Calories consumed, energy expended, work done, places visited or how you feel. By recording the data of your daily life online, the life-loggers claim, you get to know who you really are.So far this type of self-tracking is the obsession of a geeky minority. But through our smartphones and social networking sites more and more of us being drawn into this world by stealth. Frances Stonor Saunders asks what it means for our ideas about privacy and sense of self.Producer: Fiona Leach.

The gap between English north and south is growing. But does government have the answer? In the north-east of England, Alison Wolf discovers why 'regional policy' may be a waste of time. Does better infrastructure or state support for 'key' industries make a real difference? But there's a twist. Instead of everyone heading from north to south, there may just be a move back in the other direction. She discovers that individuals chasing quality of life, not government pushing its policies, will be what really decides the regions' future.Presenter: Professor Alison Wolf Producer: Chris Bowlby Editor: Richard Vadon.

The words of William Blake's Jerusalem were invoked by Labour Prime Minister Clement Attlee when he launched his party's proudest achievement: the creation of a welfare state."I will not cease from mental fight, Nor shall my sword sleep in my hand, Till we have built Jerusalem, In England's green and pleasant land."But some leading Labour Party figures no longer believe in the top down model that was meant to make real that vision of a "new Jerusalem". Mukul Devichand hears from leading Labour Party figures who want a radical new welfare settlement, saying the state itself is to blame for society's ills as much as the market.This new cadre of Labour thinkers is known as "Blue Labour". Two years ago we made a programme about them. Then they were worried about the impact of immigration on blue collar communities. Now they are part of Labour's inner circle: academic Maurice Glasman has been elevated to the House of Lords; Jon Cruddas MP is in charge of writing the party's manifesto; and Ed Miliband's widely appl

Politicians are wary of forcing us to do the things they think we should such as drinking less, saving more for our pensions or using public transport. But they are also reluctant to do nothing. The theories expounded in the book Nudge, published in 2008, suggested there was a third way: a "libertarian paternalist" option whereby governments made doing the right thing easier but not obligatory. Rather than making pensions compulsory, for example, governments could make saving for one the default option whilst preserving the right to opt out.Nudge theory appealed to our better selves and to our politicians. The book's ideas were taken up by those inside government in Britain and the US.One of the book's authors, Cass Sunstein, answers questions from an audience at the Institute for Government in London and tells presenter Edward Stourton how well he thinks his theories are working in practice.Producer: Rosamund Jones.

A spat between feminist Suzanne Moore and transgender rights activists played out on social networking sites, and then hit the headlines when journalist Julie Burchill joined in too.Jo Fidgen explores the underlying ideas which cause so much tension between radical feminists and transgender campaigners, and discovers why recent changes in the law and advances in science are fuelling debate.Contributors:James Barrett, consultant psychiatrist and lead clinician at the Charing Cross National Gender Identity ClinicJulie Bindel, feminist and journalistLord Alex Carlile QC, Liberal Democrat member of the House of LordsMelissa Hines, professor of psychology at Cambridge UniversityRichard O'Brien, writer of the Rocky Horror ShowRuth Pearce, postgraduate researcher in sociology at the University of WarwickStephen Whittle OBE, professor of equalities law at Manchester Metropolitan UniversityProducer: Ruth Alexander.

As more and more people look forward to ever longer life, Analysis examines what it's like to grow old in Britain and what we can learn from other countries facing the same challenge. We've heard much about the financial issues around pensions or health care. But it also poses more fundamental questions - is Britain a good society in which to grow old?Will those precious extra years be a time of wellbeing or alienation and loneliness? And, do other parts of the world have strengths from which we could learn?Chris Bowlby talks to those who have a unique perspective on this - migrants who came to the UK in the hope of better prospects. They can compare British society with other places they know as well. Many are now weighing up what to do when their working lives are over. And a number do not expect to stay here. Their children work long hours and live a distance away. The three-generation homes that supported their own grandparents as they grew old will not be an option for them. Many worry that they face a l

The Muslim Brotherhood is a global ideological network enjoying popular support across the Sunni Muslim world. It, and closely related Islamic groups, are well established across the Muslim world: from North Africa to the Middle East, Turkey, the Indian subcontinent and Malaysia. Christopher de Bellaigue discovers how this community of faith and politics has been influenced by the rise to power of its founding branch: the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood.Producer: Sue Davies.

Roberto Unger is an American-based thinker who is highly critical of the current ideas from left-of-centre politicians and thinkers about how to restore advanced economies to healthy growth. His devastating attack last summer on what he saw as the shortcomings of President Obama's plans for a second term made him an overnight internet sensation.For Unger, what he and others call "vulgar Keynesianism" - the idea that governments should spend more money to stimulate growth and create jobs - has little left to offer. It is unlikely to have a big enough impact and will disappoint both politicians and voters.Instead, he argues, those who think of themselves as progressive need to think much more boldly and creatively. And this applies not just to ideas about the economy but also to politics and democratic institutions. What he sees as a drab, predictable - and failed - approach needs a complete overhaul.In this edition of "Analysis", Tim Finch talks to Roberto Unger about his critique of left-of-centre thinking. H

David Goodhart considers whether the declining status of basic jobs can be halted and even reversed. Successive governments have prioritised widening access to higher education to try to drive social mobility, without giving much thought to the impact this has on the expectations of young people who, for whatever reason, are not going to take that path.But even in a knowledge-based economy, the most basic jobs survive. Offices still need to be cleaned, supermarket shelves stacked, and care home residents looked after.The best employers know how to design these jobs to make them more satisfying. Are politicians finally waking up to the problem?Contributors in order of appearance:Caroline Lloyd, professor and industrial relations specialist at the University of Cardiff Donna Braithwaite, supermarket worker Bill Mumford, chief executive of care charity MacIntyre Geoff Dench, sociologist and founder of the charity Men for Tomorrow. Sir Peter Lampl, founder of the Sutton Trust Andrew Oswald, professor of economics

In the last few weeks a number of high street names have closed for good. In Analysis Phil Tinline asks whether, amid the gloom, there is a reason to celebrate. The economist Joseph Schumpeter first coined the phrase "creative destruction" in the 1940s. Innovation he believed causes the death of established businesses and leads to new opportunities. So, are company failures necessary for future growth? Or is "creative destruction" a comforting delusion, not a saving grace? Producer : Rosamund Jones.

The government of President Assad of Syria is under threat. So too is the secretive Shia sect known as the Alawis - or Alawites - to which he and many of the governing party and security officials belong. Hostility towards the minority Alawi population is such that one leading commentator predicts they are likely to be the victims of the world's next genocide. Presenter Owen Bennett Jones investigates the Alawis' origins, history and culture and asks how these once marginalised people came to power in a Sunni majority state. He discovers that for many their fortunes changed fifty years ago when the Baath party seized power in a coup d'etat. Alawis were dominant among the army officers who took control. They set about modernising the country and rolling out a secular agenda. Now, as Syria's revolution has morphed into a civil war, many Alawis believe their only choice is to kill or be killed. Are the majority of Alawis right to be convinced that the Assad regime is all that stands between them and a return to

The cash question facing an independent Scotland. Chris Bowlby discovers the key role of currency in debate ahead of the Scottish referendum next year. With the SNP proposing to keep using sterling if Scotland becomes independent, what will this mean in the world of eurozone crises and financial panics? We discover the mysterious story of Scottish money - how its banknotes are guaranteed by so called giants and titans at the Bank of England. And we ask whether sterling can continue to work smoothly and keep popular confidence if the UK splits. What's the thinking behind the scenes as politicians and officials worry about a British version of the eurozone drama? With Scotland preparing to vote next year, and London wondering what could happen, Analysis reveals the key role of currency in the UK's political future.Producer Mark Savage Editor Innes Bowen.

In the battle over rewards at work, workers grew accustomed to winning a healthy share of the spoils during the 1960s and 1970s - and to being accorded high status. Since the 1980s, however, the power of executives has grown and is now reflected in their own much higher financial rewards and enhanced esteem. What explains this shift in power - and will it last?Michael Blastland asks why workers have appeared to be so weak as bosses have redressed the balance of power at work so strikingly in their own favour. Laws curbing trade union power, for example, so often cited as the explanation can, though, only be part of the reason. Investors - both owners and shareholders - have also lost out financially in relative terms as executives have grown wealthier and stronger. So what explains the power of the executive class? Are there other trends at work which help explain the relative position of executives and workers? And if both workers and investors want to increase their share of the rewards how might they go ab

With the downfall of the former Egyptian president, Hosni Mubarak, political change has already happened in Egypt. But how has such a revolution affected the mindset of ordinary people in the region?In this edition of Analysis, the writer, Christopher de Bellaigue, considers the consequences for Arab society of a new culture in which ordinary people openly question those in authority - not just in the political sphere but within the family and religious realm too. The programme explores a number of examples: From an apparent new determination to resist paying bribes to public officials, through a greater desire to see active debate rather than passive obedience in the classroom, to the growth of salafists - conservative Muslims who advocate a return to the core texts of Islam and a less deferential attitude towards the traditional scholars. Though not all these phenomena were unknown before the Arab Spring, the political revolution does seem to have fuelled their growth: Key to many appears to be the disappea

Catholic Social Teaching embodies a tradition of thought which goes back to Aristotle; yet its proponents say that it offers the sharpest critique of rampant capitalism in our present time. Charting a course through the dichotomies of capital versus labour, the free market versus welfare state, public versus private, its aim is to redraw the social and political landscape and put human dignity and virtue back at the centre. Matthew Taylor, former policy advisor to New Labour, ponders the tradition and asks what it might offer to post credit crunch polities which are looking for ways to regenerate. There is no doubt that it has captured the policy zeitgeist. A whole programme of public lectures, seminars and events is rolling out to feed the demand for more information. Business people, academics and players from both Left and Right are attending, looking for an ethical alternative for our time. So exactly what do its core principles, which include ideas like 'solidarity', 'subsidiarity', and the 'commo