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Thinking Allowed: Con Men in New York, Iconography of punishment

20/01/2016

Con Men in New York, Iconography of punishment

BBC Radio 4 - Thinking Allowed, Con Men in New York, Iconography of punishment

A look at con men in New York and the iconography of punishment.

Laurie Taylor reveals the little-known world of the urban hustler and looks at artistic depictions of punishment: how have they changed?

Con men in New York: The little known world of the urban hustler. Laurie Taylor talks to Terry Williams, Professor of Sociology at the New School for Social Research in New York, about his study into the ways in which con artists play their game in back alleys, police precincts and Wall St boiler rooms. He spent years studying their psychological tricks as they scammed tourists with bogus tales, sold off knock offs in Canal St and crafted Ponzi schemes. They're joined by Dick Hobbs,
Emeritus Professor of Sociology at the University of Essex.


The iconography of punishment. From Piranesi's prison fantasies to Warhol's Electric Chair, images of penal retribution have featured prominently in Western art. Eamonn Carrabine, Professor of Sociology at the University of Essex, asks what we can learn from artistic treatments of the ways in which we've dealt with criminals over time.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

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