Thinking Allowed - 19/05/2010

Genealogical research has become a passion for a growing number of people. Programmes like Who Do You Think You Are? and websites like Genes Reunited feed a voracious interest in family origins and the lives of ancestors. But what impact does this kind of research have on the families which are being studied? Hidden pregnancies...mental illnesses...shunned relatives... Laurie Taylor talks to sociologist Anne-Marie Kramer, whose research has unveiled some of the conflicts which arise when family skeletons are dragged into the light, and to the cartoonist Martin Rowson who has performed some geneaological research of his own. Also, how did a Danish stew of left-over vegetables and scrag end of lamb come to epitomise a proud and enduring British city culture? Ciara Kierans discusses a cultural history of Scouse. Producer: Charlie Taylor.