Laurence John Taylor (born 1 August 1936) is an English sociologist and radio presenter, originally from Liverpool.
After attending Roman Catholic schools including St Mary's College, Crosby, Merseyside, then a direct grant grammar and now an independent school, Taylor trained as an actor at Rose Bruford College, Sidcup, associated with Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop in Stratford, London.
He was previously married to journalist Anna Coote, a former deputy editor of the New Statesman, who has also been associated with various public organisations.
Perhaps his best-known early work was the book co-written with Stanley Cohen: Escape Attempts: The Theory and Practice of Resistance to Everyday Life.
[8] Since 1998, Taylor has regularly presented the discussion programme Thinking Allowed on BBC Radio 4, a series mainly devoted to the social sciences.