Sociology

Sociology

episodes

Interviews with sociologists about their new books.

Galina Bogatova, "Casting War As Love: Russian Colonialism in Familial Terms" (Palgrave Macmillan, 2026)

July 25, 2026

Casting War As Love

Galina Bogatova
Hosted by Miranda Melcher

Casting War As Love: Russian Colonialism in Familial Terms (Palgrave Macillan, 2026) by Dr. Galina Bogatova unpacks the hidden imperial logic behind R…

Martin Shaw, "The New Age of Genocide: Intellectual and Political Challenges After Gaza" (Agenda Publishing, 2025)

July 22, 2026

The New Age of Genocide

Martin Shaw
Hosted by Kelly McFall

The Israeli destruction of Gaza has returned the idea of genocide to the centre of world politics, with sharp conflicts between protesters and lawyers…

Suzy Hansen, "From Life Itself: Turkey, Istanbul, and a Neighborhood in the Age of Erdoğan" (FSG, 2026)

July 21, 2026

From Life Itself

Suzy Hansen
Hosted by Reuben Silverman

From Suzy Hansen, whose previous book, Notes on a Foreign Country, was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, From Life Itself: Turkey, Istanbul, and a Ne…

Caste as a Material Question with Rahul Sonpimple

July 20, 2026

Caste as a Material Question

Rahul Sonpimple

This episode featured a conversation with Rahul Sonpimple, founder of the All-India Independent Scheduled Castes Association. Our conversation began w…

Khiara Bridges, "Expecting Inequity: How the Maternal Health Crisis Affects Even the Wealthiest Black Americans" (MIT Press, 2026)

July 19, 2026

Expecting Inequity

Khiara Bridges
Hosted by Deidre Tyler

An unsettling exploration of the persistence of racism in reproductive healthcare in the US—and why even affluent Black women are imperiled by substan…

Elana Resnick, "Refusing Sustainability: Race and Environmentalism in a Changing Europe" (Stanford UP, 2025)

July 19, 2026

Refusing Sustainability

Elana Resnick

Sustainability has become a touchstone for development worldwide, promising an antidote to environmental degradation and capitalism's excess: waste. R…

Hector Amaya, "The Economy of Anonymity: Power in the Age of Identification" (Stanford UP 2026)

July 18, 2026

The Economy of Anonymity

Hector Amaya
Hosted by Pete Kunze

We use avatars to play video games. We use pseudonyms on social media. We use VPNs to mask our identities and activities. In the digital realm, anonym…

175 The Caste Pod: a Crossover episode with Ajantha Subramanian (JP)

July 16, 2026

175 The Caste Pod: a Crossover episode with Ajantha Subramanian (JP)

Ajantha Subramanian

In the spirit of Hannah Arendt's natality principle (that new things are always and should always be being born, each one unique and endowed with limi…

Mike F. Alvarez, Warren J. Bareiss, and Jolane Flanigan eds., "Suicide in Popular Media and Culture: Studies in Framing a Social Catastrophe" (Bristol UP, 2026)

July 15, 2026

Suicide in Popular Media and Culture

Mike F. Alvarez, Warren J. Bareiss, and Jolane Flanigan
Hosted by Ailin Zhou

NB: This episode contains a discussion of suicide and may not be appropriate for all listeners. If you are thinking about hurting yourself, help is al…

Doubled Up: Shared Households and the Precarious Lives of Families

July 9, 2026

Doubled Up

Hope Harvey

More than eleven million children in the US live in doubled-up households, sharing space with extended family or friends. These households are even mo…

Nicholas Freudenberg, "Fighting for New York: Activism for Health and Social Justice Since The 1960s" (Columbia UP, 2026)

July 7, 2026

Fighting for New York

Nicholas Freudenberg
Hosted by Caleb Zakarin

Today I'm speaking with Nicholas Freudenberg, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Public Health at the CUNY School of Public Health. We are discussing…

Alexandre Frenette, "Blame the Intern: On (Not) Breaking Into the Creative Economy" (Princeton UP, 2026)

July 6, 2026

Blame the Intern

Alexandre Frenette
Hosted by Dave O'Brien

Who gets to be a creative worker? In Blame the Intern: On (Not) Breaking Into the Creative Economy, (Princeton University Press, 2026) Alexandre Frene…

Martina Baradel, "21st Century Yakuza: Death of Japanese Organised Crime" (Oxford UP, 2026)

July 5, 2026

21st Century Yakuza

Martina Baradel
Hosted by Miranda Melcher

Once dominant and institutionalised, the Yakuza, one of Japan's best known criminal organisations, is now shrinking under the combined pressure of…

Carrie LeVan, "Neighborhoods Matter: How Place and People Affect Political Participation" (NYU Press, 2026)

July 4, 2026

Neighborhoods Matter

Carrie LeVan
Hosted by Deidre Tyler

Participation in official governmental institutions and activities has declined dramatically. Americans are less inclined to express trust in, or coop…

Arpan Roy, "Relative Strangers: Romani Kinship and Palestinian Difference" (U Toronto Press, 2025)

July 1, 2026

Relative Strangers

Arpan Roy
Hosted by Roberto Mazza

Examining how memory, intergenerational transmission, and kinship work together, Relative Strangers: Romani Kinship and Palestinian Difference (U Toro…

Caste and Music with T.M. Krishna

June 29, 2026

Caste and Music

T.M. Krishna

This episode features a conversation with Carnatic vocalist, T.M. Krishna, who is also the author of two books on this musical tradition. We began wit…

Ranita Ray, "Slow Violence: Confronting Dark Truths in the American Classroom" (St. Martin's Press, 2025)

June 28, 2026

Slow Violence

Ranita Ray
Hosted by Edward Carter

A powerful exposé of the American public education system's indifference toward marginalized children and the "slow violence" that fashions schools in…

Jackie M. Blount, "Straighten Up, Girls and Boys: How Schools Have Shaped Sexuality and Gender" (Harvard Education Press, 2026)

June 21, 2026

Straighten Up, Girls and Boys

Jackie M. Blount
Hosted by Caleb Zakarin

In Straighten Up, Girls and Boys: How Schools Have Shaped Sexuality and Gender (Harvard Education Press, 2026), acclaimed historian and educator Jacki…

Joe P. L. Davidson, "Saving Utopia: Imagining Hopeful Futures in Dystopian Times" (MIT Press, 2026)

June 17, 2026

Saving Utopia

Joe P. L. Davidson
Hosted by Matt Dawson

There is no alternative. The End of History. Climate Apocalypse. It seems that our contemporary moment is defined by the idea that things can only…

David Leupold, "The Death and Life of Southern Soviet Cities: Urban Futures and Their Afterlives" (Routledge, 2026)

June 15, 2026

The Death and Life of Southern Soviet Cities

David Leupold
Hosted by Ernest Lee

What does it mean, three decades after the demise of the USSR, to inhabit cities built for a future that has never arrived? In pursuit of the q…