Institutions

Authors Meet Critics

Recap

Published September 21, 2022

The Government of Emergency: Vital Systems, Expertise, and the Politics of Security

Watch the video (or listen to the recording) of our recent "Authors Meet Critics" panel discussion on the book "The Government of Emergency: Vital Systems, Expertise, and the Politics of Security," by Stephen Collier and Andrew Lakoff, which explores the evolution of how experts and officials prepare for catastrophic risks. The authors were joined in conversation by Cathryn Carson and Michael Watts, with Aihwa Ong moderating.

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Podcast

Interview

Published September 12, 2022

Economic Benefits of Higher Education: Zach Bleemer and Maximilian Müller

Why do people choose to go to college (or not)? What impact do race-based or financial aid policies have on higher education and the broader economy? In this episode of the Matrix Podcast, Julia Sizek spoke with two UC Berkeley-trained economists whose research focuses on the economic impacts of higher education. Maximilian Müller completed his PhD […]

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Book Talk

Recap

Published September 6, 2022

Slouching Towards Utopia: An Economic History of the Twentieth Century

Recorded on Sept. 1, 2022, this video features a panel focused on Professor J. Bradford DeLong's book, "Slouching Towards Utopia: An Economic History of the Twentieth Century." Response by Robert Brenner, Professor Emeritus and Director of the Center for Social Theory and Comparative History at UCLA. Moderated by Steven Vogel, Co-Director of the Network for a New Political Economy (N2PE).

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Article

Interview

Published August 31, 2022

The Effects of Reparations: A Visual Interview with Arlen Guarin

What are the impacts of reparations on the lives of victims of violence? Read our visual interview with Arlen Guarin, a PhD Candidate in Economics at UC Berkeley, who studies the effects of policies that aim to reduce poverty and inequality, including reparations given to victims of human rights violations in Colombia.

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Article

Interview

Published June 17, 2022

How CRISPR Became Routine

Read a Matrix visual interview with Santiago Molina, a Postdoctoral Fellow at Northwestern University, who researches how CRISPR, the genetic engineering technology, has become an everyday part of scientific practice.

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Panel

Recap

Published May 24, 2022

Floods and Equity: A Panel Discussion

Floods are the most destructive natural hazard, both at the national and international scale, and they disproportionately affect people of color and the poor. In this presentation, recorded on May 12, 2022, panelists Danielle Zoe Rivera and Jessica Ludy drew upon their research to discuss pathways to improving on the current situation.

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Matrix On Point

Recap

Published May 9, 2022

Organize! Power and Collective Action

What can we learn from historical and contemporary cases about building organizations that engage, mobilize, and manage to wield influence on the political process? What kinds of infrastructural choices best support engagement and success in the long run? Recorded on May 5, 2022, this panel explored the varied and changing terrain of collective action to reflect on the nature, promises, and pitfalls of associational power in the 21st century.

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Matrix Research Team

Recap

Published May 3, 2022

Digital Transformations in Global Land, Housing, and Property

Recorded on April 27, 2022, this panel discussion brought together members of the UC Berkeley Social Science Matrix Research Team on Digital Transformations in Property and Development to discuss how state, corporations, and grassroots actors are employing digital technologies to remake global land, housing, and property.

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Article

Interview

Published April 25, 2022

The Terracene: An Interview with Salar Mameni

What does the War on Terror have to do with the Anthropocene? In this interview, Salar Mameni, Assistant Professor in the Department of Ethnic Studies at UC Berkeley, discusses their book project, "Terracene: A Crude Aesthetics."

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Matrix On Point

Recap

Published April 15, 2022

The Future of Money: Mobile Money, Social Media, and Cashless Economies

Focusing on forms of cashless payment, such as mobile money and apps, this "Matrix on Point" panel explored questions about how the social connections made through money are changing, and what the implications might be for our understanding of money, trust, and social connection. The panel featured Kevin Donovan, Lecturer in the Centre of African Studies at the University of Edinburgh; Lana Swartz, Assistant Professor of Media Studies at the University of Virginia; and Jayati Ghosh, Professor of Economics at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. The panel was moderated by Marion Fourcade, Professor of Sociology at UC Berkeley and Director of Social Science Matrix.

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Podcast

Interview

Published April 12, 2022

What Happened to the Week? An Interview with David Henkin

For this episode of the Matrix podcast, Julia Sizek interviewed David M. Henkin, the Margaret Byrne Professor of History, about his book, The Week: A History of the Unnatural Rhythms that Make Us Who We Are. With meticulous archival research that draws on a wide array of sources — including newspapers, restaurant menus, theater schedules, marriage records, school curricula, folklore, housekeeping guides, courtroom testimony, and diaries — Henkin reveals how our current devotion to weekly rhythms emerged in the United States during the first half of the 19th century.

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California Spotlight

Recap

Published April 12, 2022

The Social and Economic Impacts of Wildfires

Recorded on April 4, 2022, this panel focused on the contemporary social and economic impacts of wildfires in California during another record-breaking fire season. How have fires changed during the last five years, and with what impacts on the economy? How might policy-makers and economists respond to the changing fire season? The panel was co-sponsored by the Center for Law, Energy & the Environment (CLEE) and presented as part of the Social Science Matrix California Spotlight series.

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