Past Events

Matrix Teach-Ins bring UC Berkeley’s most engaging social science lectures into a public setting. Join us on February 19 as Ula Taylor, Professor and Chair of the Department of African American Studies & African Diaspora Studies, will present a Matrix Teach-In centered on an oral biography of Frances M.Beal.

This California Spotlight panel brings together leading scholars to examine the forces challenging public higher education today. Drawing on areas spanning finance, policy, and labor, the discussion will explore how these dynamics are shaping the UC system, and what is at stake for students, employees, the public, and the future of higher education.

In this workshop — presented by the Letters of the Sahara research team — we explore the question of how currencies and credit functioned in Saharan trade in the 18th and 19th centuries. Our sources are a number of commercial ledgers from different sites in the Sahara: Ghadames (Libya), Katsina (Nigeria) and Timbuktu (Mali). These documents are written in Arabic; we will read them in the original language and with English translations.

Join us on February 5th from 12pm-1:30pm for an Authors Meet Critics panel on the book "Co-Motion: Re-Thinking Power, Subjects, and Feminist and Queer Alliances," by Paola Bacchetta, Professor and Chair of the Department of Gender and Women's Studies at UC Berkeley. Professor Bacchetta will be joined in conversation by Roshanak Kheshti and Leti Volpp, with Lawrence Cohen moderating.

This panel will bring together leading scholars from business, political science, and law to examine the many facets of corruption in the United States and the ways it is identified, constrained, and addressed. The panel will feature Sarah Anzia, Ernesto Dal Bó, and Erwin Chemerinsky, with Sean Gailmard moderating.

Please join us on January 21, 2026 from 4-5:15pm for a book talk by Paul Starr, Professor of Sociology and Public Affairs, and Stuart Professor of Communications and Public Affairs, at Princeton University. Professor Starr will discuss his book, American Contradiction: Revolution and Revenge from the 1950s to Now. The talk will be moderated by Jake Grumbach, Associate Professor at the Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley.

In this Matrix Distinguished Lecture, journalist Alexis Madrigal — host of KQED's Forum and a contributing writer at The Atlantic — turns his attention to the question of how we come to know a place. Drawing on his background as a reporter, writer, and thinker of cities, landscapes, and histories, he will explore different ways of writing about and understanding place, revealing how perspective, memory, and narrative inform the stories we tell about the world around us.

Join us on December 2, 2025 at 4:00pm for a talk by Maximilian Kasy, Professor of Economics at the University of Oxford, presenting his book "The Means of Prediction: How AI Really Works (and Who Benefits)." In this book, Kasy shows that artificial intelligence, far from being an unstoppable force, is irrevocably shaped by human decisions—choices made to date by the ownership class that steers its development and deployment.

Join us on Monday, November 17 at 12pm for a Matrix Teach-In, part of a new event series featuring talks by UC Berkeley lecturers and professors who earn praise from students for their teaching. This event will feature Seth Lunine, Lecturer in the UC Berkeley Department of Geography, who will present a talk reflecting on his experiences with collaborative scholarship between UC Berkeley undergraduates and community-based organizations in Oakland’s Fruitvale District.

The technical world of insurance is a critical lens through which to understand the escalating crises in climate change and housing. As climate risks intensify, both public and private homeowner insurance markets face unprecedented pressure, revealing the interconnections between housing affordability, wealth inequality, and the broader financialization of our communities. This panel brings together experts from diverse disciplines — including Stephen Collier, Desiree Fields, and Dave Jones — to explore the intersection of insurance, housing, and climate.

Physical spaces profoundly influence community well-being. Understanding this relationship is crucial for leveraging planning and policy to foster equitable outcomes. This panel brings together experts to explore how thoughtful planning and strategic policy can shift power toward communities, creating conditions where all can thrive. This discussion will bridge diverse perspectives on environmental conservation, design psychology, and disability studies to illuminate steps toward more just and inclusive environments. 

Drawing on diverse academic perspectives, this panel discussion will explore the nature of conspiracy theories, their societal implications, and how they are understood and addressed. The panel will feature Michael M Cohen, Associate Professor of American Studies and African American Studies at UC Berkeley, and Tim Tangherlini, Professor in the Department of Scandanavian and the School of Information at UC Berkeley. Lakshmi Sarah, journalist and lecturer at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, will moderate.