UC Berkeley’s flagship institute for social science research

Our purpose is captured in our name: we provide an organizational framework—a “matrix”—that supports cross-disciplinary research pursued by social scientists across the University of California, Berkeley campus and beyond.

Book Talk

Recap

Published May 14, 2026

Benjamin Recht: “The Irrational Decision: How We Gave Computers the Power to Choose for Us”

Recorded on May 5, 2026, this video features a talk by Benjamin Recht, Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences at UC Berkeley, focused on his book, The Irrational Decision: How We Gave Computers the Power to Choose for Us. Professor Recht was joined in conversation by Marion Fourcade, Professor of Sociology and Director of […]

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Podcast

Interview

Published October 16, 2023

War, Diaspora, Bureaucracy: An Interview with Sherine Ebadi

How does international conflict shape immigration bureaucracy? Listen to our podcast featuring Sherine Ebadi, a PhD Candidate in the UC Berkeley Department of Geography, who researches the impact of Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs) and employment-based visa programs on Afghan nationals who worked with the U.S. military.

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Podcast

Podcast

Published October 4, 2023

Voter Turnout in the United States: An Interview with Emily Rong Zhang

In this episode of the Matrix Podcast, Jennie Barker, a PhD Candidate in the Charles and Louise Travers Department of Political Science at UC Berkeley — and a Matrix Communications Scholar — spoke with Emily Rong Zhang, Assistant Professor at UC Berkeley Law School, about her research on voter turnout in the United States.

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Article

Interview

Published September 28, 2023

Private Firms and WTO Dispute Escalation: An Interview with Ryan Brutger

On this episode of the Matrix Podcast, Daniel Lobo, a PhD student in the UC Berkeley Department of Sociology and a 2022-2023 Matrix Communications Scholar, interviewed Ryan Brutger, Associate Professor of Political Science at UC Berkeley, about his new article, "Litigation for Sale: Private Firms and WTO Dispute Escalation."

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Article

Interview

Published September 25, 2023

How Student-Athlete Activism Shaped the University: An Interview with Cameron Black

Read an interview with Cameron Black, Assistant Professor of History at the City College of New York School of Labor and Urban Studies. Black, who completed his PhD in history at UC Berkeley in May 2023, studies the history of student-athlete protest movements in the 1960s through the lens of labor and management and the history of capital.

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Article

Interview

Published September 20, 2023

Untimely Sacrifices: An Interview with Daena Funahashi

In this interview, Nataliya Nedzhvetskaya, a Matrix Communications Scholar, spoke with Daena Funahashi, Assistant Professor in the UC Berkeley Department of Anthropology, about her new book, “Untimely Sacrifices: Work and Death in Finland,” based on her ethnographic work in Finnish rehabilitation programs for occupational burnout.

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Alumni

Interview

Published September 8, 2023

Gender and Political Gatekeepers: A Visual Interview with Melanie Phillips

How do we understand the barriers that women face in becoming political candidates? Read our interview with Melanie L. Phillips, who completed her PhD in the Charles and Louise Travers Political Science Department at Berkeley in 2023 and is currently a Lecturer in the Political Science Department and a Research and Evaluation Associate at School-to-School International.

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