Matrix On Point
Recap
Published April 10, 2025
Mainstreaming Psychedelics
Psychedelics are steadily moving from the fringes of counterculture to the heart of mainstream society, driven by a growing body of research and shifting public perception. As psychedelics shed their stigma, they are catalyzing a broader conversation about mental health, spirituality, and the boundaries of human consciousness. Recorded on March 6, 2025, this panel featured Diana Negrin, David Presti, Charles Hirschkind, and Graham Pechenik, with Poulomi Saha moderating.
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Interview
Published August 30, 2022
How Climate Change Became a Security Emergency: An Interview with Brittany Meché
How has climate change become an international security problem? In this interview, Brittany Meché, Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies and Affiliated Faculty in Science and Technology Studies at Williams College, discusses her research on how expert explanations of climate migration rework the afterlives of empire in the West African Sahel.
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Funding Opportunity
Published August 17, 2022
PhD Students: Apply to be a Social Science Matrix Communications Fellow
Want to contribute to the Matrix website? We are inviting PhD students or candidates in the UC Berkeley Division of Social Sciences to apply for the Social Science Matrix Communications Fellowship. Fellows will meet monthly and contribute at least two articles, podcasts, or other features for the Matrix website during the 2022-2023 academic year. Each fellow will also receive a stipend of $1500.
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Research Teams
Published August 17, 2022
Matrix Announces Research Teams for 2022-2023
Social Science Matrix has selected six new Matrix Research Teams for the 2022-2023 academic year. Matrix Research Teams are groups of scholars who gather regularly to explore or develop a novel question or emerging field in the social sciences. This year’s funded teams — three faculty-led teams and three student-led teams — were chosen following review by a cross-disciplinary panel of faculty members.
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Interview
Published August 10, 2022
Institutionalizing Child Welfare: An Interview with Matty Lichtenstein
This episode of the Matrix Podcast features an interview with Matty Lichtenstein, a recent PhD from Berkeley’s Sociology Department, who studies how state and professional organizations shape social and health inequalities in maternal and child welfare. The interview focuses on Lichtenstein's research on the transformation of American child welfare and the impact of that transformation on contemporary maternal and infant health practices.
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Faculty Fellows
Published August 10, 2022
Four Professors Chosen as 2022-2023 Matrix Faculty Fellows
Four UC Berkeley professors have been selected to be the inaugural Matrix Faculty Fellows for the 2022-2023 academic year: Gašper Beguš, Assistant Professor of Linguistics; Puck Engman, Assistant Professor of History; Ethan Katz, Associate Professor of History; and Salar Mameni, Assistant Professor of Ethnic Studies.
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Podcast
Published August 3, 2022
Race, Gender, and Political Speech: An Interview with Gabriella Licata
When Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was insulted on the Capitol steps in July 2020, it was a brief media sensation. But what does being called an “effing bitch” mean for how we think about political speech? This episode of the Matrix Podcast features an interview with Gabriella Licata, a PhD candidate in Romance Languages and Literatures at UC Berkeley, focused on how the standard language ideologies of political speech come to shape perceptions of language and people in Congress.
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