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.

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Event Date: April 7th, 2026
12:00 PM to 1:30 PM PT

Trevor Jackson: “The Insatiable Machine: How Capitalism Conquered the World”

Join us for a panel on "The Insatiable Machine," by Professor Trevor Jackson, which traces capitalism’s development from the accidental construction of an international monetary system to the creation of banking, the emergence of a new form of slavery, fossil–fuel industrialization, and finally the global capitalist system spread by imperialism.

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Matrix Lecture

Recap

Published February 5, 2021

Our Common Purpose: Reinventing American Democracy for the 21st Century

Recorded on February 3, 2021, this video features a Matrix Distinguished Lecture by Danielle Allen, James Bryant Conant University Professor at Harvard University and Director of Harvard’s Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics.

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Solidarity and Strife

Recap

Published February 5, 2021

Measuring Belief in Fake News Online

Recorded on January 29, 2021, this video features Joshua A. Tucker, Professor of Politics at New York University. Tucker discussed his recent research, which focused on understanding how well can ordinary people do in identifying the veracity of news in real time.

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Podcast

Interview

Published January 30, 2021

Matrix Podcast: Interview with Mariane Ferme

In this episode, Michael Watts talks with Mariane C. Ferme, Professor of Anthropology at UC Berkeley and the author of "Out of War: Violence, Trauma, and the Political Imagination in Sierra Leone" and "The Underneath of Things: Violence, History, and the Everyday in Sierra Leone."

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Matrix On Point

Recap

Published December 22, 2020

Disaster and Displacement – Inequalities in Climate Migration

Recorded on December 11, 2020, a Matrix On Point panel discussion brought together a group of esteemed scholars to discuss the impacts of climate migration and potential solutions.

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Matrix On Point

Recap

Published December 6, 2020

The Economic Consequences of COVID-19

This “Matrix on Point” panel discussion — recorded on December 3, 2020 — brought together a panel of scholars to discuss the economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

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Matrix On Point

Recap

Published December 5, 2020

The New Authoritarians

Recorded on November 30, 2020, this Matrix On Point panel considered not only the illiberal tactics these right-wing autocrats have used to consolidate power and further their objectives, but also what it will take to undo the damage they have inflicted upon democratic institutions.

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