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

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Event Date: May 5th, 2026
4:00pm-5:15pm

The Irrational Decision: How We Gave Computers the Power to Choose for Us

Join us on May 5 for a talk on "The Irrational Decision: How We Gave Computers the Power to Choose for Us," by Benjamin Recht, Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences at UC Berkeley. The conversation will be moderated by Marion Fourcade, Professor of Sociology and Director of Social Science Matrix.

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Other Events

Recap

Published December 18, 2019

Who’s on First? The Democratic Race at the End of the Invisible Primary

Recorded on December 12, 2019, this video features a panel on the state of the presidential race heading into the 2020 primary season.

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Interview

Published December 18, 2019

Q&A with David Harding: “On the Outside: Prisoner Reentry and Reintegration”

An interview with David Harding, Professor of Sociology at UC Berkeley and co-author of the book On the Outside: Prisoner Reentry and Reintegration, which examines the lives of 22 people as they pass out of the prison gates and back into the world.

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Authors Meet Critics

Recap

Published December 12, 2019

In the Ruins of Neoliberalism

Watch the video from our "Authors Meet Critics" panel on Professor Wendy Brown's In the Ruins of Neoliberalism: The Rise of Anti-Democratic Politics in the West.

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Matrix On Point

Recap

Published November 27, 2019

On IPCC, Climate Crisis

A "Matrix On Point" panel examined the climate crisis from diverse disciplinary perspectives.

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Matrix On Point

Recap

Published November 10, 2019

The Trump Impeachment

Recorded on November 5, 2019, Berkeley Law Dean Erwin Chemerinsky and Professor Robert B. Reich discuss "The Trump Impeachment."

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Podcast

Interview

Published October 30, 2019

Matrix Podcast: Interview with Dacher Keltner

In this episode of the Matrix Podcast, Michael Watts talks with Dacher Keltner, Professor of Psychology, Director of the Berkeley Social Interaction Laboratory, and Faculty Director of the Greater Good Science Center.

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