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Podcast

Interview

The Imperiled Place of Universities and Democracy in the USA: An Interview with Todd Wolfson

This Matrix Podcast episode features a conversation between James Vernon, Director of the Global Democracy Commons initiative, and Todd Wolfson, the new President of AAUP, about how public disinvestment from higher education and the culture wars have transformed colleges in ways that make them less democratic places — and imperil democracy across the country.

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Authors Meet Critics

Recap

Authors Meet Critics: “Partisan Nation: The Dangerous New Logic of American Politics in a Nationalized Era”

Watch the video (or listen to the podcast) of our Authors Meet Critics panel "Partisan Nation: The Dangerous New Logic of American Politics in a Nationalized Era," by Paul Pierson and Eric Schickler, who were joined in conversation by Francis Fukuyama and Didi Kuo. Moderated by Mark Danner.

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Matrix On Point

Recap

Matrix on Point: War is Back

Recorded on September 30, 2024, this "Matrix on Point" panel discussion focused on the recent escalation of conflicts around the world — and what lies ahead. The panel featured Michaela Mattes, Andrew Reddie, and Daniel Sargent, and was moderated by Vinod Aggarwal.

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Podcast

Interview

Free Speech, Academic Freedom, and the Fragile History of American Democracy

This Matrix Podcast episode features a conversation between James Vernon, Director of the Global Democracy Commons initiative, and Hank Reichman, Professor Emeritus at Cal State East Bay, and author of Understanding Academic Freedom.

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Authors Meet Critics

Recap

Authors Meet Critics: Puta Life: Seeing Latinas, Working Sex

Watch the video (or listen to the podcast) of our Authors Meet Critics panel on "Puta Life: Seeing Latinas, Working Sex," by Juana María Rodríguez, Professor in the Department of Ethnic Studies at UC Berkeley. Professor Rodriguez was joined in conversation by Clarissa Rojas and Courtney Desiree Morris, with Alberto Ledesma moderating.

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Podcast

Interview

Prisoner Labor Legacies: An interview with Elizabeth Hargrett and Xander Lenc

While recent news has highlighted how prisoners have fought wildfires, prison labor is not a new phenomenon. Although incarcerated people have built highways, dams, and buildings, their contributions to American infrastructure are often made invisible. Both Elizabeth Hargrett and Xander Lenc have studied how prisoner labor has shaped America’s infrastructure with a focus on North […]

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Interview

Agricultural Modernization in China: Interview with Ross Doll and Coleman Mahler 

This episode of the Matrix Podcast features Matrix Postdoctoral Fellow Julia Sizek interviewing Ross Doll and Coleman Mahler, two scholars from different disciplines whose work focuses on the modernization of China. Ross Doll is Ciriacy-Wantrup Postdoctoral Fellow in the UC Berkeley Department of Geography. He researches agrarian change in Asia drawing on political ecology, cultural […]

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Article

Interview

K-Beauty in War: A Visual Interview with Claire Chun

Read our interview with Claire Chun, a Ph.D. candidate in the UC Berkeley Department of Ethnic Studies with a Designated Emphasis in Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies, whose research explores how modern conceptualizations of “Korean” and “Asian” beauty, wellness, and aesthetics are shaped by overlapping forces of U.S. militarism, tourism, and humanitarianism.

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Alumni

Interview

Anti-Mining Politics in Colombia: A Visual Interview with Ángela Castillo

What can the battle around a new mine in Colombia tell us about the past and future of environmentalist organizing in Latin America? Matrix Postdoc Julia Sizek interviewed Ángela Castillo, who is a recent PhD graduate from UC Berkeley’s Anthropology Department and is now Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Pitzer College.

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Matrix News

Faculty Fellows

Matrix Faculty Fellows Selected for 2024-2025

Four UC Berkeley professors have been selected to be Matrix Faculty Fellows for the 2024-2025 academic year. Launched in 2022, the Matrix Faculty Fellows program supports assistant- and associate-level faculty members at UC Berkeley for work on research that has a significant impact in multiple disciplines in the social sciences.

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Podcast

Interview

The Emotions of Dyadic Relationships: An Interview with Jenna Wells and Felicia Zerwas

This episode of the Matrix Podcast features an interview with Jenna Wells and Felicia Zerwas, who at the time of the interview were Ph.D. candidates in the UC Berkeley Department of Psychology. The interview was conducted by Julia Sizek, Matrix Postdoctoral Fellow.

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Shifting the Frame: The Labors of ImageNet and AI Data

 Recorded on April 17, this video features a talk by Dr. Alex Hanna, Director of Research at the Distributed AI Research Institute (DAIR). The talk was part of a symposium series presented by the UC Berkeley Computational Research for Equity in the Legal System Training Program (CRELS), which trains doctoral students representing a variety […]

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