This Week in Sociological Perspective

This week we discuss a woman in England who uses her drone in service to others. And, I recently spoke with Professor Scott Duxbury of the University of North Carolina about his recent paper titled “The Boys in Blue Are Watching You: The Shifting Metropolitan Landscape and Big Data Police Surveillance in the United States.” The paper is to be published in Social Problems, and is co-authored by Nafeesa Andrabi.

Segment 1 -- Scott Duxbury on “The Boys in Blue Are Watching You: The Shifting Metropolitan Landscape and Big Data Police Surveillance in the United States”

Segment 2 -- A generous dog-lover uses her drone to help rescue lost dogs for free

This week we discuss the insertion of a new player in the fight to reform policing in the United States. And, I recently spoke with Dr. Robert Bozick, Director of the Houston Population Research Center of the Kinder Institute for Urban Research at Rice University, about his recent paper titled “An increasing disinterest in fatherhood among childless men in the United States: A brief report.” The paper is to be published in the Journal of Marriage and Family, and is sole-authored.

Segment 1 -- Robert Bozick on “An increasing disinterest in fatherhood among childless men in the United States: A brief report.”

Segment 2 -- Insurer's financial hammer and motivating police departments to reform

This week we discuss results from the natural experiment of COVID-era remote instruction for 9 year olds. But first, I recently spoke with Professor Carly Knight of New York University about her recent paper titled “Classifying the corporation: the role of naturalizing analogies in American corporate development, 1870–1930.” The paper is to be published in the Socio-Economic Review and is sole-authored.

Segment 1 – Carly Knight on “Classifying the corporation: the role of naturalizing analogies in American corporate development, 1870–1930”

Segment 2 – The COVID-era natural experiment of remote instruction and what it tells us about schools

This week we discuss emerging controversy in how reporters cover wildfires. And, I recently spoke with Geoffrey Wodtke, Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Chicago, about his recent paper titled “Toxic Neighborhoods: The Effects of Concentrated Poverty and Environmental Lead Contamination on Early Childhood Development.” The paper is to be published in Demography, and is co-authored by Sagi Ramaj, and Jared Schachner.

Segment 1 -- Geoffrey Wodtke on “Toxic Neighborhoods: The Effects of Concentrated Poverty and Environmental Lead Contamination on Early Childhood Development”

Segment 2 – Wildfire in personal and public perspective

This week we discuss citizen stakeouts of ballot drop-boxes. And, I recently spoke with Patrick Denice, Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Western Ontario, about his recent paper titled “Spatial Mismatch and the Share of Black, Hispanic, and White Students Enrolled in Charter Schools.” The paper is to be published in Sociology of Education and is sole-authored.

Segment 1 -- Patrick Denice on “Spatial Mismatch and the Share of Black, Hispanic, and White Students Enrolled in Charter Schools.”

Segment 2 – Citizen Stakeouts of Ballot Drop-boxes

This week we discuss national implications of some of the characteristics advertised as amenities on Airbnb. But first, I recently spoke with Nicolo Pinchak of Ohio State University about his recent paper titled “Paws on the Street: Neighborhood-Level Concentration of Households with Dogs and Urban Crime.” The paper is to be published in Social Forces, and is co-authored by Christopher R. Browning, Bethany Boettner, Catherine A. Calder, Jake Tarrence.

Segment 1 -- Nicolo Pinchak on “Paws on the Street: Neighborhood-Level Concentration of Households with Dogs and Urban Crime.”

Segment 2 -- Airbnb and Collective Memory: Slave Cabins Rehabbed and Marketed as Luxury Accommodations of Southern Hospitality

This week we discuss social multipliers of an emerging threat to billions of people. But first, I recently spoke with Dr. Jacqui Frost, a postdoctoral scholar at Rice University who is moving soon to a faculty position at Purdue University, about her recent paper titled “Ritualizing Nonreligion: Cultivating Rational Rituals in Secular Spaces.” The paper is to be published in Social Forces and is sole-authored.

Segment 1 -- Jacqui Frost on “Ritualizing Nonreligion: Cultivating Rational Rituals in Secular Spaces”

Segment 2 – Social multipliers of an emerging threat to billions

This week we discuss the industrialization of migration across the southern border of the United States. But first, I recently spoke with Niccolò Armandola of the University of Zurich about his recent paper titled “Rebel without a Cause: The Effects of Social Origins and Disposable Income on Rule Violations.” The paper is to be published in the European Sociological Review, and is co-authored by Alexander Ehlert and Heiko Rauhut.

Segment 1 -- Niccolò Armandola on “Rebel without a Cause: The Effects of Social Origins and Disposable Income on Rule Violations.”

Segment 2 – The Industrialization of Illegal Immigration: From Cottage Industry to Drug Cartel Monopoly?

On Friday the U.S. Supreme Court released several decisions, many of them major decisions in their domain and beyond. This week I spoke with Professor Mary Rose of the University of Texas-Austin about three of those Supreme Court decisions: Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen, and Vega v. Tekoh. Professor Rose identifies important new directions these decisions signal, and reflects on the implications of these directions for the judges’ reasoning, decision-making, and the exercise of rights.

Single Segment -- Mary Rose on Dobbs, New York Rifle and Pistol Association, and Vega

This week we discuss the increasing trend of teachers leaving teaching. And, I recently spoke with Professor Joseph Dippong of the University of North Carolina-Charlotte, about his recent paper titled “Vocal Accommodation and Perceptions of Speakers’ Prestige and Dominance.” The paper is to be published in Social Psychology Quarterly, and is co-authored by Will Kalkhoff and Cayce Jamil.

Segment 1 -- Joseph Dippong on “Vocal Accommodation and Perceptions of Speakers’ Prestige and Dominance.”

Segment 2 -- Teacher attrition in context, pre-COVID and now

This week we discuss efforts to determine what the next generation will learn. And, I recently spoke with Dr. Kyla Thomas of the Center for Economic and Social Research of the University of Southern California about her recent paper titled “The psychology of distinction: How cultural tastes shape perceptions of class and competence in the U.S.” The paper is to be published in Poetics, and is sole-authored.

Segment 1 -- Kyla Thomas on “The psychology of distinction: How cultural tastes shape perceptions of class and competence in the U.S.”

Segment 2 -- Tiananmen Square and Tulsa, Oklahoma: Generational censorship in nations of power

This week we discuss the removal of the allegedly “last” public payphone in New York. But first, I recently spoke with Professor Emily Rauscher of Brown University, about her recent paper titled “Learning to Value Girls: Balanced Infant Sex Ratios at Higher Parental Education in the United States, 1969–2018.” The paper is to be published in Demography, and is co-authored by Haoming Song.

Segment 1 -- Emily Rauscher on “Learning to Value Girls: Balanced Infant Sex Ratios at Higher Parental Education in the United States, 1969–2018.”

Segment 2 -- As payphones give way to wi-fi hotspots and cellphone dependence, collective goods give way to private goods whose performance in emergencies remain uncertain at best

This week we discuss a spate of articles about COVID. And, I recently spoke with Professor Justine Tinkler of the University of Georgia about her recent paper titled “Sexual harassment training and men’s motivation to work with women.” The paper is to be published in Social Science Research, and is co-authored by Jody Clay-Warner and Malissa Alinor.

Segment 1 -- Justine Tinkler on “Sexual harassment training and men’s motivation to work with women.”

Segment 2 -- Sociological challenges in the COVID era

This week we discuss the Politico leak of a draft Supreme Court decision. But first, I recently spoke with Professor Kyle Siler of the Université de Montréal about his recent paper titled “Inequality Within omnivorous knowledge: Distribution of Jeopardy! geography questions, 1984-2020.” The paper is to be published in Poetics and is sole-authored.

Segment 1 -- Kyle Siler on “Inequality Within omnivorous knowledge: Distribution of Jeopardy! geography questions, 1984-2020.”

Segment 2 – Abortion and the Social Politics of Womanhood

This week we discuss a leaked document showing that Facebook is unable to comply with emerging laws on privacy. And, I recently spoke with Professor Camila Alvarez of the University of California-Merced about her recent paper titled “Analyzing the Military’s Role in Producing Air Toxics Disparities in the United States: A Critical Environmental Justice Approach.” The paper is to be published in Social Problems, and is co-authored by Daniel A. Shtob and Nicholas G. Theis.

Segment 1 -- Camila Alvarez on “Analyzing the Military’s Role in Producing Air Toxics Disparities in the United States: A Critical Environmental Justice Approach.”

Segment 2 – Facebook Can’t Handle the Truth: Leaked document reveals Facebook doesn’t know what it does with your data or where it goes

This week we discuss the repeal of mask mandates for airline travel and other public transit. And, I recently spoke with Reed DeAngelis, doctoral student at the University of North Carolina and the Carolina Population Center, about his recent paper titled “Moving on Up? Neighborhood Status and Racism-Related Distress among Black Americans.” The paper is to be published in Social Forces, and is sole-authored.

Segment 1 -- Reed DeAngelis on “Moving on Up? Neighborhood Status and Racism-Related Distress among Black Americans.”

Segment 2 -- Mask mandate repeal despite broad scientific and public support

This week we discuss lessons from “Pandemic Kids’” return to school. And, I speak with Hana Shepherd, Associate Professor of Sociology at Rutgers University, about her recent paper titled “Administering New Anti-Bullying Law: The Organizational Field and School Variation During Initial Implementation.” The paper is to be published in Law & Social Inquiry, and is co-authored by Idit Fast.

Segment 1 -- Hana Shepherd on “Administering New Anti-Bullying Law: The Organizational Field and School Variation During Initial Implementation”

Segment 2 -- Lessons from schools’ response to Pandemic Kids’ return to school

This week we discuss an amazing new finding from the study of Mars. But first, I recently spoke with Tyler Bruefach, doctoral candidate at Florida State University, about his recent paper titled “Social isolation and achievement of students with learning disabilities.” The paper is to be published in Social Science Research, and is co-authored by John R. Reynolds.

Segment 1 – Tyler Bruefach on “Social isolation and achievement of students with learning disabilities”

Segment 2 – Social implications of the speeds of sound

This week we discuss new efforts to alter the natural world to serve human desires and interests. And, I recently spoke with Professor Denis Trapido of the University of Washington-Bothell about his recent paper titled “The Female Penalty for Novelty and the Offsetting Effect of Alternate Status Characteristics.” The paper is to be published in Social Forces, and is sole-authored.

Segment 1 -- Denis Trapido on “The Female Penalty for Novelty and the Offsetting Effect of Alternate Status Characteristics”

Segment 2 -- Another effort to alter the natural world to serve human desires and interests

This week I talked with Professor Kathryn Freeman Anderson of the University of Houston, about the causes and implications of the slow return of passengers to public transportation in the wake of COVID. But first, I recently spoke with Professor Eunmi Mun of the University of Illinois, about her recent paper titled “Meritocracy at Work?: Merit-Based Reward Systems and Gender Wage Inequality.” The paper is to be published in Social Forces, and is co-authored by Naomi Kodama.

Segment 1 – Professor Eunmi Mun on “Meritocracy at Work?: Merit-Based Reward Systems and GenderWage Inequality.”

Segment 2 – Professor Kathryn Freeman Anderson on changes in public transportation use and policy post-COVID