This Week in Sociological Perspective

This week we discuss the concept of cancel culture, in the context of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' recommendation to avoid the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine. And, I recently spoke with Professor Pilar Gonalons-Pons of the University of Pennsylvania about her recent paper titled "Exit, voice, and loyalty in the family: findings from a basic income experiment." The paper is to be published in the Socio-Economic Review, and is co-authored by David Calnitsky.

Segment 1 – Pilar Gonalons-Pons on "Exit, voice, and loyalty in the family: findings from a basic income experiment."

Segment 2 – Cancel culture, excommunication, and capitalism

This week we discuss what appears to be a sad development for computing–Fry's electronics has gone out of business. And, I recently spoke with Professor Sarah Font of Pennsylvania State University about her recent paper titled "The Scope, Nature, and Causes of Child Abuse and Neglect." The paper was recently published in the ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, and is co-authored by Kathryn Maguire-Jack.

Segment 1 -- Sarah Font on "The Scope, Nature, and Causes of Child Abuse and Neglect."

Segment 2 – Another retailer bites the dust: Social fallout from the closure of Fry's electronics

This week we consider the justice implicated in a warning the National Basketball Association gave LeBron James for an on-court violation that the referee did not call. And, I recently spoke with Professor Mahesh Somashekhar of the University of Illinois at Chicago about his recent paper titled "Racial Inequality between Gentrifiers: How the Race of Gentrifiers Affects Retail Development in Gentrifying Neighborhoods." The paper is to be published in City and Community, and is sole-authored.

Segment 1 – Mahesh Somashekar on "Racial Inequality between Gentrifiers: How the Race of Gentrifiers Affects Retail Development in Gentrifying Neighborhoods."

Segment 2 – Tariff and Day-Fine Models of Justice

This week we discuss a hacker's recent breach of a Florida town's water supply. But first, as the Senate trial of impeached former President Donald Trump proceeds, some are suggesting that the nation has not been this polarized since the Civil War. Well, what does sociological research on political polarization say? I recently spoke with Austin Kozlowski, doctoral candidate at the University of Chicago, about his recent paper titled "Issue alignment and partisanship in the American public: Revisiting the 'partisans without constraint' thesis." The paper is to be published in Social Science Research, and is co-authored by James P. Murphy.

Segment 1 -- Austin Kozlowski on "Issue alignment and partisanship in the American public: Revisiting the 'partisans without constraint' thesis."

Segment 2-- State capacity, framing, political will, and water supply protection.

This week we discuss the grassroots effort to add bike lanes to LEGO modules, and we mark the passing of a giant in the field of sociology. And, I recently spoke with Professor Michael Light of the University of Wisconsin-Madison about his recent paper titled "Undocumented immigration and terrorism: Is there a connection?" The paper is to be published in Social Science Research, and is co-authored by Julia Thomas.

Segment 1 -- Michael Light on "Undocumented immigration and terrorism: Is there a connection?"

Segment 2 -- Implications of the campaign to add and expand bike lanes in LEGO modules

Segment 3 – In Memoriam: Professor Robert D. Mare

This week we discuss how new means of constructing algorithms may reduce racial disparities in health care. And, I speak with Professor Nina Bandelj of the University of California-Irvine about her recent paper titled "Amplified Decoupling in the Global Economy: The Case of Bilateral Investment Treaties." The paper is to be published in Socius, and is co-authored by Aaron Tester.

Segment 1 -- Nina Bandelj on "Amplified Decoupling in the Global Economy: The Case of Bilateral Investment Treaties"

Segment 2 -- A novel way to construct diagnostic algorithms can reduce health care disparities along lines of race, income, and education

This week we discuss the pace of COVID-19 vaccinations in the United States. And, I speak with Professor Naomi Sugie of the University of California-Irvine about her recent paper titled "Marginalization or Incorporation? Welfare Receipt and Political Participation Among Young Adults." The paper is to be published in Social Problems, and is co-authored by Emma Conner.

Segment 1 -- Naomi Sugie on "Marginalization or Incorporation? Welfare Receipt and Political Participation Among Young Adults"

Segment 2 -- Social and geopolitical implications of the pace of COVID-19 vaccination, vaccination refusal, virus mutations, and the possible failure to attain herd immunity in the United States.

This week we take a look back at 2020, with Trevor Hoppe, Assistant Professor of Sociology, University of North-Carolina-Greensboro; Marlese Durr, Professor of Sociology and Anthropology, Wright State University; David M. Smith, Professor of Sociology, University of Kansas; and Hannah Holleman, Associate Professor of Sociology and Environmental Studies, Amherst College.

This week we consider how people select their health insurance when faced with several options. And, I recently spoke with Professor Lance Hannon of Villanova University about his recent paper titled "Do White People See Variation in Black Skin Tones? Reexamining a Purported Outgroup Homogeneity Effect." The paper is to be published in Social Psychology Quarterly, and is co-authored by Verna M. Keith, Robert DeFina, and Mary E. Campbell.

Segment 1 -- Lance Hannon on "Do White People See Variation in Black Skin Tones? Reexamining a Purported Outgroup Homogeneity Effect."

Segment 2 –Choice overload in health insurance plan selection, and possible responses

This week we reflect upon some insights after considering letters children have sent to Santa about the year 2020. And, I recently spoke with Professor Lisa Keister of Duke University about her recent paper titled "Net Worth Poverty in Child Households by Race and Ethnicity, 1989-2019." The paper is to be published in Journal of Marriage and Family, and is co-authored by Christina Gibson-Davis and Lisa A. Gennetian.

Segment 1 -- Lisa Keister on "Net Worth Poverty in Child Households by Race and Ethnicity, 1989-2019."

Segment 2 – Santa, the Postal Service, and You