This Week in Sociological Perspective

This week I spoke with Dr. Jan Stets, Professor of Sociology at UC-Riverside. Stets is Director of the Social Psychology Research Laboratory, past Program Director of the Sociology Program at the National Science Foundation, and past editor of Social Psychology Quarterly. I spoke with her about the emotional challenges people are facing owing to the COVID-19 pandemic and our efforts to combat the pandemic. But first, I recently spoke with Kate Strully, Associate Professor of Sociology at the University at Albany, about her recent paper titled "Employer Verification Mandates and Infant Health." The paper is co-authored by Robert Bozick, Ying Huang, and Lane Burgette, and was published in Population Research and Policy Review.

Segment 1 -- Kate Strully on "Employer Verification Mandates and Infant Health."

Segment 2 -- Jan Stets with a sociological perspective on emotional challenges that accompany the COVID-19 pandemic and our mitigation efforts.

This week I spoke with Dr. Isaac Ariail Reed, an Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Virginia, about the simmering conflict between the federal government and state governments surrounding measures to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. But first, I recently spoke with Dr. Raphael Charron-Chenier, Assistant Professor of Justice and Social Inquiry at Arizona State University, about his recent paper titled "'Predatory Inclusion in Consumer Credit: Explaining Black and White Disparities in Payday Loan Use". The paper is scheduled to be published in Sociological Forum.

Segment 1 -- Raphael Charron-Chenier on "Predatory Inclusion in Consumer Credit: Explaining Black and White Disparities in Payday Loan Use."

Segment 2 -- Isaac Ariail Reed on the simmering conflict between states and the federal government in sociological perspective.

This week we discuss the only story in the news: the Covid-19 pandemic. But first, I recently spoke with Professor Susan Shapiro of the American Bar Foundation about her recent book, Speaking for the Dying: Life-and-Death Decisions in Intensive Care. Professor Shapiro studies the complex context people navigate to make treatment decisions for others in intensive care. The result: An illuminating revelation of the challenges people encounter, and some helpful adjustments we can make in how we approach the prospect of speaking for others in such emotionally difficult times.

Segment 1 -- Susan Shapiro on Speaking for the Dying: Life-and-Death Decisions in Intensive Care.

Segment 2 -- Reflections on the only story in the news--and what we must remember as it is often treated it as such.

This week we discuss trends in domestic violence in the Covid-19 pandemic. But first, I recently spoke with University of Toronto professor Markus Schafer to discuss some intriguing findings from his recent paper titled "As Goes the City? Older Americans' Home Upkeep in the Aftermath of the Great Recession." The paper is scheduled to be published in Social Problems, and is co-authored by Jason Settles and Laura Upenieks.

Segment 1 -- Markus Schafer on "As Goes the City? Older Americans' Home Upkeep in the Aftermath of the Great Recession"

Segment 2 -- "Global Lockdowns Resulting in 'Horrifying Surge' in Domestic Violence, U.N. Warns", NPR; "A Man Killed a Woman And Himself Because He Feared They Had The Coronavirus, Sheriff Says, Buzzfeed News

This week we discuss what COVID-19 can teach us about what may be coming with climate change. And, I talk with University of Idaho professor Deborah Thorne about some intriguing implications of her recent paper titled "Graying of U.S. Bankruptcy: Fallout from Life in a Risk Society." The paper is scheduled to be published in Sociological Inquiry, and is co-authored by Pamela Foohey, Robert M. Lawless, and Katherine Porter.

Segment 1 -- Deborah Thorne on "Graying of U.S. Bankruptcy: Fallout from Life in a Risk Society"

Segment 2 -- "How the coronavirus pandemic is crippling California's efforts to prevent catastrophic wildfires"; San Francisco Chronicle

This week I spoke with Dr. Alexander White, an Assistant Professor of Sociology and the History of Medicine at Johns Hopkins University, about the COVID-19 pandemic in relation to other pandemics in human history. And, I talk with Dr. Allen Hyde, Assistant Professor of Sociology at the Georgia Institute of Technology, about his recent paper titled "'Left Behind?' Financialization and Income Inequality Between the Affluent, Middle Class, and The Poor." The paper is scheduled to be published in Sociological Inquiry.

Segment 1 -- Allen Hyde on "'Left Behind?' Financialization and Income Inequality Between the Affluent, Middle Class, and the Poor."

Segment 2 -- Alexandre White on the COVID-19 pandemic in sociological perspective.

This week is the anniversary of the grounding of the Boeing MAX 8. We read the debacle in light of sociological research. And I talk with Hope Harvey, Ph.D., a post-doctoral scholar at Cornell University, about some interesting results reported in her recent Social Forces paper titled "Forever Homes and Temporary Stops: Housing Search Logics and Residential Selection" The paper is co-authored by Kelly Fong, Kathryn Edin, and Stefanie DeLuca.

Segment 1 -- Hope Harvey on "Forever Homes and Temporary Stops: Housing Search Logics and Residential Selection"

Segment 2 -- "The insider story of MCAS: How Boeing's 737 MAX system gained power and lost safeguards"; Seattle Times and "Stick Shaker Disagreement Threatens MAX Consensus"; AVWeb

This week we discuss some of the challenges organizations encounter when attempting to move from symbolic change to real change. And I talk with Indiana University Sociology Professor Patricia McManus about some interesting results reported in her recent Social Science Research paper titled "Female labor force participation in the US: How is immigration shaping recent trends?" The paper is co-authored by Kaitlin L. Johnson.

Segment 1 -- Patricia McManus on "Female labor force participation in the US: How is immigration shaping recent trends?"

Segment 2 -- "Ousted Grammys Chief Deborah Dugan is Fired"; New York Times and "All Hell Has Broken Loose Within the Grammys"; Vulture

This week, on the heels of vote-counting controversies in Iowa and Nevada, we identify a potential problem with some California primary election ballots. And, I talk with University of Pennsylvania Sociology Professor Jason Schnittker about some intriguing findings reported in his Journal of Health and Social Behavior paper. The paper is co-authored by Duy Do.

Segment 1 -- Jason Schnittker on "Pharmaceutical Side Effects and Mental Health Paradoxes among Racial-Ethnic Minorities"

Segment 2 -- "Massive changes to California voting spark fears of Iowa-style primary chaos"; Reuters

This Week in Sociological Perspective is on hiatus for the week of Monday, March 10th. During this week we will attempt to resolve audio-video sync problems, as well as pixelation problems, that have harmed the video version. We expect to be back with a new episode of This Week in Sociological Perspective for the week of Monday, March 17th.