Explorez tous les épisodes du podcast For Sociology
| Titre | Date | Durée | |
|---|---|---|---|
| For Sociology: Peter Bearman | 26 Feb 2026 | 00:44:08 | |
In this episode of For Sociology, host Kevin Caners speaks with Peter Bearman, Columbia University professor and recipient of the 2025 Kohli Prize for Sociology, about his landmark work on how social networks reveal the hidden structures shaping everyday life. Bearman traces his path into sociology, from an early childhood moment that sharpened his awareness of different social standpoints to an undergraduate turning point that pulled him away from clinical psychology. He reflects on the influence of mentor Harrison White, and how concepts like "duality" helped him see networks not just as connections between people, but as systems that organize social worlds. The conversation then turns to Add Health and Bearman's landmark work on adolescent networks, including "Chains of Affection." He explains what sexual network structure can teach us about disease transmission, and why "missing ties" can be as important as visible ones. Finally, Bearman zooms out to sociology today: the pros and cons of expanding data, the incentives that reward quantity over depth, and the kinds of reforms that could make room for riskier, more transformative research. Chapters: 00:00 Podcast intro Links: Find out more about The Kohli Foundation More about Add Health | |||
| For Sociology: Rory Fitzgerald | 28 Oct 2025 | 00:41:33 | |
Rory Fitzgerald on the European Social Survey: Insights and Innovations In this episode of For Sociology, host Kevin Caners sits down with Professor Rory Fitzgerald, Director of the European Social Survey (ESS) and recipient of the 2024 Kohli Infrastructure Prize, to uncover the story behind one of the most influential social research projects in Europe. Fitzgerald reveals the origins of the ESS, the meticulous methodologies employed, and some of the fascinating findings gleaned from over two decades of data collection across 30 countries. They also discuss crucial societal issues such as public trust, immigration attitudes, and the effects of sociopolitical change. Fitzgerald shares personal insights from his career and reflects on the future of the ESS — including the challenges of maintaining data quality and implementing innovative survey techniques. Tune in to discover how the ESS is shaping our understanding of European societies and beyond. Timestamps
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| For Sociology: Michèle Lamont | 17 Jul 2025 | 00:44:07 | |
In this episode of For Sociology, host Kevin Caners sits down with Michèle Lamont, the 2024 Kohli Prize Laureate and one of the most influential sociologists of our time. A professor at Harvard University and former president of the American Sociological Association, Lamont has spent her career exploring how we define worth, dignity, and belonging in an increasingly divided world. Through a wide-ranging conversation, Lamont reflects on her intellectual journey from Quebec to the top ranks of global sociology. She shares the inspiration behind her landmark books—Money, Morals, and Manners and The Dignity of Working Men—and explains how her work on symbolic boundaries helps us understand everything from class conflict to cultural inclusion. We also dive into her latest research on young workers, the role of social movements, and how cultural narratives can reduce stigma and foster greater inclusivity. Finally, Lamont offers powerful insights—and a few surprises—on how sociology can rise to meet the moment. Episode Guide: Podcast Illustration by Adam Matak | |||
| For Sociology: Kathleen Mullan Harris | 01 Apr 2025 | 00:42:19 | |
In this episode of For Sociology, host Kevin Caners speaks with Kathleen Mullan Harris, recipient of the 2023 Kohli Infrastructure Prize for Sociology. Harris discusses her pivotal role in Add Health, a groundbreaking, nationally representative longitudinal study launched in the mid-1990s that has tracked over 20,000 individuals from adolescence to adulthood. The conversation delves into the study's origins, methodologies, and major contributions, highlighting how Add Health has advanced our understanding of the intersections between social, biological, and health factors across the life course. Harris also shares insights into the challenges of managing such a large-scale study and her vision for its future—aiming to follow participants throughout the entire course of their lives. Episode Timestamps:00:00 – Introduction | |||
| For Sociology: Gøsta Esping-Anderson | 19 Dec 2024 | 00:33:34 | |
In this first episode of For Sociology, host Kevin Caners sits down with Gøsta Esping-Andersen, the inaugural Kohli Prize Laureate of 2023. They discuss Esping-Andersen's groundbreaking work on social mobility and welfare states, including his seminal book The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism. Gøsta also reflects on his academic journey from Denmark to the University of Wisconsin, his motivations for studying sociology and demography, and the pivotal moments that shaped his career. Through our unique Proust Questionnaire, we discover that if Gøsta weren't a sociologist, he'd likely be a carpenter. Finally, we hear about an unanswered question in sociology that fascinates Gøsta—the unexplained decline in fertility rates in advanced countries since 2012.
Timestamps 00:00 – Introduction to For Sociology Podcast | |||
| For Sociology: Philip N. Cohen | 21 May 2026 | 00:47:06 | |
What if academic research — much of it funded by taxpayers — were freely available to anyone who wanted to read it? That's the simple but radical idea behind SocArXiv, the open-access preprint repository that this episode's guest, Philip Cohen, founded in 2016. Philip is a professor of sociology at the University of Maryland and the 2025 Kohli Infrastructure Prize for Sociology Laureate. In this conversation, he takes us behind the scenes of the fight to make social science research open, faster, and more equitable. We later zoom out to tackle a bigger question: What happens to sociology when the government starts treating it as the enemy? Guest Chapter Markers Rapid-Fire with Philip Links & Resources | |||