Explore every episode of the podcast For Sociology
| Title | Pub. Date | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| For Sociology: Alex Hoppe | 07 oct. 2026 | 00:46:34 | |
Why does one pair of jeans feel right, while another looks hopelessly out of date? And how much of our personal fashion taste is shaped before we even enter a shop? In this episode of For Sociology, host Kevin Caners speaks with sociologist and Kohli Fellow Alex Hoppe about the people, processes and decisions behind the clothes we wear. Drawing on eleven months of fieldwork inside clothing factories in India, Alex explains how suppliers are taking on design work long associated with Western fashion capitals. Alex begins by recalling the socks he needed to fit in at school, which first sparked his interest in fashion and belonging, and how a month in Nicaragua at sixteen set him on the path to sociology. The conversation then turns to how suppliers help trends gather momentum, why fashion remains so difficult to predict, and what changing tastes in everything from clothes to baby names reveal about social life. Alex also reflects on his two years as a Kohli Fellow at the WZB Berlin Social Science Center and the slow work of turning field observations into a book. For Sociology is a podcast from the Kohli Foundation. Learn more at kohlifoundation.eu. 00:00 Introducing Alex Hoppe 02:27 Cool socks and fitting in 04:28 A turning point in Nicaragua 08:14 Why study fashion? 11:53 What is fashion? 15:26 When suppliers become designers 19:48 Inside India’s clothing factories 23:03 Turning fieldwork into a book 28:26 Who shapes what we wear? 30:11 Why trends are hard to predict 33:13 How designers spot trends 35:38 Quick-fire questions 41:41 The book and what comes next 45:46 Closing and credits | |||
| For Sociology: Camille Portier | 15 juil. 2026 | 00:32:30 | |
Why do so many mothers never fully return to work after having a child? In this episode of For Sociology, host Kevin Caners talks with Camille Portier about the quiet forces shaping women's careers after childbirth — and why, in the US, something as simple as control over your own workday can matter as much as paid leave itself. Camille's research focuses on the US — the only wealthy country without guaranteed paid parental leave — where she traces how workplace autonomy can substitute for the benefits mothers don't have. The conversation also covers her academic path from social anthropology to quantitative sociology, her PhD years at Cornell during a politically turbulent moment in America, and the growing threats to social science research funding and data access. Guest: Chapter Markers: Rapid-Fire with Camille: Kohli Foundation for Sociology: https://kohlifoundation.eu/ | |||
| For Sociology: Philip N. Cohen | 21 mai 2026 | 00:47:05 | |
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 | |||
| For Sociology: Peter Bearman | 26 févr. 2026 | 00:44:07 | |
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 | 00:41:32 | |
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 juil. 2025 | 00:44:06 | |
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 avr. 2025 | 00:42:18 | |
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 déc. 2024 | 00:33:33 | |
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 | |||