Matrix On Point
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Event Date: February 3rd, 2026
4:00pm-5:30pm
Matrix on Point: Corruption in America
This panel will bring together leading scholars from business, political science, and law to examine the many facets of corruption in the United States and the ways it is identified, constrained, and addressed. The panel will feature Sarah Anzia, Ernesto Dal Bó, and Erwin Chemerinsky, with Sean Gailmard moderating.
Learn More >Book Talk
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Event Date: January 21st, 2026
4:00pm-5:15pm
American Contradiction: Revolution and Revenge from the 1950s to Now
Please join us on January 21, 2026 from 4-5:15pm for a book talk by Paul Starr, Professor of Sociology and Public Affairs, and Stuart Professor of Communications and Public Affairs, at Princeton University. Professor Starr will discuss his book, American Contradiction: Revolution and Revenge from the 1950s to Now. The talk will be moderated by Jake Grumbach, Associate Professor at the Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley.
Learn More >Authors Meet Critics
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Event Date: February 5th, 2026
12:00 PM to 1:30 PM PT
Paola Bacchetta, “Co-Motion: Rethinking Power, Subjects and Feminist and Queer Alliances”
join us on February 5th from 12pm-1:30pm for an Authors Meet Critics panel on the book "Co-Motion: Re-Thinking Power, Subjects, and Feminist and Queer Alliances," by Paola Bacchetta, Professor and Chair of the Department of Gender and Women's Studies at UC Berkeley. Professor Bacchetta will be joined in conversation by Roshanak Kheshti and Leti Volpp, with Lawrence Cohen moderating.
Learn More >California Spotlight
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Event Date: February 9th, 2026
12:00 PM to 1:30 PM PT
California Spotlight: Higher Education Under Attack
This California Spotlight panel brings together leading scholars to examine the forces challenging public higher education today. Drawing on areas spanning finance, policy, and labor, the discussion will explore how these dynamics are shaping the UC system, and what is at stake for students, employees, the public, and the future of higher education.
Learn More >New Directions
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Event Date: March 10th, 2026
12:00 PM to 1:30 PM PT
New Directions: Colonial Legacies, Post-Colonial Perspectives
Colonial legacies continue to shape political, social, and intellectual life. While colonialism is often treated as a historical period, its structures and logics persist in contemporary debates around race, territory, knowledge, and power. This panel — part of the Social Science Matrix New Directions series — will bring together UC Berkeley graduate students from anthropology, geography, and sociology to examine how colonial histories are reproduced, contested, and reimagined across different contexts.
Learn More >Authors Meet Critics
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Event Date: April 7th, 2026
12:00 PM to 1:30 PM PT
Trevor Jackson: “The Insatiable Machine: How Capitalism Conquered the World”
Join us for a panel on "The Insatiable Machine," by Professor Trevor Jackson, which traces capitalism’s development from the accidental construction of an international monetary system to the creation of banking, the emergence of a new form of slavery, fossil–fuel industrialization, and finally the global capitalist system spread by imperialism.
Learn More >Authors Meet Critics
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Event Date: April 20th, 2026
12:00 PM to 1:30 PM PT
Daniela Cammack: “Demos: How the People Ruled Athens”
What is the true meaning of the ancient Greek word "demokratia"? Join us on April 20th for an Authors Meet Critics panel on the book "Demos: How the People Ruled Athens," by Daniela Cammack, Assistant Professor of Political Science at UC Berkeley. Professor Cammack will be joined in conversation by Alison McQueen, James Porter, and Marianne Constable.
Learn More >Matrix Lecture
Recap
Published December 16, 2025
Alexis Madrigal: “To Know A Place”
Recorded on December 4, 2025, this video features a Social Science Matrix Distinguished Lecture, “To Know a Place,” presented by journalist and author Alexis Madrigal. In this talk, Madrigal turns his attention to the question of how we come to know a place. Drawing on his background as a reporter, writer, and thinker of cities, landscapes, and histories, he explores different ways of writing about and understanding place, revealing how perspective, memory, and narrative inform the stories we tell about the world around us.
Learn More >CRELS
Recap
Published December 16, 2025
Maximilian Kasy: “The Means of Prediction: How AI Really Works (and Who Benefits)”
Recorded on December 2, 2025, this video features a talk by Maximilian Kasy, Professor of Economics at the University of Oxford, presenting his book The Means of Prediction: How AI Really Works (and Who Benefits). In the book, Kasy clearly and accessibly explains the fundamental principles on which AI works, and, in doing so, reveals that the real conflict isn’t between humans and machines, but between those who control the machines and the rest of us.
Learn More >Matrix Teach-In
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Published December 16, 2025
Seth Lunine: “Promise & Precarity: Exploring Oakland Through Community Engaged Scholarship”
Recorded on November 17, 2025, this video features a lecture by Seth Lunine, Lecturer in the UC Berkeley Department of Geography, who presented a talk reflecting on his experiences with collaborative scholarship between UC Berkeley undergraduates and community-based organizations in Oakland’s Fruitvale District.
Learn More >Matrix On Point
Recap
Published December 15, 2025
Matrix on Point: Financializing Disaster
The technical world of insurance is a critical lens through which to understand the escalating crises in climate change and housing. Watch the video (or listen to the podcast) of a Matrix on Point panel that brought together experts to explore the intersection of insurance, housing, and climate. The panel featured Stephen Collier, Desiree Fields, and Dave Jones, with Meg Mills-Novoa moderating.
Learn More >Matrix On Point
Recap
Published November 17, 2025
Matrix on Point: Spaces for Thriving
Physical spaces profoundly influence community well-being. Recorded on November 3, 2025, this panel brought together experts to explore how thoughtful planning and strategic policy can shift power toward communities, creating conditions where all can thrive. The discussion bridged diverse perspectives on environmental conservation, design psychology, and disability studies to illuminate steps toward more just and inclusive environments.
Learn More >Matrix On Point
Recap
Published November 17, 2025
Matrix on Point: Conspiracy Theories
Drawing on diverse academic perspectives, the discussion explored the nature of conspiracy theories, their societal implications, and how they are understood and addressed. The panel featured Michael M. Cohen, Associate Professor of American Studies and African American Studies at UC Berkeley, and Tim Tangherlini, Professor in the Department of Scandinavian and the School of Information at UC Berkeley. Lakshmi Sarah, journalist and lecturer at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, moderated.
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