Podcast

Global Democracy Commons

Recap

Published December 17, 2024

Making Sense of the Elections of 2024

Presented as part of the Global Democracy Commons initiative, this panel featured UC Berkeley scholars discussing the 2024 elections in different parts of the world. The panel included James Vernon, Helen Fawcett Distinguished Professor, History; Alison Post, Associate Professor, Political Science; Trevor Jackson, Assistant Professor, History; Aarti Sethi, Assistant Professor, Anthropology; and Kwanele Sosibo, Lecturer, Art History.

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Podcast

Interview

Published December 16, 2024

Gendered Violence in Insurgencies: Interview with Tara Chandra

This episode of the Matrix Podcast features an interview with Tara Chandra, a consultant and independent researcher who received a PhD in Political Science with a Designated Emphasis in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies from UC Berkeley. The interview focused on Chandra's work on gendered violence in insurgencies and counterinsurgencies.

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Podcast

Interview

Published December 4, 2024

Emotion, Race, and Gender: Interview with Gold Okafor

Listen to our interview with Gold Okafor, a PhD candidate in social and personality psychology at UC Berkeley who investigates racial and gender disparities through emotion. The interview focuses on Okafor's paper, "Measuring Mindfulness in Black Americans: A Psychometric Validation of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire," as well as other research topics.

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Podcast

Interview

Published November 19, 2024

The Imperiled Place of Universities and Democracy in the USA: An Interview with Todd Wolfson

This Matrix Podcast episode features a conversation between James Vernon, Director of the Global Democracy Commons initiative, and Todd Wolfson, the new President of AAUP, about how public disinvestment from higher education and the culture wars have transformed colleges in ways that make them less democratic places — and imperil democracy across the country.

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Matrix On Point

Recap

Published November 11, 2024

Matrix on Point: Voices from the Heartland

Recorded on October 21, 2024, this Matrix on Point panel featured three scholars — Arlie Hochschild, Jenny Reardon, and Lisa Pruitt — discussing the frequently overlooked yet politically potent voices emanating from America’s rural heartlands and small towns. Moderated by Cihan Tuğal.

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Authors Meet Critics

Recap

Published November 11, 2024

Authors Meet Critics: “Partisan Nation: The Dangerous New Logic of American Politics in a Nationalized Era”

Watch the video (or listen to the podcast) of our Authors Meet Critics panel "Partisan Nation: The Dangerous New Logic of American Politics in a Nationalized Era," by Paul Pierson and Eric Schickler, who were joined in conversation by Francis Fukuyama and Didi Kuo. Moderated by Mark Danner.

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Matrix On Point

Recap

Published November 8, 2024

Matrix on Point: War is Back

Recorded on September 30, 2024, this "Matrix on Point" panel discussion focused on the recent escalation of conflicts around the world — and what lies ahead. The panel featured Michaela Mattes, Andrew Reddie, and Daniel Sargent, and was moderated by Vinod Aggarwal.

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Podcast

Interview

Published November 1, 2024

Free Speech, Academic Freedom, and the Fragile History of American Democracy

This Matrix Podcast episode features a conversation between James Vernon, Director of the Global Democracy Commons initiative, and Hank Reichman, Professor Emeritus at Cal State East Bay, and author of Understanding Academic Freedom.

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Authors Meet Critics

Recap

Published October 24, 2024

Authors Meet Critics: Puta Life: Seeing Latinas, Working Sex

Watch the video (or listen to the podcast) of our Authors Meet Critics panel on "Puta Life: Seeing Latinas, Working Sex," by Juana María Rodríguez, Professor in the Department of Ethnic Studies at UC Berkeley. Professor Rodriguez was joined in conversation by Clarissa Rojas and Courtney Desiree Morris, with Alberto Ledesma moderating.

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Podcast

Interview

Published September 27, 2024

Prisoner Labor Legacies: An interview with Elizabeth Hargrett and Xander Lenc

While recent news has highlighted how prisoners have fought wildfires, prison labor is not a new phenomenon. Although incarcerated people have built highways, dams, and buildings, their contributions to American infrastructure are often made invisible. Both Elizabeth Hargrett and Xander Lenc have studied how prisoner labor has shaped America’s infrastructure with a focus on North […]

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Interview

Published September 11, 2024

Agricultural Modernization in China: Interview with Ross Doll and Coleman Mahler 

This episode of the Matrix Podcast features Matrix Postdoctoral Fellow Julia Sizek interviewing Ross Doll and Coleman Mahler, two scholars from different disciplines whose work focuses on the modernization of China. Ross Doll is Ciriacy-Wantrup Postdoctoral Fellow in the UC Berkeley Department of Geography. He researches agrarian change in Asia drawing on political ecology, cultural […]

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Podcast

Interview

Published May 31, 2024

The Emotions of Dyadic Relationships: An Interview with Jenna Wells and Felicia Zerwas

This episode of the Matrix Podcast features an interview with Jenna Wells and Felicia Zerwas, who at the time of the interview were Ph.D. candidates in the UC Berkeley Department of Psychology. The interview was conducted by Julia Sizek, Matrix Postdoctoral Fellow.

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