UC Berkeley’s flagship institute for social science research

Our purpose is captured in our name: we provide an organizational framework—a “matrix”—that supports cross-disciplinary research pursued by social scientists across the University of California, Berkeley campus and beyond.

Matrix On Point

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Ice Police Agent - officer of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Close-up of POLICE ICE marking on the back of a stab proof vest worn by a trio of police officers at the scene of immigrant incident.

Event Date: October 28th, 2026
3:30pm-5:00pm

Matrix on Point: The State of U.S. Immigration Enforcement and Surveillance

Federal immigration enforcement in the United States is increasingly shaped by the convergence of surveillance technologies, data systems, and on-the-ground policing practices. This panel will bring together a group of scholars from diverse disciplines to examine the social and political consequences — and the stakes for rights in an era of technological governance. 

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Interview

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Published December 18, 2019

Q&A with David Harding: “On the Outside: Prisoner Reentry and Reintegration”

An interview with David Harding, Professor of Sociology at UC Berkeley and co-author of the book On the Outside: Prisoner Reentry and Reintegration, which examines the lives of 22 people as they pass out of the prison gates and back into the world.

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Authors Meet Critics

Recap

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Published December 12, 2019

In the Ruins of Neoliberalism

Watch the video from our "Authors Meet Critics" panel on Professor Wendy Brown's In the Ruins of Neoliberalism: The Rise of Anti-Democratic Politics in the West.

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Matrix On Point

Recap

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Published November 27, 2019

On IPCC, Climate Crisis

A "Matrix On Point" panel examined the climate crisis from diverse disciplinary perspectives.

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Matrix On Point

Recap

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Published November 10, 2019

The Trump Impeachment

Recorded on November 5, 2019, Berkeley Law Dean Erwin Chemerinsky and Professor Robert B. Reich discuss "The Trump Impeachment."

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Podcast

Interview

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Published October 30, 2019

Matrix Podcast: Interview with Dacher Keltner

In this episode of the Matrix Podcast, Michael Watts talks with Dacher Keltner, Professor of Psychology, Director of the Berkeley Social Interaction Laboratory, and Faculty Director of the Greater Good Science Center.

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Inequality

Article

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Published October 29, 2019

Q&A: Professor Gabriel Zucman

A new book by Gabriel Zucman and Emmanuel Saez argues that the American tax system is more unfair than ever—but there are ways to fix it.

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