Roundup

New & Noteworthy

• In Talk and Trust About Climate Change, Nicole Bekesz covers new research investigating who people trust to tell them the truth about climate change, and what makes them seem trustworthy. {2 min read}
• Check out our Media Report by Jan-Rose Davis for recent news featuring social science experts. Last week, Iman Sediqe on intersections between cooking and sociology, Katie E. Corcoran and Christopher P. Scheitle on Americans’ habits of attending multiple religious congregations, Seung-yeon Lee on therapy culture, and Heather Hensman Kettrey on students’ distrust of universities to appropriately handle sexual misconduct. {3 min read}

From the Archives

• The U.S. Supreme Court eviscerated the Voting Rights Act in a ruling last Wednesday, reversing protections against racial discrimination in redistricting. This 2020 piece from Neeraj Rajasekar synthesizes research on gerrymandering, voter disenfranchisement, and the role of voting in U.S. democracy. {7 min read}
• Last week, Israel intercepted the Global Sumud Flotilla in international waters more than 600 miles from the flotilla’s destination in Gaza, where they sought to bring aid. Over 175 civilian activists from around the world were detained, which leaders of multiple countries have criticized as illegal. To help make sense of how international crimes are understood and arbitrated, check out this roundtable discussion from 2013 explaining the international criminal justice system. {19 min read}

More from our Partners & Community Pages

Council on Contemporary Families

• A new study by Yiang Li, Jason Wong, and Linda Waite shows how the conditions people experience in childhood don’t only shape themselves in adulthood, but impact their partners and wider relationships as well. {5 min read}

Backstage with TSP

• After a grueling start to the year here in the Twin Cities, the spring 2026 academic semester is coming to a close. While the TSP board will be posting less frequently over the summer to accommodate the break and changing schedules, stay tuned for more content covering the latest social science research, as well as a special TSP series processing the ICE surge in Minnesota.

New & Noteworthy

• A new Discoveries article highlights research on how renters navigate the risks of poor housing conditions and forced moves. Tenants often face a tough choice: stay and deal with needed repairs or risk instability by relocating. Learn more in The Risks of Relocation and Repair for Renters by Luna Iman. {2 min read}

From the Archives

• Despite declining participation in organized religion, mainstream media is seeing a rise in religion-based films and shows, like Amazon’s “The Chosen” and Fox’s “The Faithful: Women of the Bible.” This 2011 TSP article by Kyle Green – Godless TV – suggests that there has been a dramatic shift in media production of religion in the last 15 years. {4 min read} And this 2014 piece by Evan Stewart – Christian Cinema? – highlights the controversy surrounding religious media in the market concerning navigating complex social and religious identities. {2 min read}
• Last Thursday the Trump administration signed an order to reclassify licensed medical marijuana as a less regulated Schedule III rather than a more highly regulated Schedule I drug, a designation typically reserved for drugs with limited medical use and high potential for abuse. Check out this 2018 TSP article for A Sociological Look at Marijuana and its Users. {3 min read}

More from our Partners & Community Pages

Council on Contemporary Families

• What are the expectations for family members to care for older adults with chronic health conditions? A new piece by Samantha M. Pantelic, Kelsi Caywood, and Sarah E. Patterson shows the complicated dynamics behind caregiver relationships. Read more in “Families Are Messy, Aren’t They?” {3 min read}

First Publics

• A new essay by Brianna Stefano reflects on teaching victimology in classrooms where students may have lived experience with trauma, emphasizing care and flexibility in pedagogy. {5 min read}
• First Publics interviewed Sarah Lageson, Associate Professor of Technology and Social Power at Northeastern University. They discussed the intersection of sociology and law, public sociology and pedagogy. {6 min read}

New & Noteworthy

• A new study reveals how subtle word choices in state abortion laws reinforce gender hierarchy. Read more about the project from Luna J. Slater, Brooke A. de Heer, and Emily M. Schneider in Gender, Power, and the Stories Abortion Laws Tell by guest author Dylan DiGiacomo-Stumm. {4 min read}

From the Archives

• The Supreme Court heard oral arguments this week in Trump v. Barbara – a case examining the Trump administration’s efforts to end birthright citizenship. This 2020 piece from Contexts describes the “invisible knapsack of citizenship privilege that U.S. (born) citizens carry with them as they navigate their lives.” {4 min read}
• President Trump wrote on social media, “a whole civilization will die tonight” if the Iranian government does not agree to reopen a key economic waterway by this evening. A top U.N. official said targeting civilian infrastructure would amount to a war crime. In this 2020 article from our partners at The Center for Holocaust & Genocide Studies, Kurt Borchard reckons with U.S. atrocities at the War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. {6 min read}

More from our Partners & Community Pages

First Publics

• First Publics held a webinar on teaching sociological research methods for/as public engagement in February. Attendees, led by panelists Arturo Baiocchi and Piper Sledge, discussed the role of sociological methods in community-engaged work, how storytelling can enhance sociological research, and more. The conversation was summarized for a post this week. {7 min read}

Center for Holocaust & Genocide Studies

• The Trump Administration is removing educational signs at U.S. National Parks, primarily targeting content relating to slavery, Indigenous people, and climate change. Interim Director of CHGS Joe Eggers spoke to Jenny McBurney about Save Our Signs, a project housed at the University of Minnesota which aims to preserve signs through photography and document their removal. {8 min read}

New & Noteworthy

• Do you find it hard to tell your family when you’re struggling, but easy to unpack your problems with a stranger on a plane? In The Weakness of Strong Ties, Tianhe Chen covers new research showing that people very commonly avoid talking to their closest friends and family when facing personal issues. {2 min read}
• Check out our Media Report by Jan-Rose Davis for recent news featuring social science experts. Last week, Sean M. Theriault on the legacy of Pope Francis, Danielle J. Lindemann on how reality TV changes your behavior, Zachary Levenson on the state censorship of sociology in Florida, and Megan Thiele Strong on how misinformation impacts sociologists in the age of Trump. {2 min read}

From the Archives

• Millions of people attended “No Kings” protests across the U.S. this past weekend. This 2017 article by Neeraj Rajasekar provides insights from social scientists on what makes protests successful. {2 min read}
• There’s a connection between the growing heat of March Madness and the growing discontent with President Trump’s immigration enforcement policies. Learn more in this 2017 Engaging Sports piece by Ryan Turcott, which explains the increasing internationalization of college basketball – a dynamic that has become more complicated with changes in transfer rules and NIL payments for student athletes. {5 min read}

More from our Partners & Community Pages

Council on Contemporary Families

• CCF reprinted a report from the Texas Population Research Center showing the demand for pill packs for self-managed abortions increased significantly after the Dobbs v. Jackson decision. {5 min read}

New & Noteworthy

• How Black Women Navigate Interracial Relationships by Jan-Rose Davis covers a new interview study by Vanessa Gonlin, Chelsey D. Adams, and Elaysha K. Brown. Black women in interracial relationships were often confronted with social tensions rooted in a history of slavery, including accusations of internalized racism from other Black people. {3 min read}

From the Archives

• Spring has sprung! As we move into the warmer season, revisit this 2016 TROT for research on the sociology of spring cleaning. {3 min read}
• This past weekend, the Islamic holiday Eid converged with Nowruz, the start of the Persian New Year. Next week, the Jewish holiday Passover will converge with Christian celebrations of Holy Week and Easter. This Discovery from 2016 discusses how social media facilitates exposure to religious diversity, which can in turn impact people’s own religious practices. {3 min read}

More from our Partners & Community Pages

Council on Contemporary Families

• Does getting your hair done feel like therapy? CCF’s Alicia M. Walker interviewed Hannah McCann about her new book, Emotions, Bodies, and Identities in the Hair and Beauty Salon: Caring Beyond Skin Deep. {6 min read}
• CCF reprinted a 2023 briefing from Daniel Carlson on how worries about COVID-19 transmission affected mother’s participation in the workforce. It warned that the pandemic could have long-lasting effects on gender equality. {5 min read}

New & Noteworthy

• This past weekend saw the closing of a politically fraught Winter Olympic Games. TSP co-publisher Doug Hartmann penned a special feature on where politics and patriotism collided. {5 min read}
• How does your paycheck affect your parenting? When economic uncertainty arises, new research suggests that high- and low-income parents might adjust their parenting styles in contrasting ways. Read more in Parenting Under Financial Pressure by Tatum Anderson. {3 min read}
• Check out our Media Report by Mallory Harrington for recent news featuring social science experts. This week, Leana Cabral on the persistence of anti-Black attitudes in schools; Michael Light on how citizenship status impacts criminal sentences; Celina McEwen, Alison Pullen, and Carl Rhodes on why DEI programs are failing; and a new book from political science and religion scholar Ryan Burge. {3 min read}

From the Archives

• A coalition of organizations sued the U.S. Department of the Interior following a Presidential executive order that removed an LGBTQ Pride flag from the Stonewall National Monument in New York City and an exhibit about slavery at a national historical park in Philadelphia. Check out this 2016 TROT by Erik Kojola and Jacqui Frost, which contextualizes the importance of telling marginalized stories in the parks which have been shaped by unequal access, racial and cultural norms, and a colonial legacy. {3 min read}
• In the UK, King Charles’s brother Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office following recent news about his affiliation with Jeffrey Epstein. This is the first time a member of the UK royal family has been arrested since the 1600s. This 2019 TROT from Neeraj Rajasekar covers sociological research on the role of media and status in creating scandals. {3 min read}

More from our Partners & Community Pages

Council on Contemporary Families

• CCF reprinted a Psychology Today article on COVID-19’s gendered impacts on household labor, written by former editor of Gender and Society Barbara J. Risman. {6 min read}

New & Noteworthy

• In How Anti-ICE Organizing in Minnesota Reactivated Mutual Aid Networks Started After George Floyd’s Murder, republished from The Conversation, Gemma Ware interviews Daniel Cueto-Villalobos about the origins and scale of mutual aid organizing in the Twin Cities. {2 min read; 25 min listen}
• “I Love My Country, but I Hate the State” by Anastasia Dulle covers new research illustrating how political emigrants from Russia navigate complicated feelings toward their home and their government. {2 min read}
• Check out our Media Report by Mallory Harrington for recent news featuring social science experts. Last week, Gopa Sabharwal on the legacy of the late Indian sociologist Andre Beteille; Meaghan Furlano on “heteropessimism”; Laura Maudlin on caregiving in romantic relationships; and more! {3 min read}

From the Archives

• A measles outbreak at the University of Florida has reached 60 cases. Measles are preventable by vaccines, and were declared eradicated in 2000. This 2015 TROT by Caty Taborda examines how vaccinations have become viewed as a personal choice, to the potential cost of public health. {2 min read}
• Valentine’s Day was this past weekend! Here’s a 2024 roundup from TSP on sociological research related to love, relationships, and Valentine’s Day itself.

More from our Partners & Community Pages

Council on Contemporary Families

• CCF reprinted an article from The Conversation on the mental load mothers experience from managing family life. {5 min read}

Semester Roundup & Behind the Scenes

We’ve had a great fall semester at TSP, welcoming five new board members who share our mission to publish high-quality public sociology. 

• Back in October, a small but mighty crew got into the Halloween spirit for our Friday meeting. 
• Last weekend, we showed off our bowling skills (some more than others) with friends and family at our TSP winter party.
• While we look ahead to the next semester, we also say farewell and thank you to our long-time managing editor Jake Otis. Read more about Jake, including some of his TSP highlights, in Best of Jake Otis.

A Look Ahead

• As TSP board members finish up finals and wind down for winter break, here’s what you can expect from us:
  • A new installment of our flagship “Discoveries” series every other week
  • “Best of TSP” spotlights, featuring the board’s favorite articles we published this year
  • A slower weekly roundup schedule, keeping you up to date on fresh content from TSP, our partners, and community pages
• Friday board meetings will reconvene in late January, and with them our regularly scheduled programming.

From Minneapolis, the TSP board wishes you a happy and restful holiday season.❄️

Happy Halloween!

New & Noteworthy

• In the mood for something spooky? Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered, a new StoryMap from Jordyn Wald, tracks the Sociology of the occult. This visual special feature is based on a 2024 piece by Mallory Harrington and Nicole Schmitgen. {3 min scroll}
• Check out our Media Report by Mallory Harrington for recent news featuring social scientists. This week, Michael Benediktsson on the history of the public bench; Ash Watson on who the digital revolution leaves behind; Jennifer Glass on the contentious results of a new Pew Research survey on parenting; Alex Wood on the rise of the freelancer; and Alka Menon on the quickening cycle of trends in cosmetic surgery. {3 min read}

From the Archives

• This week, an unpublished Dr. Seuss manuscript was uncovered in UC San Diego’s Geisel Library. Penguin House plans to publish the book titled Sing the 50 United States! in the summer of 2026. Small Books, Big Questions, a 2018 article by Evan Stewart for Sociological Images, discusses how children’s books reflect the culture around them. {3 min read}
• The Fed lowered interest rates earlier this week, but will this resolve housing shortages? Read Steven Schmidt’s recent piece in Council on Contemporary Families covering research in Los Angeles on this ongoing and complex issue for want-to-be homeowners and sellers. {6 min read}

More from our Partners & Community Pages

World Suffering

• Research finds that forgiveness is healthy, but the pressure to do so may not be. TSP’s Managing Editor, Jacob Otis, wrote Social Expectations of Forgiveness for our partner publication World Suffering this week. {4 min read}

Council on Contemporary Families

• Increases in Community Income Improve Birth Outcomes by Molly A. Martin was originally published in CCF’s Brief Reports and reprinted by CCF this week. Read about the novel experimental design Martin and colleagues used to find a causal link between income and birth outcomes, from their study published in Demography. {4 min read}

New & Noteworthy

• In How Abortion Access Shapes Women’s Financial Futures, Dylan DiGiacomo-Stumm explores how access to abortion care impacts women’s financial prospects, based on research published by Bethany G. Everett and Catherine J. Taylor in American Sociological Review. {2 min read}
• Check out our Media Report by Mallory Harrington for recent news featuring social scientists. This week, Michael Macy on the politicalization of children’s media censorship; Emine Fidan Elcioglu on the growing influence of YouTube on political education; Martin Shaw on defining genocide; and Andreas Reckwitz on the Western aversion to loss. {3 min read}

From the Archives

• As the government shutdown continues, funding for social safety nets like the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program is dwindling. A new bill would allocate emergency funds to continue providing food assistance to WIC recipients. However, several states have already delayed benefits. This 2013 article from our partners at the Scholars Strategy Network surveyed the patchy efficacy of seven government welfare programs for low-income families. {5 min read}
• Virtually all major news organizations have refused to agree to new rules put forth by the U.S. Department of War (formerly Defense) that would prohibit the publication of any material not approved for release by the Pentagon. The united front, including conservative-leaning outlets like Fox News, is seen as a defense of core journalistic principles. This 2019 article tracks the history of debates over what good journalism is and what it should be, discussing the role of journalism in hostile political contexts. {3 min read}

More from our Partners & Community Pages

First Publics

• First Publics announced the formation of the First Publics Advisory Board. The inaugural Board of six public sociologists will work with leadership to increase the publication’s representation of diverse scholarly viewpoints. Meet the Board and learn about First Publics’ priorities here. {3 min read}

Contexts

• Listing Addiction on your Resume by Elena G. van Stee highlights a phenomenon Joseph W. Silcox and Evan Stewart call “the professionalization of stigma,” drawing on interviews with people in long-term recovery from drug use. {1 min read}
• It seems like a paradox – why would someone enter a career field they’re critical of? In Good Lawyer, Bad Lawyer, Elena G. van Stee summarizes research by Matthew Clair and Sophia Hunt on the ways liberal law students justify their decision to enter professions they see as perpetuating injustice. {2 min read}

Council on Contemporary Families

• Amid Robert F. Kennedy’s campaign to find the biological causes of autism, historian Steven Mintz calls for a reframe. In his new piece, The Cultural Construction of Autism, Mintz argues that autism is more than a biomedical reality, and acknowledging this can contribute to more human-centered conversations. {6 min read}

Give Theory a Chance [podcast]

• Alicia M. Walker and Arielle Kuperberg join host Kyle Green to discuss their new book, Bound by BDSM: Unexpected Lessons in Building a Happier Life. {42 min listen}