Good Fortune, the recently released directorial debut of comedian Aziz Ansari, was heavily inspired by Alexandrea J. Ravenelle’s (Associate Professor in Sociology at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill) work on the gig economy. Ravenelle studies gig workers, low-wage W2 earners, and creative freelancers. Her most recent work “tells the story of how these vulnerable workers get trapped in gig work, how this short-term solution is actually becoming a long-term problem.” Ravenelle stated that Ansari’s film is “validating and really shines a light on how hard it is for many of these workers.” This story was covered by UNC News.

In an article for The Conversation, Tony Silva (Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of British Columbia) and Emily Huddart (Professor of Sociology at the University of British Columbia) describes their recent research on Canadian attitudes toward the paranormal (referring to “phenomena that science cannot explain and are not part of a major religion”). Although Canada is one of the most secular nations, Canadians have broadly embraced the paranormal. Approximately 44% of Canadians believe in at least one paranormal phenomenon and about a quarter of Canadians claim to have experienced a ghost or spirit (often connected to the death of a loved one).

The New York Times ran a story on the removal or design changes of public benches as a part of a “decades-long shift of reinventing the public bench into something that doesn’t welcome the public at all.” Michael Benediktsson (Associate Professor of Sociology at Hunter College) commented that this trend connects to pre-1970s anit-vagrancy laws that allowed police officers to arrest people of color and people experiencing homelessness who were utilizing public spaces. Benediktsson commented that once these laws were deemed unconstitutional, “that’s when you see more of a turn to hostile urban design and planning as a means of achieving the same objective.”

The Atlantic ran a story addressing a “surprisingly contentious” question: does money make parenting easier? In 2023 a Pew Research Center survey found that lower-income parents were more likely to state that they found parenting enjoyable and rewarding most of the time. Many media commentators focused on this singular data point, claiming that parenting was most difficult for wealthier parents (despite another finding in the Pew data that lower-income parents are more likely to say that parenting is stressful). Jennifer Glass (Sociology Professor at the University of Texas at Austin) commented that “there’s simply no data on mental health, subjective well-being, or happiness that I have ever seen showing [that wealthy parents struggle with parenthood more].” Rather, Glass’s research shows that higher income and education improve happiness for parents.

Equal Times interviewed Alex Wood (Assistant Professor of Economic Sociology at the University of Cambridge) on the rise in self-employment and freelance work since 2000. Wood explains that freelancing is often more common where there are weaker labor protections, service-based economies, and digital labor platforms available. Wood also describes a shift in the corporate mindset toward prioritizing short-term profit: “If you leave it to employers, to firms, they will choose the low road, the easy option, because they are focused on short-term profitability and short-term share price, even though that’s detrimental to them in the long term.”

Elizabeth Chiarello (Associate Professor of Sociology at Washington University in St. Louis) wrote an article for The Conversation discussing cases in which pharmacists have not dispensed medications that go against their personal beliefs (such as Plan B, opioids, or certain treatments for COVID-19) and the various state responses to this conflict. Chiarello notes that self-regulation in the medical field “has legally given pharmacists the right to act as “medical gatekeepers” – to use their professional expertise to keep patients safe. This role is critical, as patients whose lives have been saved by pharmacists catching errors can attest. It has not, however, given them the right to be “moral gatekeepers” who put their personal beliefs above the patient’s. Pharmacists control medications because of professional commitments, not personal beliefs.”

Charles Derber (Professor of Sociology at Boston College) appeared on American Prestige – a podcast hosted by The Nation – to discuss his new book Bonfire: American Sociocide, Broken Relations, and the Quest for Democracy. Derber discusses the concept of ‘sociocide’ – when societies tear themselves apart and create conditions for the breakdown of social ties and relationships. Derber argues that the abandonment of systems of social support and a focus on individual interests in the market have pushed us toward sociocide.

The Washington Post ran an article discussing how some U.S. lawmakers are concerned that China is gaining a technological advantage over the United States; a recent report from the Department of Homeland Security highlighted concerns that China is seeking to illicitly acquire U.S. technology. However, the U.S. and China have longstanding collaborative research ties. Abigail Coplin (Assistant Professor of Sociology and Science, Technology and Society at Vassar College) commented that open research benefits the U.S. and that there are already guardrails to protect any classified or sensitive research. “American national security interests and economic competitiveness would be better served by continuing — if not increasing — research funding than they are by implementing costly research restrictions,” Coplin said.

Andreas Reckwitz (Professor of Sociology at Humboldt University of Berlin) wrote an op-ed for the New York Times on modernity and loss. Reckwitz describes that “the ideal of modern society is freedom from loss” and we presume constant innovation and increasing well-being in modern societies. However, Reckwitz argues that loss–environmental loss, economic loss, and regressions of geopolitics–is a “pervasive condition of life in Europe and America.”

Martin Eiermann (Professor of Sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison) published a new book, The Limiting Principle: How Privacy Became a Public Issue, tracing the evolution of the concept of privacy and discussing conundrums of privacy in the digital age. Eiermann notes that “institutions that know a lot about our personal lives are able to comply with the letter of the law without offering informational privacy in a more substantive sense” and that people “suffer different consequences when their data is collected and analyzed.” This story was covered by UC Berkeley News.

Arthur Jipson (Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Dayton) and Paul Becker (Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Dayton) wrote an article for The Conversation about patterns of political violence in the United States. Although defining and measuring incidents of political violence is complex, they describe two major trends we can draw from empirical evidence. First, compared to overall violent crime, political violence is rare, but on the rise. Political violence also tends to capture media attention and amplify fear. Second, the majority of political violence stems from right-wing ideologies. This article was also cited in The Washington Post.

French sociologist Michel Wieviorka’s (Professor at École des hautes études en sciences sociales (EHESS) in Paris) new book, The Last Jewish Joke, traces the rise and decline of the “golden age” of Jewish humor in the late 20th Century. Wieviorka describes how self-deprecating humor served as a way to reaffirm Jewish community in a period of openness and declining antisemitism following World War II, and suggests that ”when interest in the intellectual heritage and cultural vitality of Yiddishkeit begins to wane, when Israel ceases to be viewed in a positive light, and when the capacity for bringing to life a Jewishness that also interests non-Jews is absent, these jokes can only appear as vestiges from the past.” This story was covered by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

The Kiowa County Press ran an article on political polarization in response to the shooting of Charlie Kirk. Marcus Mann (Assistant Professor of Sociology at Purdue University) commented that “outrage-based” media programming contributes to polarization: “That kind of ‘us-vs.-them’ mentality is incredibly compelling and it’s very powerful for fostering strong ‘in groups’ and making you feel part of a strong community. And we see media outlets gaining audience share through this kind of thing.” Mann noted that Republicans tend to be more homogenous than Democrats and that right-wing media “commands a way larger audience and it has features that invoke features of religion.”

Wisconsin Public Radio interviewed Allison Daminger (Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison) about her new book, What’s on Her Mind: The Mental Workload of Family Life. The book examines how partners split “cognitive labor”, or, the mental effort that goes into running a household. This includes “anticipating issues, identifying options, making decisions and monitoring the results.” While most couples in the study aimed for a 50/50 split of household labor, Daminger found that cognitive labor was typically imbalanced. Among heterosexual couples, women tend to take on more cognitive labor.

Conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot and killed at a speaking engagement at Utah Valley University. Ruth Braunstein (Associate Professor of Sociology at John Hopkins University) appeared on WUSA9 to discuss the broader pattern of political violence in the United States. Braunstein commented that political violence has a “tremendous chilling effect on people’s willingness to go into political life, to stand up and speak out for what they believe in.” She also discussed how distrust in political institutions may lead some individuals to violence, which can further erode trust in insituions–a “vicious cycle.” Braunstein also expressed concern to the New York Times that Kirk’s murder could mobilize right-wing groups (including militia organizations): “All it will take is the slightest hint from the political leaders, including the president, but also anyone else, that this is the moment that they’re needed.”

Laura Garbes (Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Minnesota) wrote an op-ed for the Minnesota Star Tribune discussing how ‘elitism’ in public media stems from a lack of public funding. “Due to decades of budget cuts led by Republican administrations, public radio has become reliant on a set of mostly white, affluent donors for its financial survival,” Garbes explains. Programming, then, is catered to donor-listeners, leaving behind working-class audiences.

Protests are sweeping across France as a part of the Block Everything Movement–a campaign driven by anger over major cuts to public spending. The movement began online among right-wing voices, but has since been embraced by the political left. Quentin Ravelli (Sociologist at the French National Centre for Scientific Research) discussed the movement’s lack of a clear political identity in an RFI article: “Many movements avoid being labelled left or right. This isn’t just strategic: participants often feel that consensus around economic demands matter more than political allegiance. Urgent issues like public services, wages or inflation are seen as priorities.” The movement is drawing comparisons to the 2018 Yellow Vest Movement. Antoine Bristelle (Sociologist at the Jean Jaures Foundation) commented on the demographic differences to The Gazette: “In the ‘Yellow Vest’ movement, we had a rather vulnerable France that was struggling to make ends meet, a lot of workers, a lot of retirees. Whereas here, in terms of age, it’s many young people [that have] a certain vision of the world where there is more social justice, less inequality and a political system that functions differently, better,” Bristielle said.

Knowable Magazine interviewed Patrick Bergemann (Associate Professor of Organization and Management at the University of California, Irvine) on his work examining why and when whistleblowers, crime victims, and others are likely to report or conceal wrongdoing. Bergemann also discussed how governments often encourage reporting (for instance, “See something, say something” campaigns) as a form of social control.