New & Noteworthy

Our latest Clippings by Mallory Harrington covers sociology making headlines, including Tressie McMillan Cottom‘s critique of the moral politics surrounding “Dry January”; Brooke Harrington’s analysis of the antidemocratic ambitions of tech “broligarchs” on The Daily Show; Joan Donovan’s insights into the evolving role of political disinformation in Trump’s campaigns and the broader internet landscape; Volodymyr Paniotto’s examination of Ukraine’s shifting social dynamics and demographic crisis amid the ongoing war; Hannah Wohl and Lindsey Cameron’s exploration of the illusory autonomy of gig economy workers in industries like ride-sharing and adult content; and Zeynep Tufekci’s incisive critique of Mark Zuckerberg’s approach to hate speech moderation and the monetization of divisive content on Meta platforms.

From the Archives

President Trump has pulled back directives that bar Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Patrol from arresting people who are suspected of being undocumented in previously “sensitive” areas that include schools, churches, courthouses, hospitals, and others. Check out our recent Discovery by Leonardo LaBarre, Undocumented Driving, Threats of Deportation, & Childhood Trauma, which covers research about the ripple effect of these immigration policies on children.

On Sunday, February 2, the Grammys will be awarded to US musicians. Read another recent piece, The Making of a #1 Song by S Ericson, from last year if you want to know more about how music charts are calculated in the US.

Backstage with TSP

The TSP board met for our first time for Spring Semester. This semester we are going full steam ahead on some new TROTs, summarizing social science research on a variety of topics.

More from our Partners & Community Pages

Contexts

• rural rainbows by Sophie X. Liu covers a study in the Canadian Review of Sociology, showing that mental health outcomes among LGB Canadians vary across urban and rural contexts, and is influenced by gender and partnership status. While partnered gay men in rural areas report the highest levels of mental well-being, bisexual individuals—especially women—consistently face significant mental health disadvantages, highlighting the need for supportive rural environments.
• youth migrants and long-delayed family reunification by Daniel Jenks and Ernesto Castañeda summarize their new book, Reunited. It challenges the media’s portrayal of unaccompanied minors from Central America, revealing their journeys as family-driven efforts to reunite amid long separations and rising violence, highlighting the visible struggles at the border and the often-invisible challenges of reintegration.

Council on Contemporary Families

• Finding a Home During the Affordable Housing Crisis by Steven Schmidt covers his research in the American Sociological Review, highlighting how low-income renters in Los Angeles rely on social ties to navigate the challenges of unaffordable housing, using support from friends and family to secure leases, cover deposits, and find temporary housing. However, racial disparities in the financial resources available through these networks widen housing inequalities, with white renters often accessing better options and outcomes compared to Latina/o renters.

Engaging Sports

• The Olympification of Kinesiology: Highlighting Troubling Trends and Emphasizing Hope by Parissa Safai, Alixandra Krahn, and Yuka Nakamura critiques the narrowing focus of kinesiology programs, likening their emphasis on optimizing performance and producing “work-ready” graduates to the Olympic motto of “faster, higher, stronger.” The authors argue for a broader approach that integrates sociological awareness, collective action, and community engagement, ensuring kinesiology fosters thought leaders equipped to address social inequalities and promote solidarity.

New & Noteworthy

I Hate the Elite…Sometimes, by S Ericson from Yuchen Luo’s study, explores how Trump’s presidency altered populist views among his supporters. Luo’s research reveals that many Trump voters, feeling represented by him, became less populist between 2016 and 2020, though their attitudes toward elite groups largely remained unchanged. Will Trump’s second term follow suit?

From the Archives

Historical snow falls hit the Southern United States and fires still rage in California, bringing climate change back (again) into public discussions. This Roundtable piece from 2016 covers the “climate” at the time, for Climate change. Highlighting stark differences in climate policies from nearly 10 years ago, and its connection to social inequalities and environmental justice movements, this piece again brings into question if 2024 will be more of the same.

Pardons and commutations are also a frequently discussed topic. Read Pardons, Commutations, and the Distribution of Clemency by Ryan Larson and Veronica Horowitz to gain some historical context.

More from our Partners & Community Pages

Council on Contemporary Families

• 3Q with Demie Kurz Letting Go: Parenting Teens and Young Adults in a Time of Uncertainty with Alicia M. Walker and Demie Kurz, discusses Kurz’s new book Letting Go explores the challenges of parenting teens and young adults, emphasizing the need for balancing control and independence, and advocating for policies to support resource-strapped families.

New & Noteworthy

Gender, Cultural Change, and the Catholic Church, adapted by Jordyn Wald from work by Christine Delp, examines the evolving role of women in the Catholic Church amidst cultural shifts. The article highlights Pope Francis’s 2024 synod, which, while falling short of ordaining women as deacons sparked ongoing debates about gender roles.

From the Archives

Stunning Embers by Jenny Davis brings us back to 2019-2020 for the Australian fires. This piece highlights a unique response to “disaster tourism,” where emergency services not only closed roads to prevent unnecessary risks but also leveraged social media to control the narrative and discourage unsafe behaviors.

The Missing Story behind the Coverage of the Trump Inauguration: Class by Sarah Diefendorf and Emily Kalah Gade argues that disparities in attendance between Trump’s 2017 inauguration and the Women’s March reflect how class, race, and cultural capital shape political mobilization. Their analysis may prove relevant in the coming weeks as Trump’s 2024 inauguration approaches.

More from our Partners & Community Pages

Contexts

• Crossing the cultural line by Parker Muzzerall covers a study by Abraham Oshotse, Yael Berda, and Amir Goldberg, revealing that cultural appropriation is a highly contextual process, with acts perceived as most offensive when they devalue or exploit a disadvantaged culture.
• The gender of inheritance: the curious case of the early 20th-century dallas elite by Shay O’Brien covers her research of wealthy Dallas elites from 1895 to 1945. A surprising pattern in inheritance practices emerged, with women inherited significantly more wealth than men, reflecting a gendered safety net approach prioritizing the financial stability of vulnerable female kin, though men inherited assets geared toward accumulation and control.

Council on Contemporary Families

• What’s Missing in Sex and Relationship Education for Sexual Minority Men? by James Newton writes up his research highlighting the inadequacy of traditional sex and relationship education for sexual minority men — revealing that schools, families, and even modern sources like social media fail to fully address their unique needs. The findings emphasize the urgent need for inclusive programs that teach relationship skills, intimacy, consent, and HIV prevention in ways that resonate with diverse sexual orientations.

New & Noteworthy

How Partisan Moral Flexibility Shapes Beliefs in American Politics by Anastasia Dulle writes about research by Minjae Kim and colleagues who examined how Americans evaluate truth in political statements in their study in the American Journal of Sociology. Using online surveys, the researchers found that voters across the political spectrum often support factually false statements from politicians of their own party, even after being informed of their inaccuracy.

How the American Rescue Plan Transformed Child Poverty in the U.S. by Leo LaBarre covers research by  Zachary Parolin and Stefano Filauro in Demography lookings at the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act of 2021, which temporarily increased economic support for families. They found that the Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) decreased from 9.7% in 2020 to 5.2% in 2021, making the child poverty rate the lowest ever recorded in US history. 

From the Archives

Attacks on Sociology in Higher Education continue in the United States and across the globe. Check out ‘Sociological Gobbledygook’ and Public Distrust of Social Science Experts by Isabel Arriagada writes about the current public distrust of social science, rooted in perceptions of intellectual elitism and hidden biases, challenges researchers to bridge gaps by engaging more visibly in the public sphere to rebuild credibility and trust.

Backstage with TSP

TSP board member Leo LaBarre has graduated (see above pic)! Congratulations Leo – we will miss you!

More from our Partners & Community Pages

Contexts

• parenting gender, from left to right by Elena G. Van Stee highlights Mallory Rees and Abigail Saguy‘s study, revealing surprising points of agreement, including shared beliefs in gender as an innate attribute and evolving perspectives on children’s gender expression.

Council on Contemporary Families

• Highlights from the 2024 CCF Workshop include the low-down of CCF’s “Families in Perilous Times: A Policy and Public Scholarship Workshop” from October in Baltimore. Check out the recordings here.

First Publics

• Embracing AI in the Sociological Classroom by JoAnna Boudreaux and Kendra Murphy call for instructors in Sociology to lean into the use of generative AI in the classroom – but thoughtfully and intentionally.

New & Noteworthy

How Negative Feedback Impacts Women’s Political Participation Online by Dylan DiGiacomo-Stumm covers research by Zhaodi Chen and Junghun Han. They examined how negative feedback affects women’s participation in online political discussions using survey experiments. The study finds that while “dislikes” do not deter women, the risk of post deletion significantly reduces their willingness to engage. For men, neither form of feedback has a notable effect, highlighting how platform design can unintentionally silence women’s voices in digital spaces.

Backstage with TSP

The TSP crew wrapped up 2024 with a Pickleball party! We celebrated the many successes this year and handed out awards to board members for their notable accomplishments. Keep an eye out over the next month for our “best of 2024” series for the top pieces on X, Facebook, and BlueSky.

More from our Partners & Community Pages

Contexts

• lead with your heart: a q&a with dr. alondra nelson with Amin Ghaziani highlights a conversation with Dr. Alondra Nelson, the Harold F. Linder Professor at the Institute for Advanced Study and former Acting Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Nelson discusses her path from academia to policymaking, the importance of translating sociological research for public impact, and her advice on leading with clarity and heart in public-facing scholarship.

Council on Contemporary Families

• Caregivers’ Support for Federal Work-Family Policies by Carolyn E Waldrep explores why popular work-family policies—like paid family leave and childcare subsidies—have yet to gain federal support. In interviews with over 100 caregivers, Waldrep found strong bipartisan backing for these policies, especially after the pandemic. Caregivers emphasized governmental responsibility, fair tradeoffs for workers’ labor, and successful comparisons to state and international models. However, concerns about government mandates, policy misuse, small business impact, and increased taxes persist. The findings highlight both the urgent need for well-crafted policies and the mistrust that policymakers must address to move forward.

New & Noteworthy

This week’s Clippings via Mallory Harrington highlights recent sociological insights, including Arlie Russell Hochschild’s exploration of political divides in Stolen Pride: Loss, Shame, and the Rise of the Right, Gi-Wook Shin’s analysis of South Korea’s political instability following President Yoon’s martial law declaration in All Things Considered, Allison Pugh’s examination of AI’s impact on human connection in  The Last Human Job: The Work of Connecting in a Disconnected World, Musa Al-Gharbi’s critique of social justice discourse in We Have Never Been Woke: The Cultural Contradictions of a New Elite, and Danielle Lindemann’s take on how reality TV reflects societal inequalities.

From the Archives

As 2024 comes to a close, many magazines and publications are sharing their picks for this year’s best books. Whether you’re looking forward to some holiday downtime or are starting to plan your 2025 reading list, be sure to check out this selection of must-read sociology books that our Board published earlier this year.

Public outcry against Joe Biden’s hypocrisy in pardoning Hunter Biden after repeatedly claiming he would not do so throughout his presidency brings forth a number of considerations; first, this New York Mag article highlights how Biden could potentially commute the sentences of 40 men on federal death row, yet chose to use the remainder of his time in office pardoning his son. This 2021 piece provides a rundown on the sociological significance of scandals and the role that media, public morality, and social identities like race and gender contribute to how we experience scandals socially.

Recently Brian Thompson, CEO of United Healthcare, was killed outside of his Hotel in New York. While the motives are still unknown, this news has raised many questions about the ethics of profiting off of health care. This 2014 article from Sociological Images reflects on health care as a 2.7 trillion dollar industry in America.

More from our Partners & Community Pages

Contexts

• from carbon paper to code: crafting sociology in an age of ai by Corey Abramson on repurposing evolving technologies like AI for deeper social insights while reflecting on the enduring lessons of critical, engaged methodologies from thinkers like C. Wright Mills and W.E.B. Du Bois.

Council on Contemporary Families

• Racial Wealth Inequality Emerges in Young Adulthood by Ellen Bryer and Alexander Adames write about racial wealth gaps, emeringe in young adulthood, driven by disparities in financial assets rather than debt, and how addressing these gaps will require multifaceted solutions such as student debt cancellation, raising the minimum wage, and implementing baby bonds.
• The educational costs of teen births by Joseph D. Wolfe and Mieke Beth Thomeer cover their research on how educational costs of teen births have grown over time, especially for women from advantaged backgrounds, as structural and socioeconomic factors increasingly shape the opportunity costs and life outcomes tied to adolescent childbearing.

New & Noteworthy

Wealth Gaps at the Extremes for Baby Boomers and Millennials by Shania Kuo covers research in the American Journal of Sociology. It examines how Millennials and Baby Boomers compare in wealth trajectories. Using US Bureau of Labor Statistics data, the study reveals that while Boomers had higher homeownership and less debt in their 20s and 30s, the wealthiest Millennials have surpassed Boomers in overall wealth, highlighting stark disparities between the financial extremes of both generations.

From the Archives

Google may have to sell some of its properties in the coming months. Modern ‘monopolies’ look quite different than their historical counterparts, but big tech’s evolution (or devolution) of control has been considered for decades. Check out Sociological Image‘s repost of The Growth Of Monopoly Power by Marty Hart-Landsberg.

This week, NFL rookie Brock Bowers and UMNST player Christian Pulisic did the “Trump Dance” after scoring in their respective games. Just last month, NFL player Nick Bosa crashed a post game interview to show off his MAGA hat. In this 2019 article from Engaging Sports, Chaplin and Montez de Oca share their research examining how people interpreted Colin Kaepernick’s 2016 protests against racial injustice during the national anthem. They argue that patriotism has been weaponized to discredit anti-racist protests, diverting attention from systemic injustices and reinforcing white privilege in sports.

More from our Partners & Community Pages

Engaging Sports:

• 50 Years of Rubik’s Cube: Speedcubing and a More Inclusive Society by Jan Hammer, Jan Tore Skjørshammer, and Trond Kyrre Simensen on the speedcubing community and how it exemplifies inclusion, joy, and mutual support, offering a model for fostering well-being and connection in both sports and society.
• Celtic Football Supporters in Scotland: Flying the Flag for Palestinians but not Against Jews by Joseph Bradley on Celtic FC supporters’ decades-long practice of flying Palestinian flags, rooted in anti-oppression activism, while also distinguishing criticism of Israel from antisemitism.

Center for Holocaust & Genocide Studies:

• Understanding Thursday’s ICC Warrants with Melanie O’Brien, covering the ICC warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders, marking a pivotal moment in international justice as investigations into war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide in Gaza continue.

New & Noteworthy

Instagram Activism and Black-Asian Solidarity by S Ericson covers research by Rachel Kuo and Sarah J. Jackson and how Black and Asian activists in 2020-2021 used Instagram to draw on historical cross-racial solidarity, challenging media stereotypes and fostering shared memory to advocate for change.

This week’s Clippings by Mallory Harrington covers recent sociology and sociologists in the news, including the failure of prisons to protect incarcerated people during natural disasters, the evolution of pregnancy depictions in media, how digital aesthetics helped Donald Trump connect with diverse online communities, and Brazil’s Black Consciousness Day spotlighting the country’s slow progress toward racial representation.

Our latest podcast episode, produced by Forrest Lovette, featuring Mallory Harrington and Emma Goldstein discuss Tressie McMillan Cottom recent opinion piece in The New York Times on the connection between tradwives, podcast bros, and wellness influencers and Donald Trump’s recent election win.

From the Archives

Trump’s cabinet picks, including Dr. Mehmet Oz and Fox News presenter Pete Hegseth, highlight the overlap between reality TV and politics, where both rely on performances that blur lines between entertainment and serious decision-making. Check out this 2010 parallel between financial markets and the “classic” Jersey Shore by Lisa Wade.

Two transgender women were attacked at a Minneapolis light rail station last week and the onlookers apparently cheered on their group of attackers rather than helping. The Southern Poverty Law Center reported that hate crimes spiked after the election of Donald Trump in 2016, as covered in this Sociological Images piece from 2016 – and we may see another 2024 surge.

Backstage with TSP

To celebrate our many hours of hard work in 2024, we are planning on a pickleball party this December. With varying degrees of pickleballing experience, it will certainly be memorable. Stay tuned for pictures on X, Bluesky, and Facebook.

More from our Partners & Community Pages

Contexts

• q&a with dr. roman williams with Elena van Stee covers William’s new book, Sacred Snaps: Photovoice for Interfaith Engagement, highlighting his participatory action research approach, which uses photography to foster understanding and empathy across religious and social divides.

Council on Contemporary Families

• Navigating the Fentanyl Crisis: How Rural Communities are Protecting Themselves from Fatal Overdose by Suzan Walters explores how rural communities are innovatively responding to the fentanyl crisis through harm reduction strategies, emphasizing the need for expanded public health resources, and stigma reduction to prevent fatal overdoses.

Sociological Images

• Who’s Not Cool With AC? by Evan Stewart highlights how public perceptions of air conditioning as a luxury, tied to racialized stereotypes about aid “deservingness,” pose challenges for policymaking on cooling access, especially with climate change.

New & Noteworthy

TSP’s Jordyn Wald has a new StoryMap on Law Enforcement and Body-Cams. It covers research on body-cams and its increasing use by police, improved accountability and reduced complaints, but their impact on excessive force and arrests varies depending on activation policies and usage.

Our latest Clippings by Mallory Harrington covers recent sociology and sociologists in the news, including stalled workplace gender equality, exploitation of undocumented agricultural workers, hidden societal harms in technological innovation, shifting caregiving norms among older couples, and the need for public collaboration in environmental regeneration and family farming.

The TSP podcast team has a new episode for your listening pleasure. Produced by Forrest Lovette, this episode includes Emma Goldstein, Mason Jones, and Leo LaBarre discussing older adult cohabitation from a recent The New York Times article featuring Deborah Carr and Susan Brown.

From the Archives

Last week, backed by the families of Sandy Hook shooting victims, the satirical news publication The Onion won the bid for Alex Jones’ Infowars at a bankruptcy auction. Amber Joy Powell’s TROT from 2017 discusses the media coverage of mass shootings since Columbine.

New Zealand opposition party MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke led a Haka chant in the parliament chambers in protest of a bill reinterpretation of the country’s founding treaty with the Māori people. Although New Zealand is considered a leader in indigenous rights, opposers of this bill say that it would put their rights at risk. In the American context, we recently celebrated Indigenous Peoples’ Day – read our 2017 piece by Allison Nobles that covers some research on this holiday.

Consistent with other research, a recent NIH-backed study shows that women are less likely than men to meet the standard recommendation for weekly aerobic exercise. Many experts attribute this gender gap, in part, to the disproportionate time women spend on caregiving and household responsibilities. To learn more about how societal expectations and structural factors affect progress toward gender equality in sports and other fields, check out this 2017 Sociological Images article.

More from our Partners & Community Pages

Contexts:

• fall 2024 table of contents includes 25 pieces on a range of topics – check them out!
• letter from the editors: fall 2024 by Amin Ghaziani and Seth Abrutyn highlight the Contexts Fall 2024 edition, which celebrates the vibrancy of social life, from Pride parades and diasporic joy to workplace challenges, urban regulation, and much more.
• same behavior, different meaning by Parker Muzzerall covers research by Terence McDonnell, Anna Gabur, and Rachel Keynton on how the cultural politics of climate change show that conservative consumers increasingly adopt electric vehicles, not for climate action, but for cost-saving and freedom, highlighting the importance of framing climate-friendly practices in culturally resonant ways.

Council on Contemporary Families

• Labor Pains: Parents’ Wages in Care Work by Alyssa Alexander and Anna Manzoni on their research on care work, and how it remains undervalued and deeply gendered, with mothers facing significant wage penalties, especially in care-related fields, while societal biases continue to disadvantage women, mothers of color, and fathers of color.

New & Noteworthy

Tressie McMillan Cottom (Associate Professor at the University of North Carolina’s School of Information and Library Science) wrote an opinion piece for The New York Times in the aftermath of the presidential election. “[T]his election was about enthusiasm and diagnoses. The long-term trajectory of our country has not changed. Millions of middle-class people feel working-class. These Americans have no way to describe what is happening to them,” Cottom described. “Nature abhors a vacuum. But political opportunists thrive in vacuums. This election was about who told a better story about the fundamentals without promising anything to fix those fundamentals. That is the sweet spot for an opportunist like Trump and his party. Sell everything, promise nothing. Keep them coming back for more.” Cottom was also recently on The Daily Show.

From the Archives

The 2024 election has left women’s health in an even more uncertain place, as seen with the failure of pro-abortion ballot measures in three states and Trump’s remark that vaccine skeptic RFK Jr. would “work on women’s health” in his administration. The root of poor health outcomes for U.S. women isn’t just medical—it’s systemic. Inequities shape everything from research that sidelines women’s needs to restrictive laws that worsen health outcomes for all. Check out this post from the Council on Contemporary Families to learn more about the deep-rooted issues impacting women’s health in the U.S. and what is required for real change.

On Wednesday afternoon two people started a demonstration at Texas State University, holding signs and wearing shirts that said “women are property” and “homo sex is sin”. The demonstration sparked a counter-protest of hundreds of students, and images and videos of the demonstration quickly went viral. This 2017 Contexts piece talks about the importance of the media in increasing the reach and impact of protests.

More from our Partners & Community Pages

Contexts:

• paying attention. period. by Sophie X. Liu on research by Rita Jalali on menstrual health and hygiene (MHH) and how it has been largely neglected in global health agendas due to challenges in measurability and enduring social stigmas, highlighting how inequality within social movements has sidelined issues affecting economically disadvantaged communities.

Council on Contemporary Families

• Parents’ Divisions of Childcare and Housework Remarkably Stable Throughout Pandemic by Richard J. Petts and Daniel L. Carlson covers their recent research in Demographic Research on how despite the upheaval of the COVID-19 pandemic, most U.S. parents maintained their pre-pandemic division of housework and childcare, with some shifts towards more equal childcare sharing, especially influenced by fathers’ remote work and mothers’ employment.