This episode’s guest is Lane Kenworthy, author of our Summer 2009 cover story, Tax Myths. In the article, Kenworthy address four myths about taxes and we go through each one and then some.

You can read Kenworthy’s article for free on thesocietypages.org. Go check it out and if you like it as much as we think you will, share it with your friends over email or on Facebook, Twitter, or on whatever social networking site all you cool kids are using this month.

Also, Kristin Haltinner stops by to discuss Jill McCorkel and Jason Rodriquez’ “Are You an African?” The Politics of Self-Construction in Status-Based Social Movements, from May 2009’s Social Forces.

Also: let us know what you think of the podcast so far by taking our survey!

Download episode #19 now!

Our guest this week is Theda Skocpol, who joins us in the Contexts Podcast studio to discuss the state of American civic and political participation today. Topics include the impact of the internet on politics, loudmouths in the news media, John Stewart and the prospects for social science research today.

Wes Longhofer also joins us again to discuss a discovery that explains why we’re not all free riders.

Also: let us know what you think of the podcast so far by taking our survey!

Download episode #18 now!

This episode, we speak with Barbara Risman about her call for a Council of Social Science Advisors featured in her Spring 2009 One Thing I Know column for Contexts. We talk about how policy might be different if social scientists played a greater role and also about sociology and socialism.

If you’re interested in the idea of a Council for Social Science Advisors, and you’re heading to San Francisco for the ASA’s this weekend, be sure to attend Open Forum: Does the Obama Administration Need a Social Science Scholars Council? A Public Forum, Saturday August 8 at 2:30 pm.

This episode also includes a discussion of a discovery on health & unemployment.

Also: let us know what you think of the podcast so far by taking our survey! It’s very short & your feedback will help us figure out what’s working, what’s not working & how we can best steer the Contexts Podcast Juggernaut into the Future!

Download episode #17 now!

After a bit of a delay, we’ve got a great episode for you. First, we talk to Wendy Espeland and Michael Sauder about their Spring 2009 Contexts Feature, Rating the Rankings (which you can read online for free, so check it out!).

Also, Shannon Golden shares a discovery with perhaps the best journal article title ever, Round Trip to Hell in a Flying Saucer.

Download episode #16 now!

This episode, we talk with the authors of two recent Contexts features on higher education. We speak to Michael Hout about his Winter 2009 “One Thing I Know” column (which you can read online in its entirety here), and then William Beaver tells us about his article, A Matter of Degrees, from our Spring 2009 issue.

Kristin Haltinner drops by again to share a discovery about women rugby players.

Download episode #15 now!

Michèle Lamont visits the Contexts office to discuss two of our current projects, one on the politics of academic fellowships and how they are rewarded, and the other on what makes a “successful society.”

Arturo also shares a discovery on the relationship between health and marriage.

Download episode #13 now!

Paul Mattessich and Ela Rausch from Wilder Research stop by to discuss how they use social science research to help communities improve their quality of life. Be sure to check out their article in our Winter 2009 issue, Communities that Don’t Bowl in the Fog.

In our Discoveries segment, Tim Ortyl discusses the first representative GLBT survey in California and how it improves our knowledge of the GLBT community.

Download episode #10 now!

Katherine McCoy, author of our Winter 2009 cover article, Uncle Sam Wants Them, talks with Arturo about the rise of private military corporations in Iraq and Afghanistan. After you listen in here, be sure to head over to thesocietypages.org where you can read Katherine’s article in its entirety. For free!

Also, Wes Longhofer stops by to share a discovery from Politics and Society that may surprise you: corrupt government doesn’t necessarily equal ineffective government.

Download episode #9 now!

What happens to those exonerated of crimes they didn’t commit? Do they receive multi-million dollar settlements and go back to their normal lives as popular TV shows suggest? Unfortunately, most exonerees do not fare so well. In this episode, we talk with Saundra D. Westervelt and Kimberly J. Cook about their article, Coping with Innocence After Death Row, from our Fall 2008 issue.

Contexts grad board member John Sullivan also stops by to share not just one, but two discoveries about soccer hooligans.

Download episode #8 now!

Alan Wolfe joins us for a discussion of his new book, The Future of Liberalism. Topics include the relationship between classical liberalism and liberalism today, the prospects for bipartisanship in the Obama administration and the role of social scientists in the public sphere.

Also, Arturo’s Discovery of the week on foster care and well-being. Is foster care bad for kids or are troubled kids simply more likely to be in foster care? Listen in and find out.

Download episode #7 now!