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This week’s guest is Deborah Carr, Associate Professor of Sociology at Rutgers University, and the Trends Editor for Contexts. First, Jesse and Sarah talk with Dr. Carr about how she identifies and writes about social trends, then we broadcast part of a recent lecture Dr. Carr gave on end of life decision making.

But before this double feature, Arturo shares a discovery about healthcare! One correction: Arturo forgets to identify the article by name (and Jon forgets to ask him)! The article is called Similar Pressures, Different Contexts: Public Attitudes toward Government Intervention in Health Care for 21 Nations, by Saeko Kikuzawa, Sigrun Olafsdottir, and Bernice A. Pescosolido. Sorry about that!

(Apologies also for the humming sound in the background during Carr’s talk. We couldn’t remove it without also making Professor Carr sound like an alien, which we decided was a bad idea.)

Download episode #33 now!

Contexts co-editors Doug Hartmann and Christopher Uggen stop by the Contexts World Headquarters for a quick chat. Dougtopher talk about the past, present and future of Contexts.

Also, Sarah Shannon shares an discovery on a natural experiment after Hurricane Katrina.

If you haven’t taken the survey yet, please do! You can find it at thesocietypages.org/podcast/survey!

Download episode #21 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!

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!