health

We are now Office Hours! Listen in for an explanation behind the name change. (If you’ve already subscribed to our old contexts.org RSS feed or in iTunes, don’t worry: you will still get the new episodes. As of right now we’re still listed as “Contexts Podcast” in iTunes, but we’re working on changing that.)

This episode features a discussion with Peter Conrad, author of the Spring 2010 Contexts book review, Pills and the Pursuit of Normalcy, which reviews Happy Pills and Normal At Any Cost. Arturo and Peter start off talking about these books, but the conversation turns into a fascinating, wide-ranging discussion of the medicalization of everything from happiness to height. Other books referenced include The Loss of Sadness and The Medicalization of Society.

Download Office Hours #1 now!

Edward Walker talks about his Spring 2010 feature Industry-driven activism. Topics include the role of industry in shaping the health care debate and the state of social movements in the age of the internet and astroturfing.

Download episode #40 now!

Harvey Pekar and Paul Buhle sit down with Jesse to chat about their graphic adaptation of Studs Terkel’s Working and about the sociological side of Studs, and also Harvey’s, work.

Arturo also shares a discovery about gender and the health benefits of education.

Download episode #35 now!

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!

This episode we return to our ongoing series on genetic research and sociology inspired by our Summer 2009 feature article on the topic (take a listen to our interview with Thomas Bouchard to hear our first discussion). This time we engage with a slightly different “socio-cultural” perspective and invited sociologist Allan Horwitz to give us his take on how this new science of the gene may medicalize new syndromes. Horwitz also talks about his new controversial book The Loss of Sadness, an examination of the medicalization of depression.

Also in this episode, Jeremy Minyard shares a discovery on corporate deviance and legitimacy.

Download episode #26 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!

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!

This episode, Jon and Jesse chat with Lisa Wade and Gwen Sharp about Sociological Images. Highlights include the secrets of of Sociological Image’s success, the relationship between research and blogging, and the usefulness of trolls.

Also, Arturo shares his Discovery of the Week, a paper in JECH finding that living near highway entrances increases risk of preterm birth and low birthweight for the rich, but not the poor.

Download episode #5 now!