For Sociology

Latest episode

47 min

For Sociology: Alex Hoppe

Why does one pair of jeans feel right, while another looks hopelessly out of date? And how much of our personal fashion taste is shaped before we even enter a shop? In this episode of For Sociology , host Kevin Caners speaks with sociologist and Kohli Fellow Alex Hoppe about the people, processes and decisions behind the clothes we wear. Drawing on eleven months of fieldwork inside clothing factories in India, Alex explains how suppliers are taking on design work long associated with Western fashion capitals. Alex begins by recalling the socks he needed to fit in at school, which first…

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Earlier episodes 7 most recent

1. 

   33 min

   For Sociology: Camille Portier

   Why do so many mothers never fully return to work after having a child? In this episode of For Sociology, host Kevin Caners talks with Camille Portier about the quiet forces shaping women's careers after childbirth — and why, in the US, something as simple as control over your own workday can matter as much as paid leave itself. Camille's research focuses on the US — the only wealthy country without guaranteed paid parental leave — where she traces how workplace autonomy can substitute for the benefits mothers don't have. The conversation also covers her academic path from social…

2. 

   47 min

   For Sociology: Philip N. Cohen

   What if academic research — much of it funded by taxpayers — were freely available to anyone who wanted to read it? That's the simple but radical idea behind SocArXiv , the open-access preprint repository that this episode's guest, Philip Cohen , founded in 2016. Philip is a professor of sociology at the University of Maryland and the 2025 Kohli Infrastructure Prize for Sociology Laureate . In this conversation, he takes us behind the scenes of the fight to make social science research open, faster, and more equitable. We later zoom out to tackle a bigger question: What happens to sociology…

3. 

   44 min

   For Sociology: Peter Bearman

   In this episode of For Sociology , host Kevin Caners speaks with Peter Bearman, Columbia University professor and recipient of the 2025 Kohli Prize for Sociology , about his landmark work on how social networks reveal the hidden structures shaping everyday life. Bearman traces his path into sociology, from an early childhood moment that sharpened his awareness of different social standpoints to an undergraduate turning point that pulled him away from clinical psychology. He reflects on the influence of mentor Harrison White, and how concepts like "duality" helped him see networks not just as…

4. 

   42 min

   For Sociology: Rory Fitzgerald

   Rory Fitzgerald on the European Social Survey: Insights and Innovations In this episode of For Sociology , host Kevin Caners sits down with Professor Rory Fitzgerald, Director of the European Social Survey (ESS) and recipient of the 2024 Kohli Infrastructure Prize, to uncover the story behind one of the most influential social research projects in Europe. Fitzgerald reveals the origins of the ESS, the meticulous methodologies employed, and some of the fascinating findings gleaned from over two decades of data collection across 30 countries. They also discuss crucial societal issues such as…

5. 

   44 min

   For Sociology: Michèle Lamont

   In this episode of For Sociology, host Kevin Caners sits down with Michèle Lamont, the 2024 Kohli Prize Laureate and one of the most influential sociologists of our time. A professor at Harvard University and former president of the American Sociological Association, Lamont has spent her career exploring how we define worth, dignity, and belonging in an increasingly divided world. Through a wide-ranging conversation, Lamont reflects on her intellectual journey from Quebec to the top ranks of global sociology. She shares the inspiration behind her landmark books—Money, Morals, and Manners and…

6. 

   42 min

   For Sociology: Kathleen Mullan Harris

   In this episode of For Sociology , host Kevin Caners speaks with Kathleen Mullan Harris, recipient of the 2023 Kohli Infrastructure Prize for Sociology. Harris discusses her pivotal role in Add Health , a groundbreaking, nationally representative longitudinal study launched in the mid-1990s that has tracked over 20,000 individuals from adolescence to adulthood. The conversation delves into the study's origins, methodologies, and major contributions, highlighting how Add Health has advanced our understanding of the intersections between social, biological, and health factors across the life…

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