Interview Jennifer C. Lena on Entitled September 30, 2019 Two centuries ago, wealthy entrepreneurs founded the American cathedrals of culture—museums, theater companies, and symphony orchestras—to mirror European art. But today’s American arts scene has widened to embrace multitudes. Read More
Interview Sharon Marcus on The Drama of Celebrity August 19, 2019 Why do so many people care so much about celebrities? Who decides who gets to be a star? What are the privileges and pleasures of fandom? Do celebrities ever deserve the outsized attention they receive? Read More
Essay Sketches from Red Meat Republic June 15, 2019 Joshua Specht puts people at the heart of Red Meat Republic—the big cattle ranchers who helped to drive the nation’s westward expansion, the meatpackers who created a radically new kind of industrialized slaughterhouse, and the stockyard workers who were subjected to the shocking and unsanitary conditions described by Upton Sinclair in his novel The Jungle. Read More
Interview Public Thinker: Issa Kohler-Hausmann on Misdemeanors and Mass Incarceration December 26, 2018 While most critics of the American criminal justice system condemn mass incarceration, fewer have turned a critical eye to practices that result in punishment other than imprisonment. Read More
Essay Matthew Salganik: The Open Review of Bit by Bit, Part 2—Higher sales April 18, 2018 This post is the second in a three part series about the Open Review of Bit by Bit: Social Research in the Digital Age. This post describes how Open Review led to higher sales. Read More
Essay Matthew Salganik: The Open Review of Bit by Bit, Part 3—Increased access to knowledge April 18, 2018 This is the third post in a three part series about the Open Review of Bit by Bit: Social Research in the Digital Age. This post describes how Open Review led to increased access to knowledge. Read More
Essay Matthew Salganik: The Open Review of Bit by Bit, Part 1—Better books April 18, 2018 My new book Bit by Bit: Social Research in the Digital Age is for social scientists who want to do more data science, data scientists who want to do more social science, and anyone interesting in the combination of these two fields. Read More
Interview Eviatar Zerubavel on Taken for Granted February 24, 2018 Why is the term "openly gay" so widely used but "openly straight" is not? What are the unspoken assumptions behind terms like "male nurse," "working mom," and "white trash?" Read More
