California Spotlight: Wealth & Poverty
Matrix Podcast
California is one of the wealthiest states in the country, yet it also faces persistent poverty, stark economic inequality, and some of the highest costs of living in the nation. These tensions raise fundamental questions about who benefits from California’s economic growth and why so many residents struggle to achieve economic security. Recorded on October 7, 2026, this panel brought together leading scholars to examine the forces shaping wealth and poverty across the state. Drawing on research spanning inequality, affordability, economic mobility, and social policy, the discussion explored...
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Authors Meet Critics: "Demos: How the People Ruled Athens" by Daniela Cammack
Matrix Podcast
Recorded on October 1, 2026, this video features an Authors Meet Critics panel on the book , by Daniela Cammack, Assistant Professor of Political Science at UC Berkeley, with a courtesy appointment in the Department of Ancient Greek and Roman Studies (formerly Classics). Professor Cammack was joined in conversation by James Porter, Distinguished Professor and Irving Stone Chair in Literature in the Department of Rhetoric at UC Berkeley, and Kinch Hoekstra, Chancellor’s Professor of Political Science and Law at UC Berkeley. Dylan Riley, Professor of Sociology at UC Berkeley, moderated. This...
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Authors Meet Critics: "Normalizing Inequality: How Californians Make Sense of the Growing Divide"
Matrix Podcast
Recorded on September 9, 2026 at the University of California, Berkeley, this Authors Meet Critics panel centered on the book , by G. Cristina Mora, Professor of Sociology, and Tianna Paschel, Associate Professor of African American Studies. Professors Mora and Paschel were joined in conversation by UC Berkeley scholars Lisa García Bedolla, Vice Provost for Graduate Studies and Hitchcock Dean of the Graduate Division and Chancellor's Professor of Education, and Desmond Jagmohan, Assistant Professor of Political Science. Nicholas Vargas, Associate Professor of Ethnic Studies at UC...
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Benjamin Recht: "The Irrational Decision: How We Gave Computers the Power to Choose for Us"
Matrix Podcast
Recorded on May 5, 2026, this video features a talk by Benjamin Recht, Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences at UC Berkeley, focused on his book, . Professor Recht was joined in conversation by Marion Fourcade, Professor of Sociology and Director of Social Science Matrix. This event was co-sponsored by the D-Lab; the Algorithmic Fairness and Opacity Group (AFOG); the Center for Science, Technology, Medicine & Society (CSTMS); and the UC Berkeley Departments of Sociology and Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences. About the Book Mathematicians and engineers...
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Incommunicable: Toward Communicative Justice in Health and Medicine
Matrix Podcast
Recorded on April 9, 2026, this Authors Meet Critics panel features the book , by Charles Briggs, the Alan Dundes Distinguished Professor and Distinguished Professor of Anthropology at UC Berkeley, co-director and graduate advisor of the UCB-UCSF Joint PhD Program in Medical Anthropology, and co-director of the Berkeley Center for Social Medicine. Professor Briggs was joined in conversation by Elinor Ochs, Distinguished Research Professor of Anthropology at UCLA, and Eric Snoey, Department of Emergency Medicine, Alameda Health System at Highland Hospital and Clinical Professor in Emergency...
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Authors Meet Critics: Trevor Jackson, "The Insatiable Machine: How Capitalism Conquered the World"
Matrix Podcast
On April 7, 2026, Social Science Matrix hosted an Authors Meet Critics panel on the book , by Trevor Jackson, Associate Professor of History at UC Berkeley. Professor Jackson was joined in conversation by Chenzi Xu, Assistant Professor of Economics at UC Berkeley, and Dylan Riley, Professor of Sociology at UC Berkeley. Abhishek Kaicker, Associate Professor of History, moderated. The book series features lively discussions about recently published books authored by social scientists at UC Berkeley. For each event, the author discusses the key arguments of their book with fellow scholars. These...
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Matrix on Point: The U.S. Dollar Hegemony in Transition
Matrix Podcast
The global dominance of the U.S. dollar has long shaped international trade, financial markets, and geopolitical power. Amid shifting global dynamics and the rapid development of stablecoins and other digital assets, new questions are emerging around the structure and evolution of dollar hegemony. How are technological innovation and geopolitical change reshaping the international monetary system, and what possibilities lie ahead? Recorded on April 8, 2026, this panel brought together scholars and industry voices to examine the foundation of U.S. monetary influence and the role of financial...
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Julien Migozzi: "Algorithms of Distinction: Class, Credit Scores, and Property in South Africa"
Matrix Podcast
Recorded on March 18, 2026, this podcast features a lecture by Julien Migozzi, an economic geographer and Assistant Professor in Development Studies at the University of Cambridge. Dr Migozzi’s lecture, “Algorithms of Distinction: Class, Credit Scores, and Property in South Africa,” examined how 21st-century class dynamics become connected with data-driven stratification systems, focusing on the digital transformation of property markets. This talk was part of a symposium series presented by the UC Berkeley Computational Research for Equity in the Legal System (CRELS) training program...
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California Spotlight: Higher Education Under Attack
Matrix Podcast
Higher education is facing mounting pressures, from political intervention and financial challenges to attacks on academic freedom. These tensions are visible in the University of California system, where debates over funding, governance, labor, and public mission are increasingly shaping the future of public universities. Recorded on February 9, 2026, this panel brought together leading scholars to examine the forces challenging public higher education today. Drawing on areas spanning finance, policy, and labor, the discussion explored how these dynamics are shaping the UC System, and what is...
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Matrix Teach-In: Ula Taylor, “The Making of Frances M. Beal’s Black Feminist House”
Matrix Podcast
Recorded on February 19, 2026, this video presents a lecture by , Professor and Chair of the Department of African American Studies & African Diaspora Studies. The talk centered on Professor Taylor’s current work in progress, an oral biography of Frances M. Beal. The talk was co-sponsored by the UC Berkeley Department of African American Studies and the Department of Gender and Women’s Studies. A transcript of this talk is available at . About Matrix Teach-Ins Matrix Teach-Ins are a new series designed to bring UC Berkeley’s most engaging social science lectures into a public...
info_outlineRecorded on March 18, 2025, this video features a talk by Alexander F. Roehrkasse, Assistant Professor of Sociology and Criminology at Butler University. Roehrkasse’s research focuses on inequality, victimization, punishment, families and children, and quantitative and historical methods.
His work has been published in the American Sociological Review, Demography, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Science Advances, Social Forces, and other leading journals. He received his Ph.D. in Sociology from UC Berkeley.
This talk is part of a symposium series presented by the UC Berkeley Computational Research for Equity in the Legal System Training Program (CRELS), which trains doctoral students representing a variety of degree programs and expertise areas in the social sciences, computer science and statistics.
Co-sponsored by the Berkeley Institute of Data Sciences (BIDS).
Abstract
The dynamics of inequality in mass incarceration are rapidly changing and poorly understood. In this talk, I present new evidence of declining Black–White inequality and skyrocketing educational inequality in U.S. prison admissions. I qualify these findings by documenting vast racial disparities in indirect contact with the carceral system through families and neighborhoods. I conclude by discussing possible causes of recent inequality trends and potential research strategies for identifying them.
Transcript
A transcript of this talk is available at https://matrix.berkeley.edu/research-article/roehrkasse