UnderstandingSociety Podcast

Paying for health

Sun, 1 Feb 2009 11:40:44 -0500

Is healthcare just another commodity that people need to pay for in the same way they buy cars and clothes? Or is healthcare such a basic need that a just society needs to assure that everyone has access to healthcare?

Comparative life satisfaction

Mon, 29 Dec 2008 21:09:11 -0500

In what ways have science, technology, and medicine made for a higher level of life satisfaction in the affluent parts of the twenty-first century? Reducing hunger, disease, and premature death is certainly an important contribution. But life satisfaction depends on other things as well.

Anxiety and crisis

Fri, 5 Dec 2008 21:03:56 -0500

How do the facts of persistent crisis and uncertainty affect people’s states of mind? How do individuals make sense of uncertainty and fearful situations when these situations are extended indefinitely into the future?

A country’s unity

Sat, 18 Oct 2008 18:17:42 -0400

What social strands provide a sense of unity in a country as diverse as the United States? Perhaps it is this: the US has created a broadly shared value system that embodies “civic unity” based on equality, respect, and the rule of law.

Low income, strong community

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 20:40:02 -0400

The American ideal of “affluence” assumes that life satisfaction and strong communities require high income and a large ability to purchase and enjoy products. But this assumption seems to be wrong at both ends of the spectrum: affluent communities often illustrate low satisfaction, and non-affluent communities often illustrate strong cohesion and social functioning. What is needed to shift our thinking about affluence and consumption?

What to do?

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 21:10:03 -0400

The current financial crisis has created an environment where planners and decision makers in medium-size organizations are plunged into a great deal of uncertainty. How should we make plans and decisions in times like these, about future investments and courses of action?

Turning points

Sun, 5 Oct 2008 10:28:11 -0400

Are there turning points in history or ordinary life? How might we define this idea? How can we determine whether we’re in the midst of one? Is the current financial crisis a turning point?

Food security

Thu, 2 Oct 2008 22:28:28 -0400

Food security is one of the world’s most fundamental needs. Chronic malnutrition and famine are profoundly debilitating human situations. What is involved in maintaining food security in a poor country? How can citizens in other countries contribute to improvement of food security?

Power as influence

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 21:31:44 -0400

Power is often thought of as an ability to compel other people’s behavior. But another important aspect of power has to do with the ability that some people have to set the rules of the game, to determine the agenda, or to distribute costs and benefits.

Social surprises

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 14:28:39 -0400

The ominous possible meltdown of the US financial system is a surprise. What do large historical surprises tell us about the nature and limits of social knowledge? And how can policy interventions be designed so as to be more tolerant of the limitations of social knowledge?

Change?

Fri, 5 Sep 2008 21:02:39 -0400

The political conventions are all about “change” this season. But what is change? What is it that people are expressing when they call for change? Change has to do with actions: what we aim at, the strategies we use, and the manner in which we act.

Bad behavior

Tue, 2 Sep 2008 21:13:42 -0400

We are exposed to frequent examples of bad behavior in daily life -- rude and inconsiderate actions, intrusive behavior, and so forth. How can we explain these occasional patterns of action?

Trust

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 22:02:26 -0400

What is the role of trust in ordinary social interactions? It is very deep and substantial; in fact, without trust, ordinary social life becomes all but impossible.

Cognizing society

Sun, 6 Jul 2008 12:37:07 -0400

How do ordinary social experiences and perspectives play into social knowledge? How do we make sense of the social world in which we live?

ismael Ahmed interview

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 07:58:20 -0400

Interview with Ismael Ahmed, co-founder and long-time executive director of the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS). Mr. Ahmed stepped down from his position at ACCESS in 2007 to accept the position of director of the Michigan Department of Human Services.

Explaining rodeos

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 23:51:05 -0400

Can the social sciences provide explanations of ordinary complex social activities? Here we consider the example of “rodeos” and examine some of the mechanisms that might be invoked to explain observed differences between rodeos, stock car races, circuses, and other sporting events. The example illustrates the way in which a mid-level social science investigation might be framed.

Educational choices

Sun, 22 Jun 2008 17:06:48 -0400

This episode considers some of the data about college attendance in the United States -- low by international standards -- and asks what factors influence people’s choices about education. We consider rational incentives, structural obstacles, and cultural values as factors that might influence the decision whether to pursue post-secondary education.

Trust and corruption

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 20:58:04 -0400

A discussion of some of the ways in which private incentives in dangerous industries lead to massive safety failures, and the importance of adequate systems of regulation and inspection. The podcast highlights some of the circumstances that make corruption likely in the relationship between regulators and the regulated.

The power of public knowledge?

Mon, 9 Jun 2008 18:22:25 -0400

Powerful agents are able to achieve their will making use of a wide variety of tools, including coercion, intimidation, and deception. What avenues of power exist for ordinary people to defend themselves against the misuse of power against them? Does the ability of the internet to aggregate and disseminate information constitute a resource that can be used to constrain the abuse of power?

Agendas for Chinese sociology

Sat, 7 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0400

China is experiencing forms of social change that are unprecedented in world history. China needs to cultivate a sociology that is well suited to understanding and managing these social processes. Here we single out some of the most important processes of change that are currently underway in China.

Crisis in the world food system

Mon, 19 May 2008 13:58:38 -0400

The world food system has suddenly lurched into crisis -- with devastating consequences for poor people in many developing countries. The episode considers some of the causes of the crisis and also some of the policies that might help. Reinvesting in agricultural research is a top priority.

Are there patterns of economic development?

Fri, 16 May 2008 18:46:53 -0400

Does the economic history of Western Europe set the paradigm for global economic development? Or are there alternative pathways of economic development? The program mentions recent work on the economic history of China that supports the latter possibility.

Philosophy and society

Fri, 9 May 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Reflections on the ways in which philosophical thinking intersects with understanding society: not purely apriori and not purely empirical. Instead, a critical and analytical contribution to our being better able to formulate our ideas about the nature of the social world. (The Institute for Social Research (Frankfurt School) is pictured here.)

Social change in rural China

Sun, 4 May 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Discussion of the scope of the social sciences in explaining the broad processes of change in rural China. Emphasis is given to the role of contingency and path-dependency.

Social mobility and higher education

Fri, 2 May 2008 21:55:26 -0400

Discussion of a study that attempts to measure the effects of access to university education on a population of poor women.

Gloria House interview part 2

Thu, 1 May 2008 21:38:52 -0400

Interview with Dr. Gloria House, Humanities and African and African-American Studies (Director), University of Michigan-Dearborn.

Gloria House interview part 1

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 23:27:51 -0400

Interview with Dr. Gloria House, Humanities and African and African-American Studies (Director), University of Michigan-Dearborn.

Consumption and environmental collapse

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 00:06:38 -0400

Discussion of the effects of current levels of consumption and economic growth on the likelihood of environmental collapse.

Knowing poverty

Sun, 20 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0400

What is involved in knowing about poverty? There is a conceptual and statistical side; there is also a qualitative side that is best captured by fieldwork and literature.

Collective action 2.0?

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Discussion of the effects that new communications technologies have had on the feasibility and effectiveness of collective action and mobilization.