For Sociology

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 t...

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...

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,...

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-r...

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 stu...

In this first episode of For Sociology , host Kevin Caners sits down with Gøsta Esping-Andersen, the inaugural Kohli Prize Laureate of 2023. They discuss Esping-Andersen's groundbreaking work on social mobility and welfare states, including his seminal book The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism . Gøsta also reflects on his academic journey from Denmark to the University of Wisconsin, his motivati...