Why do some policies create change while others don’t? Jamila Michener suggests the answer isn’t just policy. It’s whether communities have the power to shape and sustain it. Watch here: youtu.be/gYcQFRYqE4w?...

Why So Many Americans Feel Disconnected From Democracy | Jamila Michener

YouTube video by Russell Sage Foundation

youtu.be

Severe flooding may contribute to higher mortality rates from opioid use in rural Appalachia, according to a study by Kristina Brant, assistant professor of rural sociology. The findings are relevant because severe floods are increasing in prevalence & severity due to climate change.

Severe flooding linked to increased deaths from opioid use in rural Appalachia

Severe flooding may contribute to higher mortality rates from opioid use in rural Appalachia, according to a study by researchers at Penn State.

buff.ly

@laurenheidbrink.bsky.social and I curated this collection of short essays from a group of committed scholars and lawyers on what we learn from observing and accompanying in immigration court. The pieces are excellent, both accessible and powerful. @culanth.bsky.social bit.ly/4bm4LOW

On and Off the Record: Ethnographic Witnessing and Accompaniment in Immigration Court

This collection brings together ethnographers engaged in court-watching, accompaniment in and beyond detained settings, expert witnessing, and co...

culanth.org

Very proud to have our work included in this volume by @russellsagefdn.bsky.social on The Social, Political, and Economic Consequences of Climate Hazards doi.org/10.7758/RSF.... (Joint work with #DaniaFrancis) @umassbostonecon.bsky.social @umassboston.bsky.social

Impacts of Climate Hazards on Employment and Earnings by Hazard Type, Industry, Race, and Ethnicity | RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences

We examine the relationship between climate-related disasters and subsequent county-level aggregate employment and earnings. We combine earnings and employment data from 2000 to 2023 with data on disasters to estimate local projection impulse response functions relating extreme disaster events to cumulative percent changes in employment and earnings. On average, disasters appear to reduce employment growth three to five years post disaster. There are small positive impacts on earnings. These results are largely driven by responses to hurricanes and tropical storms. Key rebuilding industries such as construction see short-term gains in employment that turn to losses in the longer-term that are similar to those in other industries. Hispanic and Latino workers see short-term gains in employment in part due to their representation in construction, which again turn to longer-term losses similar to those experienced by other racial and ethnic groups. An analysis of FEMA-supported disasters suggests that FEMA aid may be driving these results.

doi.org

We've been commissioning research from folks like @sbagen.bsky.social, @povertyscholar.bsky.social, @profsorelle.bsky.social, and others to understand concretely how federal rebuilders should focus on shifting power. Their (awesome) work is available here: democracyempowered.org/reports.html 2/

Over the past year, Sam Berger, Sophie Jacobson, and I have been thinking about how a federal rebuilding must center power-shifting, building civil society power for democracy. In @donmoyn.bsky.social's Substack we wrote up our lessons; we're excited to share what we're learning! 1/

Henry Farrell@himself.bsky.social · 5d ago

I remember seeing someone (very reasonably) complaining here a few days ago that there seems to be next to no visible thinking on left and center about how to join the dots on administration and democracy. This is the beginnings of an answer to that complaint donmoynihan.substack.com/p/rebuilding...

More here: docs.google.com/document/d/1...

Comments from Former and Current Harvard Writing Tutors

Comments from Former and Current Harvard Writing Tutors I am flabbergasted by the decision to close the Writing Center, which for more than twenty years has been an immeasurably valuable resource for...

docs.google.com

www.thecrimson.com/article/2026...

In Defense of the Harvard College Writing Center | Opinion | The Harvard Crimson

As current and former Harvard College Writing Center tutors, we write to condemn the dissolution of the Writing Center as an independent entity and the laying off of its director, Jane Rosenzweig.

thecrimson.com

I forgot to post this working paper when we put it online a couple months ago, but we think it's really cool and you should read it. tl;dr: State targeting of even a small group of people can have an absolutely massive effect on turnout of the larger group bpb-us-e1.wpmucdn.com/sites.mit.ed...

If you’re looking for state level estimates of the number of job losses due to ICE, @elizabethacox.bsky.social and I have a new report out on this with Immigration Research Initiative out today!! immresearch.org/reports/ice-...

ICE Arrests Result in a Decline in Employment: State-Level Projections - Immigration Research Initiative

The program of mass deportation being carried out by the Trump Administration is hurting American workers, both immigrants and those born in the United States. How much would employment drop in your s...

immresearch.org

Out today!! Our new @pnas.org paper (w @chloeneast.bsky.social & @elizabethacox.bsky.social) examines variation in ICE arrests from 2015 to today, exposing just how unprecedented things are today—and how/why.

Chloe N East (she/her)@chloeneast.bsky.social · last wk.

My paper is out today in PNAS documenting how ICE activity in Trump 2.0 compares to the last 10 years and the mismatch between the action and the rhetoric. Joint with the fabulous @caitlinpatler.bsky.social and @elizabethacox.bsky.social www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

"The focus on housing affordability, however, ignores the issue of housing quality. These are not two separate issues, but rather, two sides of the same coin... [low-income famlies] rent or buy homes that are so deteriorated, that they have become “affordable.” progressive.org/op-eds/the-h...

The Housing Crisis You’re Not Hearing About

Availability and quality are two sides of the same coin.

progressive.org

Very excited to read this when it comes out!

Tony Damiano@tonydamiano.bsky.social · 2w ago

Check out our new book! press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...

🚨NEW WORKING PAPER🚨 w/ @mjstrawbridge.bsky.social and @stephanieternullo.bsky.social. We help explain the puzzle of steadfast Black identification with the Democratic party by providing new theory and evidence on the role of racial residential segregation 1/n

This is incredibly powerful reporting and I’m honored to have provided some context for the likely immediate and downstream harms of these horrendous conditions.

Eunice Cho@eunicehcho.bsky.social · 2w ago

Powerful visualization of horrifying conditions of confinement in ICE's holding room cells, based on testimony of brave detainees who came forward to sue ICE and challenge abuses at 26 Federal Plaza. Great reporting by @douglasmac.bsky.social as usual! wapo.st/3R6bdmr

Did you write your comment yet on the OMB rules on federally funded science yet? No? Don’t worry, you can do it this weekend. Here are some resources that can help you get started.

Faculty/research colleagues, this form helped me to draft a personal comment in 5 minutes and also appreciate how terrible this OMB proposal is for educational & measurement research. Comments due by 7/13, please sign on. ombcomment.netlify.app?link_id=5&ca... www.insidehighered.com/news/governm...

Comments Flood OMB Proposal on Political Control of Grants

The White House Office of Management and Budget has so far received 90,000 public comments on its plans as scientific and other groups rally against them.

insidehighered.com

Which states have the most segregated schools — and why does it matter? New report coming Monday, June 22! Join us at noon ET to break down the numbers and what state policymakers can do about it. Register here: bit.ly/statesofsegr... @brownspromise.bsky.social x Segregation Tracking Project

What happens to racial inequities in Medicaid enrollment when we roll back the red tape required of beneficiaries? We used the ‘20-23 pause on administrative burdens to test if they narrowed. Spoiler: They do! But primarily after a concerted effort to ensure equal access. doi.org/10.1111/1475...

Being a victim of violence rewires how you see and engage with the world. I wrote a piece in the @chicagotribune.com on how that cycle forms and how cognitive behavioral interventions help break it. Read here: shorturl.at/M4uPo

The new Trustees Report gives us 6 years before an automatic 22% cut to Social Security benefits. We don't need to cut benefits or raise workers' taxes. My latest: www.forbes.com/sites/teresa...

Social Security Trustees Report Warns of 22% Benefit Cut In 2032

Social Security’s 2026 Trustees Report warns benefits face a 22 percent cut in 2032. Here’s why the shortfall grew and how broadening the tax base can fix it.

forbes.com

Know any state/local policymakers considering policies to address child care affordability, access, quality in their own communities? Please share my new brief with them! It's energizing to see innovative new approaches emerging from local efforts, and here's to more evidence in the policy convo.

Upjohn Institute@upjohninstitute.bsky.social · 2mo ago

As states increasingly invest in early childhood care and education, how can they ensure their investments will pay off for working families? In a new @equitablegrowth.bsky.social FAQ , @chloergibbs.bsky.social lays out the evidence for state policymakers. buff.ly/uv8jsm6 #Econsky, #ECE

Irene I. Vega @uofcalifornia.bsky.social is a recipient of a 2026 Distinguished Scholarly Book Award Honorable Mention for “Bordering on Indifference: Immigration Agents Negotiating Race and Morality.” @princetonupress.bsky.social bit.ly/ASA26Awards

David J. Knight @yale.edu is a recipient of the inaugural Early Career Award for Community-Engaged Scholarship,

Anna Romina Guevarra (University of Illinois Chicago) is a recipient of the 2026 Public Understanding of Sociology Award for contributions to advancing public understanding of sociology, sociological research, & scholarship among the general public. bit.ly/ASA26Awards

Elizabeth Wrigley-Field @wrigleyfield.bsky.social (U of Minnesota-Twin Cities) is a recipient of the 2026 Public Understanding of Sociology Award for contributions to advancing public understanding of sociology, sociological research, & scholarship among the general public. bit.ly/ASA26Awards

So incredibly honored to have my book recognized by the ASA Population Section!

Karen Benjamin Guzzo@karenguzzo.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Congratulations to @hopeharvey.bsky.social, this year's winner of the ASA Sociology of Population Section's Otis Dudley Duncan Book Award! press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...

Congratulations to @hopeharvey.bsky.social, this year's winner of the ASA Sociology of Population Section's Otis Dudley Duncan Book Award! press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...

This is very serious. If this proposal moves ahead, science funding in the US will move drastically away from being scientifically motivated, and instead toward politically motivated. We need major coordinated action. @popassocamerica.bsky.social @standupforscience.net @societyforepi.bsky.social

Adrianna McIntyre@adrianna.bsky.social · 2mo ago

“[E]ven in a world that is on fire every day this is truly a five-alarm fire.”

Please read this thread and write a comment!!! Agencies have to read and take seriosuly these comments. The comments matter. Also, call your reps. www.regulations.gov/document/OMB...

Jacquelyn Gill@jacquelyngill.bsky.social · 2mo ago

🧵 Public science in the US has taken some heavy hits over the last year, but the White House OMB is proposing a series of changes that will result in a TKO for science as we know it unless we fight back. Here's what's happening, and why it matters. 1/n