Deadline for an amazing postdoc focusing on international public policy @fordschool.bsky.social U Michigan coming up on Sept 13. Postdoc can transition into a full time tenure track position. apply.interfolio.com/189148

For MSNOW, I wrote about the Trump administration threatening to strip colleges of their tax-exempt status as part of its larger segregationist agenda.

Opinion | Trump’s next high education target: schools that help Black students

Victor Ray: American universities must stand up to Trump's plan to re-segregate higher ed

ms.now

If you’re looking to teach survey methods, measurement error and endogeneity all in one fell swoop, look no further

Burak Sonmez@buraksonmez.bsky.social · 2w ago

@pengzell.bsky.social’s article might be of interest journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1...

Fox News thinks it's a problem that fewer 15-year-olds are getting pregnant.

Headquarters@headquartersnews.bsky.social · 2w ago

Fox News complains that underage teenage girls aren’t getting pregnant enough: “The problem is teens and young adults. From ages 15-19, the fertility rate is down 70% in the last 2 decades, which means we are telling people who are young not to have babies.”

Doctors say that measles can kill young children. A guy who snorts cocaine off toilet seats and drives around with dead bear cubs in his car says they'll be fine as long as they eat enough beef tallow. For busy parents, it can be hard to know who to trust.

The debate over Ghent University’s handling of Nathan Cofnas has expanded beyond the merits of his accusations about Arday. It's become a proxy battle about whose viewpoint deserves protection. www.chronicle.com/article/shou...

Should Jason Arday’s Accuser Be Defended? American Scholars Disagree.

More than 200 signed an open letter protesting Ghent University’s suspension of Nathan Cofnas. But Cofnas’s views have left some scholars with misgivings about that campaign.

chronicle.com

ICYMI: U-M researchers and partners celebrated a transformative impact in Tanzania this summer: Clean water now flows to two villages where people and livestock lacked access. Read more from @umisrcps.bsky.social and Fernanda Pires of @umichnews.bsky.social ➡️ news.umich.edu/in-rural-tan...

In rural Tanzania, solar-powered pumps bring clean water closer to home

Around 10,000 people and thousands of livestock now have access to clean water in the Tanzanian villages of Esilalei and Oltukai, in the African country's semi-arid Monduli District.

news.umich.edu

New research from @reeddeangelis.bsky.social & @mhicken.bsky.social examines whether residential context helps explain Black–White disparities in epigenetic age acceleration, pointing to concentrated privilege in mostly White areas as a driver of health and aging inequities. myumi.ch/2j3ez

Residential context and epigenetic age acceleration among older-age black and white Americans: Findings from the health and retirement study, 2010-2016

This study examines whether residential contexts account for Black-White disparities in epigenetic age acceleration (EAA), a key biomarker of prematur…

myumi.ch

We're hosting our second Annual Symposium on Complexity in the Social World @umisr.bsky.social. This year's focus is on the complexities of studying "place." ISR will provide 35 travel awards for early career scholars. More info here: isr.umich.edu/news-events/...

Annual Symposium on Complexity in the Social World

AgendaSpeakersRegistrationTravel AwardsThe challenge: New data and approaches to study complexity in the social world has often been without a concurrent focus on the foundations of scientific inquiry...

isr.umich.edu

🚨 New Publication! Our new article explores preterm birth risk among Black mothers, demonstrating why an intersectional approach is vital for Black maternal health research. Led by Dr. Courtney E. Williams w/ Zara Houser & myself. Read here: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

New conceptual work from our lab @landscapeslab.bsky.social on how the social exposome affects cognitive health over the life course.

UM SRC@um-src.bsky.social · last mo.

Social environments may shape cognitive aging and dementia risk. Researchers outline key features and priorities for future study, focusing on social connections, residential settings and work contexts. myumi.ch/AxZ7y

Though imperfect in practice, the study of social and behavioral sciences remain our best and most reliable hope for understanding and solving many of the defining crises of our time, says CPC Fellow Kenneth Bollen. www.whysocialscience.com/blog/2026/7/...

Because Look at the Alternatives! — Why Social Science?

Recent Gallup polling shows that Americans believe government dysfunction, skyrocketing costs of living, economic inequality, and healthcare affordability are the most critical challenges facing our n...

whysocialscience.com

Good news from #JSM2026: CSCAR@ISR, a statistical and methodological consulting service designed to support faculty, staff, and graduate students, is now officially open for business at the University of Michigan. This is a rebirth of CSCAR, with new features! Visit cscar.isr.umich.edu for details.

New article in press @ Social Science & Medicine. In HRS, we find that White (but not Black) older adults have lower epigenetic age acceleration scores if they also live in predominantly White areas. These patterns are largely unrelated to any other residential features. tinyurl.com/msevnhwh

New article in press @ Social Science & Medicine. In HRS, we find that White (but not Black) older adults have lower epigenetic age acceleration scores if they also live in predominantly White areas. These patterns are largely unrelated to any other residential features. tinyurl.com/msevnhwh

A. While residential segregation explains part of why Black individuals experience epigenetic age acceleration, researchers are still attempting to uncover why Black Americans live shorter lives on average than their white peers. myumi.ch/VDMjV @reeddeangelis.bsky.social

UM SRC@um-src.bsky.social · 2mo ago

The #FridayQuiz is back! This month we are looking at #environment, both physical space and #weather: Regardless of living environment, how do Black and white individuals differ when it comes to accelerated epigenetic aging?

"These patterns suggest that growing ideological divides in health behaviours are leaving conservative Americans increasingly vulnerable to preventable health risks."

The political polarization of health outcomes in the USA - Nature Human Behaviour

Using individual-level medical data and death records, this study finds that conservatives in the USA experienced worse health and higher mortality than liberals during the 2010s. No significant gaps ...

nature.com

Our team @landscapeslab.bsky.social published a new guidance paper in @alzdemjournals.bsky.social on studying social connection and its effects on cognitive aging over the life course. Accompanying the article is a free database of 75+ validated scales of social connection doi.org/10.1002/alz....

Very happy to work with @nber.org to outline our research program (with @hamidnb.bsky.social), summarizing what we are learning about the impacts of early life circumstances on old age mortality and next steps.

The Long Shadow of Early Life: Life Cycle Exposures and Old-Age Mortality

nber.org

Important work by @vinisingh.bsky.social and @atheendar.bsky.social

AEA Journals@aeajournals.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Forthcoming in the AER: "Rationing by Race" by Manasvini Singh and Atheendar Venkataramani.

“Effect of the Great Recession on U.S. Fertility”: Using a cohort discontinuity design, Wu, @nickdemark.bsky.social & Hill show “strong & credibly causal evidence” that the GR altered fertility behavior, esp. for the youngest cohorts (relative declines of 7-30%). read.dukeupress.edu/demography/a...

Happy to launch monkscale.com — the home for the Monk Skin Tone Scale. A quick hub for information about the MST, research using the MST, studies about the MST, clinical and tech deployments of the MST, news coverage, and standards adoption across the FDA, ISO, EU AI Act, etc. #MonkSkinToneScale

1/ New #paper by Chuck Manski, @johnmullahy.bsky.social, and me in the Journal of Business and Economic Statistics (@amstatnews.bsky.social).

In addition to assessing mental health disorder prevalence rates, the surveys collect contextual data surrounding mental health, like the timing and sequencing of symptoms, physical health conditions, the use of mental health services and treatment, or, in many cases, the barriers to seeking care.

Institute for Social Research (ISR) - University of Michigan@umisr.bsky.social · 4mo ago

The World Mental Health surveys, spanning 35+ countries with WHO, are moving to ISR. Led by William Axinn and Stephanie Chardoul, the effort will expand access to validated data to inform mental health policy and care worldwide. @um-src.bsky.social

Exposure to industrial air toxicants are a leading health risk in the US. @reeddeangelis.bsky.social & @landscapeslab.bsky.social examine the extent to which industrial air toxicant exposure accounts for individual mortality risk throughout the adult life course myumi.ch/7JAME

Industrial Air Toxicant Exposure and Individual... : Epidemiology

Exposure to industrial air toxicants remains a leading environmental health risk in the United States (US). Our prospective cohort study examines the...

myumi.ch

New paper alert! Our faculty affiliate @reeddeangelis.bsky.social was featured by @umisr.bsky.social. His paper, authored with faculty affiliate @rigbydavid.bsky.social and four other colleagues, is out in Epidemiology, finds there may be no safe level of air pollution exposure

New paper finds there may be no safe level of air pollution exposure

ANN ARBOR — People forced to breathe polluted air may be shortening their lives one breath at a time.People living within a 25-kilometer high-pollution buffer zone lived about four fewer years on…

isr.umich.edu

A real honor to have this piece written about my work with the Monk Skin Tone Scale. My hope is that momentum keeps building and we can eventually live in a world where we can expect technology to work for everyone regardless of the color of their skin. current.fas.harvard.edu/stories/live...

Lives saved by sociologist’s fix for skin tone bias

A two-dollar badge is saving lives in hospitals around the world. The product, groundbreaking but simple, is a scale of colors that reflects a more complete range of human skin tones. Developed by Pro...

current.fas.harvard.edu

How does religiosity shape one's views about poor relief? Depends on how much money you make. In my new study w/@prri.org data @jssreligion.bsky.social, I find the link between religiosity & how one views the Bible's teaching on charity hinges on their economic position. 1/3 doi.org/10.1111/jssr...

In 2024, the share of Americans saying religion is *gaining influence* hit its lowest point (18%). Last year, the downward trend reversed, and the number jumped by double digits. New 2026 @pewresearch.org data shows the number continuing to rise, now up to 37% and the highest share since 2002. 1/6

“President Trump’s exemptions of chemical plants from regulations of hazardous air pollutants not only sacrifices the health of communities, but they are also illegal and undemocratic,” Jen Sass, NRDC’s attorney, said in a statement. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

Trump’s rollback of toxic gas rules limits EPA’s authority to protect public health, analysis says

Ethylene oxide (EtO) is about 60 times more carcinogenic than believed in 2006, research finds

theguardian.com