Why do so many mothers never fully return to work after having a child? In this episode of For Sociology, host Kevin Caners talks with Camille Portier about the quiet forces shaping women's careers after childbirth — and why, in the US, something as simple as control over your own workday can matter as much as paid leave itself.

Camille's research focuses on the US — the only wealthy country without guaranteed paid parental leave — where she traces how workplace autonomy can substitute for the benefits mothers don't have. The conversation also covers her academic path from social anthropology to quantitative sociology, her PhD years at Cornell during a politically turbulent moment in America, and the growing threats to social science research funding and data access.

Guest:
Camille Portier
Research Fellow in Sociology, European University Institute
Former Kohli Foundation Fellow, Max Weber Programme for Postdoctoral Studies

Chapter Markers:
00:00 - Podcast Welcome
00:45 - Meet Camille Portier
01:59 - Finding Her Way to Sociology
02:54 - Anthropology vs. Sociology
04:36 - From Master's to PhD
06:28 - Studying Motherhood and Careers
07:00 - Autonomy as a Hidden Resource
07:54 - The Cost of Investing in Children
09:12 - Why Study Motherhood
10:01 - How Workplace Context Shapes Inequality
13:39 - Building the Data: O*NET and Its Limits
16:01 - Culture Shock: Moving to the US
17:43 - Rapid-Fire Questions
23:31 - Sociology Under Political Pressure
27:57 - Where Sociology Can Make a Difference
30:20 - What's Next for Camille
31:27 - Closing Thanks and Outro

Rapid-Fire with Camille:
Book/article she wishes she'd written: A study by Luft and Fries on socioeconomic status and diabetes treatment
If not a sociologist: A cheese seller (or a journalist)
Does her best thinking: Sitting on the floor or lying in bed, in the morning
Sociological concept everyone should know: The life course
Biggest misconception about sociology: That it's just common sense, not a rigorous science

Kohli Foundation for Sociology: https://kohlifoundation.eu/

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 this conversation, he takes us behind the scenes of the fight to make social science research open, faster, and more equitable. We later zoom out to tackle a bigger question: What happens to sociology when the government starts treating it as the enemy?

Guest
Philip Cohen
Professor of Sociology, University of Maryland
Founder & Director, SocArXiv
2025 Kohli Infrastructure Prize for Sociology Laureate

Chapter Markers
00:00 — Podcast Welcome
00:45 — Meet Philip Cohen
02:17 — What Is SocArXiv?
03:23 — How It Started
05:03 — Why Open Access Matters
07:09 — Journals and Preprints
09:02 — Openness and Trust
10:29 — A Personal Origin Story
12:36 — Rethinking Peer Review
14:52 — Building and Funding SocArXiv
16:52 — Adoption and Resistance
17:53 — Who Uses It
20:03 — Pitching It to Researchers
22:36 — Versioning and Retractions
24:30 — Surprises and AI Spam
25:46 — The Flood of AI Papers
26:16 — Plagiarism and Access
27:51 — "Publish Less, Better"
29:15 — Beyond Journals
31:45 — Data and Review
32:50 — Post-Publication Review
33:40 — Rapid-Fire Questions
37:52 — Sociology Under Attack
42:10 — Lessons From Europe
44:26 — Questions for the Next Decade
46:04 — Closing Credits

Rapid-Fire with Philip
Book he wishes he'd written: The Marriage-Go-Round by Andrew Cherlin
If not a sociologist: Rockstar
Does his best thinking: Early morning, before the phone wins
Sociological concept everyone should know: The sociological imagination
Biggest misconception about sociology: That researchers already know the answer before they begin

Links & Resources
SocArXiv: https://osf.io/preprints/socarxiv
Center for Open Science: https://www.cos.io/
Kohli Foundation for Sociology: https://kohlifoundation.eu/
The Marriage-Go-Round by Andrew Cherlin

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 undergraduate turning point that pulled him away from clinical psychology. He reflects on the influence of mentor Harrison White, and how concepts like "duality" helped him see networks not just as connections between people, but as systems that organize social worlds. The conversation then turns to Add Health and Bearman's landmark work on adolescent networks, including "Chains of Affection." He explains what sexual network structure can teach us about disease transmission, and why "missing ties" can be as important as visible ones. Finally, Bearman zooms out to sociology today: the pros and cons of expanding data, the incentives that reward quantity over depth, and the kinds of reforms that could make room for riskier, more transformative research.

Chapters:

00:00 Podcast intro
00:45 Meet Peter Bearman
02:11 Early sociological spark
06:58 From psychology to sociology
08:47 Undergrad turning point
11:11 Graduate school networks
12:27 Seeing the world in duals
15:20 Why networks matter
18:07 Dissertation and Add Health
21:21 Power of missing ties
25:10 Add Health origins
25:51 Chains of Affection
29:43 Rapid-fire questions
33:39 Duality and misconceptions
34:37 Outlook of Sociology today
35:51 Fixing academic incentives
39:16 The Deluge of data
42:31 Final thoughts

Links:

Find out more about The Kohli Foundation

More about Add Health

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, the meticulous methodologies employed, and some of the fascinating findings gleaned from over two decades of data collection across 30 countries. They also discuss crucial societal issues such as public trust, immigration attitudes, and the effects of sociopolitical change.

Fitzgerald shares personal insights from his career and reflects on the future of the ESS — including the challenges of maintaining data quality and implementing innovative survey techniques. Tune in to discover how the ESS is shaping our understanding of European societies and beyond.

Timestamps
00:00 Introduction to For Sociology
00:45 Meet Professor Rory Fitzgerald
02:15 Understanding the European Social Survey (ESS)
03:37 The History and Evolution of the ESS
06:07 Challenges and Compromises in Cross-National Surveys
08:18 Rory Fitzgerald's Journey with the ESS
09:59 Day-to-Day Operations of the ESS
16:21 Adapting the ESS During the Pandemic
22:24 Making Data Popular: Labeling and Accessibility
22:42 ESS Usage Across Academia and Media
23:50 Noteworthy Findings from ESS Data
25:47 Convergence and Stability in European Social Attitudes
27:09 Popular ESS Modules: Attitudes Toward Immigration
28:04 Rapid-Fire Questionnaire: Personal Insights
32:10 Challenges and the Future of Sociology
38:24 Exciting Developments in the ESS
40:37 Conclusion and Farewell

 

Kohli Foundation's Website

Website of the European Social Survey

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-ranging conversation, Lamont reflects on her intellectual journey from Quebec to the top ranks of global sociology. She shares the inspiration behind her landmark books—Money, Morals, and Manners and The Dignity of Working Men—and explains how her work on symbolic boundaries helps us understand everything from class conflict to cultural inclusion.

We also dive into her latest research on young workers, the role of social movements, and how cultural narratives can reduce stigma and foster greater inclusivity. Finally, Lamont offers powerful insights—and a few surprises—on how sociology can rise to meet the moment.

Episode Guide:
00:00 Introduction to For Sociology
00:44 Meet Michèle Lamont: 2024 Kohli Prize Winner
01:51 From Quebec to Harvard: Michèle's Academic Journey
04:14 How Local Politics Shaped a Global Sociologist
08:51 Rethinking Social Worth and Inequality
10:28 Class Consciousness Across Cultures
14:39 Trump, Populism, and the Language of Belonging
22:04 Fighting Stigma: What Actually Works?
30:20 Rapid-Fire Reflections
43:20 Final Thoughts and Farewell

Podcast Illustration by Adam Matak

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 study's origins, methodologies, and major contributions, highlighting how Add Health has advanced our understanding of the intersections between social, biological, and health factors across the life course. Harris also shares insights into the challenges of managing such a large-scale study and her vision for its future—aiming to follow participants throughout the entire course of their lives. 

Episode Timestamps:

00:00 – Introduction
00:44 – Meet Kathleen Mullan Harris: 2023 Kohli Infrastructure Prize Winner
02:33 – The Origins and Evolution of Add Health
05:12 – Challenges and Innovations in Add Health
06:26 – The Scale and Scope of the Study
08:49 – Data Collection and Participant Involvement
11:55 – Genetic Sampling and Oversampling
16:53 – Data Accessibility and Impact
20:49 – The Unexpected Success of Add Health
21:40 – Transition to a Longitudinal Study
22:03 – Innovations in Wave 4
23:57 – Integrating Biological and Social Factors
26:19 – Wave 5 and Future Directions
26:46 – Challenges in Longitudinal Research
29:09 – Significant Findings from Add Health
31:30 – Health Trajectories and Socioeconomic Factors
33:17 – Race, Ethnicity, and Social Mobility
34:41 – Personal Reflections and Sociological Insights
40:00 – The Future of Add Health and Sociology
41:29 – Conclusion and Farewell

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 motivations for studying sociology and demography, and the pivotal moments that shaped his career.

Through our unique Proust Questionnaire, we discover that if Gøsta weren't a sociologist, he'd likely be a carpenter. Finally, we hear about an unanswered question in sociology that fascinates Gøsta—the unexplained decline in fertility rates in advanced countries since 2012.

 

Timestamps

00:00 – Introduction to For Sociology Podcast
01:22 – Gøsta's Academic Journey
08:16 – The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism
14:15 – The Impact of Early Childhood Policies
17:18 – Challenges of the Liberal Welfare Model
18:55 – Stability of Welfare Models
20:40 – Proust Questionnaire with Gøsta
25:55 – State of Sociology Today
29:49 – The Fertility Puzzle
32:46 – Conclusion and Farewell