The News is Grim Across the Board but www.presspubs.com/white_bear/n...

How does employer access to prisoners’ labor through work release impact the well-being of those workers & of free workers? New working paper by Sue Helper, Suresh Naidu, Akseli Palomaki, Adam Reich, + me provides evidence, focus on auto manufacturing in AL #EconSky papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

Doug's been working out! Happy Halloween from Luna, Tianhe, Sara the Purple Line, Tatum, Mallory, Chris, Dougie Balboa, Jake the Stormtrooper, and all your friends @thesocietypages.bsky.social

Some important legal developments re: closing the "hemp loophole" for psychoactives such as delta-8 THC. Sociologists Mark Pawson & Brian Kelly gave an enlightening talk on use, risk, and regulation at the fall ASA meetings. [1/2] www.startribune.com/hemp-ban-att...

This week's Clippings of Soc in the News: @lizchiarello.bsky.social in @us.theconversation.com, Patrick Sheehan in Arts X Science Magazine, Charles Derber in @thenation.com, @nancyberns.bsky.social in @theatlantic.com, & Abigail Coplin in @washingtonpost.com. Read it here: 🔗 bit.ly/3KXjSEd 🔗

Jobs at CJARS -- U of Michigan's Crim. Justice Admin. Records System, a non-partisan, non-profit org building integrated data platforms on the US criminal legal system. cjars.org/get-involved/ * Data Collection Liaison * Web Scraping Programmer * Research Associate

New! How prison social climate (esp. respectful and trusting relationships b/w residents and staff) can shape post-release socioemotional well-being (less unhappiness, more satisfying relationships, and more social acceptance). -Jason Schnittker in SSM-MH www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

New! In Journal of Vocational Behavior: "Pathways to second chances: A multidisciplinary integrative review of 25 years of research on the employment of formerly incarcerated individuals," by CA Gorman, SC Tucker, TK Patel, JR Himmler, TF Contreras. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Jobs! ISRDI @minnpop.bsky.social is searching for 2 full-time staff for a new National Institute on Aging Demography and Economics Coordinating Center (NIA DECC). 1. DECC Coordinator, JO 370494: hr.myu.umn.edu/psc/hrprd/EM... 2. Communications Manager, JO 370497 - hr.myu.umn.edu/psc/hrprd/EM...

Last week I was honored to speak at the National Research Program on Crime meeting in Stockholm—and to rediscover some family roots! The visit was a real career highlight. Tack så mycket to Hans Grönqvist, the Swedish Research Council & many new friends and old (photo credit: PO Wikström).

Prison Labor and Affordable Housing “At minimum, incarcerated workers housed in county jails deserve a pay increase to cover the higher cost of living in a county jail… [and] Minnesotans need to wrestle with the language in our own state constitution.” www.startribune.com/tolkkinen-mi...

New! 2 assistant research professor positions now open with Jordan Hyatt & team at Drexel to help lead, manage, coordinate & support projects on prison conditions, Scandinavian justice, legal financial obligations, sentencing, autism, & housing. Details: careers.drexel.edu/cw/en-us/job...

New UofMN music scholarship is a fine way for RHCP drummer to honor his parents, music teachers, & fellow musicians. Can't wait for the halftime show (& marching band drum-off?) on Oct. 11. And his enthusiasm here reminds me how HS music ed changed my life too. youtu.be/Aauv2yii78w?... via @YouTube

“It was sometimes a tricky needle to thread … And some of Friday’s contestants couldn’t help slipping into sincerity.” www.startribune.com/university-m...

New! How time since conviction and exposure to "redemption research" on risk of reoffense affect employers' willingness to call back job applicants with criminal records. -Chae Jaynes, Mateus Rennó Santos, Danielle Thomas & Katelyn Smith in J. of Crim Justice www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

New! Anna Anderson on Medical Debt Behind Bars Incarcerated people have a constitutional right to care but often lack access to insurance and must bear the costs (and debt) of copays, fees, medications, emergency charges, and ambulance & hospital bills. inquest.org/medical-debt...

Sharing a victim’s cherished memory brings a moment of comfort to the survivors — and the community. And reminds us that “the small interactions we have, that maybe we don’t even think twice about, can have a totally different impact on someone else.” www.startribune.com/annunciation...

How one European manufacturer is adjusting to US import tariffs in the vital (for me, at least) custom guitar pick industry:

"Video visits are good as it fits into their schedule, but they are not the same. … Giving your child a hug is worth a hundred video visits.” theconversation.com/65-000-penns...

New National Academies report on school active shooter drills (free download) calls for: -trauma-informed drills -ban high-sensorial, hyper-realistic, deceptive drills -national guidance -staff & police training -accessibility & equity -research & funding nap.nationalacademies.org/resource/291...

Love the B-school's new name but I'll miss the old logo... mndaily.com/294866/campu...

“Oh, yes. I’m a good suffragist. I’m enthusiastic over the ratification. I’m going to study politics and be progressive.” -Marguerite Newburgh of South St. Paul MN (that's her at right), the first US woman to vote after enactment of the 19th Amendment, 105 years ago. mnhs.gitlab.io/archive/vote...

As we mourn today's Annunciation Church shooting, the reporting and photojournalism are almost too much to take in; sharing this gift link for those seeking good local coverage from Minneapolis. www.startribune.com/minneapolis-...

Good Morning! Rather than doomscrolling on your next work break, you might take a calming visit to the Minnesota State Fair’s live @mndnrewr.bsky.social Fish Cam (daylight hours, now through 9/2). www.youtube.com/live/2XCCl9j...

"Now that most mental effort tied to writing is optional, we need new [old] ways to require the work necessary for learning," moving away from take-home tests and toward real-time assessment via blue books & oral exams. -Clay Shirky on the "medieval turn" in higher ed www.nytimes.com/2025/08/26/o...

mixed signals

For folks in recovery, some "felon friendly" industries (eg, bars/restaurants) can be triggering, narrowing job options. Navigating the Labor Market among People Who Use Drugs -Mike Vuolo Anneliese Ward @leschneider.bsky.social new in @sociusjournal.bsky.social journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....

Today’s economic news: it’s not censorship, it’s *shred*sorship.

The Times' Durkheimian vision of anomie and crime is more Hirschi than Merton, emphasizing the ”subtle standards that allow communities to function...[relying] not just on written laws and policies but also on less formal norms and values to bind us together." www.nytimes.com/2025/08/14/o...

Youth incarceration has dropped since 2000 but disparities have risen. Josh Rovner's @sentencingproject.bsky.social report shows that tribal youth are at least 10 times as likely to be held in placement as white youth in Minnesota, the Dakotas & Wisconsin. www.sentencingproject.org/press-releas...

The candy in my conference gift bag seemed oddly personalized, though not wholly inaccurate.

Hearing and seeing the other side: close ties or even brief contact with "out-partisan acquaintances" can reduce distorted views and inter-partisan hostility. [US survey,exptl. data] -Delia Baldassarri & @jonadejong.bsky.social in @sociologicalsci.bsky.social sociologicalscience.com/articles-v12...

As US social scientists we should do all we can to protect the integrity of the federal statistics we rely upon in our teaching and research — on labor, crime, health, demography, education, climate, and pretty much everything else we study.

Friday Frogfest 🐸

The glitch: You want to compensate student-athletes but your athletics department is already running a $9 million deficit. The fix: Simply charge all 40,000 of your undergraduates a $200 annual athletics fee. gift article: www.startribune.com/new-u-studen...

I’m proud and honored to work with TRIO at the U of Minnesota, where first-generation and lower-income students “take their first steps toward higher education — and toward meaningful careers as teachers, nurses, engineers, doctors, researchers and public servants.” www.minnpost.com/community-vo...

"There is a moment when it’s over, but it’s not." The always witty and usually irreverent James @Lileks shares his first-person account of carjacking. www.startribune.com/lessons-from...

Delighted to talk publishing, public writing, and sociological R&D with @aminghaziani.bsky.social and Doug Hartmann in the new issue of @contexts.org. link: journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....

…and Durkheimian dad acts like it’s totally normal

2025 Civic Power: Democracy Unchained!. Today’s talk - via #Whova event app

There's apparently a big difference between a 2-foot chain and a 24-inch chain. The 2-footer seems more versatile, so I'll probably go with that.

On the eve of @black-sabbath.bsky.social's #BackToTheBeginning show, here's a sober- and kid-friendly version of Snowblind (But with Ice Cream) dedicated to, #ozzyosbourne, @iommi.com, #geezerbutler, #billward, and all my fellow metalheads in recovery. #PlayItLoud www.usatoday.com/story/entert...

“It was like trying to water a garden through a straw” — @stribrooks.bsky.social’s spot-on simile for Minnesota’s old bottlenecked clemency system. + @markosler.bsky.social & Jason Sole talk hope, mercy, and opportunity in the new pardon board & review commission. www.startribune.com/brooks-redem...

Most Minnesotans oppose cutting federal research funding for science and public health, but there’s a clear partisan divide. Younger, female, people of color, metro residents, college grads, and Dem participants are most opposed. www.startribune.com/minnesota-po...

Sociologist Arturo Baiocchi on the budget bill and child poverty: The House now proposes a permanent $2,000 per-child tax credit. "But the fine print matters... families with higher earnings receive the full benefit, while the poorest households —those most in need— do not."

Swim a few laps, catch a few rays., maybe lay a few eggs. Backyard turtle seems to be living her best life.

TSP is mourning the loss of Minnesota's Melissa Hortman—and reflecting on the shock, sorrow, and disorientation that political violence leaves behind. 🔗 bit.ly/4jRC4uE 🔗 (Est. read: 3 minutes)

Fatherhood is its own reward, but it’s nice to get some reassurance you’ve taught them the really important things in life. Wishing you and yours a Happy Father’s Day!

An awful, devastating loss. @melissahortman.bsky.social was a thoughtful leader and exemplary public servant in so many ways. She carried the weight of political responsibility with grace, humility, and good humor — and it appears to have cost her her life. www.startribune.com/brooklyn-par...