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Mahesh Somashekhar

@msoma.bsky.social
3.3K followers 868 following 192 posts

Associate Prof of Sociology at the U of Illinois-Chicago studying economic development, entrepreneurship, urban inequality, alternative economies, and gentrification. Supporter of small businesses until the end. maheshsomashekhar.com.

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Mahesh Somashekhar @msoma.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
A new study shows how racism and xenophobia can be baked into urban planning schemes: across the U.S., activists use parking concerns to stop mosques from being built in their communities. New mosques are 16-18% more likely to trigger opposition than new churches. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
tandfonline.com
The Religion of Parking: How Land Use Planning Enables Anti-Muslim Prejudice
In this article we consider a neglected injustice of parking policy: religious intolerance. Through qualitative interviews and a review of public hearing transcripts and official records, we show h...
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Mahesh Somashekhar @msoma.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Excellent reporting by @almacampos.bsky.social on how ICE impacts Latino businesses in Little Village, Chicago. tl;dr: Owners are spooked, and gentrifiers are pressuring them to sell. I was happy to provide background for the article, which turned out great. chicago.suntimes.com/bearing-the-...
chicago.suntimes.com
In Little Village, a year after Midway Blitz, some vow to stay, others worry they can't afford to
Even before the immigration arrests began, Little Village faced gentrification pressures. Now, with some businesses straining to remain open and calls from real estate speculators ramping up, some fea...
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Mahesh Somashekhar @msoma.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Evidence from Poland shows how authoritarian regimes harm small businesses. Forced to close on Sundays or go through hoops when hiring immigrants so that religious and political hardliners can be satisfied? It doesn't end well for small enterprises. www.persuasion.community/p/when-conse...
persuasion.community
When Conservative Social Policies Backfire
The case of Poland.
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Mahesh Somashekhar @msoma.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
The Trump admin just proposed no longer counting immigrants without green cards in the 2030 census or asking about race and ethnicity. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/09/u... PAA has an action center where you can help push back against proposals like these: www.populationassociation.org/government-a...
nytimes.com
Trump’s Census Overhaul Would Exclude Some Immigrants and Remove Questions on Race
The proposals for 2030 are among significant changes that would upend a process for helping allot congressional seats and shape policies that address disparities.
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Mahesh Somashekhar @msoma.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Residents of Gary, Indiana haven't had power for 12 days, and the state has been slow to help. This article links to various fundraisers you can contribute to so that these people get the help they need. blockclubchicago.org/2026/08/21/g...
blockclubchicago.org
Gary Residents Have Been Without Power For 12 Days. Here's How You Can Help
From celebrity-led food and supply giveaways to Chicago businesses and utility workers pitching in, a growing network is helping Gary residents weather the prolonged outage.
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Mahesh Somashekhar @msoma.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
According to a new analysis, ICE raids in Minneapolis caused a loss of over $100M in wages and a decline in the number of operating businesses of 1.7%. ICE's heavy-handed tactics cause destruction to local economies in addition to communities. www.upjohn.org/research-hig...
upjohn.org
The immigration crackdown in Minneapolis: How Operation Metro Surge affected the local economy
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Jacob S. Rugh @jakerugh.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
NEW in Social Forces @sfjournal.bsky.social coauthored by Jackie Hwang @stanford.edu, Elizabeth Roberto at Rice U., Francine Stephens at Stanford & me "Integrating or Segregating? Gentrification, the Changing City-suburb Divide, and Black Exceptionalism" academic.oup.com/sf/article-a...
academic.oup.com
Integrating or segregating? Gentrification, the changing city-suburb divide, and black exceptionalism
Abstract. Racial residential segregation has been pivotal in maintaining racial inequality following the Civil Rights Era. The transformation of cities by
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Mahesh Somashekhar @msoma.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
At #ASA2026, I'm discussing why an attempt by the U.S. far right to create a financial ecosystem parallel to the mainstream failed. The far right hoped it would ensure money doesn't flow to banks and corporations that, to them, push a "woke" agenda. See you Sunday at 10am! @asanews.bsky.social
Description of paper presentation at ASA 2026
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Catherina Gioino @catgioino.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
I wrote about how much Americans wagered on sports betting in 2025 and how it’s more than they spent on movies, art, museums and music combined. Read my article @fortunemagazine.bsky.social fortune.com/2026/07/26/g...
fortune.com
Gambling becomes America's favorite pastime as Americans spend more on sports bets than movies, arts, museums, and music combined | Fortune
Americans wagered $166 billion on sports last year, more than Hollywood, the music industry, books, and museums combined.
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Mahesh Somashekhar @msoma.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
In a first, NW Chicago tenants are suing their landlord under a new anti-gentrification law requiring landlords to give tenants a chance to buy their building before it can be sold to another landlord. Laws like these are important. I'm glad they're getting used. blockclubchicago.org/2026/07/15/l...
blockclubchicago.org
Logan Square Renters Sue Landlord, Realtor Over Tenant Right Of 1st Refusal Act Violations
The lawsuit is the first legal challenge involving the contentious renters-forward pilot program.
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Mahesh Somashekhar @msoma.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
Do you study geography and health? An upcoming free webinar will teach you how to integrate IPUMS healthcare data into your Python and R workflows. Details and registration information here: umn.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
umn.zoom.us
Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: Measuring spatial accessibility to healthcare: An applied example using IPUMS PMA data. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joini...
There is a strong connection between place, healthcare access, and health, however the data traditionally used to measure spatial access are not universally available; this issue is particularly acute...
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Mahesh Somashekhar @msoma.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
Folks local to Chicago! Want to help your neighbors during the heat wave this week? Volunteer to deliver water and portable fans to the elderly and disabled this Wednesday (July 1) through My Block My Hood My City. Details here: www.mobilize.us/m3/event/980...
mobilize.us
Check On Your People · My Block, My Hood, My City
The mission is simple but incredibly important: we’re delivering box fans and water to senior and disabled neighbors across the city to help them beat the summer heat. Please do not park in any of th...
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Livio Silva-Muller @liviosilva.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
Just out in @socialforcesfan.bsky.social some of our work comparing Elites in Brazil and South Africa! Using a small survey with random sample of CEOs, legislators, and top bureaucrats in both countries, we unpack the contradictory ways elite think about merit and taxation and redistrution.
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Mahesh Somashekhar @msoma.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
Be careful out there! Conservatives are setting up progressive super PACs to trick people into donating to causes and candidates that might split the Democratic vote or ultimately support conservative candidates. For examples, see this Substack post: popular.info/p/two-progre...
popular.info
Two “progressive” super PACs linked to House GOP
Two newly formed super PACs which purport to be progressive are linked to House Republicans and Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), a Popular Information investigation reveals.
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Kate Starbird @katestarbird.bsky.social · 31/05/2026
danah boyd recently argued that social media (as we knew it) is mostly dead; what we have now is parasocial media: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/... I agree. Networked social media is disappearing, replaced by a new logic/structure of content creator, creator-centered community, & algorithm.
journals.sagepub.com
Social Media Is Now Parasocial Media - danah boyd, 2026
When practitioners used the term “social media” to describe the internet tools that emerged in the mid-aughts, they were giving a name to the kinds of platforms...
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Mahesh Somashekhar @msoma.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
A friend just turned me on to a podcast called "Know Your Enemy," which is about the past, present, and future of conservative thought. It is incredible, and I highly recommend it if you want to understand the philosophies guiding our current historical moment. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/k...
podcasts.apple.com
Know Your Enemy
Politics Podcast · Updated Biweekly · A leftist's guide to the conservative movement, one podcast episode at a time, with co-hosts Matthew Sitman and Sam Adler-Bell.
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Mahesh Somashekhar @msoma.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
A new study shows that communities rich in “third places” like libraries, cafes, and bars can be especially resilient after a natural disaster, using this social infrastructure to support community redevelopment. www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
cambridge.org
How social infrastructure saves lives: a quantitative analysis of Japan's 3/11 disasters | Japanese Journal of Political Science | Cambridge Core
How social infrastructure saves lives: a quantitative analysis of Japan's 3/11 disasters - Volume 24 Issue 1
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Mahesh Somashekhar @msoma.bsky.social · 04/05/2026
I've started reading Wodtke and Zhou's new book on causal mediation analysis and am finding it super clear and helpful. (We've come a long way from Baron and Kenny (1986).) The R package they created as part of the book is useful too. Highly recommend reading it! www.cambridge.org/core/books/c...
cambridge.org
Causal Mediation Analysis
Cambridge Core - Research Methods in Sociology and Criminology - Causal Mediation Analysis
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Maya Sen @mayasen.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
Yes. I’m sure the experts here didn’t do this. Probably because it’s nuts from a social science perspective?
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Mahesh Somashekhar @msoma.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
Attending #ICUA and need a reason to wake up early? Come to my Thurs @ 8am session to hear how gentrification unfolds differently for organizations in cultural neighborhoods such as gayborhoods & ethnic enclaves. TL;DR: Gentrification can politicize rather than erase local orgs @uaanews.bsky.social
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Mahesh Somashekhar @msoma.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
Right-wing populists are typically hostile to finance, but the far right is trying to create new financial markets so they can avoid giving money to big banks that support "woke" causes. Is it working? I'll answer on Wednesday 4/22 @ 12:30 in UChicago Sociology's colloquium series. Come to find out!
My talk at UChicago, 4/22 at 12:30pm
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Mahesh Somashekhar @msoma.bsky.social · 16/04/2026
Which counties are cooperating with ICE? Unsurprisingly, it's pro-Trump counties. These counties also have fewer immigrants. This highlights another way that red & blue parts of the country are pulling away from each other, which has real consequences for immigrants www.bloomberg.com/graphics/202...
Counties cooperating with ICE
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Mahesh Somashekhar @msoma.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
Sure, the (non-healthcare) job market has lost steam, but a new report by @upjohninstitute.bsky.social shows that the returns to education still matter. Even in the current labor market, folks with a graduate or bachelor's degree are hired more quickly than others. www.upjohn.org/sites/defaul...
Graph of new hire trends over time
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Mahesh Somashekhar @msoma.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
A new policy prevents non-citizens in the U.S., including green card holders, from applying for SBA loans. This will cripple growth in industries heavily dependent on immigrant entrepreneurs such as construction, food services, and healthcare. thebusinessjournal.com/new-sba-poli...
thebusinessjournal.com
New SBA policy threatens financing for restaurants, construction, health care practices
Members of Congress are pushing for a reversal on new requirements for the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) loans to exclude green card holders, arguing the policy could restrict access to cap...
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Mahesh Somashekhar @msoma.bsky.social · 19/02/2026
Months after the surge in ICE raids in Chicago ended, locally owned Latino businesses are still experiencing decreased sales and lower foot traffic, even if the businesses themselves were not raided. blockclubchicago.org/2026/02/13/l...
blockclubchicago.org
Latino-Owned Businesses Struggle To Recover As Midway Blitz Impacts Linger
Latino-owned businesses on the Southwest Side are still seeing low sales. "I hope people shop local and support local businesses," one owner said.
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Mahesh Somashekhar @msoma.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
I just finished reading @jbrownsaracino.bsky.social's book on gentrification and the cultural life it's taken on. I highly recommend it. Who knew the concept of gentrification would be used to criticize the upscaling of everything from kale to penile enhancement? press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...
press.princeton.edu
The Death and Life of Gentrification
A provocative account of what is gained and what is lost when a word that once narrowly referred to neighborhood change takes on a life all its own
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Mahesh Somashekhar @msoma.bsky.social · 03/02/2026
Out now! My paper examining White people displaced from gentrified neighborhoods. While they're displaced as frequently as non-White residents, they earn more and are displaced from richer neighborhoods, which cushions their fall and helps avoid adverse consequences. academic.oup.com/socpro/artic...
academic.oup.com
Race, Class, and the Displacement of White Residents from Gentrifying U.S. Neighborhoods
Abstract. Are the adverse consequences of gentrification distributed more along racial or class lines? To answer this question, scholars must consider when
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Andrea Leverentz @amlevere.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
“the state-approved version doesn’t include chapters on media and technology, global inequality, race and ethnicity, social stratification, or gender, sex and sexuality.” State. Approved. www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty...
insidehighered.com
Florida Introduces “Sanitized” Sociology Textbook
The volume was created after a state review found that existing course materials violated a law prohibiting general education courses from teaching about systemic inequality. So far, at least two univ...
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Mahesh Somashekhar @msoma.bsky.social · 20/01/2026
Today! A conversation on the state of political violence in the U.S., hosted by @prri.org and featuring speakers such as @profsamperry.bsky.social Register here: us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
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Mahesh Somashekhar @msoma.bsky.social · 15/01/2026
Palantir is providing ICE “confidence scores” on the likely neighborhoods where potential deportation targets live. Their app compiles data from many sources to link suspects to neighborhoods. One officer stated in court records, “It’s kind of like Google Maps.” www.404media.co/elite-the-pa...
404media.co
‘ELITE’: The Palantir App ICE Uses to Find Neighborhoods to Raid
Internal ICE material and testimony from an official obtained by 404 Media provides the clearest link yet between the technological infrastructure Palantir is building for ICE and the agency’s activit...
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Mahesh Somashekhar @msoma.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
As with many things these days, I'm surprised this isn't getting more news coverage than it is. Corporation for Public Broadcasting to Shut Down After 58 Years Due to Trump Eliminating Funding variety.com/2026/tv/news...
variety.com
Corporation for Public Broadcasting to Shut Down After 58 Years Due to Trump Eliminating Funding
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting's board voted to close the organization after 58 years after the Trump Administration ended funding.
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Jacob S. Rugh @jakerugh.bsky.social · 22/12/2025
NEW AT DEMOGRAPHY: We use difference-in-difference approach using applicant vs. implemented counties w/ 287(g) ICE agreements 2000-2020 to identify a plausibly causal effect immigration enforcement leading to sizeable increase in Latino-White segregation. OPEN ACCESS PDF doi.org/10.1215/0070...
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Mahesh Somashekhar @msoma.bsky.social · 16/12/2025
The academic performance of men in the U.S. has declined so much in comparison to women that, in order to keep gender ratios roughly equal at U.S. colleges, a de facto 'affirmative action for men' has been created. My, how things have changed. yaschamounk.substack.com/p/end-affirm...
yaschamounk.substack.com
The Quiet Scandal of Affirmative Action for Men
Colleges systematically disadvantage female applicants.
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Hannah Shelley, MLIS (Metadata, Lattes & Impostor Syndrome) @hannahshelley.site · 13/08/2025
Since search is dead, how soon do you think Google Scholar is headed for the Google Graveyard? I'm betting it's soon, and academia is NOT prepared
hannahshelley.neocities.org
Google Scholar Is Doomed
Academia built entire careers on a free Google service with zero guarantees. What could go wrong?
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Josh McCrain @joshmccrain.bsky.social · 18/11/2025
new paper by Sean Westwood: With current technology, it is impossible to tell whether survey respondents are real or bots. Among other things, makes it easy for bad actors to manipulate outcomes. No good news here for the future of online-based survey research
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Mahesh Somashekhar @msoma.bsky.social · 18/11/2025
The 2025 #SSHA conference is almost here! Come to both of my presentations. The first shows how gentrification has transformed LGBTQ organizations in gayborhoods. Gentrified gayborhoods commercialized, but non-gentrifying gayborhoods politicized in response. (1/2) @socscihistory.bsky.social
Session 20 at SSHA 2025
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Mahesh Somashekhar @msoma.bsky.social · 11/11/2025
These days, the U.S.'s affordability crisis will be addressed, if not solved, locally rather than nationally. To provide concrete, attainable local solutions, @urbaninstitute.bsky.social has produced ideas for how to achieve an affordable future: www.urban.org/apps/policy-...
urban.org
Policy Solutions for an Affordable Future
Everyday Americans are worried about the cost of living, and more than 60 percent feel prices are heading in the wrong direction. American life has become mo…
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Mahesh Somashekhar @msoma.bsky.social · 31/10/2025
Tariffs and immigration enforcement are harming small businesses in the U.S., but they're absolutely destroying immigrant-owned ones. This new report highlights those harms and provides creative solutions some cities are using to address the problem. www.brookings.edu/articles/sta...
brookings.edu
Stabilizing Latino entrepreneurs amid federal policy volatility | Brookings
This report traces how policy volatility erodes stability, how geography shapes exposure to these shocks, and what states, cities, philanthropy, and the private sector can do to respond.
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Mahesh Somashekhar @msoma.bsky.social · 20/10/2025
The Data Rescue Project is seeking volunteers to help it maintain HIFLD Open, which provides disaster preparedness data and geospatial resources that the U.S. government has discontinued access to. Please help them out! For more, see: www.datarescueproject.org/email/81e2e1...
datarescueproject.org
DRP Rescuers Needed: Help with HIFLD
HIFLD Open, a one-stop shop for public, geospatial infrastructure data for the US, was discontinued on Aug 26, 2025. While most of the datasets hosted there are still available from the source agencie...
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Julia Partheymüller @schnizzl.bsky.social · 18/10/2025
German far right setting agenda as opponents amplify its ideas, study finds www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...
theguardian.com
German far right setting agenda as opponents amplify its ideas, study finds
Normalisation of far-right stances likely to affect success of such parties at ballot boxes across Europe, say researchers
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Mahesh Somashekhar @msoma.bsky.social · 15/10/2025
According to this article, a top Wall St analyst says the current AI stock market bubble will last 9 to 24 months more before it bursts. I don't know if that's true, but I found the article insightful, describing current economic events in the U.S. well. fortune.com/2025/10/07/a...
fortune.com
75% of gains, 80% of profits, 90% of capex—AI’s grip on the S&P is total and Morgan Stanley's top analyst is 'very concerned' | Fortune
The long bull market since 2022 is a "one-note narrative" since the explosion of ChatGPT, according to Lisa Shalett, CIO of Morgan Stanley Wealth Management.
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Mahesh Somashekhar @msoma.bsky.social · 08/10/2025
HAPPENING TODAY! Learn how to protect yourself from doxxing at the event below. The event caters to academics but is relevant to anyone concerned about being doxxed.
QR Code and link to event
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Mahesh Somashekhar @msoma.bsky.social · 01/10/2025
On Tuesday, Oct. 7, @detentionwatchnetwork.org is hosting a virtual event to help folks in the U.S. learn how movements in El Salvador are fighting against authoritarianism and dictatorship. Registration link and more details can be found here: detentionwatchnetwork.app.neoncrm.com/np/clients/d...
detentionwatchnetwork.app.neoncrm.com
El Salvador & US: People's Resistance | Resistencia del Pueblo
El Salvador: Resistance to fascism, detention & US imperialism
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Mahesh Somashekhar @msoma.bsky.social · 15/09/2025
If you or someone you know is a Chicago-area parent whose children are between 5 and 15, please consider taking part in this study to share your experiences parenting during COVID! As someone who parented during the pandemic, I know I have lots of stories I can share.
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Mahesh Somashekhar @msoma.bsky.social · 09/09/2025
Concerned about racial profiling after the Supreme Court's decision to legalize it during immigration stops? Join a call TODAY at 7pm ET to learn more about the ruling as well as how you can help organize and protect vulnerable members of your community. Details here: www.mobilize.us/ndlon/event/...
mobilize.us
National Emergency Call: The Supreme Court's Approval of Racial Profiling · National Day Laborer Organizing Network
The Supreme Court has lifted a lower court order that had temporarily halted the Trump Administration’s terrorizing raids in Los Angeles. The decision paves the way for racial profiling, false arrests...
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Society for the Scientific Study of Religion (SSSR) @sssreligion.bsky.social · 04/09/2025
New study using Baylor Religion Survey data finds nuanced links between Internet use and religiosity. Research by Laderi & Uecker suggests online gaming associated with holding atheist/agnostic beliefs; posting original content = more church attendance. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Types of Internet Activity and the Religious Commitment of American Adults
This study addresses the ongoing debate surrounding the connection between Internet use and religious identity, belief, salience, and practices. Using data from the 2021 wave of the Baylor Religion S....
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Maya Sen @mayasen.bsky.social · 03/09/2025
“The “silver tsunami” — the gradual exit of baby boomers from the housing market via downsizing, relocation or death — could significantly narrow the national supply gap.” www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
washingtonpost.com
Opinion | Forget YIMBY. The housing shortage could disappear on its own.
Demographic shifts and construction surges are likely to resolve the housing crisis without federal intervention.
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Mahesh Somashekhar @msoma.bsky.social · 22/08/2025
On Aug 28, as part of the conference below, I'll be presenting new work (co-authored w/ @ikennedy.bsky.social) on the geography of far-right retailers in the U.S. ias.uva.nl/content/even... To virtually attend, and to get the full schedule, contact @lauradupin.bsky.social. Hope to see you there!
ias.uva.nl
Organizations and Urban Inequality - Institute for Advanced Study IAS
In this hybrid event prominent scholars from different disciplines (urban sociology, political science, management studies, geospatial studies, organizational studies) will discuss their upcoming contributions to an accepted forthcoming special issue of Urban Studies (eds. Floris Vermeulen, Laura Dupin and Mingshu Wang).
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Per Engzell @pengzell.bsky.social · 21/08/2025
Good to see growing support for abduction or 'inference to the best explanation', recently by Spirling and Stewart in @thejop.bsky.social. This is... www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10....
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