Category: Behind the Headlines

When Science Fiction Becomes Real: Walter Mosley’s Futureland and The AI Doc

On By Karen SternheimerIn Behind the Headlines, Class and Stratification, Popular Culture and Consumption, Rob Eschmann, Social Problems, Politics, and Social ChangeLeave a comment
author photo Rob Eschmann

By Rob Eschmann

The news cycle in 2026 feels straight out of a dystopian science fiction film.

New AI models are so good at hacking companies hesitate to release them to the public, and the construction of new data centers force people off their land, pollute the environment, and take up natural resources as citizen water sources run dry.

We are witnessing the rapid expansion of an AI-enabled surveillance state, and even have less tech-forward trends that reek of Orwell’s 1984, like widespread book banning and masked men arresting people and sending them to overseas prisons without due process.

Given these disturbing trends, how do we ensure we don’t end up living in a post-apocalyptic film?

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When AI isn’t so I: Health Data Reliability and Validity

On By Karen SternheimerIn Behind the Headlines, Karen Sternheimer, Statistics and MethodsLeave a comment

By Karen Sternheimer

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As a social scientist, I like data. If you can quantify something, I’m interested. Data is the foundation of sociology: we are not making casual observations and calling it science; we empirically gather data and look for patterns.

You might have learned about the concepts of validity and reliability in a research methods class. Validity requires that something actually measures what we say it measures. For instance, it’s clear that stepping on a scale is not a valid measure intelligence. Reliability requires that our measure is consistent. Using the scale analogy, it should give us the same result if we step on it a few minutes later. If not, the scale is off.

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No Such Thing as “Apolitical” Art: Project Hail Mary and the Voting Rights Act

On By Karen SternheimerIn Behind the Headlines, Popular Culture and Consumption, Race and Ethnicity, Rob Eschmann, Social Problems, Politics, and Social ChangeLeave a comment

By Rob Eschmann

author photo Rob Eschmann

Spoiler alert:  This post includes plot details about Project Hail Mary

Project Hail Mary, the 2026 science fiction film which garnered a 94% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes and has made over $670 million in the two months since being released, is one of the most well-received blockbusters in recent years. Ryan Gosling’s quirky performance as high school science teacher- turned astronaut Ryland Grace balances hilarity with moments of deep reflection on the fragile human condition. Grace’s space friend “Rocky,” a spider-like alien, is as charming as the beloved droids and tiny aliens in the Star Wars franchise. The film is stunning, with directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller using practical effects to create mind-blowing visuals and otherworldly scenes of alien planets, calling to mind shots from Christopher Nolan’s 2014 classic film Interstellar.

In the midst of its success and near-universal acclaim, Project Hail Mary is being championed by anti-woke, anti-DEI fans and critics.

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Social Comparison: It’s Not Just on Instagram

On By Karen SternheimerIn Behind the Headlines, Karen Sternheimer, Social Problems, Politics, and Social Change, Social Psychology1 Comment
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By Karen Sternheimer

There is no shortage of hand-wringing about social media sites like Instagram enabling people to compare themselves with others, presumably leading to outcomes like depression and other mental health challenges.

But social media did not start social comparison—it is woven into the fabric of many of our social institutions. As it is relatively new, social media gets the lion’s share of attention, focusing on how it operates and its constant accessibility. The algorithms, the devices, the newness drives attention and criticism.

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A Year of Living Minimally

On By Karen SternheimerIn Behind the Headlines, Karen Sternheimer, Popular Culture and Consumption2 Comments

By Karen Sternheimer

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It has been a year since losing my home in the Los Angeles firestorm of 2025. While others are reflecting on the anniversary with concerts, community events, and hand-wringing over the rebuilding process, I have been reflecting on my 12 months as a minimalist. It has been an enlightening, and yes, in an odd way a positive experience.

Of course, I wouldn’t have chosen this experience. Finding myself without most of the material possessions I had accumulated for decades was quite a jolt. The first few weeks left me shell shocked.  I was figuring out what I really needed for day-to-day living, while at the same time as managing insurance claims and other adventures with bureaucracy.

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The Robots are Taking Over: Low Wage Work and the Future

On By Karen SternheimerIn Behind the Headlines, Karen Sternheimer, Social Institutions: Work, Education, and Medicine, Social Problems, Politics, and Social ChangeLeave a comment
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By Karen Sternheimer

When I was in high school, I watched Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. Years later, I didn’t remember much about the movie, other than the computer Hal’s monotone voice when speaking to Dave, the astronaut, who must “kill” Hal to save himself after Hal killed the rest of the crew.

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Overtourism: Revisiting the Sacred and Profane

On By econnellIn Behind the Headlines, Karen Sternheimer, TheoryLeave a comment

By Karen Sternheimer

You have probably seen news of protests in Europe about overtourism—locals upset about their hometowns being overrun with crowds, often pricing them out of local housing markets. Cities like Barcelona, Florence, Venice, and Paris have experienced problems with overwhelming summer crowds.

While the rebound after the COVID shutdowns of 2020 kept people from traveling for a year or more is part of the explanation, we can use our sociological imagination to think more deeply about why certain places draw crowds.

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Magnified Trauma: Losing Your Home While Elderly

On By econnellIn Behind the Headlines, Immigration, Population, Aging, and Demography, Karen Sternheimer1 Comment

By Karen Sternheimer

This year has been particularly challenging for the elderly people in my neighborhood, or I should say my former—and hopefully future—neighborhood. The Los Angeles firestorm earlier this year wiped out more than 16,000 structures, including my own. It also destroyed my 87-year-old mother-in-law’s home of 60 years.

While it’s impossible to know exactly how many people aged 65 or older lost their homes, we do know that older people were more likely to die as the result of the fires. Of the 30 deaths listed on the Los Angeles County Coroner’s website, 23—nearly 77 percent of victims—were 65 or older. Mobility issues can make evacuation more difficult, especially for people who don’t drive.

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Love Letter to the Indie Bookstore: Radical Third Spaces 

On By econnellIn Alyssa Lyons, Behind the Headlines, Popular Culture and Consumption, Race and Ethnicity, Social Problems, Politics, and Social Change2 Comments

By Alyssa Lyons

I’ve always loved books. And I mean loved books. As a child, I’d often comb through the trash to recover discarded tomes. Where my neighbors saw old and water-stained trash, I saw glorious treasure. I’d sniff dog-eared yellowed pages as I skipped home with my latest additions. So it’s not surprising that as an adult, I would come to love bookstores.

Bookstores, especially independent ones, are what sociologist Ray Oldenburg  referred to as “third places.” Third places are virtual or physical spaces outside of home and work/school where people gather, organize, and find and build community. In independent bookstores, it’s not uncommon to find people sipping coffee, working, or quietly sharing space with others who have bookish affinities. Madeleine Roberts-Ganim identified third spaces as places that can “affirm our identities and build empathy for identities different from our own.”

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On the Disappearance of Community, Part 2

On By econnellIn Behind the Headlines, Cities and Urbanization, Karen Sternheimer1 Comment

By Karen Sternheimer

 

A few months ago, I wrote about how losing a home is not just about losing one’s place to live, but losing a community and the people within it. People around us can shape our daily rhythms and feelings of connectedness to place. Sociologists study the importance of communities, most notably how they are not just the places in which our everyday lives take place, but provide access to opportunities, economic contexts, and impact our health.

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