Last week I wrote about my friend Joy, a woman who has dealt with sexual violence, homelessness, substance abuse, humiliation and criminalization since she was […]
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Can’t Catch a Break
Our new book Can’t Catch a Break: Gender, Jail, Drugs and the Limits of Personal Responsibility is now available through University of California Press, Amazon […]
Suicide is Painful
The week that Robin Williams’ suicide hit every media outlet in the country, my friend Joy drove into the woods, shot herself up with enough […]
Caste Away: Mass Incarceration and the Hardening of Economic Inequality
“Caste Away” originally appeared as part of the University of California Press’s blog series coinciding with this month’s American Sociological Association’s annual conference: “Hard Times: […]
Ebola, Secret Serums and Me
An earlier version of this post entitled “Ebola, Monsanto and Me” contained several factual errors. I thank the dedicated readers for pointing them out. Please […]
Dangerous White Dreams, #BreakingBad
Note from Susan: Nancy Heitzeg wrote a brilliant critique of Breaking Bad at Critical Mass Progress, and she graciously gave me permission to repost it […]
Disabled Rights
This article was first published on Truthout According to reports from Washington, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) may […]
Health Insurance Roulette: The House Always Wins
“As Profits Roll In, Aetna To Expand On Obamacare Exchange In 2015” “The Obama administration issued rules to allow for a taxpayer-funded insurer bailout.” According to […]
Ebola and US
I wrote a piece on the Ebola outbreak for Salon.com. For more, follow this link. Here is an excerpt: The United States, according to the […]
The Courtroom was a Circus: Bail Blog #3 – $190 and Counting
$190 and Counting: Bail Blog #3 Click here for the story of Ginger’s arrest and my experience bailing her out: The New Price of Freedom: […]
Civil Commitment: If You Build It They Will Come
Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 123, Section 35 permits the court to involuntarily commit to an inpatient substance abuse treatment someone whose alcohol or drug use […]
Morality Hijacked by Religion
“One of the greatest tragedies in mankind’s entire history may be that morality was hijacked by religion.” ― Arthur C. Clarke A Sociologist’s Thoughts on […]