The Criminology Academy

Ep.123 Gangs in the Digital Age with Michelle Storrod

We spoke to Professor Michelle Storrod, whose work examines how gangs have adapted to—and been shaped by—the digital world. Michelle Lyttle Storrod is an assistant professor of criminal justice at Widener University and is an affiliate of the SAFElab at the University of Pennsylvania. She received her PhD from Rutgers University–Camden. Michelle is the coauthor of the largest violence prevention charity in Europe. Her cross-national scholarly pursuits center on the intricate intersection of yout...

Ep. 122 Desisting from Crime and Identity Transformation with Shadd Maruna

Shadd Maruna is Head of the Department of Sociology, Social Policy & Criminology at the University of Liverpool. His research focuses on how individuals desist from crime and reintegrate into society, emphasizing the transformative power of identity and narrative. Shadd’s influential book, Making Good, introduced the concept of the “redemption script,” reshaping our understanding of desistance. He served as President of the American Society of Criminology in 2023.

Ep. 121 Policing, Protests, and Race with Rod Brunson

This week, we spoke with Rod Brunson about one of the most urgent and challenging topics in criminology: race and policing. Rod K. Brunson is a professor in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Maryland, College Park. His tackles issues on police including community relations, youth violence, and evidence-based criminal justice policy. He has consistently called for effective crime reduction strategies that do not result in racially disparate treatment of minor...

Ep. 120 Convictions and Voting Rights with Chris Uggen

In this episode, we are joined by Professor Chris Uggen to chat about his work on voting rights for people with criminal convictions. Chris Uggen is Regents Professor and Distinguished McKnight Professor in Sociology, Law, and Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota and a fellow of the American Society of Criminology. He studies crime, law, and inequality, firm in the belief that sound research can help build a more justice and peaceful world. Chris received the 2023 American Sociological ...

Ep. 119 Political Collaboration and Polarization with Scott Duxbury

In this episode, we are speaking with Professor Scott Duxbury about his work on group politics and the sociology of punishment. Scott W. Duxbury is an Associate Professor of sociology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His research examines social networks, criminal law, mass incarceration, racism, public opinion, drug markets, and computational methods. His work has appeared in American Sociological Review, American Journal of Sociology, and Social Forces, among other outlets....

Ep. 118 Immigration, Minority Threat, and Criminal Justice with Ashley Muchow

Ashley Muchow is an assistant professor in the Department of Criminology, Law, and Justice at the University of Illinois Chicago. Her research considers the causes and consequences of social inequality, with a particular focus on policing, immigration, and racial/ethnic disparities.

Ep. 117 Defining School Shootings and Arming Teachers with Benjamin Comer

Welcome to Episode 117 of The Criminology Academy podcast, where we are criminally academic. In this episode, we are speaking with Professor Benjamin Comer and his work around school shootings. Benjamin Comer is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Texas Christian University. His research focuses on gun violence, school gun violence, and mass gun violence. His additional areas of research focus on data accuracy and comparability, as well as spatial crim...

Ep. 116 Risk Needs Assessments with Zach Hamilton

In this episode, we are speaking with Professor Zach Hamilton about his work on risk-needs assessments. Zachary Hamilton is a Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice and Associate Director of the Nebraska Center for Justice Research at the University of Nebraska Omaha. His research centers on innovation in risk and needs assessment development. Specifically, he works directly with adult corrections and juvenile justice agencies to create assessments that are optimized for their agency’s ne...

Ep. 115 The Uber, AirBnB, and Crime with David Kirk

In this episode we speak with David Kirk about the gig economy (Uber; AirBnb) and how it relates to crime. David Kirk is a professor in the Department of Criminology and Research Associate of the Population Studies Center at the University of Pennsylvania. He received his PhD in sociology from the University of Chicago and previously served on the faculties at the University of Oxford, the University of Texas at Austin, and the University of Maryland. His research agenda is primarily organized a...

Ep. 114. Public Perceptions of What Rape is with Megan Augustyn

We spoke with Professor Megan Augustyn about public beliefs and rape, the Rochester Youth Development Study, and research on middle adulthood. Megan Augustyn is an associate professor in the College of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Florida State University. She received her PhD in 2013 from the University of Maryland. Her research focuses on the study of the causes and consequences of crime, victimization, and other health-risk behaviors across the life course. Megan is the Principal Inves...

Ep. 113 Brain Trauma and Mental Health in the Criminal Justice System with Joseph Schwartz

This week we speak with Joseph Schwartz about the effect traumatic brain injuries can have on criminal behavior. We also discussed correctional officer mental health and its impact on thej ob. Joseph A. Schwartz is an associate professor in the College of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Florida State University. His current work focuses on the long-term physical and mental health implications of chronic stress exposure, as well as on the role of traumatic brain injury in the development of b...

Ep. 112 Studying and Measuring Sex Trafficking in the United States with Teresa Kulig

Teresa Kulig is an associate professor in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Nebraska Omaha, where she coordinates the Doctoral and Fast Track programs. Dr. Kulig is also co-director of the Victimology and Victim Studies Research Lab. She earned her PhD from the University of Cincinnati in 2018. Her research interests include studying the nature and control of sex and labor trafficking, the measurement and theories of victimization, public opinion on responses to...

Ep. 111 Studying Gun Violence Through Neighborhood and Social Networks with Andy Papachristos

In this episode we speak to Andy about the connection between social networks, neighborhoods, and crime. Andrew V. Papachristos: John G. Searle Professor of Sociology at Northwestern University. He directs the Institute for Policy Research and the Center for Neighborhood Engaged Research & Science. His work applies network science to urban issues like gun violence, police misconduct, and street gangs.

Ep. 110 Urban Green Spaces and Crime with James Wo

James Wo is an associate professor in the Department of Sociology and Criminology at the University of Iowa and a senior research fellow at the University of Iowa Public Policy Center. His research interests include neighborhoods and crime, spatial inequalities, local institutions and organizations, land uses, and quantitative research methods. He received his PhD in Criminology, Law, and Society from UC Irvine.

Ep. 109 Early Career Series: Being an Teaching Professor with Colby Valentine

This week we speak with Colby Valentine about what it's like to be a Professor of Instruction at a major university. Colby Valentine is an Assistant Professor of Instruction in the Department of Criminology at the University of South Florida. Dr. Valentine received her B.A. in Sociology with an emphasis in Criminal Justice from the University of Pacific (2005), her M.S. in Criminology and Criminal Justice from San Diego State University (2007) and her Ph.D. in Criminology and Criminal Justice fr...

Ep. 108 Reflection Series: Legitimacy and Procedural Justice with Tom Tyler

This week we spoke with Professor Tom Tyler. We reflected on his career and how he became interested in criminology. We also discuss his major contributions to the field: his work on police legitimacy and procedural justice. Finally, Tom gives us his thoughts on the field and advice for the future. Tom Tyler is the Macklin Fleming Professor Emeritus of Law and Professor of Psychology at Yale Law School, as well as a Founding Director of The Justice Collaboratory. In 2024, he was awarded the pres...

Ep. 107 Perceptions of Risk with Timothy Barnum

This week, we talked to Tim Barnum about his work on people's perceptions of risk and deterrence from crime. Timothy Barnum is currently an assistant professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Sam Houston State University. Prior to Sam Houston, Dr. Barnum was a Senior Researcher at Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law. He received his PhD from the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Nebraska at Omaha in 2018. His recent works explore the...

Ep. 106 Criminal Justice Contact and Disadvantage with Laura DeMarco

This week we spoke with Laura DeMarco about cumulative disadvantage and contact with the criminal justice system. Laura DeMarco is an Assistant Professor of Sociology and Anthropology at North Carolina State University. Her research asks questions about how the criminal justice system reflects, reproduces, and creates various inequalities, with attention to how the legal and economic context shape the stigma of a criminal record. Laura received her PhD from the Ohio State University in 2020. Bef...

Ep. 105 Gangs and Governance in Central America with Jose Miguel Cruz

Ep. 104 Using Person-First Language to Address Labels and Stigma with Megan Denver

We talk to Professor Megan Denver about her work on labeling, stigma, and person-first language. Megan Denver is an associate professor of criminology and criminal justice and the Director of the Corrections and Reentry Lab at Northeastern University. Megan’s research interests include criminal record stigma, employment and recidivism, credentialing decisions for people with criminal records, and desistance. To investigate questions related to these interests, she uses a variety of methods and i...

Ep. 103 Early Career Series: Transitioning from Student to Faculty with Ashley Appleby

Welcome to our new series: Early Career...like our grad life series, we will document our movement across this phase of our careers. Hopefully this will help other junior faculty as they set off in their careers as well. We kick it off by discussing the transition from student to TT faculty with podcast all-star Ashley Appleby. Dr. Ashley Appleby is an assistant professor of criminal justice in the school of social sciences, communication, and humanities at Endicott College. She received her Ph....

Ep. 102 Reflection Series: Dual Taxonomy of Offending with Terrie Moffitt

Terrie E. Moffitt, Ph.D., is the Nannerl O. Keohane University Professor of Psychology at Duke University, and Professor of Social Development at King’s College London. Her expertise is in the areas of longitudinal methods, developmental theory, clinical mental health research, neuropsychology, and genomics in behavioral science. Dr. Moffitt attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for her undergraduate degree in psychology. She continued her training in psychology at the Univers...

Ep. 101 Prisoner Reentry and Social Safety Nets with Brielle Bryan

Brielle Bryan is an assistant professor of sociology at Rice University who studies the consequences of criminal justice system contact for both individuals who encounter the justice system and their extended family members. Her research examines how varying forms of justice system contact ranging from arrest to incarceration shape subsequent economic, social, and household wellbeing, with particular attention to racial disparities in both contact with the justice system and in the consequences ...

Ep. 100 Grad Life: Success in Graduate School with Jenn and Jose

This week, it's just Jenn and Jose. This will be the last episode of our Grad Life series. We talk about what we consider success to be and our advice to students currently undergoing the grueling ordeal that is grad school.

Ep. 99 Reflection Series: Globalization and Terrorism with Gary LaFree

Gary LaFree is a Professor in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice and the Founding Director of the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) at the University of Maryland. He is a past president of the American Society of Criminology and the 2024 recipient of the Stockholm Prize. His research is on the causes and consequences of violent crime and terrorism. His most recent books are The Handbook of the Criminology of Terrorism (with Josh Fre...

Ep. 98 All Things Postdoctoral Fellowships with Chloe Haimson and Stephen Oliphant

This week, as part of our grad life series, we spoke with Chloe Haimson and Stephen Oliphant about their experiences finding, applying, and interviewing for postdoc positions. Chloe Haimson is Director of Research of the Justice Policy Lab @the Watson Institute for International & Public Affairs at Brown University. Previously, she was a postdoctoral fellow in the Prison Education Program at New York University where she taught ethnography at Wallkill Correctional Facility. Her current work ...

Ep. 97 Public Opinion and Police Diversity with Justin Pickett

Justin Pickett is a professor of criminal justice at the University at Albany, SUNY. He received his PhD in Criminology from Florida State University in 2011 and received the American Society of Criminology's Cavan Young Scholar Award in 2015. His research interests include public opinion, survey research methods, theories of punishment, and police–community relations. Special topics highlighted in this episode include criminological research and public opinion and policing and diversity...

Ep. 96 Reflection Series: Richard Wright - The Career of an Active Offender Researcher

Richard Wright retired from the University of Missouri-St. Louis’ Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice in 2014, having spent 30 very happy years there. He then joined the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology at Georgia State University as chair, before retiring again in 2021. Wright has published widely in the area of offending decision making, with particular focus on urban street criminals. Richard speaks to us about his journey into criminology, his work on active offender...

Ep. 95 Social Support and Parenthood for Incarcerated Adolescents with Brae Young

In this episode we speak with Dr. Brae Young. Brae is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Criminology & Criminal Justice at Texas Christian University. Her research largely focuses on family and support among offending populations as well as broader issues within the juvenile justice system. Her recent work has appeared in Justice Quarterly, Journal of Developmental and Life Course Criminology, and Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice. We spoke to Brae about her work surrounding adole...

Ep. 94 Student Spotlight: Gun Ownership in America with Nathaniel Schutten

In this episode we talk with Nathaniel Schutten a doctoral candidate in the School of Criminal Justice at SUNY Albany. Nathaniel talks to us about his work regarding attitudes towards gun ownership in the United States as well the intersection of gun ownership and racism. You can find Nathaniel on X @NateSchutten.