Interview: The Folk Devil Made Me Do It

A large building at dusk is obscrured by trees and darkness. A lit sign says: PANIC

I’ve been interviewed by NPR’s Code Switch on the growing political backlash about critical race theory. I discuss my research on moral panics about race. A moral panic is a situation or group positioned as a threat to social values. On the surface, it may seem nonsensical to ban critical race theory from schools, as it’s only taught at specialist university courses. Dig deeper: moral panics have always mobilised against a specific issue, and then moves to scale back other civic rights from minorities or marginalised groups.

Continue reading Interview: The Folk Devil Made Me Do It

Interview: Interracial Friendships

Two friends sit at a restaurant talking intently

Below is an excerpt from a new interview with me, by Santilla Chingaipe, published on ABC Life.

Continue reading Interview: Interracial Friendships

Interview: Pandemic Misinformation

I spoke with Angeline Chew Longshore from The Mauimama about my article, “Using sociology to think critically about Coronavirus COVID-19 studies.” We talked about how I was motivated to write about the sociology of science because I saw so many people struggling to make sense of the pandemic. We discussed how national cultures are impacting responses to the virus, why precarious employment in healthcare is causing high rates of infection, and how we can better check whether the information we hear is credible.

Continue reading Interview: Pandemic Misinformation

Interview: Moral Panic

The past of the month has proved especially busy. I’ve done a few media interviews and launched a new webseries with Associate Professor Alana Letin, called Race in Society. More on these projects in the coming days. Today, I look back on my interview with 3CR Diaspora Blues about my article, Pandemic, race and moral panic. Listen below, with a transcription for accessibility further down.

3RC Diaspora Blues Moral Panic with Dr Zuleyka Zevallos
Continue reading Interview: Moral Panic

Interview: New Moon Mission Brings Back Old Ideas

On 3 July 2019, Axios featured an interview with me on space colonisation. Below is an excerpt:

Continue reading Interview: New Moon Mission Brings Back Old Ideas

Interview: Dating When You’re a Queer Person of Colour

On 30 September 2018, I was interviewed on Triple J about sexual racism in queer communities. Below is a transcript.

Continue reading Interview: Dating When You’re a Queer Person of Colour

Interview: How to Deal With Microaggressions

On 13 July 2018, I was interviewed by Michelle Elias on microaggressions, for SBS News. Below is an excerpt featuring my comments.

Continue reading Interview: How to Deal With Microaggressions

Interview: Decolonise Space

On 25 May 2018, I was interviewed by Newsweek on the inequalities embedded into the way people imagine colonising other planets. I discussed how the language we use about ‘colonising’ Mars whitewashes the history of colonialism on Earth:

Continue reading Interview: Decolonise Space

Interview: Making New Worlds

On 15 November 2017, I was interviewed for the ‘Making New Worlds’ podcast, by Erika Nesvold. The episode, ‘Why Are We Going?’ examines our motivations for settling space. The issue we discuss is not about scientific space exploration (collecting data about other planets), but whether it is ethical for humans to settle in Mars or other planets. My responses represent sociological considerations about the inequality that is inherent in colonialism. Below is an excerpt from the transcript.

Continue reading Interview: Making New Worlds

Interview: Having A Racial Preference

On 01 October 2017, I was interviewed by Triple J, on ‘Having a racial preference.’

Continue reading Interview: Having A Racial Preference

Interview: Intersectionality and Identity Politics

On 9 September 2017, writer and social justice coordinator with the American Humanist Association, Sincere Kirabo, interviewed me for The Establishment. He asked me about misunderstandings of intersectionality and the problems with the term “identity politics.” Below, read an excerpt of the article, ‘Why Your Criticisms of Intersectionality and Identity Politics Sound Ridiculous.’

Continue reading Interview: Intersectionality and Identity Politics