

The Sociology of Everything Podcast
Eric Hsu & Louis Everuss (Lou & the Hsu)
The Sociology of Everything Podcast offers listeners a (sometimes) comedic and accessible look at the wonders of sociology. It is created and hosted by Eric Hsu and Louis Everuss, who presently teach and do research in sociology at the University of South Australia (UniSA). A review of the podcast recently published in Teaching Sociology describes the podcast as 'stimulating sociological imaginations in and beyond sociology classrooms'. www.sociologypodcast.com
Episodes
Mentioned books

Dec 14, 2025 • 41min
Georg Simmel's The Metropolis and Mental Life
Discover the intriguing insights from Georg Simmel's essay on urban life and its impact on mental states. The hosts dive into the concept of the 'blasé attitude' prevalent among city dwellers, contrasting it with the connectedness of rural life. They discuss how urbanization reshapes social interactions and the paradox of freedom and loneliness in cities. With humor, they explore the differences between quick, superficial urban exchanges and deeper country bonds, while also critiquing the oversimplification of urban experiences. Plus, there's a fun debate over a hypothetical fight in a rural Aussie town!

Sep 30, 2025 • 52min
The Gaza Genocide in Five Crises (ft. Ernesto Verdeja) - Gaza, Genocide, & Social Theory (2 of 2)
In the second part of their series on Gaza, Genocide, and Social Theory, Eric Hsu and Louis Everuss welcome Ernesto Verdeja onto their podcast to talk around an article Ernesto has written in the Journal of Genocide Research, titled ‘The Gaza Genocide in Five Crises’. In this wide-ranging discussion, Ernesto makes some very powerful points about why it is meaningful and apt to categorise the recent major loss of life in Gaza as a genocide, while also unpacking what the broader ramifications of the Gaza case are to international governance. Eric and Louis feel strongly that this episode is not to be missed. Ernesto Verdeja is Associate Professor of Peace Studies and Global Politics at the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies in the Keough School of Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame. He is currently the Executive Director of the human rights non-profit Institute for the Study of Genocide. For more information about his work, you can visit Ernesto’s website: https://everdeja.weebly.com/Music and sound effects used in this episode are licensed under a CC 0 License, the CC Attribution License 3.0, or by a SFX (Multi-Use) License Commercial License from Epidemic Sound (www.epidemicsound.com). Tracks include:https://freesound.org/people/Tuben/sounds/272044/https://www.epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/1500ce5a-ec15-3d83-ac57-de83ecc3166d/https://www.epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/50028bdf-8888-3bd1-8089-0999e89b61fd/The views and opinions expressed in the Sociology of Everything podcast are that of the hosts and/or guest speakers, and do not reflect any of the involved institutions.The Sociology of Everything podcast | www.sociologypodcast.com

4 snips
Sep 16, 2025 • 49min
Bradley Campbell’s Genocide as Social Control - Gaza, Genocide, & Social Theory (1 of 2)
In this episode, Eric Hsu and Louis Everuss look to social theory to try to make better sense of the tremendous loss of life in Gaza since October 2023. They appeal to an article written by Bradley Campbell, titled ‘Genocide and Social Control’, which was published in 2009 in Sociological Theory. If indeed developments in Gaza constitute a genocide, as bodies like the International Association of Genocide Scholars have asserted, then Campbell’s account of genocide is useful because it spells out what it means sociologically for a genocide to occur. That is, Campbell applies Donald Black’s pure sociology approach to tease out what the contributing social configurations to genocide are.This episode is the first of a two part series on Gaza, Genocide, and Social Theory. Part 2 with Ernesto Verdeja is available now.Music and sound effects used in this episode are licensed under a CC 0 License, the CC Attribution License 3.0, or by a SFX (Multi-Use) License Commercial License from Epidemic Sound (www.epidemicsound.com). Tracks include:https://freesound.org/people/Tuben/sounds/272044/https://www.epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/392778fc-e958-44bf-9a4b-e7671ae2aa57/https://www.epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/45e4a974-0361-3816-997e-6a7c7e77674c/https://www.epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/50028bdf-8888-3bd1-8089-0999e89b61fd/The views and opinions expressed in the Sociology of Everything podcast are that of the hosts and/or guest speakers, and do not reflect any of the involved institutions.The Sociology of Everything podcast | www.sociologypodcast.com

Sep 1, 2025 • 1h 2min
Donald MacKenzie & Judy Wajcman's Social Shaping of Technology (ft. Judy Wajcman)
Judy Wajcman, a renowned sociologist and emeritus professor at the London School of Economics, explores the intricate relationship between society and technology. She critiques technological determinism, emphasizing that technology is shaped by social values. Judy highlights how gender and race are embedded in tech, urging us to rethink its culture. She also discusses the need for regulation amid profit-driven motives and the importance of valuing everyday technologies. Additionally, she shares insights on venture capital's gender gaps and the broader implications for AI development.

Jun 24, 2025 • 45min
Illumonating Severance Through Classical Sociology
In this episode, Eric Hsu and Louis Everuss take the elevator to the severed floor of where they work so that their innies can talk about the sociological aspects of a television show they both really like, Apple TV+'s Severance. Partly drawing from a chapter written by Palmer and Schueths in the edited volume, Reintegrating Severance, Eric and Louis explore how ideas found in classical sociology can be used to ‘illumonate’ aspects of what we see unfolding in the show's first two seasons. Eric and Louis warn listeners that spoilers for the show are aplenty, so if you haven't watched Seasons 1 and 2 of the show, you might want to sit this one out.Music and sound effects for this episode come from various sources and is licensed under the Creative Commons 0 License, the Creative Commons Attribution License 3.0, EFF Open Audio License, or is covered by a SFX (Multi-Use) License or a Commercial License from Epidemic Sound (www.epidemicsound.com). Tracks include:https://freesound.org/people/Tuben/sounds/272044/https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/yrihocqESJ/https://www.epidemicsound.com/sound-effects/tracks/aa2f842f-1dc6-487c-b35d-932422721468/https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/OcH616ujET/https://freesound.org/people/djlprojects/sounds/413641/https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/49eBs9LhPB/https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/7pXD5Vw3m9/https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/Ge4zoQrQS6/https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/A2V5xRtt5S/The opinions expressed in the Sociology of Everything podcast are that of the hosts and/or guest speakers. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of anyone else at UniSA or the institution at large.The Sociology of Everything podcast | www.sociologypodcast.com

Jun 3, 2025 • 44min
Peter Conrad's Medicalization of Society
In this episode, Eric Hsu and Louis Everuss spotlight the sociological concept of medicalization and Peter Conrad’s influential understanding of this idea, as captured in Conrad’s chapter in Medical Sociology on the Move. Eric and Louis’s coverage of Conrad’s account of medicalization perhaps unsurprisingly leads them to talk about some pretty weird topics. These include Tucker Carlson’s interest in testicle tanning, how Louis asks his GP friend to take his blood pressure until he gets the reading he wants, and Eric and Louis both still having full heads of hair.Music and sound effects for this episode come from various sources and is licensed under the Creative Commons 0 License, the Creative Commons Attribution License 3.0, EFF Open Audio License, or is covered by a SFX (Multi-Use) License or a Commercial License from Epidemic Sound (www.epidemicsound.com). Tracks include:https://freesound.org/people/Tuben/sounds/272044/https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/mNiHfAoXYS/https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/49eBs9LhPB/https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/Auyt43gJVD/https://www.epidemicsound.com/sound-effects/tracks/fde11e40-68a3-4b46-b987-e6ae070cf6dd/https://freesound.org/people/ChunaawChika09/sounds/581807/https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/A2V5xRtt5S/https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/buOh7KtGgd/The opinions expressed in the Sociology of Everything podcast are that of the hosts and/or guest speakers. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of anyone else at UniSA or the institution at large.The Sociology of Everything podcast | www.sociologypodcast.com

May 12, 2025 • 42min
Raewyn Connell & James Messerschmidt's Rethinking Hegemonic Masculinity
In this episode, Eric Hsu and Louis Everuss launch the fourth season of their podcast by examining a concept that sociologists continue to engage with to produce insightful understandings of how social life is gendered. They use Connell and Messerschmidt's article in Gender & Society and an earlier piece by Connell in Teachers College Record to explore how the concept of hegemonic masculinity has been theorised, applied, critiqued, and refined in various sociological discussions. Louis does three things of note in this episode. He recounts a time he felt pressured to get in a fight at a nightclub. He admits he's never seen Back to the Future. And he wonders why he isn't receiving more cash in envelopes from podcast listeners. Music and sound effects for this episode come from various sources and is licensed under the Creative Commons 0 License, the Creative Commons Attribution License 3.0, EFF Open Audio License, or is covered by a SFX (Multi-Use) License or a Commercial License from Epidemic Sound (www.epidemicsound.com). Tracks include:https://freesound.org/people/Tuben/sounds/272044/https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/xO2QwSlKHf/https://www.epidemicsound.com/sound-effects/tracks/81383ee2-40cf-4750-a20b-95b9ea28ec58/https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/Auyt43gJVD/https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/A2V5xRtt5S/https://www.epidemicsound.com/sound-effects/tracks/4364b350-da9c-4fb1-9bb8-2073d91e7625/https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/Gicq7Ti4tJ/https://www.epidemicsound.com/sound-effects/tracks/f2c96e92-c270-4238-ac59-b5d846c3b2af/https://www.epidemicsound.com/sound-effects/tracks/3164c95a-57c2-4b6f-9dd7-5dc244262316/https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/L4nmsegX0X/The opinions expressed in the Sociology of Everything podcast are that of the hosts and/or guest speakers. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of anyone else at UniSA or the institution at large.The Sociology of Everything podcast | www.sociologypodcast.com

Jan 13, 2025 • 24min
Who speaks for the Earth? The Anthropocene and Sociology
In this episode, Eric Hsu and Louis Everuss have a discussion about the idea of the Anthropocene, a concept that was originally developed within the field of Geology. Despite it not being formally recognised as a defined geological period in 2024 by the International Commission on Stratigraphy, the Anthropocene continues to feature in various discussions across different fields and sectors of society. But how might sociologists contribute to some of these conversations? Eva Lövbrand et al.'s article in Global Environmental Change put forward some compelling proposals, which Eric and Louis seek to make sense of. Notable in this episode is Eric's retelling of a time he ordered a very small side salad when he was out with friends during high school. Music and sound effects for this episode come from various sources and is licensed under the Creative Commons 0 License, the Creative Commons Attribution License 3.0, EFF Open Audio License, or is covered by a SFX (Multi-Use) License or a Commercial License from Epidemic Sound (www.epidemicsound.com). Tracks include:https://freesound.org/people/Tuben/sounds/272044/ https://www.epidemicsound.com/sound-effects/tracks/e1b22011-03a7-45b5-be21-7930691156d9/https://www.epidemicsound.com/sound-effects/tracks/f08d5262-f8b9-4ca1-8d9a-790e04372f73/https://www.epidemicsound.com/sound-effects/tracks/f45b4ad6-19af-43db-891c-88caa1182189/https://www.epidemicsound.com/sound-effects/tracks/e7f2c7bc-824d-428b-aedc-11ad6691d3e4/https://www.epidemicsound.com/sound-effects/tracks/a5e152a8-7983-4637-b54f-5cd7dd7e9da6/https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/4pM4ldz5RD/ https://freesound.org/people/JPMusic82/sounds/415511/The opinions expressed in the Sociology of Everything podcast are that of the hosts and/or guest speakers. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of anyone else at UniSA or the institution at large.The Sociology of Everything podcast | www.sociologypodcast.com

Dec 19, 2024 • 44min
Louis Everuss's Digital Mobilities and Smart Borders
Join a thought-provoking discussion on how digital technologies are reshaping borders and migration. The hosts explore the concept of borders as fluid social constructs rather than fixed entities. They dive into the complexities of digital identities, emphasizing issues of bias and exclusion. The interplay between technology and border management raises questions of accountability in automated systems. Lastly, discover how travelers navigate these digital landscapes, transforming their experiences in the process.

Oct 16, 2024 • 41min
Arlie Hochschild's Sociology and Donald Trump
Celebrate 10,000 Spotify followers with a humorous dive into Donald Trump's sociological appeal. Explore the complexities of political allegiance and the polarized landscape of today's discourse. Delve into how hyper-masculinity shapes Trump's image and resonates with certain demographics. Uncover the emotional dynamics driving his supporters' loyalty, revealing feelings of disenfranchisement and local allegiances. Finally, reflect on Trump's global influence as the election nears and the importance of understanding across ideological divides.


