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Podcast: New Books in Sociology
Episode: Eric B. Elbogen and Nico Verykoukis, "Violence and Mental Illness: Rethinking Risk Factors and Enhancing Public Safety" (NYU Press, 2023)
Description: Mass shootings have become a defining issue of our time. Whenever the latest act of newsworthy violence occurs, mental illness is inevitably cited as a preeminent cause by members of the news media and political sphere alike. Eric B. Elbogen and Nico Verykoukis's book Violence and Mental Illness: Rethinking Risk Factors and Enhancing Public Safety (NYU Press, 2023) exposes how mental illness is vastly overemphasized in popular discussion of mass violence, which in turn makes us all less safe.The recurring and intense focus on mental illness in the wake of violent tragedy is fueled by social stigma and...