𝙼𝚎𝚐𝚊𝚗 𝙺𝚊𝚗𝚐
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mkang.bsky.social
𝙼𝚎𝚐𝚊𝚗 𝙺𝚊𝚗𝚐
@mkang.bsky.social
Sociology PhD candidate at Princeton trying to make sense of gun violence, deviance, and gangs | megankang.com
“True scholars often work in loneliness, compelled to find reward in the awareness that they have made valuable, even beautiful, contributions to the cumulative structure of human knowledge, whether anyone knows it at the time or not.” — George F. Kennan
October 13, 2025 at 3:38 PM
Thanks @the-syllabus.bsky.social for featuring my paper, and @benhr.bsky.social for the heads up. What a cool honor!

Working paper here: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
September 2, 2025 at 1:43 AM
We’ve updated the FSS proxy for household gun ownership to include 2020–2023. The dataset now spans 1949–2023 and includes state-level estimates of gun ownership, homicide, firearm homicide, and suicide rates.
dataverse.harvard.edu/dataset.xhtm...
June 10, 2025 at 5:38 PM
6 yrs ago an economist asked if I wanted to help him write a book about gun violence. It seemed crazy and fun. Working on this book w/ Jens changed my worldview, introduced me to my partner, and clarified what I want to spend my life doing. I’m grateful to have played a small part & hope you buy it!
April 15, 2025 at 1:08 PM
Dissertating in good company
February 21, 2025 at 5:14 PM
This framing of choosing is powerful. We could have less poverty and fewer homicides. But we choose to prioritize other things. @nytimes.com
February 5, 2025 at 2:46 PM
“Gun researchers tend to be abstinence-only researchers. Why not adopt a harm reduction approach?” @brandondelpozo.bsky.social

Thought-provoking convo at the #2024FirearmResearchConf workshop on research with the firearm-owning community. @meganranney.bsky.social
December 9, 2024 at 7:32 PM
🚨 Excited to spotlight the next generation of firearm researchers at the #2024FirearmResearchConf! A key goal of the Research Society for the Prevention of Firearm-Related Harms is to nurture emerging scholars shaping this field.
November 26, 2024 at 1:16 AM
ATTN Qual Researchers: Here are some resources I’ve compiled on trauma-informed research practices. I used them to train my incredible team of RAs, who conducted 120+ interviews with violence-involved men in Chicago.

Access here: shorturl.at/jCyWt
November 22, 2024 at 2:30 AM
When my undergrads can make slides like these on how structural variation in gang structure affects violence, I feel especially lucky to do this work 🖤🙏
November 19, 2024 at 12:31 AM