New Stories All Stories
Seasons Episodes
Table of contents
Introduction 0 Why Write for the Public? 1 What to Expect, from Pitch to Publication 2 How to Write a Pitch 3 How To Tell a Great Story, Part 1: Structure 4 How To Tell a Great Story, Part 2: Style 5 Navigating Ethics and Reducing Harms 6 Habits of Thriving Public Anthropologists 7 Cultivating the Craft of Writing 8
Table of contents
Introduction 0 Why Write for the Public? 1 What to Expect, from Pitch to Publication 2 How to Write a Pitch 3 How To Tell a Great Story, Part 1: Structure 4 How To Tell a Great Story, Part 2: Style 5 Navigating Ethics and Reducing Harms 6 Habits of Thriving Public Anthropologists 7 Cultivating the Craft of Writing 8
A person swings flame in a circle around them at night, with lights of a city in the background.
poem / Counterpoint

Poets Resist, Refuse, and Find a Way Through

Grace Zhou, Christine Weeber, and Alma Simba
In a themed collection, poets trace contours of power to critique colonialism, environmental destruction, and social violence while transforming the landscape of possibilities.
A large, brown sculpture depicts a cluster of people looking outward, one cradling a child in their arms. A village and blue sky are visible in a distant horizon.
essay / Expressions

Poems of Witness and Possibility: Inside Zones of Conflict

Christine Weeber, Ather Zia, and Toiba Naseema
Anthropological poems from around the globe speak to people’s creative will, resistance, and resilience—and the significance of our shared humanity.
A picture features a sky with a large, slightly orange, billowing cloud at its center that morphs on its left side to look like the side profile of dark-skinned woman’s face. To the left of her is a bright-blue sky with clouds.
essay / Reflections

Indigenizing What It Means to be Human

Margaret Noodin, Christine Weeber, and Jason Vasser-Elong
SAPIENS offers a curated collection of poems and stories that center Indigenous values, worldviews, and insights, creatively reimagining anthropology and the human experience.
In front of a window in a dark room, a pen rests on an open notebook on a desk. Yellow sunlight shines through the window and causes a glare.
essay / Ask SAPIENS

What Is Anthropological Poetry?

Christine Weeber and Justin D. Wright
SAPIENS’ poetry editor and inaugural poet-in-residence break down what makes certain poems anthropological and explore how poetry has the potential to transform ways of thinking and being in the world.
A painting of five framed portraits on a wall and young children in color interacting with older people who are black and white.
poem / Expressions

Lead Me to Life: Voices of the African Diaspora

Christine Weeber, Justin D. Wright, and Leah Zani
Through poetry and prose, anthropologists of the African diaspora unveil the echoes of the past in the present.
An aerial shot of six people standing in a circle in South Africa on top of a floor mural of swirling water and fish.
op-ed / In Flux

What Will It Take to Stop Swimming in the Waters of Racism?

Christine Weeber
The Southern African concept of ubuntu offers a crucial lesson for the U.S.: By recognizing our interconnections and actively undoing systemic racism, we can all become more fully human.
A group of people of various ages stands in front of a house, smiling at the camera.
essay / Ask SAPIENS

Why Capitalizing “Black” Matters

Christine Weeber
SAPIENS supports and adopts the recent change made by many publications to capitalize Black in recognition of the significance of a person or group’s identity—yet, as an anthropology magazine, we must dive deeper into the “myth of race.”
An enormous, swirling white cloud rapidly travels over an ocean.
poem / Wayfinding

One

Christine Weeber
An anthropological poem journeys to the eye of the storm to understand how “race” has no biological basis—and is instead rooted in discrimination. What future for our species?
A photo shows a Navajo elder wrapped in a blanket, standing next to a Navajo girl dressed in a jean jacket.
essay / Ask SAPIENS

Why Capitalize “Indigenous”?

Christine Weeber
Some style guides do not capitalize the term Indigenous when it is used to refer to people. But SAPIENS does. The editorial team explains why.
anthropological poems
essay / Expressions

Why Poetry + Anthropology?

Christine Weeber
SAPIENS’ first poetry contest received dozens of remarkable entries. A total of five winning poems will be featured for World Poetry Day in March and National Poetry Month in April. Find out why we think anthropological poetry matters.