What Commentators Get Wrong (and Right) About North Korea
An anthropologist argues that unfair portrayals of North Korea as a hopelessly irrational hermit state has huge implications for policy and security.
Without Norms, Societies Fall Apart
Written rules about how to govern only work if they are backed up by unwritten values shared across the political spectrum. Over the past four years, Donald Trump’s relentless attacks on U.S. democratic norms have taken a toll.
Will U.S. University Students Spread COVID-19?
Universities are planning to open across the United States with strategies based on fantasy documents and magical thinking.
Can Protestors Humanize the Police?
An anthropologist asks whether U.S. police are people serving the people—or are anonymous drones of state violence.
COVID-19 and the Turn to Magical Thinking
From bogus miracle cures and dangerous conspiracy theories to powerful shows of weaponry, across the globe, the coronavirus pandemic is evoking all manner of magical thinking.
The Problem of Imagining the Real
One of the challenges of the COVID-19 crisis is taking serious action against a threat that seems so abstract and intangible.
What’s Wrong With “the Chinese Virus”?
An anthropologist explores the controversial labels for COVID-19.
Why Targeting Heritage Is a Crime Against Humanity
Trump’s threats to Iran’s cultural treasures are the latest in a long history of such tactics. Thousands of artistic and architectural marvels have been destroyed in wars—a travesty that must be stopped.
Reconsidering How We Honor Those Lost to War
War monuments and memorials are a source of contention in the United States. It’s time to reimagine the ways we memorialize the heroes and victims of war.
Trump L’oeil
In its first six weeks, the Trump administration has been actively demonizing the mainstream media and the courts. This could be an ominous sign of what is to come.
How Rumors Tap and Fuel Anxieties in the Internet Age
Viral fake-news stories like Pizzagate are having a surprisingly significant influence, and they are only going to proliferate.
Donald Trump’s Foreign Policy: Bullying, Domination, and Fearmongering
A Trump presidency would mean the end of diplomacy as we know it.
Understanding Mass Killings
A disproportionate number of mass killings in the U.S. have been committed by military veterans. We should be asking ourselves why.
Parting Words
Anthropologist Hugh Gusterson traces the history of combat casualties attempting to communicate beyond death, from Gallipoli to nuclear war.
