Arrival Waters
A poet-anthropologist’s initial arrival in Guatemala decades ago yielded a new beginning—and a limitless illumination.
Culture
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What’s Behind Match Day’s Algorithm?
In a yearly ritual, an algorithm pairs medical students with U.S. residency programs. An anthropologist explains how this technology of destiny is all too human.
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Mucus Passports: Mobility in the Time of COVID-19
In an experimental essay, an anthropologist sends pandemic dispatches about her journey from Delhi to Jakarta via Dubai, recording the absurdities and vulnerabilities of travel during these times.
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What Problems Does Organic Cotton Solve?
Organic cotton agriculture in India fails, resoundingly, to produce as much cotton as conventional methods. But what if that’s not the point?
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Heart of Stone
An anthropologist-poet reflects on the stories that spiral on a lava field near Mexico City named El Pedregal, asking what it means to be a part of the Earth.
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Social Distancing in a Sumatra Rainforest
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Orang Rimba, hunter-gatherers in Sumatra’s rainforests, are trying to preserve traditions—including isolating the sick and keeping away from outsiders—despite being displaced from much of their ancestral lands.