Anthropology / Everything Human

The Dark Side of Skin Whitening

Marketplace

  • skin whitening - Salons like this one in Johannesburg, South Africa, offer facials that make use of skin lightening products.

    The Dark Side of Skin Whitening

    A desire for lighter skin tones is deeply entrenched in many parts of the world, but it comes with equally deep risks to health and society.

  • Tax - In Cochabamba, Bolivia, people’s acceptance of taxes owed varies widely.

    Tax Season Woes Have Complex Roots

    From Bolivia to the U.K. to Sweden, how people perceive their financial relationship with the state depends on everything from local culture—and history—to what the taxes and benefits are called.

  • The Dream of the Green Hog Revolution

    Throughout North Carolina, more and more farmers are choosing to raise free-range pigs and sell pasture-fed pork. Will that solve the problems caused by industrial meat production?

  • Madagascar Vanilla beans are dried in the sun as part of the curing process.

    Bracing for the Vanilla Boom

    Some of Madagascar’s farmers, made wealthy by this year’s vanilla crop, will spend their cash in crazy “hot money” sprees. But their profligate spending may not be as illogical as it first appears.

  • Can Cryptocurrency Revolutionize the Rituals of Money?

    Some people are turning their backs on traditional banks in favor of cryptocurrencies. Beneath the financial and technological conversations surrounding this shift is a story about how trust shapes the culture of money.