Featured Archived
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
Announcement

After ten years of exploring humanity in all its diversity, SAPIENS has concluded its publishing chapter.

While the magazine has closed, its living archive endures—open to all and preserving the many ideas, voices, and discoveries that deepen our understanding of what it means to be human.

A Podcast for Everything Human speaks with anthropologists from around the globe to uncover what makes us human.

Season 8: Where Cultures Collide
S8 TRAILER | 1 min | 25 Mar 2025
Where Cultures Collide
S8 E1 | 35 min | 1 Apr 2025
Cementing the Past
S8 E2 | 37 min | 8 Apr 2025
A Linguist’s Night at the Ball
A person is standing in a field harvesting plants, with a palm tree in the distant background.
S8 E3 | 37 min | 15 Apr 2025
Hunting, Gathering, and the Fluidity of Gender Roles
S8 E4 | 32 min | 22 Apr 2025
A Venezuelan Election … in Chile
S8 E5 | 33 min | 29 Apr 2025
Ceasefire From the Earth and Sky
S8 E6 | 28 min | 6 May 2025
South Africa’s Road Out of Colonialism
S8 E7 | 30 min | 13 May 2025
Zambia’s Chinese Connection
S8 E8 | 25 min | 20 May 2025
Milpa for the Future
S8 E9 | 34 min | 27 May 2025
The Purification of Gold—and the Racialization of Miners
S8 E10 | 30 min | 3 Jun 2025
Protest and the Public University
Season 7: Cultures of Technology
The image displays a podcast cover for "SAPIENS: A Podcast for Everything Human." It features a silhouette of a person looking into a sunset, with wind chimes hanging in the foreground. The text is bold and centralized at the top, with the subtitle and credits at the bottom. The overall theme suggests a focus on anthropology and human stories.
S7 TRAILER | 1 min | 24 Apr 2024
Cultures of Technology
The image is a promotional graphic for a podcast episode. It shows a person from behind, holding up a smartphone displaying a nature image. The text reads "SAPIENS, A Podcast for Everything Human, SSN. 07 Cultures of Technology, EP. 01 Black Influencers Beyond the Screens." It's presented by SAPIENS Magazine and House of Pod, sponsored by the Wenner-Gren Foundation.
S7 E1 | 34 min | 1 May 2024
Black Influencers Beyond the Screens
This image is a promotional graphic for a podcast episode titled "In Search of the First Cyborg" from the series "Cultures of Technology," which is part of the SAPIENS podcast, an editorially independent podcast of the Wenner-Gren Foundation. The visual features a futuristic representation of a female humanoid robot with a sleek white and black design, positioned against a dark background. The robot is depicted with human-like features and proportions, emphasizing the blend of human and machine characteristics typical of cyborgs.
S7 E2 | 32 min | 8 May 2024
In Search of the First Cyborg
The image shows a detailed close-up of a person's hands delicately handling blue string or thread, suggesting intricate craftsmanship or textile work. The strings are being separated or woven, with the texture and color of the threads prominently displayed against a dark background. The image captures the meticulous nature of the task and highlights the cultural significance of textile technology. The text reads: "SAPIENS A Podcast for Everything Human, SSN. 07 Cultures of Technology, EP. 03 Untangling the World’s First String." It mentions SAPIENS Magazine and House of Pod.
S7 E3 | 35 min | 15 May 2024
Untangling the World’s First-Known String
A promotional image for the SAPIENS podcast episode "Moving Through Deaf Worlds" from season 7, episode 4, titled "Cultures of Technology." The image features a woman holding a map and gesturing while speaking to another person, highlighting the show's exploration of human experiences and cultures.
S7 E4 | 34 min | 22 May 2024
Moving Through Deaf Worlds
GPT A capuchin monkey is holding a rock, seemingly using it as a tool, with the text "SAPIENS A Podcast for Everything Human" at the top. The episode details "SSN. 07 Cultures of Technology" and "EP. 05 Learning from Handy Primates" are overlaid on the image, which is presented by SAPIENS Magazine and House of Pod.
S7 E5 | 30 min | 29 May 2024
Learning From Handy Primates
A dark screen with cascading green code reminiscent of "The Matrix" background, featuring the text "SAPIENS A Podcast for Everything Human" at the top. The episode details "SSN. 07 Cultures of Technology" and "EP. 06 The Problems of Digital Evidence in Terrorism Trials" are overlaid on the image, which is presented by SAPIENS Magazine and House of Pod.
S7 E6 | 35 min | 5 Jun 2024
The Problems of Digital Evidence in Terrorism Trials
Two women standing in a lush, green outdoor setting, one whispering to the other, who is smiling. The text "SAPIENS A Podcast for Everything Human" is at the top, with the episode details "SSN. 07 Cultures of Technology" and "EP. 07 Chatter That Matters" overlaid on the image, which is presented by SAPIENS Magazine and House of Pod.
S7 E7 | 30 min | 12 Jun 2024
Chatter That Matters
S7 E8 | 25 min | 19 Jun 2024
Why Do We Eat at Funerals?
A large dam surrounded by rocky hills with a reservoir of greenish water at the bottom, set in a mountainous landscape. The text "SAPIENS A Podcast for Everything Human" is at the top, with the episode details "SSN. 07 Cultures of Technology" and "EP. 09 A Dam’s Downstream Consequences" overlaid on the image, which is presented by SAPIENS Magazine and House of Pod.
S7 E9 | 27 min | 26 Jun 2024
A Dam’s Downstream Consequences
A black and white image of a crowd marching in a city street, with a woman holding up a sign. The text "SAPIENS A Podcast for Everything Human" is at the top, with the episode details "SSN. 07 Cultures of Technology" and "EP. 10 When Scientists Take to the Streets" overlaid on the image, which is presented by SAPIENS Magazine and House of Pod.
S7 E10 | 30 min | 3 Jul 2024
When Scientists Take to the Streets
A person with long hair is studying their phone with a glass of red wine next to them, all presented in silhouette, with a green-tinted sunset hanging in the background.
S7 E11 | 26 min | 10 Jul 2024
Smartphones Are Bicycles for Our Minds
A person is holding and reading a comic book in a warmly lit room. The text "SAPIENS A Podcast for Everything Human" is at the top, with the episode details "SSN. 07 Cultures of Technology" and "EP. 12 Comics as a Medium for Women's Rights" overlaid on the image, which is presented by SAPIENS Magazine and House of Pod.
S7 E12 | 29 min | 17 Jul 2024
Comics as a Medium for Women’s Rights
A person with dark skin and blue-painted fingernails holds a decorated gourd, resting on tattooed legs adorned with beads and bracelets, in an outdoor setting. The text "SAPIENS A Podcast for Everything Human" is at the top, with the episode details "SSN. 07 Cultures of Technology" and "EP. 13 The Ancient Child Who's Changing Archaeology" overlaid on the image, which is presented by SAPIENS Magazine and House of Pod.
S7 E13 | 37 min | 24 Jul 2024
An Ancient Child Who’s Changing Archaeology
Season 6: The Problems With Coming of Age
Girls in Samoan dresses stare up at a screen in the sky which includes images of Margaret Mead and a Samoan friend.
S6 TRAILER | 3 min | 10 Oct 2023
The Problems With Coming of Age
A Samoan young woman sits in front of a blue tapa cloth design.
S6 E1 | 23 min | 17 Oct 2023
Coming of Age … Today
A collage image made to look old-timey, a person takes a photograph of young Samoan girls in pastel colors.
S6 E2 | 26 min | 24 Oct 2023
Flapper of the South Seas
A women wearing large earphones holds a microphone up to a Samoan women speaking, with a collage of figures in tapa cloth designs in the background.
S6 E3 | 28 min | 31 Oct 2023
We Need to Tell Our Own Stories
In a collage, white people and Samoans stand together yet apart.
S6 E4 | 29 min | 7 Nov 2023
Trashing an American Icon
Several women with distorted faces, in a collage-type rendering sit in church pews and stare at colorful stained glass windows.
S6 E5 | 24 min | 14 Nov 2023
Into the Light
In a collage rendering, a Samoan woman sits in a dark and forbidding landscape with a mask of another women pulled to the side of her face.
S6 E6 | 28 min | 28 Nov 2023
Sex, Lies, and Science Wars
Two Samoan women stand in a lush cave with their backs to the viewer.
S6 E7 | 30 min | 5 Dec 2023
Weaving Stories: Two Women Speak
A Samoan man from behind in a kind of theater stares at a screen with Samoan children peeking past palm fronds.
S6 E8 | 30 min | 14 Dec 2023
Can We Understand One Another?
Season 5
A person in near silhouette stands in front on an ocean landscape with wind chime objects hanging down, all tinted orange.
S5 TRAILER | 5 min | 21 Mar 2023
Lessons from Human Cultures
An abstract image of ice cracking with drawings of skulls beneath it.
S5 E1 | 36 min | 28 Mar 2023
A Story of Icelandic Skulls
A layered image of a Black woman set against a city landscape.
S5 E2 | 33 min | 4 Apr 2023
I Do This for You, Mom
In a prison, a man has his arms up on the bars with his back to the camera.
S5 E3 | 26 min | 11 Apr 2023
The Power of Criminal Prosecutors
A layered image of chili peppers drying in the sun with a bearded man looking at them.
S5 E4 | 34 min | 18 Apr 2023
People of the Peppers
A layered image of a rain forest with a church bell and bowl.
S5 E5 | 23 min | 25 Apr 2023
The Conversion of Julio Tiwiram
An image of a coastline, where land meets sea, seen from high above.
S5 E6 | 29 min | 2 May 2023
Aného’s Disappearing Coast
A mysterious image of a person facing one way and a band of cloth covering their face and pulling them in the other direction.
S5 E7 | 27 min | 9 May 2023
Finding Mrs. Jackson
Season 4: Our Past Is Our Future
A person in near silhouette stands in front on an ocean landscape with wind chime objects hanging down, all tinted orange.
S4 TRAILER | 4 min | 1 Sep 2023
Our Past Is Our Future
A woman with long black hair, turquoise necklace, and colorful skirt poses for a photograph in front of a plain building.
S4 E1 | 22 min | 20 Jan 2022
Guided by the Past
A Black scuba diver can be seen just above the water line.
S4 E2 | 27 min | 1 Feb 2022
Redrawing the Boundaries
Two people who dark skin hold each others' hands.
S4 E3 | 25 min | 16 Feb 2022
At the Heart of It All
The National Museum of African American History and Culture Museum's iron-lattice facade lit up at night.
S4 E4 | 35 min | 2 Mar 2022
Curating as Caretaking
A forest in dark greens and blues shrouded in mist.
S4 E5 | 33 min | 16 Mar 2022
More Than a Mountain
The tip of a burning match.
S4 E6 | 37 min | 30 Mar 2022
Slavery, Sustenance, and Resistance
A person walks on a desolate street in the open plains, with the street having two arrows pointing the direction the person is not walking towards.
S4 E7 | 44 min | 13 Apr 2022
Repatriation Is Our Future
Season 3: Going Viral
A person in near silhouette stands in front on an ocean landscape with wind chime objects hanging down, all tinted orange.
S3 TRAILER | 2 min | 1 Sep 2023
SAPIENS Is Going Viral
A blood red sun glows behind thin clouds and the treeline.
S3 E1 | 29 min | 19 May 2020
Preppers and the Pandemic
A stark white mountain landscape, with jagged peaks covered in snow.
S3 E2 | 16 min | 29 May 2020
Could the Coronavirus Pandemic Be Good for the Environment?
People assemble at a protest holding signs and hands raised, including one in focus that has a print of black fist.
S3 E3 | 24 min | 12 Jun 2020
Police Violence and the Pandemic
A reflection in a bus window, a Black person wears a surgical mask.
S3 E4 | 35 min | 18 Jun 2020
What Pandemics Leave Behind
Against a green background, a hand holds up a mirror that shows a bright orange sunset.
S3 E5 | 34 min | 2 Jul 2020
The Problem With Abstract Threats
Two hands in medical gloves prepare a shot, with a needle and vial.
S3 E6 | 24 min | 14 Oct 2020
A Vaccine Will Not Be Enough
In black and white, a round loaf of bread is designed with eight sections, seen from above.
S3 E7 | 27 min | 27 Oct 2020
When at Home, Bake as the Romans Baked
A ghostly hand and face press against a sheer fabric.
S3 E8 | 26 min | 12 Nov 2020
Is the Pandemic Slowing Down Love?
A bright yellow flower finds life in a desert landscape.
S3 E9 | 27 min | 23 Nov 2020
Moments of Resilience Amid a Pandemic
An Asian woman works at a microscope in a lab.
S3 E10 | 22 min | 8 Dec 2020
A Startling Link Between Neanderthals and COVID-19
Season 2
A person in near silhouette stands in front on an ocean landscape with wind chime objects hanging down, all tinted orange.
S2 TRAILER | 4 min | 1 Sep 2023
The SAPIENS Podcast Is Back
A pile of insects with a hand reaching down to grab them.
S2 E1 | 27 min | 30 Jul 2019
Eating Insects and the Yuck Factor
A close up of a whole, glossy tooth set on a white table.
S2 E2 | 28 min | 13 Aug 2019
Where Have All the Denisovans Gone?
A home pregnancy test lies in shadows.
S2 E3 | 25 min | 27 Aug 2019
What to Expect When You’re Not Expecting Down Syndrome
A red, blurry human face set against a black backdrop.
S2 E4 | 23 min | 10 Sep 2019
Do You Dream What I Dream?
A khipu with multicolored thin, twisted strings is laid out on a table.
S2 E5 | 34 min | 24 Sep 2019
Stringing Together an Ancient Empire’s Stories
A close up of stadium seating, with all the seats in a uniform gray color and one seat in a bright red.
S2 E6 | 30 min | 8 Oct 2019
Are Colors Universal?
A close up of a white hand playing guitar.
S2 E7 | 35 min | 22 Oct 2019
The Deep Roots of Navajo Country Music
In a stark white room, hidden mostly by a curtain, a person gives another a shot in the arm.
S2 E8 | 26 min | 5 Nov 2019
How Belonging Shapes the Vaccination Crisis
A mirror fragment set in a garden with a person holding folders.
S2 E9 | 34 min | 19 Nov 2019
Does Generosity Come Naturally?
Orange flags are held by women all lined up in a row.
S2 E10 | 26 min | 3 Dec 2019
What Does It Mean to be Human? Your Questions, Answered
Season 1
A person in near silhouette stands in front on an ocean landscape with wind chime objects hanging down, all tinted orange.
S1 TRAILER | 3 min | 1 Sep 2023
A Trailer for Everything Human
A blue glove holds a petrie dish.
S1 E1 | 39 min | 14 Aug 2018
Is Your DNA You?
A robot sits with crossed legs with various wires extending from its back, attached to a large hovering brown disk.
S1 E2 | 31 min | 28 Aug 2018
Is Robot Empathy a Trap?
A bright orange sun is next to a skyscraper's glass facade.
S1 E3 | 35 min | 12 Sep 2018
Prepping for TEOTWAWKI
A recreated mastodon is seen in profile in front of a blue wall.
S1 E4 | 30 min | 25 Sep 2018
The Mastodon in the Room
An abandoned industrial space with a dirty floor, broken windows, and a ladder.
S1 E5 | 29 min | 9 Oct 2018
Closer to Home
A football player is leaping in the air about to catch a football, during a night game.
S1 E6 | 27 min | 23 Oct 2018
Power Players: U.S. Football and French Rugby
An astronaut floats in space on a spacewalk holding various equipment.
S1 E7 | 33 min | 6 Nov 2018
Is Space a Human Place?
A middle aged white man in glasses is before a thin microphone speaking.
S1 BONUS | 78 min | 14 Nov 2018
BONUS: What Carl Zimmer Learned About DNA, Identity, and Heredity
Ghostly figures can barely be seen before a twilight blue and black landscape.
S1 E8 | 30 min | 20 Nov 2018
How to Care for the Dead
A pile of quinoa sits next to a woman in a multi-colored blanket.
S1 E9 | 31 min | 4 Dec 2018
What’s the Cost of Quinoa?
A glass of steaming tea sits on a marble table.
S1 E10 | 32 min | 18 Dec 2018
Being Afghan in America: In the Field With Morwari Zafar
Where to Listen?
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