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.
Grief makes sense of loss and opens us to rebuilding all that is meaningful in life. Society would benefit if public grief were acknowledged more.
The Death of a Hungry GodThe electrocution of a wild elephant in a village in northeast India illustrates how these formidable beings are experienced as both animal and deity.
The Chinese History That Is Written in BoneThe bones of 3,000-year-old sacrificial victims in China are revealing unexpected new twists.
Is the Clock Ticking Toward Doomsday?The news hints that we are getting closer to Armageddon—but some say we are more peaceful now than in the past. How do we make sense of this contradiction?
Why Do So Many People Want to Die?A veteran scholar contemplates the origins of the peculiarly human phenomenon of suicide.
Why Are Humans Violent?From fights over a parking space, to marauding bands of outlaws, to global conflicts, we seem to be a violent…
How Culture Allows for War and PeaceThe evolution of uniquely human cognitive abilities gave us the means to wage war—as well as the capacity to avoid it.
How Culture Shapes Perceptions of MiscarriagePregnancy loss is a common part of women’s reproductive lives. Learning how women in different cultures process the experience can help all of us find meaning in misfortune.
The Making of a Wrinkle ConvertA cultural anthropologist stages a small rebellion by embracing the lines on his face.
In a Genocide, Who Are the Morally Upright?A Georgia State anthropologist explores what motivated rescuers during the Rwandan genocide—and what their stories reveal about courage and selflessness in the midst of total destruction.
