For the Love of Cats in Turkey

On a visit to feline-friendly Turkey, an anthropologist considers what long-standing practices of caring for cats reveal about human societies.…

Gene Therapy’s Promise Meets Nigeria’s Sickle Cell Reality

Breakthrough treatments can now cure sickle cell anemia in the U.S. But the pricey therapies will hardly help in Nigeria,…

What Ancient Goat Teeth Reveal About Animal Care

Unraveling a mystery around millennia-old goat bones, an archaeologist reflects on the harm people can cause their most cherished animals.…

Neighborliness Matters to Your Health

Drawing from cross-cultural research, an anthropologist shows how neighborliness can lessen wealth-based health disparities. DOES GOOD HEALTH REQUIRE WEALTH? The…

A Native Alaska Community’s Reckoning With Vaccine Hesitancy

An anthropologist’s research with Tlingit communities in Alaska shows they have good reasons to be skeptical about vaccines. They know…

Does “Monkeypox” Give Monkeys a Bad Name?

The debate over naming the virus known as monkeypox says a lot about the close—but fraught—relationships between humans and our…

Misperceiving Life Expectancy in the Deep Past

An archaeologist explains that most people do not calculate life expectancy correctly. This leads to misunderstandings. This article was originally…

No, “Racial Genetics” Aren’t Affecting COVID-19 Deaths

The coronavirus pandemic is unequally affecting minority communities in the U.K. and the U.S. Racism, not race, explains the disparity.

Why Are Sports Fans So Bereft Without Live Games?

Two anthropologists and diehard sports enthusiasts reflect on why documentaries and draft coverage only go so far in filling the void amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Preppers and the Pandemic

Were preppers more prepared for the COVID-19 pandemic than others? The SAPIENS podcast turns to an anthropologist on the inside of the preppers movement to find out.