The Problem of Imagining the Real

One of the challenges of the COVID-19 crisis is taking serious action against a threat that seems so abstract and intangible.

Why Social Distancing Feels So Strange

Humans are wired through millions of years of evolution to be social creatures. Faced with the COVID-19 virus, can we stay connected at a distance?

When Coronavirus Emptied the Streets, Music Filled Them

A singer-songwriter anthropologist who has been experiencing Italy’s COVID-19 quarantine reflects on how pandemic-inspired songs connect people and reveal shifting power dynamics.

Why Poetry + Anthropology?

SAPIENS’ first poetry contest received dozens of remarkable entries. A total of five winning poems will be featured for World Poetry Day in March and National Poetry Month in April. Find out why we think anthropological poetry matters.

The Fish Trap

SAPIENS celebrates World Poetry Day with a poem by an anthropologist-poet who works with Indigenous peoples in Latin America.

How Did Belief Evolve?

An anthropologist traces the development of Homo sapiens’ most creative and destructive force, from the making of stone tools to the rise of religions.

What Makes Baby Yoda So Lovable?

A character from a new Star Wars television series has become an internet sensation—and anthropologists are not surprised.

When Harmony Silences Resistance

The recent violence in Hong Kong has stunned the world, but one anthropologist sees a much less visible threat.

Haiti’s Blackouts Are Both Electrical and Emotional

Political protests and an energy crisis are sending shock waves throughout Haiti, and locals say the instability is like living in a blackout. An anthropologist explores what the term reveals about culture and crisis.

Do You Dream What I Dream?

An anthropologist investigates what unites and distinguishes the human universal of dreaming.