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.

Confronting Xenophobia Through Food—and Comics

An anthropologist who migrated from India to the U.K. uses his research to illustrate how fellow migrants from India maintain…

With So Few Farmers, Why Are Video Games About Farming So Popular?

An archaeologist considers what farming simulators reveal about humanity’s ancient and evolving relationship with agriculture. ✽ “I hate when I…

Why Do (Some) Humans Love Chili Peppers?

An anthropologist traces the origins and world travels of one of his favorite kinds of plants. ✽ As someone who…

Looking Into the World of Frog Gigging

Hunting rituals have long been a focus of anthropological analysis. An ethnographer explores how hunting frogs for meat using gigs, or multipronged spears, is a beloved family tradition in some parts of the U.S. (Content warning: The images and text include graphic descriptions of hunting and butchering animals.)

Five Turning Points in the Evolution of Wine

Anthropologists have helped uncork the fascinating history of winemaking—from drunken primates to Stone Age seed domestication to intoxicating religious rites.

Cooking Debris in an Australian Cave Tells a Story of Resilience

An archaeological project in Australia investigates 65,000 years of food scraps to understand Aboriginal peoples’ resilience amid changing plant life, sea levels, and climate.

Do Children Need Special Foods?

An anthropologist slices through myths about “picky” eating and the biological necessity of kids’ foods, and reimagines ways to feed future generations.

Here’s How to Make Olive Oil Like an Ancient Egyptian

An archaeologist pieces together a recipe for olive oil crafted in ancient Egypt. It’s easy for you to try at home.

Slavery, Sustenance, and Resistance

In this SAPIENS podcast episode, meet the archaeologists who are investigating how “slave cuisine” can be a new site of understanding Black survival and resistance.

How Filipino Sailors—and Coconuts—Helped Create Mexico’s National Drink

Most people see tequila and mezcal as quintessentially Mexican spirits—but recent research has uncovered their unlikely connection with the Philippines.