Being LGBTQ+ in U.S. Protestant Churches

As homophobic and transphobic rhetoric sweeps the U.S., some churches are increasingly welcoming LGBTQ+ parishioners who participate in religious life…

Sex, Lies, and Science Wars

The Mead-Freeman controversy reaches its climax. Scientists, scholars, and Samoans debate the nature of sexuality, culture, and truth. After anthropologist…

Trashing an American Icon

Anthropologist Derek Freeman became Margaret Mead’s biggest critic, trying to undo her research in American Samoa and her reputation as…

We Need to Tell Our Own Stories

In the controversies swirling around Margaret Mead’s work in American Samoa, one set of voices has too often been left…

Flapper of the South Seas

A young anthropologist named Margaret Mead journeyed to American Samoa in 1925 and claimed she found a culture where teenagers…

Coming of Age … Today

Does the transition from childhood to adulthood have to be so difficult? This question sent famed anthropologist Margaret Mead to…

How Eugenics Shaped the U.S. Prenatal Care System

Black women in the U.S. are far more likely to die from complications related to pregnancy and birth than White…

The Urgency of Envisioning a World Without Police

An anthropologist working in Baltimore argues that safety for Black communities requires an end to policing. That also means taking…

Excavating a 19th-Century Detroit Saloon

A filmmaker highlights the work of urban archaeologists who are excavating the site of a woman-owned business that opened in…

Why I Ask My Students to Swear in Class

An anthropologist uses explicit insults to get students thinking about gender and power in everyday language. Plus, a brief explainer…