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.

Were Women the True Artisans Behind Ancient Greek Ceramics?

A new paper makes the case that scholars have ignored the role of female ceramicists in Greece going back some 3,000 years—and that this failing could speak to a more consequential blind spot involving gender.

Reflecting on the Rise of the Hoteps

An anthropologist looks at a U.S. subculture inspired by ancient Egypt and its effort to foster a particular Black identity.

Combating Anti-Black Racism in Brazil and Beyond

An interview with anthropologist Christen A. Smith provides insights into resisting police violence and creating safe societies for people of African descent.

What Ancient Gender Fluidity Taught Me About Modern Patriarchy

Nonbinary genders and male hierarchy as expressed in Ecuadorian clay sculptures led one archaeologist to see biases in her modern life with fresh eyes.

The Life and Meaning of Margaret Mead

The famous anthropologist argued that non-Western cultures offered alternative, often better, ways to be human. Why was she so vilified for it?

Sweating Through a Gym’s Gender Barriers

Training with macho bodybuilders, a female powerlifter and anthropologist muscled through grueling rites of passage—and forged unexpected bonds.

India’s Third Gender Rises Again

Hijras are striving to overcome a century of discrimination and reclaim their holy status in society—through a mix of faith rituals and Facebook.

The Anthropologists Who Undid Sex, Race, and Gender

In Gods of the Upper Air, a biographer reveals how anthropologist Franz Boas and his students helped transform how human differences and similarities are perceived.

Stone Age Myths We’ve Made Up

Commonly held views of ancient history are often colored by what survives in the archaeological record—and by cultural biases.

How Geocachers Navigate Fear in the Urban Woods

An anthropologist’s study of a mobile digital game highlights the stereotypes that dictate who is seen as sexually threatening or vulnerable in urban spaces.