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.

The Dangers of Birth in Tanzania

East Africa’s largest country has made great strides in reducing its maternal death rate, but many obstacles remain.

The World Hates Fat People

Being overweight is stigmatized in most countries around the world. But does obsessive talk about excess fat lead to weight reduction—or to cruel, useless shaming?

Zika at the Rio Games: Pandemic or Panic?

Concerns about the Zika virus are fueled more by fear than by medical science.

Understanding Mass Killings

A disproportionate number of mass killings in the U.S. have been committed by military veterans. We should be asking ourselves why.

Lao Camp Food (Part 2)

A bomb clearance team in Laos eagerly buys bush meat from local hunters. Then they realize they’re eating threatened and endangered species.

Labor Pains and Helpless Infants: Eve or Evolution? (Part 2)

Anthropologists often use an idea called the “obstetrical dilemma” to explain why humans have helpless infants, but there is mounting evidence that this explanation is insufficient. Part II.

Anorexia’s Deadly Deceit

Anorexia is not just about striving for an idealized body image. It is an obsessive, relentless—and futile—quest to be pure, perfect, and clean.

Labor Pains and Helpless Infants: Eve or Evolution? (Part 1)

Anthropologists often use an idea called the “obstetrical dilemma” to explain why humans have helpless infants, but there is mounting evidence that this explanation is insufficient.

Spaces of Waiting: Obstetric Fistula in Niger

The work of a medical anthropologist offers a window into the world of Nigerien women who live with obstetric fistula.

Are We to Blame for the Colorado Theater Shooter?

The U.S. mental health care system is failing youth who are struggling with the onset of psychosis—the very time when effective help could make a difference.