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.

What Does the American Dream Have to do With the COVID-19 Vaccine?

An anthropologist explains how conspiracy theories and recent protests in the U.S. over COVID-19 vaccines can’t be untangled from American dreams of freedom and prosperity.

How Imperialism Gave Us 2020

News headlines suggest that the problems of 2020 were unprecedented, but the collision of a pandemic and racial violence is nothing new under imperialism.

Time to Rethink Teeth

New research is overturning long-held assumptions about tooth enamel and human diversity.

What Makes Vaccines Social?

Some people are wary of or may refuse vaccines. Social scientists are part of a movement to encourage self-empowerment to end the current pandemic.

What a “Safe and Dignified” Burial Means During a Pandemic

When public health protocols disrupt normal funeral and mourning practices, such as in Cameroon, alternative approaches need to be engaged to keep people safe while respecting the dead and their loved ones.

Tackling Care and Capitalism in College Football

This year’s college football season—which has continued in the U.S. despite serious risks to players—has put deep social inequalities in stark relief.

The CDC Needs Social Science

Sickness is not just biological­­—it’s social. That’s why social science should be central to controlling and preventing diseases.

How Sweat Lodge Ceremonies Heal War’s Wounds

After trying conventional treatments for PTSD, an anthropologist who is also a veteran stepped into the first of many Native American ceremonies for vets and emerged with much more than he initially expected.

dear gretas

An anthropologist offers a letter-poem for the pandemic era to environmental activist Greta Thunberg—and to the rest of us—while re-envisioning our species as Humo ludens collaborans (humorous playful collaborators).

Facing COVID-19 as an Undocumented Essential Worker

The pandemic has made visible the vulnerabilities that many undocumented immigrants in the U.S. face on a daily basis.