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.
An anthropologist explores how her current study of COVID-19 and childbirth reveals profound and amplified problems with the United States’ maternity system.
Ventilators Alone Won’t Save UsAmid the rush to ramp up the production of ventilators to battle COVID-19, the public has lost sight of an even more desperate need.
How the Opioid Crackdown Is Hurting Chronic Pain PatientsPeople who rely on opioids to work and live say a new federal guideline is making them suffer, even while overdose deaths continue to rise.
What to Expect When You’re Not Expecting Down SyndromeAn anthropologist holds up a mirror to his own experience in order to understand how humans conceive of difference.
Genetic Factors May Help Explain Athletic Sudden DeathBiological anthropologists and other researchers investigate why there is a diversity of symptoms and outcomes in people with sickle cell trait.
The Rebirth of Placenta RitualsReclaiming an organ that modern medical professionals often designate as waste may inspire more people to study and adapt ancient traditions.
How Traditional Knowledge Opens Nature’s Medicine CabinetIn Peru, the challenge of providing health care to the country’s citizens has spurred interest in alternative medicines that draw on cultural traditions.
When Rare Diseases Aren’t So RareHaving a strange and little-known condition is increasingly becoming a regular part of life, bonding patients together with a common cause.
A Daughter’s Disability and a Father’s AwakeningWhen an anthropologist’s baby was diagnosed with Down syndrome, he was overwhelmed by emotional upheaval. Then, everything changed.
When Doctors Don’t ListenAn anthropologist with chronic Lyme disease has seen firsthand the perils of the Western world’s dysfunctional approach to treating misunderstood diseases.
