Table of contents
Best of SAPIENS 2024

Anthropologists from around the globe brought dazzling insights and deeply reported concerns to the digital pages of SAPIENS magazine. ✽…

How Colonialism Invented Food Insecurity in West Africa

Archaeological evidence and Oral Histories show people in what is today Ghana lived sustainably for millennia—until European colonial powers and…

Protecting Ancestral Waters Through Collaborative Stewardship

The proposed Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary, along California’s Central Coast, would be the first of its kind in the…

Grappling With Guilt Inside a System of Structural Violence

Criminals and Gangmembers Anonymous, a 12-step recovery program, has proliferated in California’s carceral system. An anthropologist investigates the program, which…

When Scientists Take to the Streets

The scientific community in Argentina is facing a crisis. In response, scientists are protesting to stand up for their work…

Living as Stateless Palestinians in Jordan

Israel’s war on Gaza that erupted in 2023 continues a long history of systemic displacement of Palestinians. Over 2 million…

Best of SAPIENS 2023

In another year of exceptional challenges and hardships, anthropologists tackled a range of issues and questions about what it means…

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 Conversion of Julio Tiwiram

What is shamanic power? And how does it affect modern politics in Indigenous Amazonia? In this episode, we follow the…

The Power of Criminal Prosecutors

“Criminal.” It’s a label that can follow someone around for much of their life. But how does a person become…