Table of contents
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’s Wrong With “the Chinese Virus”?

An anthropologist explores the controversial labels for COVID-19.

Spy Plane Photos Open Windows Into Ancient Worlds

Decades-old photography from the U-2 spy program now offers a time machine to see traces of the historical and ancient past.

When Harmony Silences Resistance

The recent violence in Hong Kong has stunned the world, but one anthropologist sees a much less visible threat.

Haiti’s Blackouts Are Both Electrical and Emotional

Political protests and an energy crisis are sending shock waves throughout Haiti, and locals say the instability is like living in a blackout. An anthropologist explores what the term reveals about culture and crisis.

“Warspeak” Puts All of Us in the Trenches

From campaign “war rooms” to “battleground states,” the political lexicon in the U.S. distorts people’s experiences of others and of communal life.

Gun Violence Harms, Even if You’ve Never Been Shot

An anthropologist argues that the U.S. culture of guns puts stress on the body and mind that can lead to physical damage.

The Pussyhat’s Identity Crisis

Critics maintain that the now iconic pink caps are too stereotyped and exclusionary. Can an inclusive symbol of women’s rights be found?

Power Players: U.S. Football and French Rugby

Sports have been tied to power as long as they’ve been played. For modern-day athletes, how does their power extend beyond the field?

In Spain’s Silence, Francisco Franco’s Memory Echoes

The dictator’s ghost has been haunting Spain for more than 40 years. It is high time for the country to confront its history.

The Double Lives of Chinese Foreign Correspondents

Chinese journalists reporting from abroad grapple with a conflicted identity, facing both censorship and the perception that their work often serves nationalistic goals.