A movement in 1990s India illuminates the allure of vagueness from our leaders.
In the Wake of Hurricane Maria, Memes Carry More Than a Little TruthAfter a catastrophe, a community’s spirit can be seen in the memes that go viral online.
The Shameful Persistence of White Supremacy in the United StatesThis loathsome worldview continues to have an outsize impact on U.S. culture. Can Black Lives Matter and other progressive movements do anything about it?
Is the United Nations Broken?Anthropologists turned the U.N. into a field site. Their studies highlight the U.N.’s fragility, but we shouldn’t give up on the organization just yet.
The Ku Klux Klan and the Value of ShameWe should not try to erase our nation’s history of racism. But we should feel ashamed of it.
Eating People Is Wrong—But It’s Also Widespread and SacredCan transcendence be attained by embracing the strongest taboo of all?
Trump L’oeilIn its first six weeks, the Trump administration has been actively demonizing the mainstream media and the courts. This could be an ominous sign of what is to come.
The Mysterious Power of ArroganceWhy do overbearing, obnoxious people so often come out on top? What the story of a local celebrity in the remote highlands of Papua New Guinea reveals about the rise of Donald Trump to the U.S. presidency.
A Field Guide to Trump’s SwampWell before his inauguration, Trump’s incoming administration and Cabinet picks were breaking down definitions of conflict of interest and stretching the bounds of normalcy. Far from “draining the swamp,” Trump has added to it.
Skeleton Sex PotsAn unusual container produced by the Moche civilization of Peru raises many questions about their society—and our own views of sex.
