What’s Behind Match Day’s Algorithm?

In a yearly ritual, an algorithm pairs medical students with U.S. residency programs. An anthropologist explains how this technology of destiny is all too human.

Sutton Hoo’s Story Goes Deeper Than The Dig

The archaeologist in charge of the Sutton Hoo burial mounds recounts what has been discovered at the famous English site since the 1930s excavation portrayed in the movie The Dig.

Love Poem for the Shape of the Field

Anthropologist-poet Nomi Stone reflects on the scope of a social scientist’s gaze—and unfurls a startling insight.

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.

Finding Calm—and Connection—in Coffee Rituals

During the pandemic, an anthropologist finds new meaning in the everyday ritual of preparing and drinking coffee.

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).

The Evolution of Comfort Food

An archaeologist considers the history and biology of what defines a taste of home.

The Cookout (and All Other Manners of Heavenly Black Things)

An anthropologist’s poem crafts a dream of freedom, peace, and joyous celebration for Black folks who have died as a result of anti-Black and anti-queer violence.

The Pandemic and the Process of Becoming

With no end to the COVID-19 pandemic in sight, people find themselves in a prolonged liminal state of transition. Why does that feel so unsettling?