Some people are turning their backs on traditional banks in favor of cryptocurrencies. Beneath the financial and technological conversations surrounding this shift is a story about how trust shapes the culture of money.
The Weird, Wild World of Mortuary CustomsEmbalming is just one among the world’s wide variety of funeral practices, and in a sense it’s as ordinary as any other. Then again, it’s pretty strange.
Why This Paleolithic Burial Site Is So Strange (and So Important)An ancient interment site in Russia challenges us to rethink how Paleolithic humans in Europe treated their dead and organized their societies.
On Fat Tuesday, Break an Egg Over Someone’s HeadA colorful custom that began centuries ago in Asia has spread through various countries and evolved into a celebration of joy and friendship.
The Death of a Hungry GodThe electrocution of a wild elephant in a village in northeast India illustrates how these formidable beings are experienced as both animal and deity.
The Chinese History That Is Written in BoneThe bones of 3,000-year-old sacrificial victims in China are revealing unexpected new twists.
Why Do We Wrap Presents?Wrapping paper is a striptease that hides and reveals, transforming otherwise ordinary objects into gifts.
Death and Dying 101A study of cross-cultural attitudes toward mortality can help young people accept death as a part of life.
The Struggle to Protect a Tree at the Heart of Hopi CultureIn the American Southwest, the loss of juniper trees at the hands of mining and development could cost the Hopi a crucial part of their heritage.
The Church of the Solar EclipseEclipse hunters aren’t merely astronomy geeks—they are seekers of awe and wonder.
