For Rio’s Poorest Citizens, Police and Gang Violence Reigns
Protestors in Brazilian favelas—poor neighborhoods in urban areas—have been caught between the police and gangs. Marcos De Paula/Associated Press On the night of June 24, 2013, the street…
Tag: Culture
Your Olympic Team May Be an Illusion
While many people get caught up in the nationalistic pageantry of the opening ceremony, the reality of the international sports world today is one of increasingly fluid citizenship…
Will GMOs Put an End to Hunger? Ask the Hungry
When it comes to food, few topics are as contentious and polarizing as genetically modified organisms, or GMOs. Hyperbole is rampant in this debate. GMOs are everything we…
The Paradox of Donald Trump’s Appeal
Offensive and bombastic rhetoric is key to Donald Trump’s campaign. Why are voters drawn to this taboo-violating candidate? Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call/Associated Press Donald Trump is the …
Understanding Mass Killings
Media commentary on Micah Johnson, the African-American who killed five police officers in Dallas on July 7, has focused on his animus against white police and his interest…
The Return of the Witch
Before I was old enough to go to school- before I was stupid enough to believe ‘there’s no such thing as witches’… I knew one. She haunted every…
5 Homophobic Myths Destroyed by Anthropology
After the horrific mass murder in June focusing on the LGBTQ community at an Orlando club, the only thing worse than the massacre has been the thread of…
Interplanetary Environmentalism (Part 2)
If you missed my previous post, please see Interplanetary Environmentalism (Part 1). The subsurface oceans of Enceladus, Europa, and other worlds may be home to microbes, similar to…
Arizona’s Inmate Firefighters
In the state of Arizona, all able-bodied incarcerated people are required to work. Most prison jobs are monotonous and consist of low-skill, assembly line–style labor. The hourly wage…
The Double Life of Kale
Kale is cultivated as a reliable food source by many impoverished people in Kenya and Tanzania. This stands in stark contrast to the United States, where kale is…
Brexit Will Not Solve Anything
In June, decades of long-simmering tensions erupted when a majority of the British electorate voted for the United Kingdom to leave the European Union. Now what? Diamond Geezer/Flickr…
Teaching about Indigenous Peoples and Cultures
Bob Muckle teaches at Capilano University in British Columbia. Researching, teaching, and writing about Indigenous peoples in North America is one of his specialties. Recent books include Indigenous…
Tinderbox: Building an ingenuity machine
Several weeks ago, Mark Bernstein announced the latest Tinderbox, the “tool for notes.” I almost always sign up for these updates. I almost always give the new edition…
Rubber Barons’ Abuses Live On in Memory and Myth
The Kukama people who live along the lower part of Peru’s Marañón River tell intergenerational myths that recollect the violence and trauma of the rubber era, which peaked in…
Remaking the Museum for the 21st century
Several months ago, Robert Fogarty asked if I wanted to contribute something to a special issue of The Antioch Review called “The Future of Museums.” I did! It’s been…
The future of designing autonomous systems will involve ethnographers
Note from the Editor, Tricia Wang: Next up in our Co-designing with machines edition is Madeleine Clare Elish, (@mcette), is an anthropologist and researcher at Data & Society, presents a…
Hmong Gardeners in America’s Dairyland
A garden isn’t just a patch of dirt where we plant vegetables, herbs, and flowers. A garden is a chronicle of culture. What we choose to grow often…
Interplanetary Environmentalism (Part 1)
On Earth we sometimes identify and protect places we recognize as holding special cultural, scientific, religious, political, historical, or heritage value. By doing so, we hope to preserve…
An Engineering Anthropologist: Why tech companies need to hire software developers with ethnographic skills
Note from the Editor, Tricia Wang: I’m very please to announce that the next contributor in the Co-designing with machines edition is Astrid Countee (@ianthro), an anthropologist, software de…
The Big Business of Europe’s Migration Crisis
Governments have erected numerous barriers to stem the tide of migrants and refugees flowing into Europe. These obstacles fuel a system that exploits migrants and puts their lives…
The human-side of artificial intelligence and machine learning
Note from the Editor, Tricia Wang: Next up in our Co-designing with machines edition is Steven Gustafson (@stevengustafson), founder of the Knowledge Discovery Lab at the General Electric Gl…