SAPIENS: A Podcast for Everything Human
What makes you … you? And who tells what stories and why? In the SAPIENS podcast, listeners will hear a range of human stories: from the origins of the chili pepper to how prosecutors decide someone is a criminal to stolen skulls from Iceland. Join SAPIENS on our latest journey to explore what it means to be human.
S8 E1 · Tue, April 01, 2025
Cementing the Past
The United Fruit Company was a U.S. multinational corporation and at one time, the largest landholder in Central America. To maintain authority in this part of the world, the company stamped out labor reform, collaborated with U.S.-backed coups, and, oddly enough, invested in archaeology. Why? In this episode, anthropologist Charlotte Williams explores the company’s role in preserving the past. She discusses United Fruit's botched conservation project at the Maya site of Zaculeu and the ongoing impacts of that program. Charlotte Williams is a Mellon Democracy and Landscapes Initiative fellow at Dumbarton Oaks, Harvard University (2024–2025), and a Ph.D. candidate in anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania. Her research explores how archaeology as a discipline has been used in U.S. imperial projects, with a focus on how the United Fruit Company used archaeology to grow territorial power in Central America. Charlotte has worked on community museum projects, coordinated decolonizing museum programs, and co-curated an independent art exhibition. Check out these related resources: “ The Fruits of Extraction ” “ Zaculeu, Guatemala: reflexiones y propuestas para un retorno local ” Zaculeu, fortaleza mam Facebook page “ Conquest and Revival at Chiantla Viejo: The Transition of a Highland Maya Community to Spanish Colonial Rule ” * SAPIENS: A Podcast for Everything Human is produced by Written In Air. The executive producers are Dennis Funk and Chip Colwell. This season’s host is Eshe Lewis, who is also the director of the SAPIENS Public Scholars Training Fellowship program. Production and mix support are provided by Rebecca Nolan. Christine Weeber is the copy editor. SAPIENS is an editorially independent magazine of the Wenner-Gren Foundation and the University of Chicago Press . SAPIENS: A Podcast for Everything Human is part of the American Anthropological Association Podcast Library . This episode is part of the SAPIENS Public Scholars Training Fellowship program , which provides in-depth training for anthropologists in the craft of science communication and public scholarship, funded with the support of a three-year grant from the John Temp
Trailer · Tue, March 25, 2025
Where Cultures Collide: Season 8 Trailer
Culture is a force that makes us who we are. It drives social interactions and relationships, shapes beliefs and politics, ignites imaginations, and molds identities. Cultural conflicts are at the heart of many crises facing the world—increasing inequality, persistent bigotry, ecological collapse. In this season of the podcast, we’re investigating these intersections of culture: how past flashpoints echo into today, how present flashpoints are forging our futures. Through the lens of anthropology, we will examine what happens when human cultures meet, merge, and clash—and what these encounters reveal about humanity’s shared fate. Join Season 8 host Eshe Lewis and the latest cohort of SAPIENS public scholars fellows as we journey across continents to uncover where cultures collide. * SAPIENS: A Podcast for Everything Human is produced by Written In Air. The executive producers are Dennis Funk and Chip Colwell. This season’s host is Eshe Lewis, who is also the director of the SAPIENS Public Scholars Training Fellowship program. Production and mix support are provided by Rebecca Nolan. Christine Weeber is the copy editor. SAPIENS is an editorially independent magazine of the Wenner-Gren Foundation and the University of Chicago Press . SAPIENS: A Podcast for Everything Human is part of the American Anthropological Association Podcast Library . This episode is part of the SAPIENS Public Scholars Training Fellowship program , which provides in-depth training for anthropologists in the craft of science communication and public scholarship, funded with the support of a three-year grant from the John Templeton Foundation .
S7 E14 · Thu, October 03, 2024
Introducing: Homegoings
Host Myra Flynn unpacks one soul food recipe: collard greens, with local and world-renowned chefs, and even her own mother. Together they explore how the history of a once undesirable food mimics the resilience, innovation, and perseverance of a once considered undesirable people. * Homegoings is a: Podcast, TV show, and event-series where no topic is off the table, and there’s no such thing as going too deep. Host and musician Myra Flynn brings you candid conversations about race with artists, experts and regular folks all over the country about their literal skin in the game—of everyday life.
S7 E13 · Wed, July 24, 2024
The Ancient Child Who's Changing Archaeology
Can museums and archaeology harm the dead? An Indigenous archaeologist from Brazil challenges traditional approaches to studying human bones. Her work reveals how standard practices—such as assigning catalog numbers to ancient bodies—are violent and biased. As she encounters the remains of a 700-year-old child in a university museum, their stories intertwine, highlighting issues of ethics, coloniality, and ethnic erasure. This encounter prompts a discussion on how archaeology and museums can address historical wounds and counter the silencing of Indigenous histories. Mariana Petry Cabral is a Brazilian archaeologist whose research interests focus on Indigenous archaeologies, collaborative practices, and how people produce and use historical knowledge to understand who they are. She received her Ph.D. from Universidade Federal do Pará (Brazil) and is a permanent professor of the department of anthropology and archaeology at the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (Brazil). She was a visiting scholar at Brown University in 2023 and is working on a project about the relevance of archaeological narratives about the past to imagine more inclusive and diverse futures. Check out these related resources: " Finding Footprints Laid at the Dawn of Time ” " Indigenous Cultures Have Archaeology Too ” Museum of Natural History and Botanical Garden, UFMG " From Structures to Bodies and Beings: The Perishable Vestiges of Lapa do Caboclo, Diamantina, Minas Gerais ” Follow the Indigenous archaeologist Bibi Nhatarâmiak on Instagram
S7 E12 · Wed, July 17, 2024
Comics As a Medium for Women’s Rights
As a form of popular culture, comics have provided humor, action, and entertainment to readers of all ages and across generations. But comics also intertwine art and humor to creatively make political statements, challenge media censorship, and address controversial issues of the times. This podcast episode focuses on how comics can be tools for social action and transformation by highlighting the life history of the first woman Pakistani comic artist Nigar Nazar and her character Gogi, whom she created in the 1970s. Gogi comics shed light on important themes of education, health, rights, and other critical women’s issues in Pakistan and the broader Muslim world and how they are transforming over time. Join cultural anthropologist Sana Malik and host Eshe Lewis as they talk about Gogi, the transgressive potential of comics and art, and how comics are relevant in Pakistan today amid new social movements and the social media boom. Sana Malik is a cultural anthropologist who studies women’s political agency in urban Pakistan. She is a Ph.D. candidate at Emory University. Her research has been funded by the Wenner-Gren Foundation and the Social Science Research Council. Sana’s dissertation draws on the anthropology of rights and social movements, social generations studies, and feminist ethnography to explore how activists and ordinary women engage in movements for social justice and rights in urban Pakistan. Check out these related resources: Gogi Studios “ Aurat March: Pakistani Women Face Violent Threats Ahead of Rally ” “ Gogi, the Heroine Created by Pakistan's First Female Cartoonist ” “ Confronting Xenophobia Through Food—and Comics ” “ When Anthropology Meets the Graphic Novel in Thailand ”
S7 E11 · Wed, July 10, 2024
Smartphones Are Bicycles For Our Minds
Where is your smartphone right now? If you’re like most smartphone users in the United States, it’s probably within a few feet of your reach, if not sitting in your hand. In the last 15 years, smartphones have quickly, seamlessly, and profoundly been embedded in the daily lives of most Americans. There are now few, if any, domains of modern life that are unaffected by smartphone use. This episode explores our interactions and relationships with these pocket-sized computers we call smartphones through the research of Alberto Navarro, a doctoral student at Stanford University. Drawing from inventor Steve Jobs’ view that the computer represents “the equivalent of a bicycle for our minds,” Navarro explores what computers represent for humans in evolutionary and energetic terms. Alberto Navarro is a Ph.D. candidate in anthropology at Stanford University. He is interested in how tools allow humans to flexibly modify the structure and functions of their bodies and minds. Following in the anthropological tradition of making the familiar strange, his dissertation explores ways in which smartphone use in the United States is transforming many of the most basic features of human existence and experience. He believes improving our relationship with smartphones is one of the most impactful things we can do to enhance our everyday performance and well-being. Check out these related resources: Steve Jobs Interview, “Bicycle for Our Minds” “ How People Actually Use Their Smartphones ” “ Do Mobile Phones Set Citizens Free? ” “ How Cellphones Make and Break Human Connections ”
S7 E10 · Wed, July 03, 2024
When Scientists Take to the Streets
María Pía Tavella is an Argentine biological anthropologist and science writer. In conversation with host Eshe Lewis, María shares a snapshot of the multiple hurdles the scientific community is facing in Argentina and reflects on the role of science communication. How is scientific research related to our daily lives? In what ways are science contributions so valuable to our societies that we shouldn't cut spending on them, even in times of economic crisis? María Pía Tavella received a Ph.D in anthropology from the Universidad Nacional de Córdoba (Argentina) and is an assistant professor in human evolution in the same institution. María Pía’s dissertation sheds light on pre-Hispanic population dynamics in central Argentina through the study of ancient DNA. She works for the National Scientific and Technological Research Council of Argentina as a science communication and outreach officer. María Pía is also interested in bioethics and the social implications of genetic research. Check out these related resources: “ ‘Despair’: Argentinian Researchers Protest as President Begins Dismantling Science ” “ Argentinians Stage Nationwide Strike Against Javier Milei’s Far-Right Agenda ” “ ‘The State’ Is a Story We Tell Ourselves ” “ Can Protestors Humanize the Police? ” “ A Radical Recentering of Dignity ”
S7 E9 · Wed, June 26, 2024
A Dam’s Downstream Consequences
Discussions about the impacts of dams around the world are often focused on the displacement of communities due to the creation of reservoirs and the submergence of towns and cities. What happens when a dam affects more people downstream than it displaces upstream? How does a dam impact humans living downstream? In this episode, Parag Jyoti Saikia shares how the Subansiri Lower Hydroelectric Project, one of India’s largest dams under construction, will impact the lifeways of Indigenous communities living downstream of the dam. The dam will not displace them. Instead, it will change the ways in which the river currently flows. Delving into people's relationship with the river and their understanding of its flows, Parag describes the dam’s environmental, sociocultural, and political consequences for communities living downstream. Parag Jyoti Saikia is studying the construction of a hydropower dam in India to understand how infrastructures in the making shape everyday life, the environment, and geopolitics. He is a Ph.D. candidate in anthropology at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. His research is supported by the Wenner-Gren Foundation’s Dissertation Fieldwork Grant and the Social Science Research Council’s International Dissertation Research Fellowship. For nearly a decade, Parag has been associated with grassroots organizations working on dams, rivers, and the environment. He has been writing about these issues in English and Assamese, his mother tongue. Check out these related resources: “ Writing Indigenous Oral Tradition to Fight a Dam ” “ The UNESCO Site That Never Was ” “ Damming the Northeast ” “ Arunachal’s Unfinished Lower Subansiri Dam Could Be Tomb for India’s Giant Hydropower Projects ” “ Bhupen Hazarika Setu and the Politics of Infrastructure ”
S7 E8 · Wed, June 19, 2024
Why Do We Eat at Funerals?
Funeral traditions around the world involve a range of rituals. From singing to burying to … eating. Why is food such a common practice in putting our loved ones to rest? In this episode, Leyla Jafarova, a doctoral student at Boston University, examines the role of funeral foods in different cultural contexts—from the solemn Islamic funeral rites of the former Soviet Union to the symbolic importance of rice in West Africa. Food rituals help with bereavement because they carry cultural symbols, foster social cohesion, provide psychological comfort, and contribute to the expression of collective grief and remembrance within communities. Through food, human societies navigate the universal experience of death and mourning. Leyla Jafarova is a Ph.D. candidate in sociocultural anthropology at Boston University. Her doctoral research focuses on the emergence and development of humanitarian ethics of care for the unidentified dead in post-war Azerbaijan and the production of knowledge in this regard. Leyla also explores how families of missing persons in post-war Azerbaijan construct their personal truths and navigate their experiences of loss and healing. She is examining how their alternative truths often exist alongside and are sidelined by dominant humanitarian regimes of truth that exclusively rely on forensic scientific evidence. This research has been supported through a Wenner-Gren Dissertation Fieldwork Grant and by a Graduate Research Abroad Fellowship through Boston University. Check out these related resources: Dying to Eat: Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Food, Death, and the Afterlife , edited by Candi K. Cann Ways of Eating: Exploring Food Through History and Culture by Benjamin Aldes Wurgaft and Merry White “ Who First Buried the Dead? ”
S7 E7 · Wed, June 12, 2024
Chatter That Matters
What role does gossip play in human societies? In this episode, Bridget Alex and Emily Sekine, editors at SAPIENS magazine, chat with host Eshe Lewis to explore gossip as a fundamental human activity. They discuss gossip’s evolutionary roots, suggesting it may have developed as a form of "vocal grooming" to maintain social bonds in groups. It also helps enforce social norms, they argue, offering a way to share information about people’s reputations and control free riders. Their conversation also touches on how gossip can aid in navigating uncertainties and expressing care. Bridget Alex earned her Ph.D. in archaeology and human evolutionary biology from Harvard University. Supported by the National Science Foundation, the Fulbright Program, and other awards, her research focused on the spread of Homo sapiens and extinction of other humans, such as Neanderthals, over the past 200,000 years. Prior to joining SAPIENS, Bridget taught anthropology and science communication at the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena City College, and Harvard University. Her pop-science stories have appeared in outlets such as Discover , Science , Archaeology , Atlas Obscura , and Smithsonian Magazine. Follow her on Twitter @bannelia . Emily Sekine is an editor and a writer with a Ph.D. in anthropology from The New School for Social Research. Prior to joining the team at SAPIENS, she worked with academic authors to craft journal articles and book manuscripts as the founder of Bird’s-Eye View Scholarly Editing. Her anthropological research and writing explore the relationships between people and nature, especially in the context of the seismic and volcanic landscapes of Japan. Emily’s work has been supported by the Wenner-Gren Foundation, the National Science Foundation, and the Society of Environmental Journalists, among others, and her essays have appeared in publications such as Orion magazine, the Anthropocene Curriculum , and Anthropology News . Eshe Lewis is the project director for the SAPIENS Public Scholars Training Program . She holds a Ph.D. in cultural anthropology from the University of Florida and has spent the past 10 years working with Afro-descendant peoples in Peru on issues of social movements, women’s issues, Black feminism, and gender violence. Eshe is based in Toronto, Canada. Check out these related resources: " What Is Linguistic Anthropology?</s
S7 E6 · Wed, June 05, 2024
The Problems of Digital Evidence in Terrorism Trials
Today most people around the world are using digital gadgets. These enable us to communicate instantaneously, pursue our daily work, and entertain ourselves through streaming videos and songs. But what happens when our past digital activities become evidence in criminal investigations? How are the data that mediate our lives turned into legal arguments? An anthropologist searches for answers. Onur Arslan is a Ph.D. candidate in anthropology at the University of California, Davis, who works at the intersections of science and technology studies, visual anthropology, law, and social studies. He graduated from Istanbul University with a B.A. in political science and international relations, and from Bilgi University with an M.A. in philosophy and social thought. For his Ph.D. research, he is investigating how digital technologies reshape the production of legal knowledge in terrorism trials. Through focusing on Turkish counterterrorism, he examines cultural, political, and technoscientific implications of evidence-making practices. His field research is supported by the National Science Foundation, Social Science Research Council, and American Research Institute in Turkey. Check out these related resources: “ The Power of Criminal Prosecutors ” “ How Bureaucracy Conceals Obligations to Afghan Refugees ” “ How Rumors Tap and Fuel Anxieties in the Internet Age ”
S7 E5 · Wed, May 29, 2024
Learning from Handy Primates
Many of our primate relatives use tools. How do they use them? And why?And what do these skills mean for understanding tools across the animal kingdom, including for us humans? In this episode, host Eshe Lewis delves into a conversation with Kirsty Graham, an animal behavior researcher. Kirsty explains how primates such as chimpanzees use tools to forage. Such innovative methods to access food reflect the basic yet profound necessities that drive tool innovation. Contrasting these findings with tool use in Homo sapiens highlights a vast range of purposes tools serve in human life. Kirsty Graham is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of St Andrews in the U.K. Their research focuses on the gestural communication of wild bonobos. They conducted fieldwork in Indonesia, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Before their Ph.D., they worked as a field assistant at Wamba, Democratic Republic of Congo, for the Max Planck Institute and studied at Quest University Canada, specializing in research at the Caño Palma Biological Station in Costa Rica. Check out these related resources: " Tools of the Wild: Unveiling the Crafty Side of Nature " " How Apes Reveal Human History " " Meet the Ancient Technologists Who Changed Everything " " The First Butchers "
S7 E4 · Wed, May 22, 2024
Moving Through Deaf Worlds
Why do people migrate from one country to another, leaving behind friends, family, and familiarity in search of another life elsewhere? And how might their experiences look different if they are deaf? Ala’ Al-Husni is a deaf Jordanian who moved to Japan five years ago, where he still lives with his deaf Japanese wife and their family just outside of Tokyo. Reported by Timothy Y. Loh, a hearing anthropologist who researches deaf communities in the Arabic-speaking Middle East, this episode explores the joys, pains, and unexpected gains of Ala's journey and the meaning of deaf migration in a globalizing world. Timothy Y. Loh is an anthropologist of science and technology, and a Ph.D. candidate in history, anthropology, and science, technology, and society at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge. His ethnographic research examines sociality, language, and religion in deaf and signing worlds spanning Jordan, Singapore, and the United States. His research has been published in Medical Anthropology , SAPIENS Anthropology Magazine, and Somatosphere , and he has received support from the Social Science Research Council, the Royal Anthropological Institute, and the National Academy of Education and Spencer Foundation, among others. We thank Annelies Kusters, Laura Mauldin, and Kate McAuliff for advice on accessibility for this episode. Check out these related resources: The MobileDeaf Project , Heriot-Watt University “ Building the Tower of Babel ” and “ Deaf cosmopolitanism ” Valuing Deaf Worlds in Urban India by Michele Friedner " How Deaf and Hearing Friends Co-Navigate the World " Deaf Gain: Raising the Stakes for Human Diversity edited by H-Dirksen L. Bauman and Joseph J. Murray
S7 E3 · Wed, May 15, 2024
Untangling the World’s First-Known String
At the Abri du Maras site in southern France, archaeologists recovered twisted plant fibers dating back 50,000 years, suggesting Neanderthals had knowledge of plant materials and the seasonal cycles necessary for making durable string. This finding challenges a view of Neanderthals as simplistic and inferior to modern humans, highlighting their sophisticated use of technology and deep environmental knowledge. In this episode, Bruce Hardy discusses with host Eshe Lewis the oldest piece of string on record and how it reshapes our understanding of Neanderthals.This story not only delves into the technical aspects of making ancient string but also underscores the broader implications for appreciating Neanderthal ingenuity.
S7 E2 · Wed, May 08, 2024
In Search for the First Cyborg
These days, a mention of cyborgs often conjures images from a science fiction future: robot arms and legs, infrared eyes, and other modified humans. However, we don’t need to look into the future to find cyborgs. In many ways, people today are already cyborgs. We are deeply intertwined with technology—from the clothes we wear to the structures we live in. But when did our relationship with technology start? Who was the first cyborg? These questions take us from the present to the deep past, with host Eshe Lewis joining Cindy Hsin-yee Huang, a Paleolithic archaeologist, on a journey to ponder cyborg anthropology, tool use, and the relationship between our ancient hominin ancestors and their technologies. Cindy Hsin-yee Huang is a doctoral candidate in the School of Human Evolution and Social Change at Arizona State University and affiliated with the Institute of Human Origins. Cindy is a Paleolithic archeologist, with a focus on stone tools and cultural evolution. Her research, supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, uses stone tools in the archeological record to investigate large-scale patterns of innovation and cultural diffusion during the ancient past. This work helps us understand how technology impacted, facilitated, and reflected human evolution, migration, and social interactions. Check out these related resources: Natural-Born Cyborgs: Minds, Technologies, and the Future of Human Intelligence by Andy Clark A Cyborg Manifesto: Science, Technology, and Socialist-Feminism in the Late 20th Century by Donna Haraway “ Tools of the Wild: Unveiling the Crafty Side of Nature ” Amber Case: We're Already Cyborgs A Different Kind of Animal: How Culture Transformed Our Species by Robert Boyd
S7 E1 · Wed, May 01, 2024
Black Influencers Beyond the Screens
Anuli Akanegbu is the host of BLK IRL, an audio docuseries. She is also a Ph.D. candidate in cultural anthropology at New York University, conducting research on Black creatives who are contract workers in Atlanta, Georgia. In conversation with SAPIENS’ podcast host, Dr. Eshe Lewis, Anuli delves into the historical and current successes and struggles of Black influencers, content creators, and artists for labor rights and recognition. Through in-depth ethnographic interviews, Akanegbu’s work emphasizes the importance of acknowledging people’s humanity behind their digital personas. It reveals the complex realities of Black professionals in creative industries. And as a result, her research challenges us to rethink our assumptions about the online/offline dichotomy—and the possibility of a joyous and unified “life ecosystem.” This episode is part of the SAPIENS Public Scholars Training Fellowship program , which provides in-depth training for anthropologists in the craft of science communication and public scholarship, funded with the support of a three-year grant from the John Templeton Foundation .
Trailer · Wed, April 24, 2024
Cultures of Technology: Season 7 Trailer
Since the dawn of our species, the ability to make things has made us who we are. Human-made objects, large and small, have enabled and molded evolutionary forces, sparked and expressed our imagination, guided and structured social relations, transformed and destroyed the environment–and much more. This season of the podcast looks at how a wide range of technologies—from smartphones to comic books to cooking to hydroelectric dams—are intertwined with our lives. Anthropologists’ stories from around the globe reveal fascinating insights into human evolution, social organization, communication, historical trajectories, and the interface between the living and the dead. Join Season 7’s host, Dr. Eshe Lewis, on our latest journey to tackle big questions about cultures of technology and the purpose, limits, and possibilities of such material culture. ✽ SAPIENS: A Podcast for Everything Human is produced by House of Pod. The executive producers are Cat Jaffee and Chip Colwell. This season’s host is Eshe Lewis, who is the director of the SAPIENS Public Scholars Training Fellowship program. Dennis Funk is the audio editor and sound designer. Christine Weeber is the copy editor. SAPIENS is an editorially independent magazine of the Wenner-Gren Foundation and the University of Chicago Press . SAPIENS: A Podcast for Everything Human is part of the American Anthropological Association Podcast Library . This episode is part of the SAPIENS Public Scholars Training Fellowship program , which provides in-depth training for anthropologists in the craft of science communication and public scholarship, funded with the support of a three-year grant from the John Templeton Foundation .
S6 E8 · Thu, December 14, 2023
Can We Understand One Another?
Hosts Kate Ellis and Doris Tulifau explore the perils and possibilities of the kind of fieldwork that defined Margaret Mead as an anthropologist. They provide answers to the Mead-Freeman controversy but also ask the questions that remain. In this season finale, we circle back to the problems with coming of age … in Samoa and everywhere. Season 6 of the SAPIENS podcast was co-produced by PRX and SAPIENS, and made possible by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
S6 E7 · Tue, December 05, 2023
Weaving Stories: Two Women Speak
We turn from Margaret Mead’s and Derek Freeman’s conflicting accounts of adolescence and sexuality in Samoa to more stories from Samoans themselves. Author and poet Sia Figiel and activist and anthropologist Doris Tulifau are two Samoan women from different generations. Yet they share a bond and have a similar experience of terrible violence and survival. They bravely give us a glimpse into the dynamics of power within sexuality and their heartfelt journey of reclaiming it. Season 6 of the SAPIENS podcast was co-produced by PRX and SAPIENS, and made possible by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
S6 E6 · Tue, November 28, 2023
Sex, Lies, and Science Wars
After Derek Freeman publishes Margaret Mead and Samoa: The Making and Unmaking of an Anthropological Myth , the controversy heats up. Op-eds, documentaries, censure by a leading anthropological organization, and even a debate on the Phil Donahue Show all follow. Was Margaret Mead, “the grandmother of the world,” wrong? Or was Freeman? At stake was the heart of an academic discipline and the nature of being human. Mead’s own daughter, Mary Catherine Bateson, launches a defense, and other anthropologists weigh in too. Season 6 of the SAPIENS podcast was co-produced by PRX and SAPIENS, and made possible by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Bonus · Tue, November 21, 2023
Bonus: Flemmie Kittrell and the Preschool Experiment
SAPIENS is happy to present this bonus episode from Lost Women of Science about another path-breaking thinker. In the 1960s, a Black home economist at Howard University recruited kids for an experimental preschool program. All were Black and lived in poor neighborhoods around campus. Flemmie Kittrell had grown up poor herself, just two generations removed from slavery, and she’d seen firsthand the effects of poverty. While Flemmie earned a PhD from Cornell, most of her siblings didn’t make it to college. One of her sisters died at just 22 years old of malnutrition. And it was the combination of these experiences that drove Flemmie to apply her academic training to help improve the lives of people in her community. In the early 1960s, Flemmie decided to see what would happen if you gave poor kids a boost early in life, in the form of a really great preschool. Every day for two years, parents would get free childcare, and their kids would get comprehensive care for body and mind—with plenty of nutritious food, fun activities, and hugs. What kind of difference would that make? And would it matter later on?
S6 E5 · Tue, November 14, 2023
Into the Light
The first missionary arrived in Samoa in 1832, almost a century before Margaret Mead set out to study the culture of the islands. By the time she arrived, the church had been a central part of Samoan life for generations. In this episode, Doris Tulifau explores how Christianity and colonization complicate Mead’s—and her critic Derek Freeman’s—conclusions and continue to shape Samoan identity today. Season 6 of the SAPIENS podcast was co-produced by PRX and SAPIENS, and made possible by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
S6 E4 · Tue, November 07, 2023
Trashing an American Icon
In January 1983, the front page of The New York Times read: “New Samoa Book Challenges Margaret Mead’s Conclusions.” Anthropologist Derek Freeman had been building his critique of Mead for years, sending her letters and even confronting her in person. Freeman’s resulting book, Margaret Mead and Samoa: The Making and Unmaking of an Anthropological Myth , was published five years after Mead died. Who was Freeman and why did he take such issue with Mead’s work in American Samoa? Season 6 of the SAPIENS podcast was co-produced by PRX and SAPIENS, and made possible by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
S6 E3 · Tue, October 31, 2023
We Need to Tell Our Own Stories
Sparked by a provocative encounter in American Samoa, Doris Tulifau explores modern-day Samoan attitudes toward Margaret Mead. With a mix of voices and opinions, we encounter three loud ideas around Mead’s work, ultimately dropping us at the doorstep of Derek Freeman’s central critique about Samoan culture and society. Season 6 of the SAPIENS podcast was co-produced by PRX and SAPIENS, and made possible by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
S6 E2 · Tue, October 24, 2023
Flapper of the South Seas
In 1925, Margaret Mead set sail for American Samoa. What she claimed she found there—teenagers free to explore and express their sexuality—instantly captivated her audience in the U.S. Her book became a bestseller, and Mead skyrocketed to fame. But what were her actual methods and motivations? We trace Mead’s legendary nine-month journey in the South Pacific. Season 6 of the SAPIENS podcast was co-produced by PRX and SAPIENS, and made possible by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
S6 E1 · Tue, October 17, 2023
Coming of Age … Today
Being a teenager can be hard. Very hard. Our hosts Kate Ellis and Doris Tulifau recount the tough parts from their adolescence to ask whether being a teen is difficult in every culture. It’s the question that inspired Margaret Mead, one of the most influential figures in American anthropology, to begin her research in American Samoa in 1925. And it’s the question that has sparked years of debate about human sexuality, nature versus nurture, and whether we can ever really understand each other. Season 6 of the SAPIENS podcast was co-produced by PRX and SAPIENS, and made possible by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Trailer · Tue, October 10, 2023
The Problems With Coming of Age: Season 6 Trailer
This special SAPIENS podcast season tells the story of famed anthropologist Margaret Mead’s epic life and controversial research to explore key quandaries about the human experience: sex and adolescence, nature versus nurture, and the question of whether it’s ever possible to fully understand cultures different from your own. In addition, we hear from Samoans themselves about their views on the matter and their lives today. In 1928, when she was just 27 years old, Mead published Coming of Age in Samoa: A Psychological Study of Primitive Youth for Western Civilization , which investigated the sexual lives of young women on the Pacific Islands. The book was an instant bestseller, challenging people in the U.S. to rethink much of what they had assumed to be true about sex, human biology, and growing up. Mead became the most influential anthropologist in history and one of TIME magazine’s most powerful 25 women of the 20th century. She received a U.S. presidential medal of freedom, and a U.S. postal stamp was made with her picture on it. But what if Mead’s findings about Samoans were wrong? Five years after Mead’s death, anthropologist Derek Freeman rebutted the central claims Mead made in her career-launching work, sparking a media sensation and challenging the field of anthropology. The controversy that followed sparked questions about the science of intercultural understanding and why Samoans weren’t empowered to speak for themselves. SAPIENS is an editorially independent podcast funded by the Wenner-Gren Foundation and is part of the American Anthropological Association Podcast Library. Season 6 of the SAPIENS podcast was co-produced by PRX and SAPIENS, and made possible by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
S5 E7 · Tue, September 05, 2023
Introducing: Going Wild
The chart-topping and Signal Award-winning podcast “Going Wild with Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant ” has returned for a brand new season. Produced by Nature on PBS, “Going Wild” is a sound-rich podcast about the human drama behind saving animals. This season, host and acclaimed wildlife ecologist Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant takes you on a journey through the entire ecological web—from the tiniest of life forms to apex predators. The new season is guided by one central question: “How can we, humans, look at our relationship to nature differently?” Dr. Wynn-Grant speaks to scientists, activists, and adventurers as they uncover all the different ways the natural world is interconnected. Explore the hidden world of extreme microbes thriving in the Boiling River in Peru with Dr. Rosa Espinoza, the “Amazon Jungle Scientist.” Listen to Christian Cooper, the man behind the infamous Central Park “Black birder” incident, on how growing up gay in the 80’s has led to his lifelong love of birds and nature. Listen to the third season of “Going Wild with Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant” here: https://link.chtbl.com/LTZFSlMP?sid=Sapiens
Bonus · Tue, August 15, 2023
Introducing: The Disappearing Spoon
Archaeologists around the world have long unearthed skulls with holes in them. But they were usually dismissed as natural accidents—the result of infections, birth defects, or animal bites. But in 1864 an archaeologist named Ephraim George Squier found a skull in Cuzco, Peru with a hole that was clearly not natural—it was square-shaped. The hole also showed signs of new bone growth around its edge, which meant the person couldn’t have been dead when the hole was cut. This skull was the first unquestionable evidence of something that scientists had long dismissed as impossible—ancient neurosurgery. Host: Sam Kean Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Audio Engineer: Jonathan Pfeffer Music: “Trois Gnossiennes 3,” “Stately Shadows,” “Darklit Carpet,” “Vernouillet,” and “Tossed” by Blue Dot Sessions “Conjunto Sol del Peru,” by Pockra (Vol. 2: Musica de los Andes Peruanos) “Conjunto Sol del Peru,” by Wuaylias Tusy (Vol. 2: Musica de los Andes Peruanos) “Conjunto Sol del Peru,” by Ckashampa (Vol. 2: Musica de los Andes Peruanos)
Bonus · Tue, May 30, 2023
Introducing: The Bioneers – Revolution from the Heart of Nature
The Bioneers: Revolution From the Heart of Nature is an award-winning, international radio and podcast series. Free to everyone, this series offers listeners and radio stations the opportunity to experience the conference year-round, and allows access to in-depth interviews with leading social and scientific innovators. It highlights diverse voices of grassroots leaders and voices that are often marginalized or excluded by corporate media. The programs cover a wide range of topics, including intelligence in nature, climate justice, food and farming, gender equity, Indigenous knowledge, reigning in corporate power, and youth activism. Learn more: https://bioneers.org/podcast-mobile-sign-up/
Bonus · Tue, May 23, 2023
Introducing: Outside/In
Outside/In from New Hampshire Public Radio is a show about the natural world and how we use it. The show combines solid reporting and long-form narrative storytelling to bring the outdoors to you wherever you are. The program casts a wide net across the environmental spectrum. They do fun explorations of nature, with lots of sound design and immersive scenes; they cover climate change and sustainability, but try to keep solutions to environmental problems in the spotlight; and they do pieces that are more philosophical, reflecting on ways in which society thinks about and depicts nature. Learn more: http://outsideinradio.org/
Bonus · Wed, May 17, 2023
Introducing: Blind Plea
Deven Grey, a young, isolated mother in Alabama, reached a point of no return on December 12, 2017. She shot and killed her boyfriend, John Vance. Rather than face a jury, Deven accepted a “blind plea” deal. This is Deven’s story, reclaimed. From Lemonada Media, this is Blind Plea. You can listen to Blind Plea at https://link.chtbl.com/BlindPleaPodcast Show notes: This series is created with Evoke Media, a woman-founded company devoted to harnessing the power of storytelling to drive social change. This series is presented by the Marguerite Casey Foundation. MCF supports leaders who work to shift the balance of power in their communities toward working people and families, and who have the vision and capacity for building a truly representative economy. Learn more at caseygrants.org or visit on social media @caseygrants.
S5 E7 · Tue, May 09, 2023
Finding Mrs. Jackson
When archaeologists excavate, they have some idea of what they will find in the ground. But in 2016, a team of archaeologists from the University of Massachusetts, Boston, was genuinely surprised when they uncovered a Victorian-era cache. In the process, they forged an uncommonly deep connection with an individual from the past. Narrated by Anya Gruber, this story shows how archaeology can humanize the past and how loss can bring us closer. SAPIENS: A Podcast for Everything Human is produced by House of Pod. Cat Jaffee was the editor for this piece, with help from producer Ann Marie Awad. Seth Samuel was the audio editor and sound designer. The executive producers were Cat Jaffee and Chip Colwell. Anya Gruber is a doctoral candidate in anthropology at the University of Texas, Austin, specializing in paleoethnobotany. She previously worked in New Mexico and currently works in coastal Massachusetts. Anya writes about a range of topics, including ancient diets, medicinal plants, mourning practices, and infectious diseases. Follow her on Instagram @anyagruber . SAPIENS is an editorially independent podcast funded by the Wenner-Gren Foundation. SAPIENS is part of the American Anthropological Association Podcast Library. Check out these related resources: · Cole’s Hill Memorial Cache: An Introduction at The Fiske Center Blog · From Dustpan to Daguerreotype Episode sponsor: · This episode is included in season 5 of the SAPIENS podcast, which is part of the SAPIENS Public Scholars Training Fellowship funded with the support of a three-year grant from the John Templeton Foundation .
S5 E6 · Tue, May 02, 2023
Aneho’s Disappearing Coast
Aneho is a little historic West African town that is disappearing due to coastal erosion. But locals defy the sea and continue to live on the water’s edge. In this episode, we hear how their decision to stay in the face of an ever-approaching shoreline affects life along the coast and beyond. As reported by Koffi Nomedji, a doctoral candidate in cultural anthropology from Lomé, Togo, we learn how as humans we variously face climate change–induced disaster. SAPIENS: A Podcast for Everything Human is produced by House of Pod. Cat Jaffee was the editor for this piece, with help from producer Ann Marie Awad. Seth Samuel was the audio editor and sound designer. The executive producers were Cat Jaffee and Chip Colwell. Koffi Nomedji is a Ph.D. candidate in cultural anthropology at Duke University. He is currently working on questions related to climate change, policymaking, and development in Africa. His dissertation explores communities’ adaptation to coastal erosion in Togo, which is what he will be podcasting and writing about during his time in the SAPIENS fellowship program. Koffi has a rich professional background in international development. Prior to his doctoral journey, he served for eight years as a community organizer committed to local development and climate response in Togo. SAPIENS is an editorially independent podcast funded by the Wenner-Gren Foundation. SAPIENS is part of the American Anthropological Association Podcast Library. Episode sponsor: · This episode is included in season 5 of the SAPIENS podcast, which is part of the SAPIENS Public Scholars Training Fellowship funded with the support of a three-year grant from the John Templeton Foundation .
S5 E5 · Tue, April 25, 2023
The Conversion of Julio Tiwiram
Julio Tiwiram is a famous shaman in southeast Amazonian Ecuador. He is also a leading political figure among the Shuar people of Bomboiza. Growing up at the crossroads of social change and colonial conflict, his path to shamanism was anything but straightforward. As reported by Sebastián Vacas-Oleas, a social anthropologist working with the Shuar people of Bomboiza, we learn how a mysterious shamanic gathering helped Shuar people mobilize their traditional knowledge to fight for their land against settler occupation. SAPIENS: A Podcast for Everything Human is produced by House of Pod. Cat Jaffee was the editor for this piece, with help from producer Ann Marie Awad. Seth Samuel was the audio editor and sound designer. The executive producers were Cat Jaffee and Chip Colwell. Sebastián Vacas-Oleas is a postdoctoral affiliate at the School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography at the University of Oxford. He is also a lecturer and a visiting researcher at the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences in Ecuador. He is currently working as an editor on a Shuar-authored book of collected life histories, which includes the story of Julio Tiwiram and the events heard in this episode. Sebastián also helps coordinate a project with the Bomboiza Shuar Research Group, funded by the Wenner-Gren Foundation, to study Shuar ancestral locations, migratory movements, women’s gardening practices, and change in Indigenous relations with their land. SAPIENS is an editorially independent podcast funded by the Wenner-Gren Foundation. SAPIENS is part of the American Anthropological Association Podcast Library. Check out this related resource: · You can visit Julio Tiwiram in Kupiamais, his home community, in the Bomboiza land reserve, where he sees patients in his home. You can read more about Bomboiza, its shamans, our forthcoming book, and other shared ongoing projects on www.bomboiza.org . Episode sponsor: · This episode is included in season 5 of the SAPIENS podcast, which is part of the SAPIENS Public Scholars Training Fellowship funded with the support of a three-year grant from the John Templeton Foundation .
S5 E4 · Tue, April 18, 2023
People of the Peppers
The world over people live with plants. Whether it’s in apartment bedrooms or backyards, it’s hard to find a human who doesn’t have some relationship with a plant. Enter paleoethnobotany, a field of archeology that examines plant remains to understand the historic alliance between humans and their vegetation. In this episode, host Eshe Lewis interviews archaeologist Katie Chiou to explore the spiciest human-plant affair: chili peppers. Katherine L. Chiou is an anthropological archaeologist and paleoethnobotanist whose research interests include foodways in the past and present, Andean archaeology, household archaeology, plant domestication, food sovereignty, agrobiodiversity, sustainability, GIS and data visualization, and responsible conduct of research. Katherine received her M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, and is currently an assistant professor in anthropology at the University of Alabama, where she oversees the Ancient People and Plants Laboratory . She is currently working on a project, funded by the National Science Foundation , to study and promote ethical cultures in the field of archaeology. Her writing and podcasting as a SAPIENS fellow will revolve around the subject of food, particularly the enigmatic relationship between people and chiles, past and present. SAPIENS: A Podcast for Everything Human is produced by House of Pod. Cat Jaffee was the editor for this piece, with help from producer Ann Marie Awad. Seth Samuel was the audio editor and sound designer. The executive producers were Cat Jaffee and Chip Colwell. SAPIENS is an editorially independent podcast funded by the Wenner-Gren Foundation. SAPIENS is part of the American Anthropological Association Podcast Library. Episode sponsor: · This episode is included in season 5 of the SAPIENS podcast, which is part of the SAPIENS Public Scholars Training Fellowship funded with the support of a three-year grant from the John Templeton Foundation .
S1 E3 · Tue, April 11, 2023
The Power of Criminal Prosecutors
Anyone who is in prison has been charged for a crime by a prosecutor. The charges are important because they determine someone’s punishment. How do prosecutors make their charging decisions? And what are the long-term impacts of those decisions? Reported by Esteban Salmón, an anthropologist born and raised in Mexico City, we learn just how powerful a charging decision can be in the Mexican criminal justice system. SAPIENS: A Podcast for Everything Human is produced by House of Pod. Cat Jaffee was the editor for this piece, with help from producer Ann Marie Awad. Seth Samuel was the audio editor and sound designer. The executive producers were Cat Jaffee and Chip Colwell. Esteban Salmón is an anthropologist who studies the ethics of criminal prosecution in Mexico City. He is currently a doctoral candidate in anthropology at Stanford University. His first book explores how immigration enforcement at the U.S.-Mexico border affects the relations between a community of undocumented migrants in New York and their hometown in central Mexico. Before attending graduate school, Esteban worked as a community organizer and policy advocate for access to justice initiatives in Mexico City. His research has been funded by the Fulbright Program, the National Science Foundation, and the Social Science Research Council. Follow him on Twitter @EsteSalmon . SAPIENS is an editorially independent podcast funded by the Wenner-Gren Foundation. SAPIENS is part of the American Anthropological Association Podcast Library. Episode sponsor: · This episode is included in season 5 of the SAPIENS podcast, which is part of the SAPIENS Public Scholars Training Fellowship funded with the support of a three-year grant from the John Templeton Foundation .
S5 E2 · Tue, April 04, 2023
I Do This for You, Mom
Jeri Hutton Green is a mother, daughter, and advocate for survivors of domestic violence and homicide in Baltimore, Maryland. Her journey as an advocate began when her mother went missing in April 2020. A text message launched a 2-year battle for justice for her mother and other missing Black women. Reported by Brendane A. Tynes, a doctoral candidate in anthropology and an interpersonal violence survivor advocate, this episode explores what it means to survive domestic violence and police violence as a Black woman. SAPIENS: A Podcast for Everything Human is produced by House of Pod. Cat Jaffee was the editor for this piece, with help from producer Ann Marie Awad. Seth Samuel was the audio editor and sound designer. The executive producers were Cat Jaffee and Chip Colwell. Brendane A. Tynes is a Black queer feminist scholar and storyteller from Columbia, South Carolina. As a doctoral candidate in anthropology at Columbia University, she studies the affective responses of Black women and girls to multiple forms of violence within grassroots Black political movements. Her scholarship has received generous support from the CAETR, Ford Foundation, and Wenner-Gren Foundation. She works with the Say Her Name Coalition and In Our Names Network to address sexual violence against Black women, femmes, girls, and gender-expansive people. Brendane also co-hosts the Zora’s Daughters Podcast , a Black feminist anthropological intervention on popular culture and issues that concern Black women and queer and trans people. Follow her on Twitter @brendanetynes . SAPIENS is an editorially independent podcast funded by the Wenner-Gren Foundation. SAPIENS is part of the American Anthropological Association Podcast Library. Check out these related resources: · “ How Do We Listen to the Living? ” in Anthropology News · “ 72-Year-Old Woman’s Ex-Boyfriend Begins Murder Trial for Her 2020 Death ” · U.S. Department of Justice Investigation of the Baltimore City Police Department Report (2016) · Black Women and Police Violence: A Primer from the University of Illinois Episode sponsor: · This episode is included in season 5 of th
S5 E1 · Tue, March 28, 2023
A Story of Icelandic Skulls
“Prime harvest”—that’s how one early 20th-century explorer described his collection of Icelandic human skulls. But why did he “harvest” those skulls in the first place? And what should happen to them now more than a century after they were collected? This case of the Icelandic skulls reveals an interconnected story of eugenics, international law, and the limits of current repatriation efforts. As reported by Adam Netzer Zimmer, an Iceland-based anthropologist, we hear how a community once targeted by anthropologists is now expanding our ideas of how to ethically handle human remains. SAPIENS: A Podcast for Everything Human is produced by House of Pod. Cat Jaffee was the editor for this piece, with help from producer Ann Marie Awad. Seth Samuel was the audio editor and sound designer. The executive producers were Cat Jaffee and Chip Colwell. Adam Netzer Zimmer is a doctoral candidate in anthropology at the University of Massachusetts (UMass), Amherst, specializing in biocultural anthropology. His research focuses on the rise of race-based anatomical science in 19th- and early 20th-century Iceland and the U.S. He is also interested in queer and feminist perspectives in bioarchaeology and forensic anthropology, particularly in the history of science. Adam’s work has been supported by a Fulbright/National Science Foundation Arctic Research Grant, an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, and a Leifur Eiríksson Foundation Fellowship. Previously, he was the laboratory manager for the UMass Taphonomic Research Facility and is currently a co–primary director of the Rivulus Dominarum Transylvanian Bioarchaeology project in Baia Mare, Romania. SAPIENS is an editorially independent podcast funded by the Wenner-Gren Foundation. SAPIENS is part of the American Anthropological Association Podcast Library. Check out these related resources: · “ Harvard’s Eugenics Era ” in Harvard Magazine · Museums: Last Week Tonight With John Oliver (HBO) · Discovery: The Autobiography of Vilhjálmur Stefánsson · Traveling Passions: The Hidden Life of Vilhjálmur Stefánsson by Gísli Pálsson Episode sponsor: · This episode is included in season 5 of the SAPIENS podcast, which is part of the SAPIENS Public Scholars Training Fellowship funded with the support of a three-year grant from the John Templeton Foundation .
Trailer · Tue, March 21, 2023
SAPIENS Podcast Season 5 Trailer
Being human is complicated. We require food and shelter. We have histories to contend with. We create rituals to control fate. We steal. We fight. We kill. We love. We shape the environment to suit our needs—sometimes with terrifying results. This season of the SAPIENS podcast embraces the diversity of human experience, digging deep into our human past and how we live today. The throughline of this season is the way in which humans use cultural beliefs and practices not only to explain the past but also to imagine the present and future. These stories aspire to understand how cultures can guide knowledge of human truths and help all of us to become seekers of wisdom. Join season 5’s host, Eshe Lewis, on our latest journey to explore what it means to be human. Season 5 of the SAPIENS podcast was part of the SAPIENS Public Scholars Training Fellowship funded with the support of a three-year grant from the John Templeton Foundation .
Bonus · Tue, May 10, 2022
Introducing: Whetstone Radio Collective
Today, we're sharing a teaser from our friends at Whetstone Magazine. They've started something called the Whetstone Radio Collective (WRC). The WRC is a collection of podcasts telling narrative stories through the lens of food anthropology. To learn more, visit: https://www.whetstonemagazine.com/radio
S4 E7 · Wed, April 13, 2022
Repatriation Is Our Future
The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990, or NAGPRA, is supposed to curb the illegal possession of ancestral Native American remains and cultural items. But a year after it was passed by the U.S. federal government, a significant African burial ground in New York City was uncovered. And there was zero legislation in place for its protection. Dr. Rachel Watkins shares the story of the New York African Burial Ground—and what repatriation looks like for African American communities. (00:00:44) Enter the Peabody Museum of Archeology and Ethnology and its NAGPRA controversy. (00:03:19) A discovery in Manhattan is not covered by NAGPRA. (00:05:19) Intro. (00:05:44) Dr. Rachel Watkins, the New York African Burial Ground Project and Michael Blakey. (00:11:40) Dr. Rachel Watikins meets the Cobb Collection. (00:23:44) Exploring Repatriation for the New York African Burial Ground Project. (00:28:26) The issue of repatriation for the Cobb Collection. (00:34:02) Revisiting season 4. (00:40:49) Credits. SAPIENS: A Podcast for Everything Human, is produced by House of Pod and supported by the Wenner-Gren Foundation . SAPIENS is also part of the American Anthropological Association Podcast Library. This season was created in collaboration with the Indigenous Archaeology Collective and Society of Black Archaeologists , with art by Carla Keaton, and music from Jobii , _91nova , and Justnormal . For more information and transcriptions, visit sapiens.org . Thank you this time also to The Harvard Review and their podcast, A Legacy Revealed for permitting us to use a clip from Episode 4 I Could See Family in Their Eyes , hosted by Raquel Coronell Uribe and Sixiao Yu and produced by Lara Dada, Zing Gee, and Thomas Maisonneuve. Additional Sponsors: This episode, and entire series, was made possible by the Cornell Institute of Archaeology and Material Studies , the <a href="https://www.dmns.or
S4 E6 · Wed, March 30, 2022
Slavery, Sustenance, and Resistance
Archaeology helps reimagine a fuller range of experiences, including how people ate, innovated, and rebelled. In this episode, “slave cuisine” opens a window to honor the legacy of Black creativity, resistance, and community. Dr. Peggy Brunache, a food historian and archaeologist, finds shellfish remains in a village of enslaved people, uncovering an untold story of how people found ways to resist. Dr. Kelley Deetz uses Southern food, which is really African food, to initiate difficult conversations about the history of slavery. (00:01:44) A history of asking “why” – from Caribbean markets to American history classrooms. (00:04:50) Introduction. (00:05:56) Dr. Peggy Brunache’s journey to food archaeology as a Haitian-American. (00:13:57) Uncovering slave cuisine. (00:22:33) Dr. Kelley Deetz describes education through food at Stratford Hall. (00:30:43) Slave cuisine today. (00:34:38) Credits. SAPIENS: A Podcast for Everything Human, is produced by House of Pod and supported by the Wenner-Gren Foundation . SAPIENS is also part of the American Anthropological Association Podcast Library. This season was created in collaboration with the Indigenous Archaeology Collective and Society of Black Archaeologists , with art by Carla Keaton, and music from Jobii , _91nova , and Justnormal . For more information and transcriptions, visit sapiens.org . Additional Sponsors: This episode was made possible by the UC Berkeley Archaeological Research Facility and the Imago Mundi Fund at Foundation for the Carolinas . Additional Resources: About Whitney Battle-Baptiste About Stratford Hall From SAPIENS: The Resistance and Ingenuity of the Cooks Who Lived in Slavery Guests: <a href="https://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/humanities/staff/peggybrunache/" rel="nofollow"
S4 E5 · Wed, March 16, 2022
More than a Mountain
The sky island of Dzil Nchaa Si'an is more than a mountain. It is a significant landmark in Arizona for Apache tribal members to collect medicinal plants, perform ceremonies, and connect with their ancestors. It is also a site of resistance against the development of an observatory informally known as the “Pope Scope,” for its ties to the Vatican. (00:01:47) A history of competing interests atop Dzil Nchaa Si'an, or Mt.Graham. (00:04:18) Introduction. (00:05:06) Nick and the “Pope Scope” conflict. (00:07:04) About Field schools and Apache Trust Lands. (00:08:49) How Nick becomes an archaeologist. (00:11:09) Sacred vs holy on Mt. Graham. (00:14:30) Fire on Mt. Graham illuminates value systems. (00:18:32) Apache lands and the 1872 Mining Act. (00:23:19) Guidelines for archaeology learned from Apache ways of knowing. (00:25:18) The Apache methodology of Ni. (00:31:00) Credits SAPIENS: A Podcast for Everything Human, is produced by House of Pod and supported by the Wenner-Gren Foundation . SAPIENS is also part of the American Anthropological Association Podcast Library. This season was created in collaboration with the Indigenous Archaeology Collective and Society of Black Archaeologists , with art by Carla Keaton, and music from Jobii , _91nova , and Justnormal . For more information and transcriptions, visit sapiens.org . Additional Sponsors: This episode was made possible by the Fiske Center for Archaeological Research at the University of Massachusetts, Boston and the Imago Mundi Fund at Foundation for the Carolinas . Additional Resources: The indivisibility of land and mind: Indigenous knowledge and collaborative archaeology within Apache contexts Ndee Hotspots: Ethics, Healing and Management F
S4 E4 · Wed, March 02, 2022
Curating as Caretaking
In this episode, museum curators challenge the status quo and connect their ancestry to advance how history is told in cultural institutions. Mary Elliot brings listeners behind the scenes into the Slavery and Freedom exhibition at the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture. And Dr. Sven Haakanson helps re-create an angiaaq , which is like a kayak, at the Burke Museum in Seattle, Washington. (00:01:24) Meet Mary Elliott, the curator of American slavery at the Smithsonian's National Museum of African-American History and Culture. (00:06:46) Introduction. (00:07:20) How Mary Elliott began tracing her own ancestral roots. (00:11:43) How Dr. Sven Haakanson begins his studies of the Alutiiq people. (00:15:57) A year of ethno-archaeology with the Nenets. (00:20:49) resurrecting the Angyaaq. (00:26:47) Sven and Mary share best practices and protocols for being museum curators. (00:33:13) Credits. SAPIENS: A Podcast for Everything Human, is produced by House of Pod and supported by the Wenner-Gren Foundation . SAPIENS is also part of the American Anthropological Association Podcast Library. This season was created in collaboration with the Indigenous Archaeology Collective and Society of Black Archaeologists , with art by Carla Keaton, and music from Jobii , _91nova , and Justnormal . For more information and transcriptions, visit sapiens.org . Additional Sponsors: This episode was made possible by the Brown University’s Joukowsky Institute of Archaeology and Columbia University’s Center for Archaeology and the Imago Mundi Fund at Foundation for the Carolinas . Additional Resources: Slavery and Freedom at the Smithsonian's National Museum of African-American History and Culture Burke Museum in Seattle, Washington </l
S4 E3 · Wed, February 16, 2022
At the Heart of It All
For its practitioners, archaeology can feel like it is unearthing events deep in the past … until it doesn’t. What is the experience of researchers who discover their life stories are tied to an archaeological site? Dr. Kisha Supernant and Lenora McQueen share their journeys to the unmarked graves of First Nations and Métis peoples and African American burial grounds, respectively, and how their connections to their ancestors transform their work. (00:00:16) The Truth and Reconciliation Commission seeks to understand what happened at Indian residential schools. (00:01:02) Dr. Kisha Supernat introduces her work as a Méthis archaeologist uncovering unmarked Indigenous graves at residential schools. (00:03:34) Introduction. (00:06:43) How Dr. Kisha locates unmarked graves. (00:10:45) Lenora McQueen shares her search to unmarked African American burial grounds. (00:12:23) The story of the Shockoe Hill African Burial Ground. (00:15:58) Introducing heart-centered archaeology. (00:23:41) Credits. SAPIENS: A Podcast for Everything Human, is produced by House of Pod and supported by the Wenner-Gren Foundation . SAPIENS is also part of the American Anthropological Association Podcast Library. This season was created in collaboration with the Indigenous Archaeology Collective and Society of Black Archaeologists , with art by Carla Keaton, and music from Jobii , _91nova , and Justnormal . For more information and transcriptions, visit sapiens.org . Additional Sponsors: This episode was made possible by the University of Michigan’s Museum of Anthropological Archaeology and the Imago Mundi Fund at Foundation for the Carolinas . Additional Resources: Shockoe Hill African Burial Ground From SAPIENS: A Weak Commission Brought Forth Survivors’ Truths, but Has It Made Reconciliation Possible? From SAPIENS: Archaeo
S4 E2 · Wed, February 02, 2022
Redrawing Boundaries
For many, archaeology means digging up historical artifacts from beneath the ground. But to some, that framework is also violent and colonial. What would it mean to leave ancestors and belongings where they’re found? In this episode, Gabrielle Miller, a PhD student studying African Diaspora Archaeology at the University of Tulsa shares a story about excavations in St. Croix. And Dr. Ayana Flewellen and Dr. Justin Dunnavant discuss how black archaeologists began uncovering sunken slave ships. (00:02:26) What parts of Archaeology as we know it should be preserved? And what needs to be destroyed? (00:02:51) Introduction. (00:03:24) Gabrielle Miller explains their research on the Free Black Community in St. Croix. (00:07:07) Meet, a ship called the Guerrero. (00:08:43) How Diving with a Purpose originated. (00:09:39) Justin Dunnavant and Ayana Flewellen create The Society of Black Archaeologists. 00:12:25) A guide to underwater, or maritime archaeology. 00:16:09) What Black Feminist archaeology is adding to the field. (00:21:29) How learning from artists can help stretch the academic container. (00:25:17) Credits. SAPIENS: A Podcast for Everything Human, is produced by House of Pod and supported by the Wenner-Gren Foundation . SAPIENS is also part of the American Anthropological Association Podcast Library. This season was created in collaboration with the Indigenous Archaeology Collective and Society of Black Archaeologists , with art by Carla Keaton, and music from Jobii , _91nova , and Justnormal . This episode was also sponsored by the Scripps Center for Marine Archaeology at the University of California, San Diego and The Imago Mundi Fund at Foundation for the Carolinas. For more information and transcripts, visit https://www.sapiens.org/ . Additional Resources: Diving with a Purpose Cornell University's RadioCIAMS <a href="https://black
S4 E1 · Wed, January 19, 2022
Guided by the Past
Hosts Dr. Ora Marek-Martinez and Yoli Ngandali share how they found their way to archaeology and what it means to be Black and Indigenous archaeologists. From defying the status quo in a classroom to diving through sunken ships, Ora and Yoli bring listeners on a journey of reclaiming stories and reimagining history. (00:00:10) How hosts Dr. Ora Merek-Martinez and Yoli Ngandali met. (00:03:27) Why Indigenous archaeology is not the same as non-Indigenous archaeology. (00:09:11) What is Maritime archaeology? (00:12:18) Important vocabulary for Season 4. (00:18:10) What is the future of archaeology? (00:19:38) Credits. SAPIENS: A Podcast for Everything Human, is produced by House of Pod and supported by the Wenner-Gren Foundation . SAPIENS is also part of the American Anthropological Association Podcast Library. This season was created in collaboration with the Indigenous Archaeology Collective and Society of Black Archaeologists , with art by Carla Keaton, and music from Jobii , _91nova , and Justnormal . For more information and transcriptions, visit sapiens.org . Additional Sponsors: - The Cornell Institute of Archaeology and Material Studies - The Denver Museum of Nature & Science - The Imago Mundi Fund at Foundation for the Carolinas For more information including episode transcripts, visit https://www.sapiens.org and check out the following resources: From the Margins to the Mainstream: Black and Indigenous Futures in Archaeology Land Acknowledgments Are Not Enough About The Hosts: Dr. Ora Marek-Martinez (she/her/asdzaìaì) is a citizen of th
Trailer · Wed, January 12, 2022
Our Past is the Future
We're launching a new season, asking what makes you … you? And who tells which stories and why? SAPIENS hosts Ora Marek-Martinez and Yoli Ngandali explore stories of Black and Indigenous scholars as they transform the field of archeology and the stories that make us … us. (00:00:02) Meet Dr. Ora Marek-Martinez and Yoli Ngandali. (00:00:51) How season four came to be. (00:01:53) Season four previews. SAPIENS: A Podcast for Everything Human, is produced by House of Pod and supported by the Wenner-Gren Foundation . SAPIENS is also part of the American Anthropological Association Podcast Library. This season was created in collaboration with the Indigenous Archaeology Collective and Society of Black Archaeologists , with art by Carla Keaton, and music from Jobii , _91nova , and Justnormal . For more information and transcriptions, visit sapiens.org . For more information including episode transcripts, visit https://www.sapiens.org and check out From the Margins to the Mainstream: Black and Indigenous Futures in Archaeology. About The Hosts: Dr. Ora Marek-Martinez (she/her/asdzaìaì) is a citizen of the Diné Nation, she's also Nez Perce. A Director at the Native American Cultural Center, her work includes supporting & ensuring the success of Northern Arizona University Native American & Indigenous students through Indigenized programming & services. An Assistant Professor in the Northern Arizona University Anthropology Department, her research interests include Indigenous archaeology & heritage management, research and approaches that utilize ancestral knowledge, decolonizing & Indigenizing methodologies and storytelling in the creation of archaeological knowledge to reaffirm Indigenous connections to land & place. Dr. Marek-Martinez is a founding member of the Indigenous Archaeology Coalition. Yoli Ngandali (she/he/hers) is a member of the Ngbaka T
S3 E10 · Tue, December 08, 2020
A Startling Link Between Neanderthals and COVID-19
SAPIENS host Chip Colwell speaks with evolutionary geneticist Hugo Zeberg about his surprising discovery of a connection between Neanderthal DNA and a greater risk for severe COVID-19. Zeberg is also a researcher at the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany.Read the paper in Nature Zeberg co-authored announcing the discovery: “ The Major Genetic Risk Factor for Severe COVID-19 Is Inherited From Neanderthals .”
S3 E9 · Tue, November 24, 2020
Moments of Resilience Amid a Pandemic
SAPIENS host Chip Colwell speaks with Melanie Adams, the director of the Smithsonian’s Anacostia Community Museum (ACM), about #Moments of Resilience , the ACM’s effort to document and eventually tell African Americans’ stories about the times we're living through now. They also discuss the unique role of a community museum, the value of oral history, and the communities the ACM serves from its home in Washington, D.C. Check out these links to the three stories Melanie reads in this episode: Spreading Joy; One Rock at a Time More Than a Cup of Coffee The Resurrection of Gloria The following pieces are sources Chip mentions in his introduction: “ As Pandemic Deaths Add Up, Racial Disparities Persist—and in Some Cases Worsen ” by Daniel Wood “ No, ‘Racial Genetics’ Aren’t Affecting COVID-19 Deaths ” by Sonia Zakrzewski
S3 E8 · Thu, November 12, 2020
Is the Pandemic Slowing Down Love?
SAPIENS host Jen Shannon speaks with biological anthropologist Helen Fisher about her research on love, sex, and everything in between. Fisher is the author of six books, the chief scientific adviser for the online dating site Match.com , and a leading researcher on dating trends in America. In this episode, Fisher shares insights from a recent survey. The New York Times piece Fisher references in this episode is available here: “ How Coronavirus Is Changing the Dating Game for the Better .”
S3 E7 · Tue, October 27, 2020
When at Home, Bake as the Romans Baked
SAPIENS host Chip Colwell talks with experimental archaeologist Farrell Monaco about her work re-creating ancient Roman bread and what it means to reconnect with bakers of the past. Farrell also offers some tips for pandemic-era bakers who want to take their new hobby to the next level. For more from Farrell, her award-winning website is Tavola Mediterranea . Read more about experimental archaeology, including Farrell and her work, at SAPIENS.org: “ Pandemic Bakers Bring the Past to Life .” And go ahead and try to make the Roman bread recipe described by Cato the Elder.
S3 E6 · Wed, October 14, 2020
A Vaccine Will Not Be Enough
SAPIENS host Jen Shannon speaks with Agustín Fuentes , a professor of anthropology at Princeton University, to unpack his insight that the COVID-19 pandemic is a biosocial phenomenon. They also discuss his recent suggestion that the virus “is not the only hazard to human health and well-being” right now. Recently elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Fuentes is a decorated anthropologist and an author of many books. His latest is Why We Believe: Evolution and the Human Way of Being . For more from Fuentes, an excerpt of Why We Believe is available at SAPIENS.org: “ How Did Beliefs Evolve? ” Also on SAPIENS.org, he hosted the debate, “ Why Are Humans Violent? ”
Bonus · Fri, August 28, 2020
We're (Still) Going Viral
The SAPIENS podcast will return in several months, and we want you to help us understand what it means to be human amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Do you have a question, thought, or idea about what it means to be human right now? Tweet at us @SAPIENS_org , message us on Facebook , or leave us a voicemail at 1-970-368-9730.
S3 E5 · Thu, July 02, 2020
The Problem With Abstract Threats
Everyone seems to have a story about the moment when the novel coronavirus pandemic stopped being an abstract problem “somewhere out there” and started being a very real and personal threat. In this episode of the SAPIENS podcast, hosts Jen Shannon and Chip Colwell interrogate the problem with abstract threats with the help of anthropologists Hugh Gusterson and Kristin Hedges. In closing, Steve Nash returns to discuss a different abstract concept: time. Hugh Gusterson is a professor of anthropology and international affairs at George Washington University. Follow him on Twitter @GustersonP and read his recent piece at SAPIENS magazine: “ The Problem of Imagining the Real .” Kristin Hedges is an applied medical anthropologist who studies how understanding cultural constructions of illness is essential for successful health intervention campaigns. She is an assistant professor at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan. Follow her on Twitter @kristinhedges6 and read her recent piece at SAPIENS magazine: “ The Symbolic Power of Virus Testing. ” Steve Nash is a historian of science, an archaeologist at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, and a columnist for SAPIENS. Follow him on Twitter @nash_dr , check out his column Curiosities , and read the column post he mentions in this episode: “ The Long Count .”
S3 E4 · Thu, June 18, 2020
What Pandemics Leave Behind
At some time in the future, the novel coronavirus pandemic will fade. What will this globally traumatic contagion leave in its wake? In this episode of the SAPIENS podcast, hosts Jen Shannon and Chip Colwell keep an eye on the future while looking to the past for answers: In the 14th century, the Black Death killed as much as one-third of the population of Europe, but it also sparked new ideas that linger to this day, including one of our favorite modern myths. In closing, Steve Nash returns to discuss the plague doctors of Venice and the many meanings of masks. Sara Toth Stub is a journalist based in Jerusalem who writes about religion, business, travel, and archaeology. Follow her on Twitter at @saratothstub and read her recent piece at SAPIENS magazine: “ Venice’s Black Death and the Dawn of Quarantine .” Matteo Borrini is a forensic anthropologist in the School of Biological and Environmental Sciences at Liverpool John Moores University. Check out one of his academic papers for more about “Carmilla.” Jane Stevens Crawshaw is a senior lecturer in early modern European history at Oxford Brookes University and the author of Plague Hospitals: Public Health for the City in Early Modern Venice . Steve Nash is a historian of science, an archaeologist at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, and a columnist for SAPIENS. Check out his column Curiosities and follow him on Twitter @nash_dr .
S3 E3 · Fri, June 12, 2020
Police Violence and the Pandemic
SAPIENS host Jen Shannon interviews Laurence Ralph, a professor of anthropology at Princeton University. Ralph is also a co-director of Princeton’s Center on Transnational Policing , the editor of Current Anthropology , and the author of the new book The Torture Letters: Reckoning With Police Violence , which exposes the Chicago Police Department’s history of torturing black men and women, and documents the community activism intent on stopping such violence. The poll Jen mentions in this episode was conducted by Monmouth and published on June 2, 2020.
S3 E2 · Fri, May 29, 2020
Could the Coronavirus Pandemic Be Good for the Environment?
SAPIENS host Chip Colwell interviews Elic Weitzel, a doctoral candidate in anthropology at the University of Connecticut, about his recent article for SAPIENS that considers how the global pandemic may impact climate change—for better or for worse. Weitzel is currently working on his dissertation on the environmental effects of the Black Death on 14th-century Eurasia and the depopulation of Native Americans in the wake of European colonization. Read his SAPIENS article: “ Are Pandemics Good for the Environment? ”
S3 E1 · Tue, May 19, 2020
Preppers and the Pandemic
With the arrival of the coronavirus pandemic, the SAPIENS podcast is going viral. In this first episode of season 3, SAPIENS hosts Chip Colwell and Jen Shannon revisit a story about preppers from our first season. Jen calls Chad Huddleston, one of the anthropologists featured on that show, to find out how he and the preppers he studies are handling the COVID-19 crisis. In closing, Chip reaches out to SAPIENS columnist and anthropologist Steve Nash to discuss panic buying, toilet paper, and more. Chad Huddleston is an adjunct assistant professor at St. Louis University and an instructor at Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville. Read his SAPIENS article: “ For Preppers, the Apocalypse Is Just Another Disaster .” Steve Nash is a historian of science, an archaeologist at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, and a columnist for SAPIENS. Check out his column Curiosities and follow him on Twitter @nash_dr .
S2 E10 · Tue, December 03, 2019
What Does it Mean to be Human? Your Questions, Answered
In this season 2 finale of the SAPIENS podcast, hosts Jen Shannon, Chip Colwell, and Esteban Gómez field questions from listeners on Twitter and at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science about what it means to be human. They address human origins and self-awareness, discrimination, social media, and more! You can follow all of our expert guests on Twitter: Augustin Fuentes at the University of Notre Dame ( @Anthrofuentes ); Daniel Miller at the University College London ( @DannyAnth ); and Barbara King, professor emerita at William and Mary ( @bjkingape ). Mark Shriver, professor at Pennsylvania State University, did a study on human nose shape and climate adaptation that also informed our conversation. Finally, here's a link to the nose-picking gorilla photos mentioned in this episode. SAPIENS: A Podcast for Everything Human is a part of the American Anthropological Association Podcast Library .
S2 E9 · Tue, November 19, 2019
Does Generosity Come Naturally?
Until very recently, Colin Turnbull was the only anthropologist who had lived and studied with both the Mbuti people of the Congo region and the Ik of Uganda. Because of his writings, one community became known for its egalitarianism and the other for its selfishness. His observations of the Ik in particular, as “inhuman” and “inhospitable,” led to them being dubbed as “the loveless people.” Then in 2009, Cathryn Townsend earned the chance to live with the Ik to study to generosity. In this episode, she shares her insights on what she found, and what Turnbull may have gotten wrong. To learn more about Cathryn Townsend's work, follow her on Twitter @CathrynTownsend . This episode is inspired by the SAPIENS.org article “ Is a More Generous Society Possible? ” Learn more about the Human Generosity Project, of which Cathryn is a part. SAPIENS: A Podcast for Everything Human is a part of the American Anthropological Association Podcast Library . Music for this episode includes: “Hello World,” “Who Were These People,” “Malaria,” “In Transit” by Matthew Simonson. “As I Was Saying,” “Curiosity,” “Quizitive,” Reflections,” All I have Left Are These Photographs” by Lee Rosevere “Silver Flame” by Kevin Macleod “Walking Bells” by Studio D
S2 E8 · Tue, November 05, 2019
How Belonging Shapes the Vaccination Crisis
Anthropologist Elisa Sobo never wanted to study the issue of vaccination. The topic was too fraught, she says, and she didn't want to touch it. But then she initiated a children’s health study at a school in California. Today her work on vaccine hesitancy offers insights into how those on opposing sides might better understand each other and work through this highly controversial issue. For more, check out Elisa Sobo’s SAPIENS piece about her work on vaccination: “ Beyond the Vaccination Rift. ” For the other vaccination-related SAPIENS article Chip mentions in this episode, see: “ Why Eradicating Polio Is More Complicated Than It Seems. ” SAPIENS: A Podcast for Everything Human is part of the American Anthropological Association Podcast Library . Music for this episode includes: “Metadata in One Lesson,” “School Daze,” “Museum,” “In Transit” by Matthew Simonson “Missa Pastoralis Bohemica, Hej, Mistre” by Georg Munzel “Trusted News V2” by David Fesliyan “Here’s the Thing,” “Sad Marimba Planet” by Lee Rosevere “Come As You Were” by Blue Dot Sessions
S2 E7 · Tue, October 22, 2019
The Deep Roots of Navajo Country Music
What is it about certain musical traditions that cause them to take root in communities far away from where they originated? Anthropologist Kristina Jacobsen leads SAPIENS hosts Jen Shannon and Chip Colwell on a musical journey into the U.S. Southwest to understand the phenomenon that is Navajo country music. In addition to authoring the book The Sound of Navajo Country: Music, Language, and Diné Belonging , Jacobsen is a singer-songwriter. This episode includes one of her songs and a number of others she learned about during her time on the Navajo Nation. Listen to more music by Dennis Yazzie and the Night Breeze Band here . For more on Navajo country music, read Jacobsen's article at SAPIENS: “ Why Navajos Love Their Country Music. ” SAPIENS: A Podcast for Everything Human is part of the American Anthropological Association Podcast Library . Music for this episode includes: “Selja Star” by Ken Jacobsen “El Tajo,” “Moon Bicycle Theme,” “FasterFasterBrighter,” “Villano,” “Waltz for Zacaria” by Blue Dot Sessions “In Transit,” “Chads Story” by Matthew Simonson “Room at the Top of the Stairs,” “Wanted Man,” “Made in Japan” by Dennis Yazzie and the Night Breeze Band “Inez” by Kristina Jacobsen
S2 E6 · Tue, October 08, 2019
Are Colors Universal?
How do language, biology, and culture shape an individual’s experience of color? A journalist investigates the anthropological debate about whether color is a human universal. Remember the meme #TheDress ? Was it white and gold, or blue and black? With the help of Nicola Jones, a freelance science journalist who writes for Nature and SAPIENS, SAPIENS host Jen Shannon explores the question of color perception to find answers. She learns about the book The World Color Survey , an Amazonian tribe in Peru whose language has no color words, the biology of the human eye. Nicola Jones is a science reporter and journalist. Follow her on Twitter @nicolakimjones . Simon Overall is a linguist and guest lecturer at the University of Otago in New Zealand. You can follow him at @ginsengburger. For more on the debate about color perception, read Jones' article at SAPIENS.org: " Do You See What I See? " SAPIENS: A Podcast for Everything Human is part of the American Anthropological Association Podcast Library . Music for this episode includes: “I’m That Guy,” “Chads Story,” “Cerutti,” “In Transit,” “Museum,” “School Daze” by Matthew Simonson “Palms Down,” “Soothe,” “Bridgewalker” by Blue Dot Sessions “Marimba Colors” by Jason Paton
S2 E5 · Tue, September 24, 2019
Stringing Together an Ancient Empire’s Stories
Anthropologist Sabine Hyland attempts to uncover the secrets held in twisted and colored Andean cords called khipus. Thanks to the collaborative approach of anthropologist Sabine Hyland and local communities, outsiders are finally coming to understand what these khipus mean—for the people of the Andes and for the rest of us. Sabine Hyland is a professor of anthropology at the University of St. Andrews. Follow her on Twitter @Coyagirl . For more on khipus, read Hyland’s article about the Collata khipus at SAPIENS.org: “ Unraveling an Ancient Code Written in Strings .” The book Chip mentions at the end of this episode is called Wisdom Sits in Places by Keith Basso. SAPIENS: A Podcast for Everything Human is part of the American Anthropological Association Podcast Library. Correction: Hyland confirmed for us that the 1783 rebellion was against the Spanish, not the Inca, as she said in one quote in the initial version of this episode. We have since removed the error. Music for this episode includes: “Denzel Sprak,” “Weathervane,” “Are We Loose Yet,” “Bidious Transit,” “Borough,” “Gullwing Sailor,” “Cases to Rest” by Blue Dot Sessions “4,” “Cerutti,” “Ballgames,” “In Transit” by Matthew Simonson “Hero Down” by Kevin Macleod
S2 E4 · Tue, September 10, 2019
Do You Dream What I Dream?
Anthropologist Roger Lohmann sees a ghost in a dream while working in Papua New Guinea. Even though he knows it's just a dream, he's scared long after he wakes up. To make sense of his dream, Lohmann explores the role dreams play in our waking life and how different cultures make sense of dream worlds. Do all humans dream the same? Or do the cultures we are immersed in shape our dreams? Lohmann has six cultural dream theories that offer some answers to what dreams are and what they mean. Roger Lohmann has six cultural dream theories that offer some answers to what dreams are and what they mean. Roger Lohmann is a professor of anthropology at Trent University, where he specializes in religion, cultural change, and cultural dream theory. Follow him on Twitter @ rogerlohmann . Read Lohmann’s article at SAPIENS: “ The Night I Was Attacked by a Ghost. ” And for more, check out an essay about Islamic dream culture: “ Do Dreams Give Voice to the Divine? ” SAPIENS: A Podcast for Everything Human is part of the American Anthropological Association Podcast Library . Music for this episode includes: “Thoughtful” by Lee Rosevere “In Transit,” “Metadata in One Lesson” by Matthew Simonson “Balti,” “The Provisions” by Blue Dot Sessions
S2 E3 · Tue, August 27, 2019
What to Expect When You’re Not Expecting Down Syndrome
When Thomas Pearson ’s newborn daughter was diagnosed with Down syndrome, it changed the course of his life forever. Pearson joins SAPIENS hosts Jen Shannon and Chip Colwell to talk about his story, how his training in anthropology prepared him for his daughter’s diagnosis, and what he hopes other people can learn from his experience. Pearson is a professor of cultural anthropology at the University of Wisconsin, Stout. Read more about Pearson’s story and his research into disability studies on SAPIENS: “ A Daughter’s Disability and a Father’s Awakening .” The book Chip recommends at the end of the episode is titled The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down . SAPIENS: A Podcast for Everything Human is part of the American Anthropological Association Podcast Library . Music included in this episode are: Walking Bells - Studio D Not Alone, Betrayal, Waiting for the Moment That Never Comes, Under Suspicion, Compassion - Lee Rosevere Cerutti, Who Were These People, School Daze - Matthew Simonson Gymnopedie No 1 - Kevin Macleod
S1 E2 · Tue, August 13, 2019
Where Have All the Denisovans Gone?
The Denisovans have long been one of the most elusive ancient human cousins, until now. In May 2019, scientists revealed the first fossil evidence of Denisovans outside of the Denisova Cave in Siberia. As the historical human family tree grows, what are we learning about why we're the only ones left? In this episode, we pose this question to science journalist Carl Zimmer , a columnist for The New York Times and the author of 13 books. Follow him on Twitter @carlzimmer . We also speak with archaeologist Anna Goldfield about Neanderthals, another close ancient cousin. Goldfield is a columnist at SAPIENS.org , co-host of The Dirt podcast, and the illustrator of The Neanderthal Child of Roc de Marsal: A Prehistoric Mystery . Follow her on Twitter @AnnaGoldfield . Learn more about Denisovans and Neanderthals . SAPIENS: A Podcast for Everything Human is part of the American Anthropological Association Podcast Library. Music in this episode is by: "Willow and the Light" by Kevin MacLeod https://filmmusic.io "Honey Bee" by Kevin MacLeod ( https://incompetech.com ) License: CC by ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )Music from leerosevere.bandcamp.com "Featherlight" by Lee Rosevere ( leerosevere.bandcamp.com ) "Curiosity" by Lee Rosevere “Let That Sink In” by Lee Rosevere License: CC BY ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ) “In Transit” by Matthew Simonson. "Summit" by K2 produced by Blue Dot
S2 E1 · Tue, July 30, 2019
Eating Insects and the Yuck Factor
How come some people think eating insects is disgusting? Join SAPIENS hosts Jen Shannon and Chip Colwell as they dine on many-legged delicacies and delve into the world of entomophagy with anthropologist Julie Lesnik , author of the new book Edible Insects and Human Evolution. Julie is a professor of anthropology at Wayne State University. She tweets @JulieLesnik and her website is at www.entomoanthro.org . Learn more about eating insects at Sapiens.org: [Why Don’t More Humans Eat Bugs?](%20https:/ www.sapiens.org/culture/eat-bugs/ ) SAPIENS: A Podcast for Everything Human is part of the American Anthropological Association Podcast Library . This episode of Sapiens was produced by Paul Karolyi, and mixed, audio edited and sound designed by Jason Paton. It was hosted by Jen Shannon and Chip Colwell. Sapiens is produced by House of Pod, with contributions from executive producer Cat Jaffee and intern Freda Kreier. Meral Agish is our fact-checker. Matthew Simonson composed our theme. Giancarlos Hernandez performed the excerpt from the diary of Diego Alvarez Chanca. A special thanks this time to Beau and everyone else at Linger, as well as our guest this week, Julie Lesnick. This podcast is funded by the Wenner-Gren Foundation, which has provided vital support through Danilyn Rutherford, Maugha Kenny, and its staff, board, and advisory council. Additional support was provided by the Imago Mundi Fund at Foundation for the Carolinas. Thanks always to Amanda Mascarelli, Daniel Salas, Christine Weeber, Cay Leytham-Powell, and everyone at SAPIENS.org. Sapiens is part of the American Anthropological Association Podcast Library. For this episode, we used the compositions, "Hello World", "4", "Cerutti", "Metadata in one Lesson", "School Daze", and "In Transit" by Matthew Simonson; aand "Thinking Music," and "Umbrella Pants," by Kevin MacLeod ( incompetech.com ) licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ .
Trailer · Tue, July 16, 2019
Season 2 is Coming Soon and We Want to Hear from You
Hello fellow sapiens! We’re coming back with new episodes starting on July 30. This season is just a little different, though. SAPIENS hosts Jen Shannon and Chip Colwell are still asking big questions about what it means to be human, but this time they’re jumping off from some of the best stories from Sapiens.org, and culminating in questions... from you! If you have a query about what it means to be human, we want to hear it! Send your questions to us on Facebook at Sapiens.org, tweet them at us @sapiens_org with the hashtag #sapienspodcast, or leave us a short voicemail at 970-368-9730. Make sure to include your name so we can thank you when we play your question on the show. A fun side note: One of the songs in this trailer was composed by Joachim Neander himself. Our editor Matthew Simonson discovered it in the public domain.
S1 E10 · Tue, December 18, 2018
Being Afghan in America: In the Field with Morwari Zafar
How does an immigrant become an American? How does anyone join any group? SAPIENS host Esteban Gomez shares the story of Dr. Morwari Zafar, a researcher who has studied the changes in her own community of Afghan-Americans in Fremont, California, in the wake of 9-11. From the first major wave of immigration in the late 1980s and early 1990s, to 9-11 and the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, the Afghan-American community has been in flux, exemplifying the mysteries of group identity, dynamics, and nationhood. Morwari recently completed a PhD in anthropology at Oxford University. Her PhD dissertation is available online: COIN-operated anthropology: Cultural knowledge, American counterinsurgency and the rise of the Afghan diaspora . Zafar is now managing partner at Sentient Group , a consulting company focused on the national security, international development, and private sectors. This episode of Sapiens was produced by Paul Karolyi, edited by Matthew Simonson, and hosted by Esteban Gómez. Sapiens producer Arielle Milkman, executive producer Cat Jaffee, and House of Pod intern Lucy Soucek provided additional support. Fact-checking is by Christine Weeber, illustration is by David Williams, and all music is composed and produced by Matthew Simonson. More from sapiens.org : Trump and the Echo of Amache by Esteban Gómez Racism by any Other Name is Still Racism by Esteban Gómez SAPIENS is part of the American Anthropological Association Podcast Library.
S1 E9 · Tue, December 04, 2018
What’s the Cost of Quinoa?
SAPIENS host Jen Shannon goes on a mission to find out how quinoa travels from farmers’ fields in Huanoquite, Peru, to markets in Lima and the U.S. She discovers quinoa’s complicated past and present: a bloody civil war that shook the nation, the chefs who tried to use food as a racial reconciliation project, and the current economic and social pressures small producers face when they take on huge risks to bring their product from field to market. Linda Seligmann is a professor emeritus of sociocultural anthropology at George Mason University. She has worked in the Andean region of Latin America for over forty years. Her current project tracks production of quinoa and gender dynamics in the highlands of Peru. Emma McDonell is a PhD candidate in cultural anthropology at Indiana University, where she works on food politics, political ecology, and quinoa in the Andes. Follow her on Twitter @EmMcDonell. María Elena García is an associate professor in the Comparative History of Ideas Program at the University of Washington. She is currently working on a book project about Peru’s food boom and return to democracy after civil war. Learn more about food at SAPIENS: Cooking Up an International Market for Quinoa by Adam Gamwell and Corinna Howland Will GMOs Put an End to Hunger? Ask the Hungry by Karen Coates Reclaiming Native Ground by Barry Yeoman This episode of SAPIENS was produced by Arielle Milkman, edited by Matthew Simonson, and hosted by Jen Shannon. SAPIENS producer Paul Karolyi, along with executive producer Cat Jaffee, House of Pod intern Lucy Soucek, and SAPIENS host Esteban Gómez, provided additional support. Fact-checking is by Christine Weeber, illustration is by David Williams, and all music is composed and produced by Matthew Simonson. SAPIENS is part of the American Anthropological Association Podcast Library. This is an editorially independent podcast funded by the Wenner-Gren Foundation and produced by House of Pod.
S1 E8 · Tue, November 20, 2018
How to Care for the Dead
Scientists have thought about burial—the act of interring a dead body—as a distinctly human behavior. So what happened when a group of paleoanthropologists discovered a primitive hominid that may have entombed its dead? And how do people respond when they are unable to find and care for the remains of their loved ones? SAPIENS host Jen Shannon talks to Mercedes Doretti, co-founder of the Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team, about the 38,000 people who have disappeared in Mexico since 2006. They discuss forensic scientists’ strategies in cases in which missing migrants cannot be found and others in which remains have not yet been identified. Paige Madison is a Ph.D. candidate at Arizona State University, where she studies the history of paleoanthropology. Her dissertation research examines the history of research on Neanderthals, Australopithecines, and Homo floresiensis. She blogs and tweets about fossils and the history of science. Follow her on Twitter @FossilHistory. Mercedes Doretti is a forensic anthropologist who investigates human rights violations. She is a co-founder of the Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team (EAAF), where she directs the Central America, North America section. Doretti was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship in 2007 for her work with the EAAF. She completed an advanced degree (Licenciatura) in 1987 from the University of Buenos Aires in Argentina, and she took courses in biological anthropology at Hunter College, City University of New York. Learn more about caring for and honoring the dead at SAPIENS: Who First Buried the Dead? by Paige Madison Gathering the Genetic Testimony of Spain’s Civil War Dead by Lucas Laursen Grief Can Make Us Wise by Richard Wilshusen This episode of SAPIENS was produced by Arielle Milkman, edited by Matthew Simonson, and hosted by Chip Colwell, Jen Shannon, and Esteban Gómez. SAPIENS producer Paul Karolyi, executive producer Cat Jaffee, and House of Pod intern Lucy Soucek provided additional support. Fact-checking is by Christine Weeber, illustration is by David Williams, and all music is composed and produced by Matthew Simonson. SAPIENS is part of the American Anthropological Association Podcast Library. This is an editorially independent podcast funded by the Wenner-Gren Foundation and produced by House of Pod.
Bonus · Tue, November 13, 2018
BONUS: A Conversation with Carl Zimmer about DNA, Identity, and Heredity
Surprise! As a special holiday treat, the SAPIENS team is presenting this unedited conversation between SAPIENS host Chip Colwell and acclaimed science journalist Carl Zimmer about DNA, identity, and heredity. This conversation was previously excerpted in our episode “ Is Your DNA You? ” It took place in front of a live audience at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science on June 20, 2018. Carl Zimmer’s new book is She Has Her Mother's Laugh: The Powers, Perversions, and Potential of Heredity . Learn more about Zimmer’s work at carlzimmer.com . This episode of SAPIENS was produced by Paul Karolyi, edited by Matthew Simonson, and hosted by Chip Colwell, with support from SAPIENS co-hosts Esteban Gómez and Jen Shannon. SAPIENS producer Arielle Milkman, executive producer Cat Jaffee, and House of Pod intern Lucy Soucek provided additional support. Fact-checking is by Christine Weeber, illustration is by David Williams, and all music is composed and produced by Matthew Simonson. SAPIENS is part of the American Anthropological Association Podcast Library. This is an editorially independent podcast funded by the Wenner-Gren Foundation and produced by House of Pod. Additional funding for this episode was provided by our friends at Imago Mundi Fund at Foundation for the Carolinas.
S1 E7 · Tue, November 06, 2018
Is Space a Human Place?
From space junk and the International Space Station to Elon Musk and SpaceX, space is becoming a more human place. What will it mean for us to live among the stars? SAPIENS host Jen Shannon probes the nascent field of space archaeology and looks to the mystery of exoplanets for answers. Alice Gorman is a senior lecturer in the college of humanities at Flinders University, and Justin Walsh is associate professor and chair of the Art Department at Chapman University. Together, they lead the International Space Station Archaeology Project . Lisa Messeri is assistant professor of anthropology at Yale University and the author of Placing Outer Space: An Earthly Ethnography of Other Worlds . She is currently investigating place-making in the field of virtual reality technology. Learn more about space at sapiens.org: Unmanning Space Language Anthropologists in Outer Space Interplanetary Environmentalism This episode of SAPIENS was produced by Paul Karolyi, edited by Matthew Simonson, and hosted by Jen Shannon, with support from Sapiens co-hosts Esteban Gomez and Chip Colwell. SAPIENS producer Arielle Milkman, executive producer Cat Jaffee, and House of Pod intern Lucy Soucek provided additional support. Fact-checking is by Christine Weeber, illustration is by David Williams, and all music is composed and produced by Matthew Simonson. SAPIENS is part of the American Anthropological Association Podcast Library. This is an editorially independent podcast funded by the Wenner-Gren Foundation and produced by House of Pod.
S1 E6 · Tue, October 23, 2018
Power Players: US Football and French Rugby
Some athletes seem larger than life. They are revered and imitated—and they seemingly hold a lot of power. But whether they feel empowered in their lives and choices off the field depends on a variety of complex factors. We explore the experiences of black college football players in the U.S. and Fijian rugby players who migrate to play on teams in France to learn more. Tracie Canada is a graduate student in the anthropology department at the University of Virginia. In 2017, her research project Tackling the Everyday: Race, Family, and Nation in Big-Time College Football was awarded a dissertation fieldwork grant from the Wenner-Gren Foundation. Niko Besnier is a professor of cultural anthropology at the University of Amsterdam and has a research professorship at La Trobe University, Melbourne (Australia). He is also a fellow at Stanford University's Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences. Besnier is a co-author of The Anthropology of Sport: Bodies, Borders, Biopolitics . This episode of SAPIENS was produced by Cat Jaffee, edited by Matthew Simonson, and hosted by Esteban Gómez, with support from SAPIENS co-hosts Jen Shannon and Chip Colwell. SAPIENS producers Paul Karolyi and Arielle Milkman, along with House of Pod intern Lucy Soucek, provided additional support. Cat Jaffee is our executive producer. Fact-checking is by Christine Weeber, illustration is by David Williams, and all music is composed and produced by Matthew Simonson. SAPIENS is part of the American Anthropological Association Podcast Library. This is an editorially independent podcast funded by the Wenner-Gren Foundation and produced by House of Pod.
S1 E5 · Tue, October 09, 2018
Close to Home: In the Field With Amy Starecheski
What is home? Is it a physical space, a set of relationships, or a state of mind? SAPIENS host Esteban Gómez follows Amy Starecheski, a researcher who has studied how squatters went legit and secured homeownership in New York City, as she seeks to answer these questions and more. With Starecheski, Gómez moves through two of New York’s most fascinating neighborhoods—the Lower East Side in Manhattan and Mott Haven in the Bronx. They discuss how people have navigated massive restructuring and shifts in housing policy in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Amy Starecheski is a cultural anthropologist and an oral historian whose research focuses on the use of oral history in social movements and the politics of urban property. She holds a Ph.D. in cultural anthropology from the City University of New York and is the director of the Oral History Master of Arts program at Columbia University. Starecheski is the author of Ours to Lose: When Squatters Became Homeowners in New York City and the winner of the 2016 SAPIENS-Allegra Margaret Mead writing competition with her article “ The Transformation of One of New York City’s Most Famous Squats .” She is currently working on a public sound art project about the Bronx’s Mott Haven neighborhood using oral histories. This episode of Sapiens was produced by Arielle Milkman, edited by Matthew Simonson, and hosted by Esteban Gómez. Sapiens producer Paul Karolyi, producer Cat Jaffee, and House of Pod intern Lucy Soucek provided additional support. Fact-checking is by Christine Weeber, illustration is by David Williams, and all music is composed and produced by Matthew Simonson. Special thanks to 2.5 Children Inc. for use of the song “building number 44.” Learn more about how humans navigate their sense of home at SAPIENS: The Transformation of One of New York City’s Most Famous Squats Shattered Homes and Hard Choices in Post-Quake Nepal How Fracking’s Appetite for Sand is Devouring Rural Communities SAPIENS is part of the American Anthropological Association Podcast Library.
S1 E4 · Tue, September 25, 2018
The Mastodon in the Room
Humans may have been in North America much earlier than previously thought. Here’s the evidence: chipped rocks, crushed mastodon bones, and reliable dates showing the remains are 130,000 years old. Is that enough to rewrite the history? SAPIENS co-hosts Chip Colwell and Jen Shannon talk to Steven and Kathleen Holen, archaeologists and co-authors of a controversial discovery. And they further evaluate the claims with the help of anthropologist Todd Braje. Steven Holen and Kathleen Holen are co-directors of the Center for American Paleolithic Research. Steven’s publications include series on Great Plains Paleoindian Archaeology and Ice Age Humans in the Americas. (He co-edited both series with Kathleen.) Steven and Kathleen were co-authors of the Nature article “ A 130,000-Year-Old Archaeological Site in Southern California, USA ,” published in April 2017. Todd Braje is a professor of anthropological archaeology. He has published two books and a co-edited volume. His most recent book is Shellfish for the Celestial Empire: The Rise and Fall of Commercial Abalone Fishing in California . Braje also serves as co-editor of The Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology. For SAPIENS’ original coverage of the mastodon site discovery, check out the news article “ Broken Bones Could Rewrite Story of the First Americans .” This episode of Sapiens was produced by Cat Jaffee, edited by Matthew Simonson, and hosted by Chip Colwell and Jen Shannon, with help from Esteban Gomez. Sapiens producer Arielle Milkman, producer Paul Karolyi, and House of Pod intern Lucy Soucek provided additional support. Fact checking is by Christine Weeber, illustration is by David Williams, and all music is composed and produced by Matthew Simonson. Sapiens is part of the American Anthropological Association Podcast Library. This is an editorially independent podcast funded by the Wenner-Gren Foundation and produced by House of Pod.
S1 E3 · Wed, September 12, 2018
Prepping for TEOTWAWKI
It’s the end of the world as we know it. How do you feel? SAPIENS co-host Jen Shannon follows the trail of some contemporary preppers with the help of anthropologist Chad Huddleston. Then she dives into history with Tim Kohler, an archaeologist and expert on Ancestral Puebloan peoples of the U.S. Southwest. Chad Huddleston is an adjunct assistant professor of anthropology at Saint Louis University in Missouri and an instructor at Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville. In March, he published an article about his work with preppers at SAPIENS.org: “ For Preppers, the Apocalypse Is Just Another Disaster .” Tim Kohler is a professor of archaeology and evolutionary anthropology at Washington State University. He also serves as coordinator for the Village Ecodynamics Project , a multidisciplinary effort to study the connection between Ancestral Puebloan peoples and their environment in the U.S. Southwest. This episode of Sapiens was produced by Paul Karolyi, edited by Matthew Simonson, and hosted by Chip Colwell, Esteban Gomez, and Jen Shannon. Sapiens producer Arielle Milkman, executive producer Cat Jaffee, and House of Pod intern Lucy Soucek provided additional support. All music is produced and designed by Matthew Simonson with illustration by David Williams, and fact-checking by Christine Weeber. Sapiens is part of the American Anthropological Association Podcast Library. This is an editorially independent podcast funded by the Wenner-Gren Foundation and produced by House of Pod.
S1 E2 · Tue, August 28, 2018
Is Robot Empathy a Trap?
Can robots care? And why should we care if they do? SAPIENS host Jen Shannon meets Pepper the robot, and host Chip Colwell goes on a quest to find out how the robotics industry is (re)shaping intimacy in Japan. He speaks with anthropologists Jennifer Robertson, Daniel White, and Hirofumi Katsuno, all researchers in the field of robotics, to learn more about what artificial emotion can teach us about what it means to be human. Jennifer Robertson is a professor of anthropology and of the history of art at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Hirofumi Katsuno is an associate professor in the department of media, journalism, and communications at Doshisha University, Kyoto. Daniel White is a postdoctoral fellow in the department of history and cultural studies at the Freie Universität Berlin. Learn more about artificial intelligence at SAPIENS.org : The Age of Cultured Machines by Matthew Gwynfryn Thomas and Djuke Veldhuis Learning to Trust Machines That Learn by Matthew Gwynfryn Thomas and Djuke Veldhuis Life and Death After the Steel Mills by Elizabeth Svoboda An original score inspired by the 1927 film Metropolis called 2026: Musik Inspired by Metropolis by the composer Scott Ampleford appeared in this episode. This episode of Sapiens was produced by Arielle Milkman, edited by Matthew Simonson, and hosted by Chip Colwell, Esteban Gomez, and Jen Shannon. Sapiens producer Paul Karolyi, executive producer Cat Jaffee, and House of Pod intern Lucy Soucek provided additional support. All music is produced and designed by Matthew Simonson with illustration by David Williams, and fact-checking by Christine Weeber. Sapiens is part of the American Anthropological Association Podcast Library. This is an editorially independent podcast funded by the Wenner-Gren Foundation and produced by House of Pod.
S1 E1 · Tue, August 14, 2018
Is Your DNA You?
What does your DNA have to do with who you are? On a journey for answers, SAPIENS hosts Chip Colwell, Jen Shannon, and Esteban Gómez take consumer DNA tests and confront murky, interconnected issues of identity and heredity. Their guides include science journalist Carl Zimmer and anthropologists Deborah Bolnick and Kim TallBear. Carl Zimmer has authored 13 books about science, including his latest work She Has Her Mother’s Laugh , which traces the history of heredity: Deborah Bolnick is an incoming associate professor of anthropology at the University of Connecticut. Her research interests include anthropological genetics, ancient DNA studies, paleoepigenetics, and a variety of other related subjects. Kim TallBear is an associate professor in the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Native Studies. The University of Minnesota Press published her book Native American DNA in 2013. Learn more about DNA at SAPIENS.org : I’ve Got the Neanderthal Blues by Emma Marris The Ethical Battle Over Ancient DNA by Michael Balter How Molecular Clocks Are Refining Human Evolution’s Timeline by Bridget Alex and Priya Moorjani This episode of Sapiens was produced by Paul Karolyi, edited by Matthew Simonson, and hosted by Chip Colwell, Esteban Gomez, and Jen Shannon. Sapiens producer Arielle Milkman, executive producer Cat Jaffee, and House of Pod intern Lucy Soucek provided additional support. All music is produced and designed by Matthew Simonson with illustration by David Williams, and fact-checking by Christine Weeber. Sapiens is part of the American Anthropological Association Podcast Library. This is an editorially independent podcast funded by the Wenner-Gren Foundation and produced by House of Pod.
Trailer · Sat, August 04, 2018
A Trailer for Everything Human
What makes you … you? Is it your DNA, culture, environment? SAPIENS hosts Jen Shannon, Esteban Gómez, and SAPIENS.org Editor-in-Chief Chip Colwell speak with anthropologists from around the globe to help us uncover what makes us human. Subscribe now to learn more. The SAPIENS podcast is supported by the Wenner-Gren Foundation and produced by House of Pod.
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