What James C. Scott Taught Us About Liberty, Authority, Surveillance, and Resistance
Scott wrote about the ways people resist authority—and the unmapped territories where much of that resistance takes place.
Anthropology
Review: Tripping on Utopia Complicates the History of Psychedelics
Mind-altering drugs have long been seen as tools for both liberation and control.
Freedom Towns: A Vast but Largely Forgotten Movement of Black Self-Rule
Zora Neale Hurston’s hometown of Eatonville, Florida, was one of the first all-black municipalities incorporated in the U.S.
Book Review: The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity
Early cities' concentrated populations and burgeoning scale didn't spontaneously summon pharaonic god-kings or bureaucrats.
Lance Armstrong vs. the New Honor Code
Should Americans be tougher on our celebrities—and ourselves? A leading anthropologist says yes.
Occult Features of Anarchism
An anthropologist examines secret societies, revolutionary movements, and esoteric ideas.
What If Man Is a Killer Ape Beset by Original Sin?
A new book probes the roots of humans' destructive impulses.
Princeton Professor Cancels 'Hate Speech' Class After Backlash from Offended Students
Students yelled expletives at Lawrence Rosen during class.
Statist Just-So Stories
The author of Seeing Like a State casts a skeptical eye on the conventional wisdom about the cradle of civilization.
Anarchy, Swamp, and Utopia
Archeologists offer a new look at a secretive settlement of runaway slaves.
ISIS Is Expanding. Should U.S. Military Bases Abroad Expand Too?
Author David Vine says a growth in overseas bases will damage national security and the economy.
Is It Unethical for Caucasians to Cook Chinese Food?
The pernicious silliness of cultural appropriation censorship.
Five Things They Don't Want You to Know About Conspiracy Theories
Exploding the myths about the paranoid tales we tell.
Edward Snowden, Bradley Manning, and the Intelligence Community's Double Bind
Why one approach to stopping leaks won't work.
Are Savages Noble?
Two new books ask whether our ancestors were right about food, sex, war, and trade.
Jared Diamond, Imperialist?
A human rights worker takes on The World Until Yesterday
Practical Anarchy
James C. Scott's latest book makes a low-key case for a little bit of anarchism.
How to Have a Good Idea
A unified theory of fantasy football; Eat, Pray, Love; and Burning Man.
Scientists Uncover Oldest-Known Prehistoric "Town"
Parts of two-story houses, other structures found in Bulgaria
Snark Attack
The New Yorker's David Denby campaigns against "low, teasing, snide, condescending" criticism
With His Ballot in His Hand
Anthropologist Margaret Dorsey on music, marketing, and Texas politics
The Politics of Plenitude
The marketplace multiplies cultural identities and creates true diversity. No wonder the right and the left are upset.
