In which I become a wellness influencer
I recently experienced yet another round of Weird COVID, complete with the brain fog and fatigue I’ve felt after every infection. I was asymptomatic again,...
Anthropology is haunted
When I finished my feature about the Morton Collection in 2021, I needed a long break from writing about what I called “the ghosts in the museum”—the bones...
On medical mysteries
As previously discussed, I’m terrible at anticipating near-future trends. But allow me one cultural prediction at the beginning of this still young year: The...
Against New Year’s resolutions (and how to make one anyway)
It probably won’t surprise you to hear that I’m against the idea of New Year’s resolutions. The resolutions so often sold to us are mired in the quicksand of...
An interview with me, and other cozy week content
I hope everyone is settling in for their ideal hibernation week, whatever that looks like for you. In the past, I’ve been very committed to napping as much...
This week in follow-ups
I’m on an early holiday vacation, which would usually mean no newsletter. But I’m trying to get back to something close to my previous weekly schedule, and...
Hello from my new home
I hold two contradictory truths about this newsletter: I love writing it, and I think about changing it constantly. Should it have more a consistent theme?...
The mystery of maize
I live in Mexico so of course I’m obsessed with corn. It’s the foundation of the cuisine and in many ways the culture, and it has been for at least 4,000...
The agonies of transcription
If you asked 100 journalists what their least favorite work task is, I’m positive more than 90 would say transcribing. It’s so tedious, it takes so long1,...
How to create more time
On art and energy
Archaeology's ethics are changing
This week I wrote for Science about a debate bubbling up in U.S. archaeology: Is it unethical to publish photos of objects buried with Indigenous ancestors?...
Social media is dead
The internet as we knew it is over. That’s been clear for at least a year, but recently it feels like the discourse is catching up. The social media...
Fun with footprints
Ancient footprints in White Sands National Park. Courtesy of the National Park Service. Two years ago, I wrote about human footprints discovered in New...
A creative milestone
First of all: hi! I’m back. Second of all: I submitted by book manuscript! It was three years, one pandemic, and several life- and deadline-derailing health...
Half-assing my 1000 Words
I’m doing 1000 Words of Summer again. The proposition is simple: write 1000 words every day for two weeks. Each day, you get an encouraging email from author...
So far
Toward a theory of apocalyptic beginnings
Prehistoric Planet’s dinosaurs are different
I first heard about Prehistoric Planet, Apple TV+’s CGI dinosaur show, I thought it sounded like a ridiculous gimmick. A nature documentary about animals...
The human sacrifice problem
When the culture war came for me
Tools for embodiment
Hello, it’s been a while! It turns out my big problem was not as solved as I hoped, and while I was feeling bad again, I had to commit the self-harm of...
Happy anniversary
First of all: I wrote a story! It’s about how people in the past related to the ruins that surrounded them, and what those interactions can reveal about how...
