We usually treat currency as synonymous with money – the system of exchange that governs much of our daily life. Yet human lives are shaped by other forms of currency as well. Every day, often... Read More

In a hospital with one ventilator and two patients who need it, a triage rule can do almost everything we normally ask it to do: rely on medical evidence rather than status or wealth, apply... Read More

Every profession contains humble work that looks expendable from above. The junior analyst gathers figures. The new lawyer organizes documents. The beginning marketer drafts variants. The research assistant cleans data. These tasks are easy targets... Read More

When I studied anthropology in the 1980s as an undergraduate, the evidence for our species living with other Homo human populations began and ended with the Neanderthals. Back then, based on the fossil dating, Neanderthals... Read More

Ten years ago, I watched a video of a hostage execution during the Iraq War. What stayed with me wasn't the violence — it was the calm of the perpetrators. They weren't frenzied or remorseful.... Read More

Two students are walking down the hallway, in opposite directions, and an administrator looks on. The students are of different races, different genders, and one is crying. In that moment, the student who feels fine... Read More

It's 2:17 a.m. A patient sits in an emergency observation room after telling a physician that they intend to end their life when they leave the hospital. They answer questions coherently, understand the risks of... Read More