Vagrant, machine or pioneer? How we think about a roving eagle offers insights into human attitudes toward nature

A Steller’s sea eagle, native to the Asian Arctic, has traveled across North America since 2021. A scholar questions whether the bird is lost – and how well humans really understand animals’ actions.

Adriana Craciun, Professor of English and Emma MacLachlan Metcalf Chair of Humanities, Boston University • conversation
May 4, 2023 • ~13 min

Humanizing the coronavirus as an invisible enemy is human nature

Thinking of SARS-CoV-2 as an invisible enemy with an evil personality and humanlike motivations is a natural offshoot of the way people evolved to anthropomorphize so as not to overlook threats.

Stewart Guthrie, Professor Emeritus of Anthropology, Fordham University • conversation
May 22, 2020 • ~7 min

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