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Latest Episode

Why Humans Need Privacy | Shelter, Office Design, and the Anthropology of Space (feat. Gretchen Pfeil)

Anthropologist Gretchen Pfeil joins Michael and Dan to explore privacy, shelter, office design, and the hidden social rules that shape how people move through buildings, cities, workplaces, and everyday life.

Recent Episodes

Why Humans Need Privacy | Shelter, Office Design, and the Anthropology of Space (feat. Gretchen Pfeil)
June 1, 2026

Why Humans Need Privacy | Shelter, Office Design, and the Anthropology of Space (feat. Gretchen Pfeil)

Anthropologist Gretchen Pfeil joins Michael and Dan to explore privacy, shelter, office design, and the hidden social rules that shape how people move through buildings, cities, workplaces, and everyday life.
Dan and Michael Go to Home Depot | DIY Culture, Hardware Stores, and Why Every Project Requires 4 Trips
May 25, 2026

Dan and Michael Go to Home Depot | DIY Culture, Hardware Stores, and Why Every Project Requires 4 Trips

Michael and Dan explore the anthropology of Home Depot, DIY culture, power tools, construction work, and why home repair projects inevitably spiral into chaos. Featuring medieval student jails, table saw trauma, commodity fetishism, and multiple unnecessary trips to the hardware store.
Dan and Michael Never Could Have Been Contenders (feat. Justin Dang) | Competition, Hiring Hell, and Finance Club Hunger Games
May 18, 2026

Dan and Michael Never Could Have Been Contenders (feat. Justin Dang) | Competition, Hiring Hell, and Finance Club Hunger Games

Competition has escaped the marketplace and colonized everyday life. Michael, Dan, and guest Justin Dang discuss hiring hell, finance clubs, networking culture, violence, wearable surveillance tech, and the strange systems institutions use to decide who “wins.”
Home Is Where the Asset Is: FIRE Roommates, Haunted Houses, and Billionaires Who Don’t Pay Taxes
May 11, 2026

Home Is Where the Asset Is: FIRE Roommates, Haunted Houses, and Billionaires Who Don’t Pay Taxes

This week on People Stuff, Dan and Michael ask a deceptively simple question: what is a home? Unfortunately, modern America has several conflicting answers. A home is a sanctuary. A speculative asset. A retirement plan. A personality test. A tax shelter. A haunted structure slowly collapsing under …
Dan and Michael Get Back in the Saddle (with Jennifer Van Tiem) | Horses and the Anthropology of Riding
May 4, 2026

Dan and Michael Get Back in the Saddle (with Jennifer Van Tiem) | Horses and the Anthropology of Riding

Equine obsession, Western mythologies, and why horses are better at reading you than you are.
Is It Really Human Nature? Gender, Boys, Parenting & Bad Anthropology | People Stuff feat. Agustín Fuentes
April 27, 2026

Is It Really Human Nature? Gender, Boys, Parenting & Bad Anthropology | People Stuff feat. Agustín Fuentes

“Human nature” is one of those phrases people use when they want to stop arguing. Boys are just like that. Men are naturally competitive. Women are better at caregiving. Kids need expensive enrichment classes. Gen Z is becoming weirdly conservative about gender. It’s just human nature. …except anth…