Episodes

“Why are the horses allowed to hit us?”

Anthropologists Dan and Michael take on workplace personality tests, IQ tracking, and pop psychology’s obsession with turning people into types.

Dan and Michael welcome genetic counselor and professional vegetarian Saanchi Shah to explore why humans attach so much identity to food — from paleo diet mythologies to prepper gardening obsessions to the gym bro who thinks raw meat makes you a better person. Also: a stolen 18-karat gold toilet, fixing public restrooms, and whether one can literally become pizza.

This week on People Stuff, anthropologists Dan and Michael get very, very lost — in Carmel-by-the-Sea, at the dinner table, and even among the dead.

In this episode of People Stuff, anthropologists Dan and Michael tackle the order of things — from Zen monks who don’t clean corners to kids demanding cash for chores to dads who can’t let go of their stuff. They explore how cleanliness, clutter, and money all reveal what we value (and what we avoid). Along the way, Michael “fixes” Congress, Dan questions enlightenment, and both get a little dusty. Smart, funny, and deeply human — it’s anthropology for everyone who’s ever swept something under the rug.

When is it okay to discipline someone else’s kid? Are gender roles actually “natural,” or are we just swimming in Disney IP? And what do you do when your child’s imaginary friend starts sounding less… imaginary? This week on People Stuff, anthropologists Dan Souleles and Michael Powell take on communal parenting, playground ethics, gender development, TikTok surveillance culture, immigration panic, and the unsettling anthropology of imaginary friends. Drawing on cross-cultural child-rearing, gender theory, and just enough totemism to keep things weird, they offer advice that is empathetic, skeptical, and occasionally alarming. Remember: we’re anthropologists, and we know stuff about people.

This week on People Stuff, Dan and Michael grab their metaphorical couch and ask: Why does psychology have such a hold on how we think about ourselves? From men outsourcing their mental health to chatbots, to the moral contradictions of being a baseball fan, to the question of what people did before “therapy” was even invented — it’s an episode about the strange modern faith in psychology, and whether it’s helping us or just keeping us company.

In this encore episode of People Stuff, Dan and Michael check to see whether the truth is out there by boosting a UFO conspiracy, endorsing the use of body doubles as a high school teaching technique, and offering relationship advice to help you avoid serial killers in the Pacific Northwest. It remains to be seen whether there is any truth out there. Still, if you’re curious to see what’s on the other side, this episode is for you.

In this encore episode of People Stuff, Dan and Michael venture into the wicked and unknown by riffing on the admirable traits of vampires, parsing the stupidity of Nazi stans, and sending a love letter to the Jersey Devil. If your heart lives in the Pine Barrens, this episode is for you.

Hope, self-deception, elephant grandmothers, and the archaeology of our trash age.

As we are in between seasons, we present this encore presentation of Dan and Michael Go To Ikea. People Stuff is a write-in anthropology podcast. In this episode, Dan and Michael go to Ikea and give advice on furniture shopping and relationships, whether you should make your bed, and how best to bring an urn to your in-laws. They also talk about the great chicken war, fix the Olympics, and shill for flat-pack coffins.

Why does one lobster shack have a two-hour line while the identical one across the street sits empty? In this People Stuff special episode, anthropologists Dan Souleles and Michael Scroggins break down why food culture today isn’t about taste—it’s about being seen. From Red’s Eats in Maine to Magnolia Bakery and Instagram-famous bagel shops, they unpack conspicuous consumption in the age of social media, where attention is the real currency.

Why your neighbor’s parking spot is sacred, your Uber is feudalism, and the Hyperloop is a cult.

Halloween myths, indirect political speech, and deer in the suburbs — all through the lens of anthropology and humor.

This week on People Stuff, anthropologists Michael and Dan take a wrecking ball to democracy itself — from Curtis Yarvin’s neo-monarchist fantasies to student-body elections gone full Nixon. In this episode: What Fresh Hell: The Texas Lottery “rigging” that proves math isn’t the problem — lazy officials are. The Big Question: Is democracy actually broken? Michael and Dan unpack the anti-democracy ideas of Curtis Yarvin, the myth of the “CEO king,” and why liberal democracy still matters (plus, what’s more important — air conditioning or AI?). High School Power Plays: When student-body elections turn into campaign nightmares, what’s a parent to do? Hint: Go negative. Hard. Fixing Shit: Dan redesigns airline boarding for a more egalitarian sky, while Michael says the real fix is fewer flights — and fewer heat domes. Freedom and the Endless Meeting: Activism and consensus — when “everyone has a say” means you never leave the meeting. Plus, a fake sponsorship you’ll wish was fake: Technof…

Dan and Michael get abducted — by ideas, conspiracies, and maybe aliens. This week, your favorite anthropologists of everyday life tackle UFOs, body doubles, and murder in the Pacific Northwest. From backyard sightings and drone swarms to doppelgängers in Ohio high schools, to true crime in the long dark winters of Washington, the guys explore why we believe what we believe — and how myths help us make sense of mystery. Along the way: The uncanny prediction of the Titanic disaster in 1898 What UFOs reveal about secrecy and American mythmaking Why your high school teacher might (not) be a body double Ostracism, Greek democracy, and why Dan wants to bring it back How to tell if your boyfriend is a serial killer (or just really into Nordic noir) If you like anthropology, philosophy, and the absurdity of human behavior, you’ll love this one.

Dan and Michael explore why names matter — from doomed bars to militias — and how our labels reveal who we think we are.

Do you need a degree—or just a wrench and some grit? Dan and Michael take on higher education, factory floors, and the future of labor.

Politicians posting bread, waiters demanding crypto, and a guy installing 13 doors to keep the cosmos aligned. Just another week on People Stuff — the anthropological advice show where touching grass means thinking deeply about why humans do the weird things we do. This week, Dan and Michael tackle: 🗳️ When your politician’s social media feed is 90% baguettes — and why authenticity might be the last political virtue left. 🍝 The great restaurant union crypto debate — solidarity vs. speculation, and whether your paycheck belongs on the blockchain. 🚪 The man with too many doors — and what happens when liminality becomes a load-bearing problem. Plus, the Fixing Shit segment gets delightfully dystopian as Michael proposes paying (or darting?) people into vaccine compliance. Anthropology meets public health meets bounty hunting. From shamanic therapists to door-worshipping homeowners, People Stuff is your weekly reminder that culture is weird, funny, and completely unavoidable.

Dan and Michael dive deep into the art of refusal — from saying “no” to conversations, to food, to entire worldviews. They tackle listener questions on political red-pilling, vaccine hesitancy, and culinary snobbery, blending real anthropology with absurd humor and social critique. Along the way, you’ll hear about podcast epistemology, purity and danger, and why your boyfriend’s palate might just be a symptom of American decline. This week’s “What Fresh Hell” features the ethics of scanning baseball card boxes with CT machines (yes, that’s a real thing), and “Fixing Shit” takes on the college admissions racket. Join the People Stuff crew for a thoughtful, irreverent, and deeply human take on what happens when people just refuse.

This week on People Stuff, anthropologists Dan and Michael sink their teeth into the strange and the spooky — from vampire lifestyles and Nazi fanboys to the mysterious Jersey Devil lurking in New Jersey’s Pine Barrens. They start with a “What Fresh Hell” segment exploring the surprising backlash against empathy, before diving into three listener questions that veer from the undead to the unhinged: High Stakes: A listener obsessed with vampires wonders — is it normal to want to become one? Dan and Michael dissect the anthropology of the night, from bloodlust to cultural obsession. I Did Not See That Coming: A young soldier asks why people are still drawn to Nazis. The hosts unpack fascism’s dark appeal, drawing on anthropology and history to explain why extremist movements persist. Devil Got My Tongue: A park ranger in the Pine Barrens asks about the persistence of monsters like the Jersey Devil. Dan and Michael debate whether monsters serve as scapegoats or companions to human loneli…

Season 1 of People is coming in early July. Here is a sneak peek of what Dan and Michael discuss.

People Stuff is a write-in anthropology podcast. In this episode, Dan and Michael go to Ikea and give advice on furniture shopping and relationships, whether you should make your bed, and how best to bring an urn to your in-laws. They also talk about the great chicken war, fix the Olympics, and shill for flat-pack coffins.