Work for L'OBS

I had the pleasure of working on a piece for French magazine L'OBS a couple weeks back. The article was an interview with author and sociologist Alondra Nelson, and centered around the use of genetic tests by African Americans. Using companies like African Ancestry, African Americans can use these tests to trace the roots that were cut off by the slave trade hundreds of years ago.

The tests can provide African Americans with a more in-depth understanding of their family origins. As the article points out, Africa is made up of dozens of countries, and many more languages and cultures- a fact that the term "African American" doesn't quite acknowledge. Narrowing one's roots down to a particular region or even tribe can be an exciting undertaking, that was impossible until recent advancements in genetic mapping. And by proving the family ties, it may also be used by descendants of slaves to help in obtaining reparations from companies whose wealth is directly attributable to slavery.
Here's the spread:

Thank you to Catherine!

Know your enemy

I should have posted this earlier in the week, but I've been really busy. I believe it ran last weekend in The Chronicle of Higher Education. The author of the article suggests that having enemies, and even creating new ones where none exist, is part of our human biology. Early humans evolved by fending off hostile animals, as well as hostile bands of fellow humans. We battled "others" to protect our tribesmen and resources, and we battled them to steal and secure new (their) resources. Today, we have a pronounced ability to make enemies. An almost genetic need to have one, even if only to swell our patriotic pride. (We'll get all those evildoers someday. U-S-A, U-S-A, U-S-A!) You need a subscription to read the article, but it's online here.

This was a really fun piece to work on. Thanks so much, Ellen!