Category: Anthropology


Jan
27
2024
The Demons of Macquarie Island Richard Pendavingh 27.01.24

Today on The Unravel we ask the question; Did 19th century sealers suffer from post-traumatic stress syndrome?

Apr
13
2023
The Road to Hell: Part III Richard Pendavingh 13.04.23

The fallacy of liberation played a major part in inciting conflicts during the Cold War but realism's hindsight makes it hard to appreciate the initial idealism that accompanied these conflicts.

Feb
22
2023
Chatbot Chernobyl Richard Pendavingh 22.02.23

The public release of ChatGPT has permanently contaminated the Web. Welcome to the world of Average Garbage Forever.

Oct
05
2021
This Field is Required Richard Pendavingh 05.10.21

Tracing the origins of 'life admin' from sacrificial servants, to human computers, chatbots and Potemkin AI.

Feb
11
2021
Tushetian Cowboys Joe Harrison 11.02.21

Reflections from a foray into the highlands of Georgia.

Feb
04
2021
The Digital Swamp Richard Pendavingh 04.02.21

How our metaphors for the internet determine success and failure in the messy world of software design.

Sep
15
2020
Nonessential Workers of the World Unite! Richard Pendavingh 15.09.20

One of the first things I did after finishing my undergraduate degree in media studies was watch the whole industry of journalism collapse in on itself like a rotting shack held together by ivy.

Aug
09
2020
Part 1: Sacred Diseases Richard Pendavingh 09.08.20

As the Covid infections have ticked upwards and lockdowns have dragged on there’s been plenty of time to dwell on our current situation.

Aug
09
2020
A Glib History of Ancient Pandemics Richard Pendavingh 09.08.20

Wherein I draw tenuous connections between the current Coronavirus shemozzle and the great pandemics of the ancient world.

Jun
23
2020
How Georgia Abolished its Police Richard Pendavingh 23.06.20

The police were the first Georgians I met. Arriving in the capital, Tbilisi, at ten to midnight there were police officers waiting on the tarmac.

Jun
03
2020
American Stormtroopers Richard Pendavingh 03.06.20

Back in 2015 Amazon unveiled a promotional campaign for their TV adaptation of Philip K. Dick's famous novel The Man in the High Castle.

May
10
2020
Part 2: Replicants of the Reef Richard Pendavingh 10.05.20

On a rocky stretch of coastline on Hawaii’s Big Island a group of marine biologists are studying the lifecycle of the octopus - a creature that lives fast and dies young.

May
10
2020
Part 1: The Acheulean Sleep Richard Pendavingh 10.05.20

In the closing act of Blade Runner it’s a game of chess that allows the replicant Roy Batty to finally meet his maker.

Jan
25
2020
Remembering Cummeragunja Richard Pendavingh 25.01.20

Studying Australian history often feels more like uncovering some sprawling conspiracy. Buried underneath all the accounts of white explorers, convicts, bushrangers, miners and diggers is a vast bedrock of black history. The more you dig the more connections you find but the full story always seems to remain hidden.

Jul
03
2018
The Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant
Atomkraft? Nein Danke Richard Pendavingh 03.07.18

As a nation with a large reserve of uranium but no nuclear energy industry Australia is periodically subject to op-ed pieces designed to drum up support for a domestic nuclear power industry.

Sep
20
2016
Unfinished Business Richard Pendavingh 20.09.16

Our first day on the bikes took us up the west coast from Negombo to Puttallam. It was a busy stretch of road and we were still a few days away from getting comfortable with the traffic so progress was slow.