
Simon Davis
Meet the Guy Who Finds Forgotten Graves with a 'Bone Finder'
Bob Perry knows where all the bodies are buried. He's got a machine that tells him.
Transgender People Are Misgendered, Even in Death
In life, transgender people face tremendous hurdles in trying to get accurate identification reflecting their true identities. In death, that's no different.
Let's Talk About Binding Books with Human Skin
For centuries, the practice of making books out of human skin was disturbingly common.
How the 'New York Times' Churns Out 1,000 Obituaries Every Year
An interview with writer Margalit Fox.
The Graves of the Rich and Famous in Los Angeles Will Make Your Apartment Look Pathetic
If you've got the dough, you can be buried among the Hollywood elite in luxury cemeteries so extravagant that they attract graveyard tourists.
Funeral Directors Share Morbid Stories About Death During the Holidays
"At midnight on Christmas Eve I was driving from LA to San Diego and back with 11 corpses. I was Santa Claus and they were my reindeer."
Crowdsourcing a Better Understanding of European Youth Migration
The European Union may not be equipped to properly track the movements of young migrants, but a plucky group of data journalists called Generation E wants to pick up the slack.
Katha Pollitt Is Trying to Remove the Stigma of Abortion
"It's part of reproductive life and I think that we need to say that and stop saying it's the most agonizing decision a woman ever makes. Sometimes it is an agonizing decision, but a lot of times it's not."
Dr. Atul Gawande Wants Us to Die Better
That means figuring out what we want out of the end of our lives and acknowledging that the medical establishment does a pretty lousy job at preparing people to die.
What Actually Is Enterovirus D68, and Why Are People Freaking Out About It?
We were starting to panic about Enterovirus D68, so we asked Vincent Racaniello, professor of microbiology and immunology at Columbia University to calm us down.
Do Anthropologists Consider the Ice Bucket Challenge an 'Extreme Ritual'?
According to anthropologist Dimitris Xygalatas, pouring ice water on our heads isn't all that different from Kavadi, a Hindu ritual that involves skewering your cheeks.
This Mortician Wants You to Take a Hands-On Approach with Corpses
"We are entrenched in the idea that dead bodies are dangerous, and we are entrenched in the idea that it is better to have professionals do it... American death is a really recent invention."