“Spare the rod, spoil the child” — or for that matter, the criminal. The New Worlds Patreon tour of punishments takes a look at those inflicted on the body. Comment over there!

As the New Worlds Patreon looks at punishments, it seems only natural — given modern practices — to think first of imprisonment. Comment over there!

This month on the New Worlds Patreon my patrons have voted to look at the punishment aspect of law and order. Before we get into the specifics of what types of punishment we inflict, we should consider why we punish people at all — what goal(s) that’s supposed to achieve. Comment over there!

Have you ever experienced sleep paralysis, or tried to get an answer to some unsolved question from your dreams? The New Worlds Patreon is wrapping up its sleep month with a look at the magic of dreams. Comment over there!

I’m astonishingly bad at remembering my dreams, but other people are much better at it than I am. This week the New Worlds Patreon talks about dreams: how they happen, why they happen, and what they mean. Comment over there!

Most of you reading this probably sleep on mattresses on bed frames in dedicated bedrooms, with soft pillows and nobody else in the bed except possibly a spouse. But this week the New Worlds Patreon explores a wide variety of sleeping arrangements. Comment over there!

One of the great benefits of my line of work is that I can take a nap if I need to. Which is pertinent to the new topic for the New Worlds Patreon, because my patrons have voted for me to talk about sleep! Comment over there.

As the theory post for this fifth Friday, the New Worlds Patreon is turning its attention to another useful anthropological concept: marked and unmarked categories. Comment over there!

The New Worlds Patreon has spent the whole month talking about religious topics, and we’re wrapping up (for now) with the idea of syncretism: the borrowing of traditions or even whole gods from one religion into another. Comment over there!

The New Worlds Patreon tour of religion continues! Real-world polytheisms feature a dizzying array of gods, but many of them fall into certain recognizable categories. Comment over there!