Join us for the first lecture in our Cultural Analytics Talk Series, co-sponsored w/ @ucbids.bsky.social! @manvir.bsky.social will discuss projects investigating global patterns in music & storytelling. 📅 Oct. 3, 12:15 - 1:30 pm 📍 210 South Hall, Online www.ischool.berkeley.edu/events/2025/...

A reminder that the deadline for commentary proposals for my new BBS paper is tomorrow! An honor of publishing with BBS is having thoughtful colleagues engage with one's work, and I can't wait to see y'all what think.

I'm giving a free book talk next Wednesday at the Harvard Museum of Natural History. Come by if you're in the Boston area!

‘One veteran shaman, returning from his first experience performing at a top-dollar eco-lodge, asked the ayahuasca researcher Stephan Beyer why these people had come halfway round the world to see him when they weren’t sick.’ @mikejay.bsky.social on shamanism: www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

Thrilled to see this mammoth review of "Shamanism" in @lrb.co.uk from master drug historian @mikejay.bsky.social! www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

Why do societies reliably develop strikingly similar traditions like dance songs, hero stories, shamanism & justice institutions? In a new BBS target article, I propose a theory for such "super-attractors" + cultural evolution more broadly. Now open for commentary: www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

BBS just announced a call for commentaries on @manvir.bsky.social's target article, "Subjective selection, super-attractors, and the origins of the cultural manifold" Deadline is Sep 10! www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Super fun having @manvir.bsky.social on the podcast (again)! I strongly recommend his new book—especially if you like your non-fiction laced with personal narrative, quirky characters, & history of ideas.

I really enjoyed Manvir Singh's Shamanism: The Timeless Religion. Addictive listen and great mix of anthropology, history, and religion.

Thank you, @kensycoop.bsky.social, for having me on! We had a great conversation about shamanism—its cognitive foundations, place in Paleolithic societies, role in Abrahamic religions, manifestations in industrialized societies (including hedge wizards), and much more.

I loved this interview about shamanism with @manvir.bsky.social It offers *such* a radically different perspective on why we see shamans all over the world entering altered states of consciousness that one might call "trance" youtu.be/Ijf8cNBgztA @thedissenteryt.bsky.social

Arvio: Shamaanit ja saarnaajat eivät ole kaukana toisistaan

Shamanism is on the rise, both in practice and in popular culture. Manvir Singh has spent years exploring why it is so enduring, what we can learn from it and the surprising forms modern shamans take.

My newest essay is about wearing a turban: what it means to me, what others assume about it, and why the most personally meaningful symbols can also feel the most burdensome. www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...

(23) Shamanism and psychedelics: 5 Questions for Manvir Singh themicrodose.substack.com/p/shamanism-...

According to one study, nearly 80 per cent of Sikh boys with head coverings in the U.S. report being bullied. Manvir Singh writes about why he wears a turban.

I'm speaking about my book, "Shamanism: The Timeless Religion," tomorrow in NYC at the Society for Ethical Culture. Come if you're around! Details and free RSVP here: ethical.nyc/events/books...

An important new book by Sikh author and PhD anthropologist, Manvir Singh. Very interesting how he makes clear that shamanism remains evident in religious practice all over the world. My review here: www.spiritualityandpractice.com/book-reviews...

I also really enjoyed @manvir.bsky.social 's book! If you like it, it helps if you can leave a review (Amazon, Audible, etc.). Here's mine:

Fibished reading Shamanism by @manvir.bsky.social. Stellar book. Reads like an engaging travelogue laced with HRAF and Erowid. Ends with some very relevant discussion around contemporary anthropology's reluctance of dealing with systematic cross-cultural research.

Jesus was a shaman, and so were John the Baptist, Paul, and other early biblical figures. Or were they? Check out www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/730339... 👇 by @manvir.bsky.social #AcademicSky

Also highly recommend Shamanism by @manvir.bsky.social. It's so good I almost missed a train connection yesterday I was so engrossed! www.penguin.co.uk/books/456535...

Honored that SHAMANISM is one of @newyorker.com's Best Books We Read This Week!!

Meet us at the Davis Public Library in Davis on May 29th for IPN Affiliate @manvir.bsky.social's author talk on "Shamanism: The Timeless Religion." Register for the event, hosted by the Avid Reader, using the link below. Where: 315 E. 14th Street, Davis, CA 95616 Time: 6:30PM #shamanism #UCDavisIPN

Had so much fun talking to @flintdibble.bsky.social! Check out the video here:

New episode (1099), my third interview with Dr. Manvir Singh (@manvir.bsky.social‬). We talk about his book, Shamanism: The Timeless Religion. #Anthropology #Science YouTube: youtu.be/oScq4BA856s Podcast: bit.ly/3ZppVpj

Up & @ 'em, Skeeple, and happy book birthday to the excellent @manvir.bsky.social! I'm excited for my (pre-ordered) copy to arrive; if you haven't ordered yours, let this be the reminder you needed! bookshop.org/p/books/sham...

"Shamanism" by @manvir.bsky.social is now out. www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/730339.... It's a deep, original, and fun book—highly recommended. My blurb:

Now available: Shamanism: The Timeless Religion written by IPN Affiliate @manvir.bsky.social. Manvir's work cuts through myths and binaries, exploring the deeper meaning behind our fascination with shamanism and ancient ways of knowing. Order your copy now: #UCDavisIPN #shamanism

Today is publication day for my book, Shamanism: The Timeless Religion. To celebrate, here are some of the most striking clips of shamanic rituals that I came across while working on the book:

Quite a triple-header! Adam Roberts and Richard Bausch are fine writers, but I'll vouch especially for @manvir.bsky.social 's amusing, elegantly written, thought-provoking, and maybe a teeny bit controversial book about shamanism and the origins of all religion, Christianity very much included.

Out today: 🍝 FOOD PERSON by Adam Roberts 🪨 THE FATE OF OTHERS by Richard Bausch 🌕 SHAMANISM by Manvir Singh

Really excited to chat with @flintdibble.bsky.social about my new book, Shamanism: The Timeless Religion, tomorrow! We'll be livestreaming at 9 AM PDT/12 PM EDT/5 PM UK

Tomorrow at 5pm UK/noon EDT, I will be chatting with Dr Manvir Singh @manvir.bsky.social about his new book Shamanism: The Timeless Religion We'll delve into the archaeology and anthropology of this fascinating topic. If you miss it, it'll be recorded! youtube.com/live/CSSuIWc...

Thrilled to see SHAMANISM reviewed in The Atlantic! This might be the best line so far: "A panoramic survey: Singh has done the fieldwork, the legwork, and the drugwork.”

Thanks for having me on, Ricardo! We talked about trance, psychedelics, and the tension between ecstatic religious practice and centralized authority, among many other topics. Check it out!

Your first look at this week's 20% off new release book picks, four fiction, four nonfiction. You don't have to support Jeff Bezos to get discounts on hot new books. Come to us: theliteratelizard.com/front-page-b... Titles/authors in alt-text. Authors and publishers on Bluesky in comments 🧵 #Booksky

Many in the MAGAverse view Donald Trump as a prophet, Manvir Singh writes. But to treat the right’s politico-mystical fervor as a modern malfunction is to miss its deeper logic.

Is Trumpism a glitch of modernity? Far from it. In an essay for @newyorker.com, I argue that its mythic appeal—the divine prophet, a cabal of pedophiles, promises of a restored Golden Age—revive ancient archetypes that thrive during times of crisis & desperation: www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...

IPN Affiliate @manvir.bsky.social's new book "Shamanism: The Timeless Religion" releases May 20th. The book is a provocative journey through history, belief, and the incredible diversity of human spiritual and healing practices.

Supremely stoked to sign my first copy of SHAMANISM—for none other than legendary ethnobotanist Wade Davis!!!

TIME magazine just named SHAMANISM: THE TIMELESS RELIGION one of the best books of the month!! "Blending memoir, investigative journalism, and anthropological fieldwork, Shamanism is a deep dive into a religious tradition that is as mysterious as it is timeless." time.com/7281570/new-...

People often claim psychedelics have been used globally, for millennia, & in rituals of psychological healing. In today's Guardian Long Read, I show what these stories get wrong & why the reality is far more interesting: www.theguardian.com/science/2025... From "Shamanism: The Timeless Religion"

Are dance & infant-directed song human universals? Like many people, I've long thought so. But in a new paper in Current Biology, Kim Hill & I report that the Northern Aché (Paraguay) lacked both behaviors, likely losing them after cultural collapse. Open-access link: www.cell.com/current-biol...

Health systems globally use universal standards to diagnose everything from anemia to malnutrition. But by treating all bodies as identical, these benchmarks hide dysfunction & often worsen outcomes. My newest essay argues for embracing biological diversity: www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...

My baby daughter is happy & apparently developing normally, yet, according to pediatric growth curves, she has been “wasted,” indicating severe malnourishment. In my new @newyorker.com essay, I argue that universal health benchmarks need to better account for biological variation.

We acknowledge the fact that different environments have the power to change us. Yet international organizations continue to operate on the assumption of a universal human physiology—one that corresponds strikingly with a Euro-American model.

For the final project in my "Shamanism & Witchcraft" course this past quarter, I gave students a huge amount of freedom: any medium, any tech (including as much AI as they needed), as long as they explored content from the class. I love what they produced. Here's a selection:

Cumulative culture was long treated as the defining difference between human and non-human culture. In this lovely new article, Eli (also my PhD student) reviews new research suggesting that cultural open-endedness is a better candidate for what makes us special.

SHAMANISM: THE TIMELESS RELIGION got a starred review in Publisher's Weekly!! "Combining meticulous research and an excellent grasp of psychological and sociocultural theories, Singh paints a panoramic portrait of a little-understood subject." www.publishersweekly.com/9780593537541