In this episode of AnthroPuzzled, we sit down with Michael Thomas, Senior VP at Space Doctors, a cultural consulting firm. Michael shares how his background in cognitive anthropology shapes his work, first designing trucks at Ford, then applying ethnographic methods to global branding and consumer insight. His first experience with fieldwork, interviewing truck drivers, revealed just how wrong industry assumptions can be, and ignited his passion for anthropology.

We explore how anthropology helps consultants better understand human behavior, cultural signals, and how products can communicate meaning. Michael explains how culture shapes perception, from what we value to how we make decisions, and how ethnographic research brings those hidden layers to light.

He also critiques the tendency to reduce culture to surface-level traits like fashion or music, arguing for a deeper view that recognizes complexity and difference. Anthropology, he says, is essential to challenging stereotypes and understanding people beyond broad categories.

Tune in to hear how anthropology expands what’s possible in the world of consulting, and how it offers powerful tools for seeing people, culture, and communication in a whole new way.

On this episode of AnthroPuzzled, we sit down with Shane Townsend, a storyteller, diplomat, and lifelong public servant whose career has been guided by a deep commitment to helping others. His advice? Write down what you truly want, not what others expect of you. Then go after it with intention.

Shane says he feels most alive when he's listening to or sharing stories—and he's built a career doing exactly that. Growing up in a close-knit community that valued storytelling and mutual support, Shane developed strong values that carried him into college, where studying anthropology gave him a powerful lens for understanding how culture shapes everything we do. More importantly, it connected him with a mentor who helped him turn those values into action.

Shane has held a wide range of roles—from Peace Corps volunteer to Foreign Agricultural Service Officer. In the Peace Corps, he received intensive language and cultural training that prepared him to live and work in communities around the world, building lifelong friendships and learning to adapt with care. As a Foreign Service Officer with the USDA, Shane listens to the needs of communities abroad and works to match local challenges with U.S. policy solutions—guided always by the stories people share.

Tune in to hear how anthropology, storytelling, and a heart for service shaped Shane’s global journey.

In this episode of AnthroPuzzled, we’re joined by Andrea DiGiorgio, a lecturer in both the Writing and Anthropology departments at Princeton University, a postdoctoral researcher at Rutgers University, and a conservation marketer. Andrea brings a unique blend of academic insight and real-world advocacy to our discussion, which focuses on the ethics of wildlife imagery and the diverse roles within academia.

Andrea teaches courses that bridge writing, anthropology, sustainability, and conservation. She is passionate about educating and learning from the next generation of scholars while continuing her own research and writing. Her academic work explores the intersections of communication, ethics, and environmental responsibility.

Outside the classroom, Andrea serves as a conservation marketer and secretary for a research group under the Society for Conservation Biology. Her work focuses on how wildlife is portrayed in media — particularly the problematic trend of sharing photos taken dangerously close to animals. These images, while often well-intentioned, can encourage unsafe behavior that endangers both people and animals.

Andrea is actively involved in outreach efforts, contacting individuals and organizations to raise awareness about the risks of close wildlife encounters. Her work highlights the importance of respecting animals' space — for their safety, our own, and the health of ecosystems. She has a special focus on primates, a connection rooted in her early experiences working in zoos.

Tune in to hear how Andrea blends academic research, conservation, and media literacy to advocate for responsible wildlife representation online.