Dr. Adam Gamwell is a Design Anthropologist, or what he likes to call a Design-Centered Human, with international experience in ethnographic research, media production, cultural analysis, social strategy, and education. His practice mixes holistic, systems-level perspectives, participatory design, and grounded ethnography to collaboratively diagnose problems and craft solutions across culture, behavior, and environment. His PhD research centered on re-designing conservation services for quinoa and crop agrobiodiversity in southern Peru.

He is Host, Creative Lead and Executive Producer of the This Anthro Life Podcast, based in Boston, MA, and has over 15 years of audio production and sound engineering experience. Adam is also playing with the idea of being a Research Artist, a practitioner who infuses and transforms our experiences of academically-grounded, deep research with delight, spectacle, and provocation. His narrative media work blends science communication, public education, curiosity and wonder with rigorous research to help expand public consciousness, empathy and collective problem solving. He believes deeply that education is a fundamental human right, and that it should be enjoyable and engaging.

Selected Publications and Public Talks

“Consulting Podcasters: Prototyping a Democratic Tool for Multiple Voices, Storytelling and Solution Finding,” co-authored with Matt Artz. Presented at the Society for Applied Anthropology Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, PA, April 2018

“Crowdsourcing the Conversation: On the Future of Podcasting, Public Engagement, and Exercising the Anthropological Tool Kit”, co-authored with Ryan Collins, part of the invited panel Podcasts and Anthropology: Exploring Approaches to Multimodal Research and Communication. American Anthropological Association Annual Meeting, Washington, DC, November 2017

“The Superfood Revolution will be Televised,” co-authored with Corinna Howland. American Anthropological Association Annual Meeting, Washington, DC, November 2017

“Cooking Up an International Market for Quinoa” SAPIENS 16 Aug 2017

Conversations as Social Technology, This Anthro Life Podcast July 2017, Researched, Written, Hosted and Produced by Adam Gamwell, adapted from a Tech Talk at Pivotal Labs, Cambridge, MA

“Culinary Catalysts and Scientific Shifts: Peruvian Quinoa in the Age of Genetics and Gastronomy,” Society for Applied Anthropology Annual Meeting, Santa Fe, NM, March 2017

"Talking Anthropology: Podcasting for the Public" June 2016, University of Toronto Press Teaching Culture Blog.