From alchemy to internet witchcraft — the thousand-year history of magic

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Photo illustration by Mark Riechers. Original image from "More Wonders of the Invisible World." (CC0)

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What if, instead of dismissing it as make-believe, we treated magic as a legitimate way of knowing and relating to the world? Archeologist Chris Gosden has just written a global history of magic, from the Ice Age to the internet. He told Steve Paulson he’s come to believe our own culture would be healthier and happier if we took magic more seriously.