Smithsonian Magazine
Roads Scholars
- Title
- Roads Scholars
- Date posted
- 10 days ago
- Description
- As highways encroach ever further into animal habitats, drivers and wildlife are in greater danger than ever. And off the beaten path, decaying old forest roads are inflicting damage as well. “Roads are this incredibly disruptive force all over the planet that are truly changing wild animals’ lives and our own lives in almost unfathomable, unaccountable ways,” says science journalist Ben Goldfarb, author of the 2023 book Crossings: How Road Ecology Is Shaping the Future of Our Planet.
Ben wrote about this problem (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/case-destroying-old-forest-roads-180983693/) for the March 2024 issue of Smithsonian. For Earth Day, we’ll talk to Ben about what’s being done to make the relationship between roads and lands more harmonious, and we’ll meet Fraser Shilling — a scientist at UC Davis who’ll tell us what he’s learned from his rigorous scholarly examination of… roadkill. Meep meep!
- Title
- The Rise and Fall of the Aztec Civilization
- Date posted
- 11 days ago
- Description
- Explore the history of the Aztecs, their incredible achievements in art, architecture, and warfare, as well as the factors that led to their decline.
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For more videos from Smithsonian Magazine:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/
Digital Editorial Director: Brian Wolly
Supervising Producer & Scriptwriter: Michelle Mehrtens
Producer: Nicki Marko
Video Editor: Sierra Theobald
- Title
- The Best Small Towns to Celebrate Spring
- Date posted
- 18 days ago
- Description
- This spring, take a break and smell the flowers in New Mexico, Kansas, California and New Jersey.
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For more videos from Smithsonian Magazine:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/
Digital Editorial Director: Brian Wolly
Supervising Producer & Scriptwriter: Michelle Mehrtens
Video Editor: Sierra Theobald
- Title
- What Is a Solar Eclipse?
- Date posted
- 23 days ago
- Description
- Have you ever wondered what a solar eclipse is? Join us as we explore the science behind this awe-inspiring celestial event.
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For more videos from Smithsonian Magazine:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/
Digital Editorial Director: Brian Wolly
Supervising Producer & Scriptwriter: Michelle Mehrtens
Producer: Nicki Marko
Video Editor: Sierra Theobald
- Title
- Why We Love Eclipses
- Date posted
- 26 days ago
- Description
- Eclipses have been a subject of fascination throughout human history, and the fact that we now have a clearer understanding of what they actually are—at least in the celestial mechanics sense—than we did in centuries past has not made them any less exciting. With the North American total solar eclipse (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/prepare-for-2024s-solar-eclipse-now-with-these-four-key-steps-180981933/) just days away as we’re releasing this episode, and the next one visible from the contiguous United States not due until 2044, we’ll learn about the eclipses from astronomy obsessive (and Smithsonian science correspondent) Dan Falk and hear from Indigenous astronomer Samantha Doxtator about how the Haudenosaunee people have observed and interpreted these mysterious daylight darkenings of the skies over many centuries.
You can read Dan’s Smithsonian story about how ancient civilizations responded to eclipses here (https://www...
- Title
- Meet the Grand Prize Winner of the 21st Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest
- Date posted
- 30 days ago
- Description
- After reviewing more than 30,000 photos, the editors of Smithsonian Magazine are proud to announce the Grand Prize Winner.
#shorts
- Title
- Announcing the Winners of the 21st Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest
- Date posted
- 1 month ago
- Description
- After reviewing more than 30,000 photos, the editors of Smithsonian magazine are proud to announce the winning submissions. Learn more about the finalists and winners of 2024 here: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/see-winners-21st-annual-smithsonian-magazine-photo-contest-180984001/.
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For more videos from Smithsonian Magazine:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/
Digital Editorial Director: Brian Wolly
Supervising Producer & Scriptwriter: Michelle Mehrtens
Video Editor: Sierra Theobald
- Title
- The Man Behind "Manhunt"
- Date posted
- 1 month ago
- Description
- Before it was even published in 2006, historian James Swanson’s book Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln’s Killer attracted the notice of Hollywood. After several prior attempts to adapt the nonfiction thriller for the screen, the first two episodes of the seven-part Apple TV+ miniseries Manhunt finally premiered on March 15, with the subsequent five arriving weekly. Meet Swanson — a self-described Lincoln obsessive — and hear about what moved him to write the book, what his role in its long-gestating adaptation was, and how he came to be so obsessed with our most-admired president in the first place.
Smithsonian magazine related articles:
The real history behind the events dramatized in “Manhunt,” (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-real-history-behind-apple-tvs-manhunt-and-the-search-for-abraham-lincolns-killer-180983943/)
James Swanson’s favorite Lincoln...
- Title
- The Shocking History and Legacy of the Salem Witch Trials
- Date posted
- 1 month ago
- Description
- What fueled the frenzy that sent so many to their deaths in colonial America? And how did Americans reckon with the aftermath of the panic?
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For more videos from Smithsonian Magazine:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/
Digital Editorial Director: Brian Wolly
Supervising Producer & Scriptwriter: Michelle Mehrtens
Video Editor: Sierra Theobald
- Title
- Ask Smithsonian: What’s the Oldest Animal?
- Date posted
- 1 month ago
- Description
- Take a guess - the answer might surprise you
- Title
- Inside the Epic Artemis Moon Missions
- Date posted
- 2 months ago
- Description
- The Artemis program represents the pinnacle of NASA's mind-boggling technological capabilities. Learn about the groundbreaking achievements and breathtaking lunar landscapes that await us in this new era of space exploration.
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For more videos from Smithsonian Magazine:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/
Digital Editorial Director: Brian Wolly
Supervising Producer & Scriptwriter: Michelle Mehrtens
Video Editor: Sierra Theobald
- Title
- Before Beyoncé and Taylor Swift Ran the World, There Was Joan Baez
- Date posted
- 2 months ago
- Description
- Taylor Swift and Beyoncé have achieved a degree of power in the music industry that singer/songwriters of earlier eras like Joan Baez—as the folk icon tells us—never even contemplated. Six decades ago, Baez was part of a folk revival that regarded music not merely as entertainment but as a vessel for political engagement and social change. In the documentary Joan Baez: I Am a Noise, the now-83-year-old musician and activist reflects on her career and legacy.
Smithsonian senior editor Jennie Rothenberg Gritz interviewed Baez about the film and about the shifting intersection of art and activism. We present excerpts from that conversation in this episode. Then, veteran music critic Evelyn McDonnell discusses how the political dimensions of pop music have changed since Baez’s era, and what it means that many fans now look Beyoncé and Taylor Swift not just for great music, but for comment on the state of the world.
Clips from Joan Baez: I Am a Noise in th...
- Title
- What Really Happened With the Political Mayhem of the Election of 1800?
- Date posted
- 2 months ago
- Description
- Two titans of the era went head-to-head in a heated race for the presidency. The stakes were high. The very future of a young nation hung in the balance. Join us as we explore the revolutionary ideas that shaped this critical moment in American democracy.
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For more videos from Smithsonian Magazine:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/
Digital Editorial Director: Brian Wolly
Supervising Producer & Scriptwriter: Michelle Mehrtens
Video Editor: Sierra Theobald
- Title
- 10 Fun Facts About Jellyfish
- Date posted
- 2 months ago
- Description
- Jellyfish, the wobbly wonders of the ocean, often astound with their unique shapes, sizes, and stings. Learn more about these marine marvels as we dive deeper into the underwater world.
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For more videos from Smithsonian Magazine:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/
Digital Editorial Director: Brian Wolly
Supervising Producer & Scriptwriter: Michelle Mehrtens
Video Editor: Sierra Theobald
Footage provided by Storyblocks and Shutterstock
- Title
- How to Separate Fact From Myth in the Extraordinary Story of Sojourner Truth
- Date posted
- 2 months ago
- Description
- The facts of Sojourner Truth’s life are inspiring: Born into slavery in the late 1790s, she became an influential abolitionist and Pentecostal preacher, transfixing audiences from the mid 1840s through the late 1870s with her candid and powerful voice, not to mention her singing. Tall and strong, Truth was physically formidable, too. No one was using the term “intersectionality” in the 19th century, but Truth embodied this idea, declaring that her Blackness and her womanhood were equally essential facets of her identity.
But many people, both in Truth’s lifetime and in the approximately 140 years since her death, have found it useful to recast Truth as they wish to remember her instead of as she was. There’s no better example of this than “Ain’t I a woman?,” the hypothetical that Truth supposedly put to the audience when she addressed a women’s rights convention in 1851 in Akron, Ohio—the city where a public plaza will be dedicated in her honor this spr...
- Title
- 5 Unexpected Facts About George Washington
- Date posted
- 2 months ago
- Description
- Explore the lesser-known details of the founder’s childhood, home life and career and gain a deeper understanding of his contributions to the United States.
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For more videos from Smithsonian Magazine:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/
Digital Editorial Director: Brian Wolly
Supervising Producer & Scriptwriter: Michelle Mehrtens
Video Editor: Sierra Theobald
- Title
- 5 Surprising Facts About Lincoln
- Date posted
- 2 months ago
- Description
- The 16th president is widely celebrated for his role in helping to abolish slavery and preserving the Union during the Civil War. But did you know these facts about this iconic figure in American History?
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For more videos from Smithsonian Magazine:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/
Digital Editorial Director: Brian Wolly
Supervising Producer & Scriptwriter: Michelle Mehrtens
Video Editor: Sierra Theobald
- Title
- The Descendants: Kwesi Bowman as Andrew Jackson Smith
- Date posted
- 3 months ago
- Description
- Smithsonian magazine commissioned Drew Gardner for a project that connects Black Americans today to their lost ancestry.
Read about Gardner’s project and process, as well as more details about the subjects of this incredible series here: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/descendants-black-civil-war-heroes-wear-heritage-pride-180983397/
Video produced by Sierra Theobald.
Special thanks to Drew Gardner
Additional credits: Emma MacBeath, WikiTree US Black Heritage project; Ottawa Goodman, research and coordinator; Sam Dole, Penumbra Foundation; Elizabeth Zuck, set design; Calvin Osbourne, props and costume; Angela Huff, hair and make up; Diego Huerta, Lexia Krebs, behind-the-scenes filming; background prints by Fujifilm USA
- Title
- The Descendants: Neikoye Flowers as David Miles Moore Jr
- Date posted
- 3 months ago
- Description
- Smithsonian magazine commissioned Drew Gardner for a project that connects Black Americans today to their lost ancestry.
Read about Gardner’s project and process, as well as more details about the subjects of this incredible series here: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/descendants-black-civil-war-heroes-wear-heritage-pride-180983397/
Video produced by Sierra Theobald.
Special thanks to Drew Gardner
Additional credits: Emma MacBeath, WikiTree US Black Heritage project; Ottawa Goodman, research and coordinator; Sam Dole, Penumbra Foundation; Elizabeth Zuck, set design; Calvin Osbourne, props and costume; Angela Huff, hair and make up; Diego Huerta, Lexia Krebs, behind-the-scenes filming; background prints by Fujifilm USA
- Title
- The Descendants: Deanna Stanford Walz as Harriet Tubman
- Date posted
- 3 months ago
- Description
- Smithsonian magazine commissioned Drew Gardner for a project that connects Black Americans today to their lost ancestry.
Read about Gardner’s project and process, as well as more details about the subjects of this incredible series here: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/descendants-black-civil-war-heroes-wear-heritage-pride-180983397/
Video produced by Sierra Theobald.
Special thanks to Drew Gardner
Additional credits: Emma MacBeath, WikiTree US Black Heritage project; Ottawa Goodman, research and coordinator; Sam Dole, Penumbra Foundation; Elizabeth Zuck, set design; Calvin Osbourne, props and costume; Angela Huff, hair and make up; Diego Huerta, Lexia Krebs, behind-the-scenes filming; background prints by Fujifilm USA
- Title
- The Descendants: Austin Morris as Lewis Douglass
- Date posted
- 3 months ago
- Description
- Smithsonian magazine commissioned Drew Gardner for a project that connects Black Americans today to their lost ancestry.
Read about Gardner’s project and process, as well as more details about the subjects of this incredible series here: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/descendants-black-civil-war-heroes-wear-heritage-pride-180983397/
Video produced by Sierra Theobald.
Special thanks to Drew Gardner
Additional credits: Emma MacBeath, WikiTree US Black Heritage project; Ottawa Goodman, research and coordinator; Sam Dole, Penumbra Foundation; Elizabeth Zuck, set design; Calvin Osbourne, props and costume; Angela Huff, hair and make up; Diego Huerta, Lexia Krebs, behind-the-scenes filming; background prints by Fujifilm USA
- Title
- The Descendants: Christopher Wilson as Louis Troutman
- Date posted
- 3 months ago
- Description
- Smithsonian magazine commissioned Drew Gardner for a project that connects Black Americans today to their lost ancestry.
Read about Gardner’s project and process, as well as more details about the subjects of this incredible series here: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/descendants-black-civil-war-heroes-wear-heritage-pride-180983397/
Video produced by Sierra Theobald.
Special thanks to Drew Gardner
Additional credits: Emma MacBeath, WikiTree US Black Heritage project; Ottawa Goodman, research and coordinator; Sam Dole, Penumbra Foundation; Elizabeth Zuck, set design; Calvin Osbourne, props and costume; Angela Huff, hair and make up; Diego Huerta, Lexia Krebs, behind-the-scenes filming; background prints by Fujifilm USA
- Title
- The Descendants: Jared Miller as Richard Oliver
- Date posted
- 3 months ago
- Description
- Smithsonian magazine commissioned Drew Gardner for a project that connects Black Americans today to their lost ancestry.
Read about Gardner’s project and process, as well as more details about the subjects of this incredible series here: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/descendants-black-civil-war-heroes-wear-heritage-pride-180983397/
Video produced by Sierra Theobald.
Special thanks to Drew Gardner
Additional credits: Emma MacBeath, WikiTree US Black Heritage project; Ottawa Goodman, research and coordinator; Sam Dole, Penumbra Foundation; Elizabeth Zuck, set design; Calvin Osbourne, props and costume; Angela Huff, hair and make up; Diego Huerta, Lexia Krebs, behind-the-scenes filming; background prints by Fujifilm USA
- Title
- 5 Surprising Facts About Rosa Parks
- Date posted
- 3 months ago
- Description
- Largely recognized for her leading role in the bus boycott of 1955, Rosa Parks was an enduring activist for the Civil Rights Movement. Throughout her numerous decades of service, Parks left behind a legacy of hope, inspiration, and leadership for millions around the world.
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For more videos from Smithsonian Magazine:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/
Digital Editorial Director: Brian Wolly
Supervising Producer & Scriptwriter: Michelle Mehrtens
Video Editor: Sierra Theobald
- Title
- How One Photographer Recreated 19th Century Portraits With the Descendants of Civil War Heroes
- Date posted
- 3 months ago
- Description
- Smithsonian magazine commissioned Drew Gardner for a project that connects Black Americans today to their lost ancestry.
Read about Gardner’s project and process, as well as more details about the subjects of this incredible series here: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/descendants-black-civil-war-heroes-wear-heritage-pride-180983397/
Video produced by Sierra Theobald.
Special thanks to Drew Gardner
Additional credits: Emma MacBeath, WikiTree US Black Heritage project; Ottawa Goodman, research and coordinator; Sam Dole, Penumbra Foundation; Elizabeth Zuck, set design; Calvin Osbourne, props and costume; Angela Huff, hair and make up; Diego Huerta, Lexia Krebs, behind-the-scenes filming; background prints by Fujifilm USA
- Title
- The Mass Extinction That Wiped Out the Dinosaurs
- Date posted
- 3 months ago
- Description
- Almost 66 million years ago, an asteroid hit Earth – and changed our planet forever. From tsunamis to shockwaves, join us on a journey through time as we explore the science behind this cataclysmic event.
READ MORE about the last day of a dinosaur here: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/the-last-day-in-the-life-of-an-edmontosaurus-180979932/
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For more videos from Smithsonian Magazine:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/
Digital Editorial Director: Brian Wolly
Supervising Producer & Scriptwriter: Michelle Mehrtens
Video Editor: Sierra Theobald
- Title
- How We See Oppenheimer (redux)
- Date posted
- 3 months ago
- Description
- Christopher Nolan's epic new film "Oppenheimer" is no mere biopic… nor is it the first attempt to capture the father of the atomic bomb in fiction. We look at prior dramatizations of this very complicated man—including one wherein J. Robert Oppenheimer played himself!—and examine why they worked or didn't.
In this episode:
Physicist-turned-photographer Minesh Bacrania shares his experience photographing inside the top-secret labs at Los Alamos National Laboratory, where J. Robert Oppenheimer and other scientists created the first nuclear weapon. Next, with Christopher Nolan’s film Oppenheimer exceeding commercial expectations, Smithsonian magazine writer Andy Kifer discusses the complexities of Oppenheimer's genius and how prior attempts to depict him in film and television and on stage have fared.
Read Andy Kifer’s “The Real Story Behind Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer...
- Title
- What Happened to Henry VIII's Six Wives?
- Date posted
- 3 months ago
- Description
- From tumultuous love affairs to violent betrayals, the six wives of Henry VIII all left marks on the Tudor dynasty – and shaped the course of history.
READ MORE about these women here: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-true-history-behind-six-the-musical-about-henry-viiis-wives-180978781/
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For more videos from Smithsonian Magazine:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/
Digital Editorial Director: Brian Wolly
Supervising Producer & Scriptwriter: Michelle Mehrtens
Video Editor: Sierra Theobald
- Title
- The Ultimate Skywatching Guide for Every Season
- Date posted
- 4 months ago
- Description
- Whether you're a passionate astronomer or a beginner eager to explore the cosmos, join us as we deep-dive into seasonal skywatching. Gain valuable insights into identifying meteors, stars, and fascinating deep-sky objects that grace the night sky.
Interested in learning more? Check out this piece from Smithsonian Magazine on the celestial events to watch in 2024: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/nine-dazzling-celestial-events-to-watch-in-2024-180983505/
And don't forget to subscribe to our channel for more exciting videos exploring the wonders of the natural world.
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Digital Editorial Director: Brian Wolly
Supervising Producer & Scriptwriter: Michelle Mehrtens
Video Editor: Sierra Theobald
- Title
- 10 Enchanting Butterfly Facts Revealed!
- Date posted
- 4 months ago
- Description
- Discover astonishing butterfly facts and delight in learning about the superlatives of butterflies, from the largest to the smallest to the fastest. Whether you're a nature enthusiast, an avid butterfly lover, or simply someone looking to expand their knowledge, this video is sure to leave you spellbound.
Subscribe to our channel for more exciting videos exploring the wonders of the natural world. Don't miss out on future uploads where we uncover the secrets and hidden beauty of various flora and fauna, aiming to instill a deeper appreciation for the enchanting world we live in.
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Digital Editorial Director: Brian Wolly
Supervising Producer & Scriptwriter: Michelle Mehrtens
Video Editor: Sierra Theobald
- Title
- The Best Small Towns to Celebrate Winter
- Date posted
- 4 months ago
- Description
- Looking for a winter getaway? From sunny isles to snowy forests, explore the wonders of Ely, Minnesota; Portsmouth, New Hampshire; Sedona, Arizona; and Islamorada, Florida.
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For more videos from Smithsonian Magazine:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/
Digital Editorial Director: Brian Wolly
Supervising Producer & Scriptwriter: Michelle Mehrtens
Video Editor: Sierra Theobald
- Title
- The Books We Loved
- Date posted
- 4 months ago
- Description
- You can describe what a journalist does in any number of ways. One definition that’s as accurate as any is that a journalist is someone who liked having homework back when they were in school so much that they decided to keep doing homework for a career.
That certainly describes the team here at Smithsonian magazine. We’re all big readers. So we thought that before our brief winter hiatus—a time when many of us are trying to think of gift ideas to please the empathetic, curious people in our lives—we’d poll the staff of Smithsonian on their favorite books they read this year. Because we’re primarily a history and science magazine, we tried to steer them toward nonfiction published in 2023, but as you’ll hear, we weren’t sticklers for either criterion. We thought it better to let you hear from our staff about the books they were most genuinely excited to share. You’ll recognize some of these voices if you’re an avid listener, but thi...
- Title
- Meet the WWII Battalion of Black Women That Inspired an Army Base’s New Name
- Date posted
- 4 months ago
- Description
- The 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion was the only unit comprised entirely of Black women to have been deployed overseas during World War II, and it had served a critical function: clearing the backlog of mail that marked the only line of communication between American soldiers in Europe and their loved ones back home.
In this episode, we speak with retired Army Colonel Edna Cummings, who made it her business to get the 6888 their belated recognition, and with Smithsonian magazine senior writer Jennie Rothenberg Gritz, who wrote about Col. Cummings' quest (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-all-black-female-WWII-unit-saved-morale-battlefield-180981540/) for the March 2023 issue of Smithsonian.
NOTE: In the interval since we recorded our interview with Col. Cummings, another veteran from the 6888 has died. With the passing of Crescencia J. Garcia last month at the age of 103, there are now five women who served in the 6888 during World War II...
- Title
- Beyond the Titanic: The Real Science of Deep Sea Exploration
- Date posted
- 4 months ago
- Description
- After five people perished on a controversial submersible dive to the wreckage of the Titanic in June, we got to thinking about what genuine undersea exploration looks like. In this episode, we speak with Tony Perrottet, who profiled the late OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush for Smithsonian magazine in 2019, about our ancient fascination with exploring hostile environments. Then we’re joined by Susan Casey, who has written four best-selling books about the ocean and its creatures, the newest of which is The Underworld: Journeys to the Depths of the Ocean. Susan tells us why understanding the ocean is key to humanity’s survival, and how, while serious research and shipwreck tourism may have some overlap, they remain two very different things.
Read Tony Perrottet’s June 2019 (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/worlds-first-deep-diving-submarine-plans-tourists-see-titanic-180972179/) Smithsonian (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/worlds-first-deep-diving-subm...
- Title
- What Happens When the Colorado River Dries Up?
- Date posted
- 4 months ago
- Description
- What happens when one of the nation's largest rivers dries up? Photojournalist Pete McBride tells us about the consequences of a prolonged drought in the Colorado River, which provides drinking water and electricity to millions of Americans, and shares his experience walking the river from end to end. What can we learn from the landscape revealed by the historically low water levels, and will they become the new normal?
Read “The Breathtaking Glen Canyon Reveals Its Secrets (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/glen-canyon-reveals-its-secrets-180980754/) ,” photographs & text by Pete McBride, Smithsonian, October 2022. Learn more about Pete and his work at his site (https://petemcbride.com/) .
There’s More to That is a production of Smithsonian magazine and PRX Productions.
From the magazine, our team is Chris Klimek, Debra Rosenberg and Brian Wolly.
From PRX, our team is Jessica Miller, Adriana Rosas Rivera, Genevieve ...
- Title
- How We See Oppenheimer. Plus: Smithsonian’s Inside Look at the Top-Secret Los Alamos Site
- Date posted
- 4 months ago
- Description
- Christopher Nolan's epic new film "Oppenheimer" is no mere biopic… nor is it the first attempt to capture the father of the atomic bomb in fiction. We look at prior dramatizations of this very complicated man—including one wherein J. Robert Oppenheimer played himself!—and examine why they worked or didn't.
In the episode:
Physicist-turned-photographer Minesh Bacrania shares his experience photographing inside the top-secret labs at Los Alamos National Laboratory, where J. Robert Oppenheimer and other scientists created the first nuclear weapon. Next, with Christopher Nolan’s film Oppenheimer exceeding commercial expectations, Smithsonian magazine writer Andy Kifer discusses the complexities of Oppenheimer's genius and how prior attempts to depict him in film and television and on stage have fared.
Read Andy Kifer’s “The Real Story Behind Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer” here (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-real-history-...
- Title
- He's (Not) Just Ken: The True History of Barbie’s Beau
- Date posted
- 4 months ago
- Description
- He is (K)enough… or is he? With filmmaker Greta Gerwig's Barbie breaking box-office records—and devoting much of its story to Ken's existential crisis—we wondered if there's any more to Barbie's perennial plus-one. Journalist and lifelong Barbie fan Emily Tamkin talks us through Ken’s development, or lack thereof, over the decades.
Read Emily’s “A Cultural History of Barbie,” and Chris’s brief Ken history “Not Your Average Beau,” here (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/cultural-history-barbie-180982115/) or in the June 2023 issue of Smithsonian. Emily is the author of The Influence of Soros: Politics, Power, and the Struggle for an Open Society and Bad Jews: A History of American Jewish Politics and Identities. Learn more about Emily and her work here (https://www.emilytamkin.com/) , or subscribe to her Substack newsletter (https://emilyctamkin.substack.com/) .
There’s More to That is a production of Smithsonian magazine and PR...
- Title
- Coming July 27: There's More to That from Smithsonian magazine and PRX
- Date posted
- 4 months ago
- Description
- Smithsonian magazine covers history, science and culture in the way only it can — through a lens on the world that is insightful and grounded in richly reported stories. On There's More to That, meet the magazine's journalists and hear how they discover the forces behind the biggest issues of our time.
- Title
- Those Orcas Aren't Doing What You Think
- Date posted
- 4 months ago
- Description
- It’s not the most urgent news story that’s gripped the world since 2020, but it might be the weirdest: The last three years have seen more 400 “encounters”— many reports have used the word “attacks”—between orca whales and boats in the Strait of Gibraltar. Because the orcas are particularly fond of tearing the propellers off of yachts, the temptation to characterize these six-ton, pack-hunting, demonstrably intelligent mammals as class warriors fighting back against the 1 percent is strong, and the memes have been fun (https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/events/orca-wars-killer-whales-attacking-boats) . But trying to understand animal behavior in human terms is a mistake.
In this episode, we speak with Carlyn Kranking (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/author/carlyn-kranking/) , Smithsonian’s assistant digital science editor, about why stories about animal behavior are so popular with our readers, and how she decides which ones deserve more scrutiny. Then, I spea...
- Title
- A Brief History of Book Banning in America
- Date posted
- 4 months ago
- Description
- Book-banning might seem like a relic of less enlightened times, but the practice is back in a big way. The American Library Association reports (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/american-library-association-names-2022s-most-banned-books-180982048/) that 2022 saw more attempts to have books removed from public libraries than in any prior year this century — indeed, it documented more than twice as many attempted bans in 2022 than in 2021. In schools, attempts to keep certain books out of the hands of students have been even more aggressive and draconian. What’s new about these efforts is the subject that binds the most-challenged titles: Most of them address themes of LGBT+ identity or gender expression.
In this episode, we talk with journalist Colleen Connolly about Thomas Morton’s New English Canaan, the first book ever to be suppressed in North America. What did the Puritans find so threatening about it, and how has this book echoed through subsequent cen...
- Title
- How the Osage Changed Martin Scorsese’s Mind About "Killers of the Flower Moon"
- Date posted
- 4 months ago
- Description
- A true-life saga involving organized crime, racial prejudice, and evolving American identity, David Grann’s 2017 nonfiction book Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the F.B.I. seemed at first glance like a perfect fit for Martin Scorsese, the beloved filmmaker whose dozens of critically adored movies include Taxi Driver, GoodFellas, and The Departed.
But when Jim Gray, a former chief of the Osage Nation, and other Osage leaders invited the filmmaker to Oklahoma to hear their concerns about his new project, Scorsese came. Scorsese listened. And then he rewrote and reconfigured Killers of the Flower Moon from soup to nuts, with a result that has earned a rapturous response from Native viewers like Gray and journalist Sandra Hale Schulman, and from the broader critical community, too. The movie opens in theatres tomorrow and will appear on the Apple+ streaming service before the end of the year.
In this episode, Schulman walks me thro...
- Title
- Healing the Wounds of the Vietnam War
- Date posted
- 4 months ago
- Description
- Every Veterans Day, Jeremy Redmon thinks about his father, Donald Lee Redmon — an Air Force veteran who survived more than 300 combat missions over Southeast Asia, but who took his own life when Jeremy was 14. This year, Redmon traveled back to Hanoi with a group of former prisoners of war, many of whom had flown the same missions as his dad. Jeremy asked these veterans questions he was never able to ask his own father, about how they’d healed from the war and lived rewarding lives thereafter.
In this episode, guest host Jennie Rothenberg Gritz speaks with Redmon about the complexities of the Vietnam War, as well as his own experiences as a reporter in Iraq. Then, Vietnamese American author Mai Elliott discusses her family’s experiences in North and South Vietnam, and how her feelings about the conflict changed throughout the 1960s.
Read Jeremy Redmon’s Smithsonian story “Fifty Years After Their Release, Former Vietnam POWs Journey Back to Hanoi” h...
- Title
- How NASA Captured Asteroid Dust to Find the Origins of Life
- Date posted
- 4 months ago
- Description
- Capturing a piece of an asteroid and bringing it to Earth is even more difficult than it is time-consuming. After four years in space, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx craft made a brief landing on the asteroid Bennu to collect samples of the ancient rock. Six months later, part of the spacecraft began its journey home to Earth, and earlier this fall, that sample collection canister landed, via parachute, in Utah. Scientists will be studying those samples of Bennu for decades in the hope of unlocking the mystery of how life on Earth began — but they’ve already learned enough to get them excited.
In this episode, we speak with Linda Shiner, the former editor of Air & Space / Smithsonian magazine, about the challenges and triumphs of the OSIRIS-REx mission, and what scientists hope it will teach us about how life on Earth began.
Find prior episodes of our show here (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/podcast/) .
There’s More to That is a production of Smithson...
- Title
- Why Wildfires Are Burning Hotter and Longer
- Date posted
- 4 months ago
- Description
- The 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP28, begins this week in Dubai. A new topic on the agenda this year is how wildfires are emerging as a serious health risk not just to those in their immediate vicinity, but even to people thousands of miles away. Last summer, smoke from Canadian wildfires drifted not only as far south as the mid-Atlantic region of the United States, but even across the Atlantic Ocean.
We speak with John Vaillant, whose book Fire Weather: A True Story from a Hotter World recounts a 2016 wildfire in Fort McMurray, Canada that dislocated tens of thousands of people and caused billions of dollars in damage. That natural disaster seemed like a terrifying outlier when Vaillant began his reporting, but 2023’s unprecedented fire activity suggest that Fort McMurray was merely the shape of things to come. John explains how climate change is making wildfires hotter and harder to contain. Next, we’re joined by photojournalist Andria Hautamak...
- Title
- When Your Great-Great-Great-Grandfather Is a Civil War Hero
- Date posted
- 4 months ago
- Description
- Photographer Drew Gardner has a passion for history. His long-term project, “The Descendants,” (https://www.drewgardner.com/descendants) wherein he recreates famous portraits of historical figures featuring their direct offspring, is his most visible expression of this interest. But like a lot of people who study history, Gardner has in recent years begun to contemplate more deeply the question of whose stories have been judged worthy of preservation, and whose have been allowed to fade into obscurity. That was how he decided to shift his specific focus to locating and photographing Black American descendants of Civil War veterans.
You can take a look at Gardner’s photographs and read magazine editor Jennie Rothenberg Gritz’s exploration of their meaning here (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/descendants-black-civil-war-heroes-wear-heritage-pride-180983397/) .
On the latest episode of the Smithsonian podcast “There’s More to That,” (...
- Title
- Dogs Can Sniff Out Malaria
- Date posted
- 6 years ago
- Description
- Sally, a Labrador retriever, sniffs sock samples and then pauses on the sample worn by a child with malaria. (Durham University/Medical Detection Dogs/London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine)
- Title
- Discovery of the Lake Serpent in Lake Erie
- Date posted
- 6 years ago
- Description
- Video by David VanZandt
- Title
- 3D Preview of Petra by Virtual Wonders
- Date posted
- 6 years ago
- Description
- Title
- Why Young Grassland Songbirds Sleep In
- Date posted
- 6 years ago
- Description
- Title
- Smithsonian Second Opinion: Forging the Future
- Date posted
- 6 years ago
- Description
- Smithsonian Institution Secretary Dr. David Skorton joins some of the world’s leading thinkers in a spirited discussion about our ever changing planet