Ted Scheinman

 

Ted Scheinman is a senior editor for Smithsonian magazine. He is the author of Camp Austen: My Life as an Accidental Jane Austen Superfan.

To recreate the face of a pregnant Egyptian woman, Hew Morrison first digitally mapped her skull, then added muscles and soft tissues—and, finally, the most subjective element: the eyes.

How One Forensic Artist Brings the Dead to Life

Using DNA analysis and historic records, his work allows us to look ancient humans in the eye

None

How Graffiti Left a Mark on the Art Scene

Hip-hop’s street artists created a splashy new genre that burst into galleries and museums

Big Boi in between verses at Lakewood Amphitheater in Atlanta on September 10, 2016.

A Rap Legend Looks Back on 50 Years of Hip-Hop

Outkast’s Big Boi traces the genre’s indelible impact on global music and culture

The sale is by far the largest, and certainly most significant, auction of Hawthorne papers in history.

You Could Own Nathaniel Hawthorne's Handwritten Notes on 'The Scarlet Letter'

Enjoy an exclusive preview of an auction of the novelist's papers, which feature rarely seen edits and atrocious penmanship

The “Ole Bull” Stradivarius, made in 1687, photographed with flowers and props reminiscent of a Dutch still life from the period.

When It Comes to String Instruments, Stradivariuses Are Still Pitch Perfect

Even after three centuries of their existence, the violins spark debate over what makes their sound special

To many people, Henrietta Lacks, painted by Kadir Nelson in 2017, symbolizes inequity in medicine. Lacks died from cervical cancer in 1951, but her tumor cells— used in research without her permission—would enable medical advances, including the polio vaccine.

The Historical Roots of Racial Disparities in American Health Care

A new documentary from the Smithsonian Channel, 'The Color of Care,' produced by Oprah Winfrey, shines a light on medicine’s biases

None

Constance Baker Motley Taught the Nation How to Win Justice

The pathbreaking lawyer and “Civil Rights Queen” was the first Black woman to argue before the U.S. Supreme Court

Top Spanish chefs have endorsed garum as a fishy sauce with deep roots in Spanish and Roman history.

Culinary Detectives Try to Recover the Formula for a Deliciously Fishy Roman Condiment

From Pompeii to modern laboratories, scholars are working to recreate garum, a sauce made from decaying fish that delighted ancient Rome

The Surprising Artistic Life of Ancient Sparta

Poets and lyricists populated the Greek civilization

The “Assasin’s Creed” series, famous for using real historical events as a backdrop to the games, have gone through scenarios such as the Crusades, the American Revolution and the Golden Age of Piracy.

When Playing Video Games Becomes a History Lesson

On campuses across the country, professors are putting historically based games into the classroom

The bold, brilliant Mary Wroth with a string instrument called a theorbo, circa 1620.

The Secret Codes of Lady Wroth, the First Female English Novelist

The Renaissance noblewoman is little known today, but in her time she was a notorious celebrity

Before donating the 45.5-carat Hope Diamond to the Smithsonian Institution, the jeweler Harry Winston had Bradford Bachrach photograph Eleanor Kidd—the face of Lucky Strike cigarettes—wearing the gem in 1958.

The Story Behind the Photography Studio That Captured America

For generations, Bachrach Photographers made everyone, from JFK to Duke Ellington to everyday people, look great

Ory in November 1945, during his comeback after working as a janitor.

Kid Ory Finally Gets the Encore He Deserves

The childhood home of the musician who put New Orleans jazz on the map will soon open to the public

Father Reginald Foster celebrating his birthday in 2019

Father Reginald Foster Used Latin to Bring History Into the Present

Who speaks Latin these days? A surprisingly large number of people, thanks to the late friar, who died on Christmas Day at 81

English novelist John le Carré in March 1965.

John le Carré, Dead at 89, Defined the Modern Spy Novel

In 25 novels, the former British intelligence officer offered a realistic alternative to Bond, using the spy genre as a vehicle for imperial critique

Over the last nine months, Jane Austen's House has found inventive new ways to keep Janeites diverted during quarantine.

Celebrate Jane Austen's Birthday With a 360-Degree, Interactive Tour of Her House

The trustees of the house where Austen wrote her celebrated novels are finding ways to keep visitors happy—even amid a pandemic

One of the oldest pairs of jeans in the world is this set of Levi’s, made around the 1880s and still tough as dirt.

How Denim Became a Political Symbol of the 1960s

The blue jeans fabric conquered pop culture and fortified the civil rights movement

"Assassination of Julius Caesar" by Vincenzo Camuccini

The Hunt for Julius Caesar's Assassins Marked the Last Days of the Roman Republic

A new page-turning history details the events that led to the deaths of many of the conspirators

The Original Selfie Craze Was the Mirror

Today’s social media obsession has its roots in the development centuries ago of the reflective material

Badger Clark in 1954.

Saddle Up With Badger Clark, America's Forgotten Cowboy Poet

The unsung writer, known to many as "Anonymous," led a life of indelible verse

Page 1 of 2