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Rhys Ifans (standing in second row) as the chief designer in "Star City," a spinoff of Apple TV's "For All Mankind" 

History

Soviet Cosmonauts Trained at Star City as They Raced to Beat America to the Moon. Now, a New TV Series Imagines What Happened Behind the Base’s Walls

Apple TV's "Star City" takes place in a world where the space race never came to an end. A spinoff of "For All Mankind," the show is told from the Soviet perspective

Hunter Ingram

In February 2020, naturalist guides Lizardo Proaño and Juan Carlos Narváez photographed a harvestman eating a live frog during a night hike at Mashpi Lodge in Ecuador.

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Daddy Longlegs Seem to Hunt Frogs in South America, Revealing the Gangly Arachnids as Overlooked Predators

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Smithsonian magazine April/May 2026 issue cover
The adult female fox, Shadow, was around 5 months old when Stuart first documented and named her in 2022.
Science The Fox Family of Mount Rainier
Even the scientists who study the animals rarely see them except on camera. But Gretchen Kay Stuart spent a season documenting them up close
Opener
History Plunder at the Pink Temple
Clara and André Malraux conspired to loot the pink temple of Banteay Srei, but their failure started a battle of reclamation
OPENER - Two U.S. Navy officers stroll past the sunlit Georgian splendor of Middleton Tavern in Annapolis, Maryland. Horatio Middleton established the tavern here in 1750. Today, visitors can order classic Chesapeake seafood, including oysters and rockfis
Travel Drafting the Revolution
Taverns, public houses and inns served as meeting places before the war and unofficial headquarters during it. Some still stand—including these nine, where you can raise a glass in memory of the founders
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Brazil Lost 80 Percent of Its National Museum Collection in One Night. Here’s How It’s Fighting to Rebuild

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From a Medieval Latrine in Germany, Archaeologists Extracted a Pristine Leather Notebook That Preserved Latin Cursive for Centuries

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An Underwater Robot Explores the Hidden ‘Shipwreck City’ Beneath the Surface of This Popular Urban Lake in the Pacific Northwest

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Melting Mountain Ice Is Bringing Ancient Secrets to the Surface. Archaeologists Are Racing to Find the Artifacts Before They’re Lost to Time

Photo of the Day

This photograph captures a moment of stillness in the restless heart of the river. The boatmen—after long hours of labor—lie asleep in their wooden boats, sheltered only by fragile mosquito nets. Their boats become both workplace and home, and the river becomes the only witness to their quiet dreams. The colorful nets resemble floating cocoons, symbolizing how even in uncertainty, humans seek warmth, safety, and rest. Beneath this serene composition lies an unspoken truth: those who carry the weight of a city’s movement often sleep on waters that never rest. Through this image, I aim to highlight the dignity, resilience, and poetic rhythm of lives lived close to nature yet far from privilege. It is a tribute to the invisible workforce who shape our everyday existence but remain hidden in society’s shadows.

Dreams Floating on the River

By Istiyak Ahamed

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History

Rhys Ifans (standing in second row) as the chief designer in "Star City," a spinoff of Apple TV's "For All Mankind" 

Soviet Cosmonauts Trained at Star City as They Raced to Beat America to the Moon. Now, a New TV Series Imagines What Happened Behind the Base’s Walls

Apple TV’s “Star City” takes place in a world where the space race never came to an end. A spinoff of “For All Mankind,” the show is told from the Soviet perspective

To Mark America’s 250th Birthday, See the Country’s ‘Most Endangered Historic Places’ You’ve Probably Never Heard Of

This Jewish Community in the Caribbean Smuggled Gunpowder to the Patriots During the Revolution. A British Admiral Condemned the Island as a ‘Nest of Vipers’

More History

Science

An aerial view shows the construction at the National Museum in Rio de Janeiro.

Brazil Lost 80 Percent of Its National Museum Collection in One Night. Here’s How It’s Fighting to Rebuild

Ever since a 2018 blaze destroyed priceless artifacts and scientifically important specimens, museum staff have devoted themselves to reopening its doors to the public

Melting Mountain Ice Is Bringing Ancient Secrets to the Surface. Archaeologists Are Racing to Find the Artifacts Before They’re Lost to Time

Does the Experience of Beauty Show Up in the Brain? With Electrodes and a Museum Collection of Artifacts, These Neuroscientists Aim to Find Out

More Science

Innovation

Sue Schubel hand-paints around 500 a year from her workshop in a converted barn steps from the ocean in Bremen, Maine, a tiny town in the lower third of the state’s craggy coast.

How ‘Seabird Sue’ Blends Art and Science to Attract Birds Back to Lost Habitat

For the past decade, Sue Schubel has been making detailed decoys of terns, puffins and other seabirds to entice real ones to restored or new homes

These Marine Algae Glow When Waves Disturb Them. Their Bioluminescence Could Power Electricity-Free Lamps of the Future

How a Revolutionary Cancer Treatment Could Reset the Immune Systems of Patients With Autoimmune Diseases

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Travel

This view of Barcelona's Sagrada Familia taken last week shows the newly revealed cross that completes the temple's main Tower of Jesus Christ. 

From Casa Vicens to the Sagrada Familia, Architect Antoni Gaudí Left an Indelible Mark on Barcelona

To honor the pioneer of Catalan Modernism, who died 100 years ago, learn about both his lesser-known and famous works

This Stockholm Neighborhood Was Built on Ambitious Sustainability Goals. When It Came Up Short, It Doubled Down and Became a Blueprint for Others

From Basket Weaving to Oyster Reef Conservation, Gullah Geechee Women Are Preserving a Living Heritage

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Arts & Culture

Museumgoers can read the labels on the backs of the paintings, which may provide clues about each work's provenance.

Who Are the Owners of These Nazi-Looted Masterpieces—and Could Displaying Them at One of France’s Most Popular Museums Help Track Them Down?

A new permanent display at the Musée d’Orsay showcases artworks that may have been stolen or sold under suspicious circumstances during World War II. Officials are still hoping to find the families of their rightful owners

The Real Winnie-the-Pooh Lives at the New York Public Library. When Queen Camilla Visited the Bear, She Reunited Him With a Dear Friend

How the Classic American Game of Twister Went From Risqué to Record-Breaking

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At the Smithsonian

Explorer Richard Byrd (left) and pilot Floyd Bennett (right) wearing fur parkas, circa 1926

A Century Ago, an Explorer and His Pilot Claimed to Be the First People to Fly Over the North Pole. Here’s Why Experts Doubt That Achievement

While the success of Richard Byrd and Floyd Bennett’s polar flight has been disputed, the former went on to accomplish expeditions in Antarctica

Jack Kirby Was a Kid From the Lower East Side Who Became the ‘King of Comics’ and Made Superhero Mythology. Now, New York City Has Named a Street After Him

The Bison Is America’s National Mammal. Here’s How Indigenous Tribes and Conservationists Aided Its Return to the Prairies After Near Extinction

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