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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
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How Australian Chefs and Farmers Are Rediscovering the Ingredients That Have Been There All Along
From kangaroo grass to Kakadu plums, native foods are redefining diners' taste buds and deepening their connection to the land
Smart News
This Ancient God’s Name Was ‘Mud.’ Archaeologists Discovered a Water-Filled Temple Possibly Tied to Him in Egypt
Anglerfish Are Known for Their Built-in Fishing Rods. New Research Sheds Light on How These Lures Evolved in the Strange Creatures
Look Up This Week to See the Peak of the Lyrid Meteor Shower. Humans Have Documented This Dazzling Annual Display for 2,700 Years
Scientists Found 5.6 Million Burrowing Bees Beneath a Cemetery in New York. The Group Is One of the Largest on Record
The Titanic Carried 3,500 Life Jackets, but Almost All of Them Have Been Lost to History. This One Just Sold at Auction for Nearly $1 Million
Latest Features
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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
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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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Most Popular
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Special Report
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Rooted in the American West: Food, History and Culture
This series will trace how the American West's identity has been shaped by its people, landscapes and legacies
Featured Stories
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Photo of the Day
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Podcast
Smithsonian Podcast: There’s More to That
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. In There’s More to That, meet the magazine’s journalists and hear how they discover the forces behind the biggest issues of our time.
Latest Episodes
History
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In Times of Trouble, the Maya Rejected Divine Kingship. This Newly Discovered Public Building Reveals How the Transition to Shared Power Unfolded
Archaeologists in northern Guatemala unearthed a colonnaded open hall that may have served as a council house, where local leaders and everyday people met to discuss political issues
Science
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Ancient Humans Mastered Fire. Now, Burning Fossil Fuels and Blazing Landscapes Threaten to ‘Undo the World’
Intensifying wildfires across the continent are spewing air pollution, putting human health at risk, particularly Americans living with chronic illnesses
Innovation
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Sea Stars Can Lose an Arm and Soldier On. What If Robots Could Do the Same?
Bioinspiration looks to nature for clues on how to build more efficient, resilient robots
Travel
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Chiringuitos Offer the Quintessential Beach Bar Experience on Spain’s Costa del Sol
Steeped in history, the seafood joints are evolving to keep up with a global clientele and tightening environmental regulations
Arts & Culture
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Andrew Lloyd Webber Says He’s Writing a New Musical About the Time the ‘Mona Lisa’ Vanished Without a Trace in 1911
Known for spectacles like “The Phantom of the Opera,” Broadway’s most commercially successful composer now wants to tell the story of the world’s most famous painting
At the Smithsonian
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‘The King and I’ Spotlights an English Governess Who Modernized Siamese Society. The Real Anna Leonowens Exaggerated Her Influence and Lied About Her Origins
The beloved musical is loosely based on a Eurasian schoolteacher’s accounts of her time at King Mongkut’s court. These memoirs masked her mixed-race status and unfairly portrayed the monarch as a tyrant