Ellen Wexler

Ellen Wexler

 

Ellen Wexler is Smithsonian magazine’s assistant digital editor, humanities.

A young Sammy Fabelman (Mateo Zoryan Francis-DeFord) in The Fabelmans 

The Making of Steven Spielberg

"The Fabelmans" is a lightly fictionalized dramatization of the famous director's childhood

Emmett Lewis' ancestor Cudjo Lewis was one of the last survivors of the Clotilda.

These Descendants Never Forgot the Story of the Last American Slave Ship

A new Netflix documentary follows the families of the "Clotilda" captives as they grapple with how their past informs their future

Jalyn Hall (left) as Emmett Till and Danielle Deadwyler (right) as Mamie Till-Mobley in Till, a new movie directed by Chinonye Chukwu

How Emmett Till's Mother Galvanized the Civil Rights Movement

A new film dramatizes the life of Mamie Till-Mobley, who forced America to confront the brutality of her son's 1955 murder

A produce farm on the Rural Studio campus in Newbern, Alabama

These Are the Winners of the National Design Awards

This year, Cooper Hewitt honored innovators in climate change, clothing design and more

The Capitol Stones piled in Rock Creek Park

Is This the End of D.C.'s Most-Beloved Hidden Landmark?

The fate of the stones that were once a part of the U.S. Capitol has locals despondent

A small accent table found in a Pompeii bedroom

Excavations Shed Light on the Everyday Life of Pompeii's Middle Class

An ornate courtyard found in an otherwise humble home may have reflected the owners' aspirational vision of the future

John Volanthen (Colin Farrell), Richard Harris (Joel Edgerton) and Rick Stanton (Viggo Mortensen) in Thirteen Lives

The True History Behind Ron Howard's 'Thirteen Lives'

A new film dramatizes the harrowing attempts to save a group of boys trapped in a cave in Thailand in 2018

Spoonbridge and Cherry at the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden

Claes Oldenburg, Who Transformed Everyday Objects Into Towering Sculptures, Dies at 93

The Pop Art pioneer’s radical, scaled-up depictions of familiar items democratized art

Lou Reed performing in 1975

Inside Lou Reed’s Archives

Newly discovered recordings and songs are now on display at the New York Public Library

By adding art exhibitions like “Beyond van Gogh,” casinos are hoping to become known for more than gambling.

Can Casinos Be Art Galleries?

Hoping to grow their audiences, gambling halls are luring new visitors with old masterpieces

In “EmilyBlaster,” the gameplay is shooting at words to form Emily Dickinson poems.

You Can Now Play 'EmilyBlaster,' a Video Game Inspired by Emily Dickinson's Poetry

Players assemble poems by shooting at words in the '80s-style adventure

Page 3 of 3