Articles

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O Say Can You Sing? Semi-Finalists Announced

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Picture of the Week—Irish Moss

Where do they go? How many are there? What's with the tusk? Narwhals (in the Arctic Ocean) have inspired myth and wonder but are still little known to science.

In Search of the Mysterious Narwhal

Ballerina turned biologist Kristin Laidre gives her all to study the elusive, deep-diving, ice-loving whale known as the "unicorn of the sea"

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Wild Things: Life as We Know It

Dinosaur gangs, psychedelic fish and long-distance elephant calls

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Highlights & Hotspots

Highlights & Hotspots

Big Sur's dramatic vistas entrance residents and day-trippers alike. In 1912 or so, watercolorist Francis McComas described the landscape as the "greatest meeting of land and water in the world."

Big Sur's California Dreamin'

Untrammeled wilderness and new age enclave, Big Sur retains its rugged beauty and quirky charm

Pensacola, its anchorage first admired by the Spanish 450 years ago. In 1686, Spanish navigator Juan Jordán described Pensacola's bay as "the best I have ever seen."

Harboring History in Pensacola

In Florida's panhandle, vibrant Pensacola stakes its claim as the oldest European settlement in the United States

The predominantly Mexican Pilsen neighborhood was once predominantly Czech. Across Chicago, says Juana Guzman of Pilsen's National Museum of Mexican Art, "food is an important cultural anchor."

Chicago Eats

From curried catfish to baba ghanouj, Chicago serves up what may be the finest ethnic cuisine going

American myths: the Frontier and Ellis Island immigrants.

Cowboys and Immigrants

Two dueling archetypes dominated 20th-century American politics. Is it time for them to be reconciled?

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Letters

Readers Respond to the March Issue

The world's largest snake—42 feet long and weighing 2,500 pounds—turned up in a Colombian jungle.

From the Castle: Big Snakes

Scientists from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute publish their amazing find of Titanoboa, the world's largest snake

Suits like these worn in 1966 by Buzz Aldrin and Jim Lovell (right) were made to resist the extreme conditions of space travel for only a short period.

After Space, Saving Suits, Boots and Gloves

The spacesuits that kept U.S. astronauts alive now owe their survival to one woman

Musician Pete Seeger turns 90 on May 3.

Jukebox: Pete Seeger

Pete Seeger is still singing the ballads that popularized folk music and transformed the genre into a call for action

Abraham Lincoln's pocket watch contains an unexpected inscription from Confederate President Jeff Davis.

What's Up

A Steichen photograph of two gowns by Madeleine Vionnet reflects the ease of movement for which Vionnet was known. The name of the model in white is unrecorded; Marion Morehouse, in black, was one of the photographer's favorite models.

Edward Steichen: In Vogue

A painter by training, Edward Steichen changed fashion photography forever

A brief look at a few of the brilliant minds who just missed this year's cut for the MacArthur "Genius" Grant.

Near Misses in the Genius Department

A brief look at the brilliant minds that just missed this year's cut for genius grants

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From the Editor: Outliers

Big Sur and George Koval, atomic spy

The "loyalty dance" was a fixture of China's Cultural Revolution, and Kang Wenjie's performance at a giant Maoist teach-in was boffo.

Dancing for Mao

A photograph of a 5-year-old girl made her famous in China—and haunted the man who took it

Explorer Robert Scott built a hut at Cape Evans during his 1910-1913 expedition; all five members of his team perished.

Finding Feisty Fungi in Antarctica

In a place where no one believed they existed–-treeless Antartica–wood fungi are feasting on polar exploration relics

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May Anniversaries

Momentous or Merely Memorable

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