Arts & Culture

Atlas of Eating

Celebrated Middle Eastern Food Writer Claudia Roden Shares Stories and Recipes From Her Kitchen

For Roden, food is a lens to understand history

Margaret at Stafford House on Cumberland Island, holding her first copy of Fox Eyes, illustrated by Jean Charlot. This story was inspired by her time on Cumberland as a teenager.

The Surprising Ingenuity Behind “Goodnight Moon”

Author Margaret Wise Brown used new theories in childhood education to write the classic children’s book

Atlas of Eating

The Ever Expanding World of Wine Takes Your Palate to Unexpected Places

Never before have so many diverse wines, from so many places, been available to so many people around the globe

Dominico Cascino (left) and chef Salvatore Denaro prepare an olive and tomato salad at the Cascinos’ olive farm in southern Sicily.

Atlas of Eating

Much of the Cuisine We Now Know, and Think of as Ours, Came to Us by War

The long and winding road that brought "local" dishes to our plates

This is a pyramidal neuron, so named for the pyramid-shaped body at the center of this drawing, from the cerebral cortex of a human. This outermost layer of the brain integrates information from sensory organs, commands movements and is the hub for higher brain functions, such as consciousness. In his drawing, Cajal gives the branches or dendrites different weights to show how the neuron extends in three-dimensional space. It’s likely that this represents a sort of idealized portrait of a pyramidal neuron, a synthesis of many observations.

Art Meets Science

Revel in These Wondrous Drawings by the Father of Neuroscience

A new book and exhibition pay homage to Santiago Ramón y Cajal’s impressive powers of observation

Yellow Landscape, Isamu Noguchi, 1943, magnesite, wood, string, metal fishing weight

To Bear Witness to Japanese Internment, One Artist Self-Deported Himself to the WWII Camps

The inhumanity brought on by Executive Order 9066 spurred Isamu Noguchi to action

Carl Laemmle in 1918

This Hollywood Titan Foresaw the Horrors of Nazi Germany

Carl Laemmle, the founder of Universal Pictures, wrote hundreds of affidavits to help refugees escape Europe

Inauguration History

Quiz: How Much Do You Know About Presidential Food?

In honor of Inauguration Day, here's a little quiz to see how much you know about presidential food history

Tony Lu prepares a dish.

Atlas of Eating

Meet the Michelin-Starred Chef Pushing the Limits of Vegetarian Cuisine in China

Master chef Tony Lu discusses China’s changing tastes and his own innovative approach to 'Vegetarian Fusion'

The Admiral, 16th century | Giuseppe Arcimboldo

Atlas of Eating

A Brief History of Food as Art

From subject to statement, food has played a role in art for millennia

On a chilly day in Tokyo, customers slurp hot ramen at the Tsukiji fish market.

Atlas of Eating

You've Been Slurping Ramen All Wrong

In Japan, ramen is a culinary touchstone that goes way beyond food

Breaking Ground

Smithsonian Artifacts and Music Legends Share the Stage in Tonight's Star-Studded Television Program

Notable African-American performing artists commemorate the opening of the National Museum of African American History

"No one on earth can be totally secure, because nothing can completely protect you from life’s tragedies and the relentless passage of time.”

Michael Jackson, Donald Trump and Other Famous Americans Who Escaped Brushes With Death

The roads not taken for these 13 lucky souls saved their lives

Kiya Anderson has a father in prison and a mother who is unable to care for her. She has lived in numerous foster homes.

American Incarceration

The Everyday Struggle of a Child Whose Parents Are Incarcerated

With more American men and women in prison than ever before in our history, millions of children are struggling with the effects of a fractured family life

From left to right: Ricky Jackson is finally a free man; Japanese Americans head into internment in 1942; a Maryland boy (in red) has an inmate mom.

American Incarceration

The Far-Reaching Effects of American Incarceration

Three photo essays explore the history and modern-day consequences of the world's highest incarceration rate

Oil portrait of Barack Obama by Kadir Nelson

A Portrait of Obama in the Final Days of His Presidency

Commissioned for <em>Smithsonian</em> magazine, this painting shows a leader at a crossroads

Abstract artist Wassily Kandinsky, who may have been a synesthete, once said: "Color is the key. The eye is the hammer. The soul is the piano with its many chords. The artist is the hand that, by touching this or that key, sets the soul vibrating automatically."

Art Meets Science

Feel the Music—Literally—With Some Help From New Synesthesia Research

How one artist created a show inspired by the neurological experience of synesthesia

Lin Huiyin and Liang Sicheng on honeymoon in Europe

The Couple Who Saved China's Ancient Architectural Treasures Before They Were Lost Forever

As the nation teetered on the brink of war in the 1930s, two Western-educated thinkers struck out for the hinterlands to save their country's riches

Singer-songwriter St. Vincent performs with color guard team Field of View.

A New Documentary Conceived by David Byrne Explores the Wonder of the Color Guard

The dazzling offshoot of the marching band gets its moment in the spotlight

The warrior was buried in an olive grove outside the acropolis of Pylos. Though archaeologist Carl Blegen explored the olive grove in the 1960s, he did not find anything.

This 3,500-Year-Old Greek Tomb Upended What We Thought We Knew About the Roots of Western Civilization

The recent discovery of the grave of an ancient soldier is challenging accepted wisdom among archaeologists

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