Music & Film

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: Cuba

A Brief History of the Rumba

Born out of slavery in 19th-century Cuba, the lively music and dance form takes many shapes

The Exorcist's Rule Book

A serious manifestation of evil is never a pretty thing, but Catholic priests face down demons with precision

Listening to Norman Lear tell his stories is to hear the last 100 years.

Norman Lear Talks Art, Activism and the 2016 Election

For the famed showrunner, TV has always been a chance to make the political personal

Tourists and Cubans gamble at the casino in the Hotel Nacional in Havana, 1957. Meyer Lansky, who led the U.S. mob’s exploitation of Cuba in the 1950s, set up a famous meeting of crime bosses at the hotel in 1946.

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: Cuba

When the Mob Owned Cuba

Best-selling author T.J. English discusses the Mob's profound influence on Cuban culture and politics in the 1950s

Killers Don't Always Look the Part

The tragic true story of an innocent man suspected of murder is a classic motif of the Hollywood thriller and is used as a subplot in Scream

Ray Bolger's widow, Gwendolyn, donated the costume to the Smithsonian Institution after the comedian's death in 1987.

Smithsonian Will Stretch to Save Scarecrow’s Costume, Too

Turns out the Ruby Slippers were just the beginning of an epic journey of cultural preservation

During an initiation ceremony for the Afro-Cuban secret society called Abakuá in the Havana district of Regla, a young aspirant depicts Aberisún, an ireme, or spirit messenger.

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: Cuba

Venture Inside Cuba's Secret Societies

From Masons to Santería priests, photographer Nicola Lo Calzo offers a glimpse into the island's many subcultures

The Curious George series has sold 10,000 times the initial print run.

When Curious George Made a Daring Escape From the Nazis

The authors of the children's book series fled wartime France with the manuscript tied to their bikes

A wave splashes over the Malecón in Havana.

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: Cuba

Homage to Havana

A Smithsonian director ponders the allure of Cuba's capital city

Bob Dylan by John Cohen, 1962

Poetry Matters

Is Bob Dylan a Poet?

As the enigmatic singer, songwriter and troubadour takes the Nobel Prize in literature, one scholar ponders what his work is all about

Star Trek's Nichelle Nichols on Uhura's Radical Impact

Star Trek's decision to cast Nichelle Nichols, an African American woman, as major character on the show was an almost unheard-of move in 1968

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: Cuba

What to Read, Watch and Download Before Your Trip to Cuba

Know before you go

Leutwyler spent three weeks in the archives of the Elvis Presley Estate photographing objects, such as this gold-plated microphone (c. 1960).

A New Photo Book Reveals the Objects That Tell the Stories of the Rich and Famous

Photographer Henry Leutwyler usually shoots his camera at celebrities. For this book, he looked at their stuff

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The $10 Million Race to Invent Star Trek's Tricorder

Star Trek's fictional tricorder is far from becoming a reality. But a $10 million prize from the XPRIZE Foundation is hoping to motivate inventors

The Brains Behind Star Trek

Sci-fi fan Gene Roddenberry was a freelance writer with a futuristic vision. He had high hopes for his script about a peacekeeping spaceship

Laser Scientists Are Developing Star Trek's Phaser

Some of the technology from Star Trek is already coming to life in the Lockheed Martin lab

Boldly going where no curatorial object has gone before.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

The Mission to Restore the Original Starship Enterprise

The beloved 1960s studio model stars in <em>Building Star Trek</em>, a documentary premiering on Smithsonian Channel this Sunday

Michael Jackson performs in Kansas City, Kansas during the "Victory" tour in 1984.

Breaking Ground

Michael Jackson's Costumes Show Why Nobody Can Beat the King of Pop When it Comes to Style

Outfits from the Jackson's "Victory" tour will be part of an inaugural exhibition at the African American History Museum

Redd Velvet (born Crystal Tucker) started her career as a classically trained singer. In her early 40s she moved to Memphis and switched to the blues.

Keeping the Blues Alive

Is blues music a thing of the past? A festival in Memphis featuring musicians of all ages and nationalities shouts an upbeat answer

Charlie Chaplin eats his shoe in The Gold Rush (1925).

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: Alaska

Charlie Chaplin's Gold Rush

Two decades after the Klondike Gold Rush, Chaplin recast the hardships of prospectors as comedy

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