CURRENT ISSUE
December 2011
Features
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Into the Volcano
A trip to the floor of Maui's Haleakala Crater still promises an encounter with the "raw beginnings of world-making"
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Chain Reaction: Hawaii's Hotspot
The fiery forces beneath the island chain still mystify geologists
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Green Cement
Concrete, the number one construction material, is a major source of climate-warming gases. Meet one engineer who hopes to build a better world
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An Amber Wave
Giving factory flour the heave-ho, small farmers from New England to the Northwest are growing long-forgotten varieties of wheat
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Seeing the Sublime
A new museum devoted exclusively to the work of Clyfford Still is opening in Denver. A leading critic takes a close look at one masterwork
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Call of the Leviathan
Scientists plumbing the depths to decode sperm whale signaling have discovered elaborate buzzes, clicks and squeaks that spell doom for the animal's prey
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Breaker of Rocks
That's what Africans called the explorer Henry Morton Stanley, whose astonishing determination is analyzed in a new book
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Native Journey
Now that the nation's most ambition dam-removal project is underway in Washington State, members of the Klallam tribe are poised to experience sacred sites flooded for a century
Departments
Wild Things: Piranhas, Nazca Boobies, Glowing Millipedes
Elephant Seals, Neanderthal evolution and more news from the world of science
Nanny Cam
A chance find has rescued the work of Vivian Maier, baby sitter and photographer
Earthquake Central
Two hundred years ago, a series of powerful temblors devastated the Midwest. Could it happen again?
Frozen in Place: December 1861
Lincoln addresses the State of the Union and grows impatient for action
A Family Reunion
With the help of Smithsonian model makers, the Osage Nation is obtaining busts of ancestors who lived at a pivotal moment in the tribe's history
William G. Allman
The curator of the White House talks about the history of the President's mansion and how to protect the collections from tipsy visitors
Darrow in the Dock
Was America's most famous lawyer a felon? The author of a new biography uncovers fresh evidence