CURRENT ISSUE

January 2012

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Features

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EVOTOURISM: Because It's Time for Travel to Evolve

Journey through the history of life from the Jurassic Coast to the Cradle of Humankind

Koalas, kangaroos and wallabies are abundant on the island

Family Reunion

Kangaroo Island, Australia

Foraminifera

Beautifully Adapted

Foraminifera Sculpture Park, China

Isle Royale

Fight for Survival

Isle Royale, Michigan

Whales evolved from mammals
Sterkfontein

Discovering Human Ancestors

The Cradle of Humankind, South Africa

saddleback giant tortoise

Darwin's Laboratory

Galápagos Islands, Ecuador

Spirit Lake 1982

In the Aftermath

Mount St. Helens, Washington

The Jurassic Coast

Extinction Beach

Jurassic Coast, England

friar Gregor Mendel

Deciphering Heredity

Mendel's Garden, Czech Republic

Cristian Samper

Evolution Museum

Questions for Cristián Samper, director of Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History

Cormohipparion occidentale

Prehistoric Horses

Ashfall Fossil Beds State Historical Park, Nebraska

Stein Family

An Eye for Genius

It's easy to see the value of a Picasso painting now. But would you have bought one in 1905, before the artist was known? Gertrude Stein and brother Leo did, and they bought Matisse and Cezanne, too, hosting salons and amassing a collection that would help shape the course of modern art.

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Catalyzing Modern Art

Like the Steins, other collectors and patrons influenced 20th-century art by supporting new genres and unheralded artists

Graceland

Annie Leibovitz's American Pilgrimage

In a new book and exhibition, the esteemed photographer pursues a passion for history and lets us see familiar icons in a fresh light

Roger Williams

God, Government and Roger Williams' Big Idea

Banished from Massachusetts, the Puritan minister originated a principle that remains contentious to this day—separation of church and state

Departments

Letters

Letters

From the Editor

Going Places

Whether as a tourist, an outcast or a pilgrim, traveling is discovering

Wild Things: Killer Whales, Spiders and Woodpeckers

Yellow saddle goatfish, mastodon ribs and more in this month’s summary of wildlife news

Indelible Images

Cold Comfort

An unpleasant surprise awaited Captain Scott at the South Pole

Phenomena

Way of the Wolverine

Once reviled as an "inveterate thief" the furtive, sometimes fierce creature is making a comeback in the Cascade Mountains of Washington State

My Kind of Town

Keeping it Weird

Even though it's the state capital, the city still works hard to be quirky

From the Castle

Inca Highway

Around the Mall

Deep Thinking

The rescue team devised—and tested—new technology to save the miners

The Object at Hand

Cut and Paste

How Thomas Jefferson created his own take on Scripture

Q&A

Judy Blume

The children's book author speaks about her career and what it means to write a "banned book"

What's Up

What's Up

The Last Page

The Hoarding Instinct

Dispatches From My War on Stuff