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July/August 2024
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Features
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Trading Places
In Egypt’s eastern desert, wondrous new finds from the ancient port of Berenike are challenging old ideas about the makings of the modern world
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The Next Big Wave
In the wake of Hurricane Ike, engineers have been crafting a $34 billion plan to protect Galveston. Will it be big enough for Texas?
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Handing Over the Reins
In South Africa, an unlikely champion offers lessons in riding and in life
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Plight of the Bumblebee
As numbers of these key pollinators decline, conservationists are eyeing new federal protections for one vulnerable species
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Mapping the Mississippi
Thomas Jefferson imagined it as the heart of his “empire of liberty.” How America laid claim to the mighty river
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The Wild Harvest
In Maine, an unusual convergence of farmworkers renews an ancient and increasingly threatened agricultural practice
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The Strange Afterlife of Pablo Escobar’s Hippos
Decades ago, the drug baron smuggled the beasts into Colombia for his private menagerie. They’ve been multiplying ever since. Now officials are taking extreme measures to counter the problem
Departments
Discussion
Your feedback on lava tubes, scenic routes and diet history
Thirty Years Ago, a Smithsonian Exhibition in Japan Told the Whole American Story
The choices we made then still resonate today
Changing the Game
The wizardry of Dungeons & Dragons sparked a revolution in how we play just about everything
Knotable Works
The ornate series of woodcuts that transformed printmaking
Around the World in 113 Days
Congressman Peter F. Mack’s soaring diplomatic ambitions made aviation history
A Jolt to the Union
How the North’s fruitful partnership with Liberian farmers fueled a steady supply of an essential beverage
Uncommon Threads
The gaudy shirt went from practical necessity to vintage treasure
A Style All Her Own
What made Libba Cotten one of the most distinctive guitar players in American music
First Tango in Paris
Breaking is making its debut at this summer’s Olympics—a century after another dance rocked the city
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