CURRENT ISSUE

March 2019

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine image Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine mobile image

Features

Wendell Phillips

Revisiting America's Lawrence of Arabia

With archaeology at a standstill in war-torn Yemen, we chronicle the discoveries of the swashbuckling adventurer turned oil tycoon Wendell Phillips, whose travels in the 1950s yielded ancient treasures and controversy

womens-objects-lead-image-for-web_resized.jpg

The Power and the Passion

Since the turn of the 20th century, the story of women in the United States is one of struggle, persistence and breakthroughs. A dozen artifacts from the National Museum of American History chronicle profound changes in the life of the nation

Lake Malawi Opener (resized)

The Mystery of Lake Malawi

In the second largest lake in Africa, fish evolution is taking place at an explosive rate. Why? Scientists are diving into the question

Rhiannon Giddens with gray to the left

String Theory

Rhiannon Giddens travels through time to create new music from lost dimensions of American culture

Departments

Discussion

Readers respond to our January/February 2019 issue

Prologue

Plot Twist!

The much-maligned soap opera has been resurrected as prestige TV

Prologue

America's First Poster Child

In 1855, this girl energized the abolitionist movement. For the first time, we tell her story

Prologue

Publish or Perish

Can an obscure 19th-century literary form help correct Wikipedia's notorious gender bias?

Prologue

Written Out of History

A new study reveals just how few women are required reading in America's schools

Prologue

Veiled Meaning

An artist finds joy in a colorful yet complicated symbol

Prologue

Inside the Marble Palace

As Sandra Day O'Connor retires from public life, we take you behind the scenes of her debut as the first female justice

Ask Smithsonian

You've got questions, we've got experts