CURRENT ISSUE
November 2024
Features
The Living Memory of Blue Water
After the U.S. Army ruthlessly attacked a Lakota village, dozens of plundered artifacts ended up in the Smithsonian. How recovering the history of a little-known atrocity is forging a path toward reconciliation
Birds on the Brink
From fish smoothies to oral antibiotics, researchers are taking matters into their own hands in a radical effort to save New Zealand’s yellow-eyed penguins
The Role of His Life
After the Nazis forced Leo Reuss off the stage in 1934, the Jewish actor found a daring way to hide in plain sight
Relearning the Language of the Land
Humans perfected the art of wildlife tracking over millennia. Now researchers are rediscovering its exceptional worth
The Fruit Detective
Renaissance paintings, medieval archives, cloistered orchards—how one Italian scientist is uncovering secrets that could help combat a growing agricultural crisis
Departments
Discussion
Your feedback on the First Continental Congress, Douglas MacArthur and England's tangled history
The Global Story of Slavery in the Americas Comes to the Smithsonian
"In Slavery's Wake," an international exhibition set to debut next month, illuminates the unfinished work of securing freedom
Floating on Air
A century on, the country’s most beloved Thanksgiving spectacle reaches new heights
Drawing In the Vote
During and after the Civil War, inventive artistry turned American ballots into powerful propaganda
Queen of the Klondike
With flinty perseverance and a golden touch, Belinda Mulrooney created an unlikely empire in the frozen north
The Truth of the Matter
The early polygraph machine was considered the most scientific way to detect deception—but that was a myth
One for the Books
The savvy college librarian who helped create an iconic New York museum
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