CURRENT ISSUE
April 2008
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/3b/ba/3bbada56-405b-4e58-b301-2a17c8e867d5/smithmag-evergreen-banner-1300x290-0823_1.jpg)
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/76/4f/764fa73f-7aa3-4b73-9c86-92e3d3f84cc5/smithmag-evergreen-homepage-mobile-0823.jpg)
Features
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/blackhole_apr08_631.jpg)
Homing In On Black Holes
To gain insight into the most mysterious objects in the universe, astronomers shine a light at the chaotic core of our own Milky Way
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/capetown_apr08_631.jpg)
Inside Cape Town
Tourists are flocking to the city, but a former resident explains how the legacy of apartheid lingers
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/LBJ_apr08_631.jpg)
The Unmaking of the President
Lyndon Johnson believed that his withdrawal from the 1968 presidential campaign would free him to solidify his legacy
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/courbet_apr08_631.jpg)
Larger than Life
Whether denouncing France's art establishment or challenging Napoleon III, Gustave Courbet never held back
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/thief_apr08_631.jpg)
To Catch a Thief
How a Civil War buff's chance discovery led to a sting, a raid and a victory against traffickers in stolen historical documents
Pay Dirt in Montana
A librarian's sleuthing turns up a crime with at least 100 victims
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/sodfather_apr08_631.jpg)
The Sodfather
Major-league teams are turning to third-generation groundskeeper Roger Bossard to give them a winning edge
Tips from the Top
The Roger Bossard way to great grass
Departments
Comrades and Arms
When Fidel Castro asked for a show of hands in support of his new policies, an American journalist captured the response
Urbane Renewal
Claire Messud, the best-selling author of The Emperor's Children, discovers the grown-up pleasures of her adolescent playground
"Those Aren't Rumors"
Two decades ago an anonymous telephone call sank Gary Hart's presidential campaign—and rewrote the rules of political reporting
Buried Treasure
A Clarion call from the new African American History Museum: What's in Your Attic?
Spirals of History
Hand-carved elephant tusks tell the story of life in the Congolese colonies of the late 1800s
James Luna
James Luna is known for pushing boundaries in his installations, where he engages audiences by making himself part of a tableau