People
These influential artists, celebrities, leaders and scholars have shaped our world
How Steve Jobs' Love of Simplicity Fueled A Design Revolution
Passionate to the point of obsessive about design, Steve Jobs insisted that his computers look perfect inside and out
September 2012 |
By Walter Isaacson
“Murder Wasn’t Very Pretty”: The Rise and Fall of D.C. Stephenson
The Grand Dragon of the Klan and prominent Indiana politician had a vicious streak that had horrifying consequences
August 30, 2012 |
By Karen Abbott
Buddhism in China: An Enduring Legacy on View at the Freer
A new exhibit at the Freer examines the adoption of Buddhism in China through richly detailed paintings
August 29, 2012 |
By Leah Binkovitz
Your Last Chance to See a Blue Moon Until 2015 is Friday Night
The moon won't actually be blue in color, so where did this strange term originate?
August 29, 2012 |
By Joseph Stromberg
The Neverending Hunt for Utopia
Through centuries of human suffering, one vision has sustained: a belief in a terrestrial arcadia that offered justice and plenty to any explorer capable of finding it
August 28, 2012 |
By Mike Dash
How Looking to Animals Can Improve Human Medicine
In a new book, UCLA cardiologist Barbara Natterson-Horowitz reminds us that humans are animals too. Now, if only other doctors could think that way
August 28, 2012 |
By Megan Gambino
Amy Henderson: That’s The Way It Was: Remembering Walter Cronkite
With 2012's national party conventions and subsequent coverage upon us, curator Amy Henderson from the National Portrait Gallery looks back at the most trusted man in news
August 27, 2012 |
By Amy Henderson
Events August 28-30: Belief + Doubt, Gallery Talks and Baby Animals
This week, see the latest from Barbara Kruger, crafting contemporaries and the Zoo's baby boom
August 27, 2012 |
By Leah Binkovitz
The Top 10 Political Conventions That Mattered the Most
As the two parties bring together their faithful supporters, we look at those conventions in the past that truly made a difference in the country’s political history
August 27, 2012 |
By Kenneth C. Davis
Birmingham’s Smoking Dinosaurs
In 1938, awful dinosaurs roamed Birmingham, England
August 24, 2012 |
By Brian Switek
Part 3: Who Are the Nominees for the Contemporary Artist Award?
The final part in our series introduces you to the work of five more artists, from giant roses to combat video games to surrealist assemblages
August 22, 2012 |
By Leah Binkovitz
Ai Weiwei on His Favorite Artists, Living in New York and Why the Government is Afraid of Him
The Chinese government has long tried to contain the artist and activist but his ideas have spread overseas and he's got plenty more to say
August 22, 2012 |
By Christina Larson
Events August 21-23: A Pilot’s Journey, Olympic Trivia and Conservation Clinics
This week, learn more about the Tuskegee Airmen, test your Olympic trivia and learn how to care for your heirlooms
August 20, 2012 |
By Leah Binkovitz
Part 2: Who Are the Nominees for the Contemporary Artist Award?
This week's look at five more names from the prestigious short list and where to see their work
August 15, 2012 |
By Leah Binkovitz
Going Nuclear Over the Pacific
A half-century ago, a U.S. military test lit up the skies and upped the ante with the Soviets.
August 15, 2012 |
By Gilbert King
Events August 14-17: Green Jobs, Julia Child’s 100th Birthday and Live Jazz
This week at the Smithsonian, learn about emerging green jobs, celebrate Julia Child's birthday and unwind with a tribute to Thelonious Monk
August 13, 2012 |
By Leah Binkovitz
How Would You Rank the Greatest Presidents?
In a new book, political junkie Robert W. Merry shares his three-part test
August 13, 2012 |
By Megan Gambino
The Demonization of Empress Wu
"She killed her sister, butchered her elder brothers, murdered the ruler, poisoned her mother," the chronicles say. But is the empress unfairly maligned?
August 10, 2012 |
By Mike Dash
Events August 10-12: Date Night, Super Science Saturday, The Story of the Earth
Start the weekend off with a date night at the Freer Gallery, then enjoy Super Science Saturday at the Udvar-Hazy Center and learn about the Earth with author Robert Hazen.
August 09, 2012 |
By K. Annabelle Smith
New Wrinkle in Tarbosaurus Kerfuffle
The man who prepared an illicit tyrannosaur specimen claims that the dinosaur is rightly his
August 09, 2012 |
By Brian Switek
