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Smithsonian magazine explores some of the many ways to celebrate the nation and looks back at how previous big birthdays were commemorated amid domestic turmoil
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Explore the history, culture and natural wonders of the continent's most celebrated ports
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Smithsonian magazine covers history, science and culture in the way only it can — through a lens on the world that is insightful and grounded in richly reported stories. In There’s More to That, meet the magazine’s journalists and hear how they discover the forces behind the biggest issues of our time.
February 12, 2026 | 28 minutes
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Jermain Wesley Loguen opened his home to fugitives fleeing the South. He publicized this work openly, risking arrest or even re-enslavement
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For more than a century, paleontologists have been piecing together how the mysterious predator Andrewsarchus is related to other mammals, like the extinct “hell pigs” and “wolves with hooves”
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Joseph Weizenbaum realized that programs like his Eliza chatbot could “induce powerful delusional thinking in quite normal people”
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New institutions dedicated to digital art, exploration, hip-hop, conservation and more are expected to welcome visitors this year
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Dark rooms filled with soft leather sofas and curated vinyl are popping up across the United States and the world
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The product, launched in 1963, became a staple in American households
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