The Ennedi Natural and Cultural Reserve, in eastern Chad, encompasses 19,300 square miles of a vast sandstone plateau.

The Sahara Desert Hasn’t Always Been a Dry, Desolate Landscape. Some Scientists See Signs It May Be Greening Again

Petroglyphs on sandstone at a national park in Chad bear witness to wildlife that once roamed the area before the continent’s water largely receded 6,000 years ago. Could it return?

Henry Wismayer
Photographs by Marcus Westberg

This 2014 artwork by J.R. superimposes a historic photograph of immigrants on a broken window at the Ellis Island hospital.

History

A Stay at Ellis Island Hospital Could Determine Whether an Immigrant Had a Chance to Start a New Life in America

February 19, 2026 8:00 a.m.

Smart News

Watch the First-Ever Video Uploaded to YouTube, a Grainy 19-Second Clip Called ‘Me at the Zoo’

February 19, 2026 3:00 p.m.

Ireland Launches Its Permanent ‘Income for the Arts’ Scheme, Becoming the First Government Committed to Paying Artists

February 19, 2026 2:52 p.m.

Is Autism Really a Male-Dominated Condition? A New Study Suggests Women Have It Just as Often, but Are Diagnosed Later in Life

February 19, 2026 12:05 p.m.

How Do Researchers Identify Individual Bears in the Wild? They Could Soon Do It Through A.I. Facial Recognition Technology

February 19, 2026 12:00 p.m.

Intermittent Fasting Might Not Live Up to the Hype When It Comes to Weight Loss, New Research Suggests

February 19, 2026 10:00 a.m.

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Latest Features

Based on Andrewsarchus’ skull size and the skull-to-body-size ratios of other hoofed predators called mesonychids, scientists estimated in 1924 that the beast was more than 12 feet long and about 6 feet tall. Reassessments of Andrewsarchus’ evolutionary tree, however, suggest this estimate is inaccurate.

Science

This Giant Carnivore Ran on Hooves. Scientists Are Investigating Its Massive Skull and Crushing Teeth to Decipher the Beast’s True Nature

February 19, 2026 1:37 p.m.

History

A Stay at Ellis Island Hospital Could Determine Whether an Immigrant Had a Chance to Start a New Life in America

February 19, 2026 8:00 a.m.

History

Elizabeth Cady Stanton Is Known as the Woman Behind the Suffrage Movement. A New Book Reveals the Story Behind Her Tenacity

March 2026

Science

The Sahara Desert Hasn’t Always Been a Dry, Desolate Landscape. Some Scientists See Signs It May Be Greening Again

March 2026

Xin Ying, principal dancer with Martha Graham Dance Company, wears a costume from the 1948 ballet Diversion of Angels. Graham designed the dress, inspired by a splash of color in a Wassily Kandinsky painting.

Arts & Culture

Martha Graham Took Classic Ballet and Turned It Into Modern Dance. It’s Still Moving Us 100 Years Later

March 2026

Bird flu devastated a colony of northern gannets, seabirds almost the size of albatrosses, on Bass Rock in Scotland. Researchers working with the birds are holding onto hope that the breeding population will slowly build the colony back.

Science

After a Devastating Bird Flu Outbreak, Scotland’s Seabirds Are Slowly Recovering—and So Are the Scientists Who Witnessed Their Decline

February 18, 2026

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January/February 2026

History The Haunting of Young George Washington

New evidence helps resolve enduring mysteries about a 1758 incident that nearly cost the future president his life—and shaped his views on the battles yet to come

OPENER - Southern rockhoppers fearlessly approach the camera at Murrell Farm in the Falklands. The birds’ features include their spiky crests, which resemble wild eyebrows.

Science Penguins With Attitude

A visit to the Falkland Islands, where the fearless seabirds navigate the rugged topography with tenacious spunk, shows the new challenges they face

Science Back to the Future

Scheduled to launch in early 2026, NASA’s Artemis 2 is part of the bold 21st-century vision for returning astronauts to the lunar surface

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When Coyotes Threatened Livestock on Central Texas Ranches, the Solution Was to Unlock an Ancient Ability in Dogs

Smart News

Archaeologists Say They’ve Identified Traces of a 2,000-Year-Old Love Note Still Etched Into a Wall in Ancient Pompeii

History

One of the Allies’ Secret Weapons Against the Nazis Was a 21-Year-Old Woman Armed With a Microphone and a Script of Lies

At the Smithsonian

This Helmet Kept an Air Force Pilot Safe as She Was Soaring Through the Glass Ceiling

Smart News

Why Do Humans Have Chins? They Might Be an Evolutionary Accident, New Research Suggests

Special Report

Coastal Cities of Europe

Explore the history, culture and natural wonders of the continent's most celebrated ports

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Featured Stories

Travel

Can Venice’s Iconic Crab Dish Survive Climate Change?

Crabs not yet at the molting stage are thrown back into the Venice lagoon.

History

Go Behind the Scenes at an Iconic Irish Library as Staff Move 700,000 Historical Treasures Into Storage

A bust of Plato in the Long Room at Trinity College Dublin

Travel

See Greece in All Its Gorgeous Glory

Brightly colored homes line the caldera in Santorini, a contrast to much of the blue-and-white motif.

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Smithsonian Podcast: There’s More to That

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.

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Latest Episodes

The Tragedy of the Alps’ Disappearing Glaciers for Those That Live, Visit and Ski There

February 12, 2026 | 28 minutes

A Stunning Escape From Slavery Told on Tattered Pages

January 29, 2026 | 29 minutes

The Foods and Flavors That Make Our Holidays Delicious

December 18, 2025 | 33 minutes

The Astronomical Problem of Space Junk

December 4, 2025 | 26 minutes

History

A 19th-century painting of the siege of Yorktown, with the Marquis de Lafayette depicted to the right of George Washington (center, right). A popular story suggests that Lafayette ordered the Continental fife and drum corps to play “Yankee Doodle” as the defeated British soldiers marched out to surrender after the battle.

‘Yankee Doodle’ Was One of America’s Earliest Protest Songs. But Its Origins Are Shrouded in Mystery

Historians have debunked many of the popular theories surrounding the tune’s creation. Still, its legacy as a patriotic anthem endures

February 17, 2026

Feeling More Hate Than Love This Valentine’s Day? Send Snarky ‘Vinegar Valentines’ to Your Enemies Like the Victorians Did

February 12, 2026

A White Historian Claimed That Black People ‘Had No History.’ This Trailblazing Scholar Dedicated His Life to Proving Otherwise

February 10, 2026

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Science

After a Devastating Bird Flu Outbreak, Scotland’s Seabirds Are Slowly Recovering—and So Are the Scientists Who Witnessed Their Decline

The world’s largest colony of northern gannets was decimated by bird flu in 2022. Now, as their numbers climb again, researchers are collecting data to understand the virus’ lasting effects

February 18, 2026