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Latest Features

A Parkinson’s patient in Nice, France, is prepped for a surgery to implant electrodes into the brain. The technique, called deep brain stimulation, is being used experimentally or in small studies to treat addiction.

INNOVATION

Can a Brain Implant Treat Addiction?

Farmers have shown a renewed interest in planting coffee in the shade of other plants. The resulting farms are visited by a multitude of creatures from ants to birds to bats.

SCIENCE

How Shade Coffee Aids Conservation

Clockwise from top left: Molly Ringwald as Joanne Carson, Demi Moore as Ann Woodward, Naomi Watts as Babe Paley, Tom Hollander as Truman Capote and Diane Lane as Slim Keith in "Feud: Capote vs. the Swans"

HISTORY

The Real History Behind 'Feud: Capote vs. the Swans'

A rosy-faced lovebird

SCIENCE

These Parrots Use Their Beaks to Swing Across Branches Like Monkeys

A Lötschental Valley resident dressed as a Tschägättä strolls around the village of Wiler, in Valais, Switzerland moments before the annual Carnival Parade begins.

TRAVEL

Discover the Beasts of Switzerland’s Lötschental Valley

During the Little Ice Age, which spanned roughly 1250 to 1860, average global temperatures dropped by as much as 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit.

HISTORY

These Paintings Reveal How the Dutch Adapted to Extreme Weather During the Little Ice Age

An artist’s rendering of a pantheon of planets similar to Earth

SCIENCE

This Planned NASA Telescope May Help Us Identify Worlds Like Our Own

A pair of illustrations from Wilkie Collins' The Woman in White, which launched the sensation novel trend of the 1860s

HISTORY

The Sensation Novelist Who Exposed the Plight of Victorian Women

Current Issue

Smithsonian magazine January/February 2024 issue cover

Most Popular

1.

Smart News

Nearly 1,000 Manatees Converge on Florida State Park to Keep Warm in Record-Breaking Sighting

The park's naturally heated waters drew unprecedented numbers of the marine mammals, which are especially vulnerable to the cold

2.

Smart News

Everyone Thought This 4,000-Year-Old Tomb Had Been Destroyed. Then, an Archaeologist Found It

Billy Mag Fhloinn located the Altóir na Gréine, thought to have vanished in the 19th century, in southwest Ireland

3.

History

The Real History Behind 'Feud: Capote vs. the Swans'

Ryan Murphy's new mini-series dramatizes the "In Cold Blood" author's betrayal of an insular group of Manhattan socialites

4.

Science

This Planned NASA Telescope May Help Us Identify Worlds Like Our Own

The innovative Habitable Worlds Observatory will offer ways to detect signs of life on other planets

5.

Smart News

Picasso and Chagall Paintings Found in Antwerp Basement—14 Years After They Vanished

Police conducted a months-long operation to recover the works, which had been stolen from their owner's home in 2010

Smithsonian Voices
Smithsonian Education

Learning Alongside the Smithsonian for the Hundredth Day of School

National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute

How Genomic Science Solved a Cheetah Cub Paternity Mystery

Smithsonian Associates

Bird-friendly Coffee Takes Wing and More Programs in February

Smithsonian Environmental Research Center

Eight Weird and Wondrous Discoveries From 2023

National Air and Space Museum

Yes, Walt Disney’s Private Jet Was Called Mickey Mouse One

National Museum of Natural History

Uncovering Earth's Secrets One X-ray at a Time

See All

Special Report
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Alaska

Alaska is nicknamed "The Great Land," and for good reason: it is wild, rugged and expansive. In a series of articles, Smithsonian magazine explores the history, culture and natural wonders of the 49th state.

View Full Report

Featured Stories

Alps-Style Hut-to-Hut Travel Is On Its Way to Alaska

The World’s Most Grueling Race Journeys 1,000 Miles Down the Yukon

These Students Are Part of a 75-Year Study to Map Alaska’s Glaciers

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Smithsonian Videos

Preview thumbnail for video 'The Ultimate Skywatching Guide for Every Season

The Ultimate Skywatching Guide for Every Season

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Preview thumbnail for video 'The Best Small Towns to Celebrate Winter

The Best Small Towns to Celebrate Winter

Preview thumbnail for video 'Ten Fun Facts About Butterflies

Ten Fun Facts About Butterflies

Photo of the day

Magnificent Temple of Poseidon in Cape Sounio, Sounio, Greece at sunset. This striking image is mesmerizing in its majestic beauty. Temple of Poseidon

History

Clockwise from top left: Molly Ringwald as Joanne Carson, Demi Moore as Ann Woodward, Naomi Watts as Babe Paley, Tom Hollander as Truman Capote and Diane Lane as Slim Keith in "Feud: Capote vs. the Swans"

The Real History Behind 'Feud: Capote vs. the Swans'

Ryan Murphy's new mini-series dramatizes the "In Cold Blood" author's betrayal of an insular group of Manhattan socialites

During the Little Ice Age, which spanned roughly 1250 to 1860, average global temperatures dropped by as much as 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit.

These Paintings Reveal How the Dutch Adapted to Extreme Weather During the Little Ice Age

A pair of illustrations from Wilkie Collins' The Woman in White, which launched the sensation novel trend of the 1860s

The Sensation Novelist Who Exposed the Plight of Victorian Women

Science

A museum curator gives a sense of scale to the reconstructed jaws of the fossil shark Otodus megalodon.

Was Megalodon Slimmer Than Previously Thought?

A new study has spurred scientists to debate the shape of prehistory’s biggest shark

A female elephant seal rests with her pup on the California coast. Pups in this population spend more days fattening up on mother’s milk than in southern populations on the Kerguelen Islands.

Inside Elephant Seal Pups' Race to the Depths

Ocean drainage basins of the world

These Entrancing Maps Capture Where the World's Rivers Go

Innovation

Kelp cultivated in underwater forests could help curb climate change, both because of the carbon these forests capture and because products made from kelp can reduce carbon emissions.

Could Sinking Tons of Seaweed to the Ocean Floor Help Combat Climate Change?

Submerged seaweed can store carbon at the bottom of the sea, but how effective the strategy will be remains unclear

The original Macintosh computer may seem quaint today, but the way users interacted with it was game-changing.

Forty Years Ago, the Mac Triggered a Revolution in User Experience

Scientists produced the most complete catalog of marine microbe DNA yet, including data from the deeper zones of the oceans.

DNA From the Ocean's 'Twilight Zone' Could Lead to New Lifesaving Drugs, Scientists Say

Arts & Culture

A gilded unicorn atop a silver baton from the regalia of Scotland's Usher of the White Rod

How the Unicorn Became an Enduring Symbol—and Scotland's National Animal

The Perth Museum's inaugural exhibition examines the mythical creature's long history

An oak peacock moth lands on a window behind dancing wedding guests, illuminated in red light. This photograph won the category for butterflies and dragonflies.

See 11 Winning Images From the Close-Up Photographer of the Year Awards

The latest winner of a Japanese literary prize said she used ChatGPT to write parts of her novel.

ChatGPT Helped Write This Award-Winning Japanese Novel

Travel

Born in Cameroon, Ada Anagho Brown moved to the United States as a child and now plans trips to Central and West African countries based on her clients’ DNA.

A Journey to Discover an African Homeland

New generations of Black Americans are taking intimate tours that connect them with the lands and cultures their ancestors were forced to leave behind

Where does the ocean end and the sky begin? It’s a little hard to tell as the sun sets on Aruba’s Baby Beach.

These Inviting Photos Capture the Beauty of the Caribbean

Backpackers hike near Crescent Lake in Alaska's Chugach National Forest.

Alps-Style Hut-to-Hut Travel Is On Its Way to Alaska

At the Smithsonian

The 160-year-old pelt of the woolly dog Mutton in the Smithsonian’s collection

What Happened to the Extinct Woolly Dog?

Researchers studying the 160-year-old fur of a dog named Mutton in the Smithsonian collections found that the Indigenous breed existed for at least 5,000 years before European colonizers eradicated it

For the year 2024, here are 24 things to look forward to at the Smithsonian.

Twenty-Four Smithsonian Shows to See in 2024

This blue whale skull is one of the largest in any collection on earth.

How an Eye-Popping Museum Specimen Boosted the Beleaguered Blue Whale