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Science
The Fox Family of Mount Rainier
Even the scientists who study the animals rarely see them except on camera. But Gretchen Kay Stuart spent a season documenting them up close
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The Remarkable, Amazing Stories of Route 66 Reflect the Twists and Turns of 100 Years of Americana
Among the first interstates, the beloved roadway that connected Chicago to Los Angeles still looms large in popular culture and our collective imagination
Smart News
A Rare ‘Cloud Jaguar’ Was Spotted in Honduran Mountains for the First Time in a Decade, Representing a Win for Conservationists
Archaeologists Unearth a Papyrus Fragment From the ‘Iliad’ Tucked Inside the Wrappings of a 1,600-Year-Old Egyptian Mummy
Cocaine Pollution Seems to Make Salmon Swim Faster and Farther Than Usual. Scientists Don’t Know the Long-Term Consequences
A Couple From Mexico Became Soft Taco Pioneers in Los Angeles 50 Years Ago. Now, Their Restaurant Is a Landmark
The National Gallery of Art Embraces New Role as Lending Library, Thanks to a Big Gift That Sends Artwork to Other Museums
Latest Features
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History
Plunder at the Pink Temple
Clara and André Malraux conspired to loot the pink temple of Banteay Srei, but their failure started a battle of reclamation
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Travel
Drafting the Revolution
Taverns, public houses and inns served as meeting places before the war and unofficial headquarters during it. Some still stand—including these nine, where you can raise a glass in memory of the founders
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Most Popular
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Special Report
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Rooted in the American West: Food, History and Culture
This series will trace how the American West's identity has been shaped by its people, landscapes and legacies
Featured Stories
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Photo of the Day
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Podcast
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.
Latest Episodes
The Remarkable, Amazing Stories of Route 66 Reflect the Twists and Turns of 100 Years of Americana
April 23, 2026 | 34 minutes
History
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An Eccentric Tycoon Left a Fortune to the Winner of a Baby-Making Contest. The Great Stork Derby Divided Canadians During the Great Depression
In his will, Charles Vance Millar offered roughly 500,000 Canadian dollars to the mother who “has since my death given birth to the greatest number of children”
Science
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Camera Traps Reveal Iberian Lynxes Soaking Their Prey, a First-Ever Discovery Among Carnivores
Scientists speculate that the wild cats are trying to improve hydration or ease their cubs’ transition to solid food. The finding points to resilience in one of the world’s most endangered felines
Innovation
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Sea Stars Can Lose an Arm and Soldier On. What If Robots Could Do the Same?
Bioinspiration looks to nature for clues on how to build more efficient, resilient robots
Travel
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Chiringuitos Offer the Quintessential Beach Bar Experience on Spain’s Costa del Sol
Steeped in history, the seafood joints are evolving to keep up with a global clientele and tightening environmental regulations
Arts & Culture
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Renaissance Art Linked Beauty With Virtue and Ugliness With Vice. See How Painters From Leonardo da Vinci to Botticelli Viewed Physical Attractiveness
An exhibition in Brussels spotlights 90-plus artworks featuring golden-haired muses, greedy old men and those deemed unattractive simply because they were different
At the Smithsonian
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‘The King and I’ Spotlights an English Governess Who Modernized Siamese Society. The Real Anna Leonowens Exaggerated Her Influence and Lied About Her Origins
The beloved musical is loosely based on a Eurasian schoolteacher’s accounts of her time at King Mongkut’s court. These memoirs masked her mixed-race status and unfairly portrayed the monarch as a tyrant