Smithsonian Magazine: Explore History, Science, Arts & Culture

Mark Rylance (left) and Damian Lewis (right) as Thomas Cromwell and Henry VIII in "Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light"

The Real Story Behind 'Wolf Hall' and the Fall of Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII's Most Controversial Adviser

Based on Hilary Mantel's novel "The Mirror & the Light," the last installment in the acclaimed television series chronicles the last four years of the statesman's life

None

The Swarm of People Intent on Saving Our Bees

Smart News

This Flamin' Hot Cheeto Is Shaped Like a Pokémon Charizard. It Just Sold for Nearly $90,000 at Auction

March 20, 2025 4:03 p.m.

Voters Crown the 'World's Ugliest Animal' as New Zealand's Fish of the Year

March 20, 2025 4:00 p.m.

Astronomers Find Four New Exoplanets Orbiting a Neighboring Star, the 'White Whale' of Planet Seekers

March 20, 2025 2:29 p.m.

Archaeologists Unearth the Torso of a Rare Buddha Statue—Nearly 100 Years After They Found Its Head

March 20, 2025 2:02 p.m.

Ancient Greek and Roman Statues Were Not Only Beautiful, but Also Smelled Nice, Too

March 20, 2025 10:28 a.m.

Learn the Secret Histories of These Fascinating CIA Artifacts, From Pigeon Cameras to Cufflink Compasses

March 20, 2025 9:00 a.m.

Latest Features

A 19th-century lithograph of Patrick Henry's "give me liberty or give me death" speech

Discover Patrick Henry's Legacy, Beyond His Revolutionary 'Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death' Speech

March 21, 2025 6:30 a.m.

None

The Swarm of People Intent on Saving Our Bees

March 20, 2025 8:54 a.m.

Mark Rylance (left) and Damian Lewis (right) as Thomas Cromwell and Henry VIII in "Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light"

The Real Story Behind 'Wolf Hall' and the Fall of Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII's Most Controversial Adviser

March 20, 2025

Cecelia Payne-Gaposchkin at Harvard College Observatory

A Century Ago, Pioneering Astrophysicist Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin Showed Us What Stars Are Made Of

March 19, 2025

Sharad Purnima: The Autumn Full Moon, Nathdwara, Rajasthan state, India, opaque watercolor, tin and gold on cotton, possibly handwoven, late 19th century

AT THE SMITHSONIAN

See These Newly Restored Massive Paintings Devoted to a Hindu God

March 19, 2025

Astronaut Ed White conducts the first U.S. spacewalk on June 3, 1965

AT THE SMITHSONIAN

Two Trailblazing Spacewalks in 1965 Opened the Door to Decades of Astronauts Pushing the Limits of Their Capabilities

March 18, 2025

The Barry Arm landslide in Alaska’s Prince William Sound

Studying This Slow-Moving Alaskan Landslide May Help Avert Future Disaster

March 18, 2025

A gold-green sweat bee lands on a common boneset flower in Hull, Massachusetts. The bee is a pollen generalist, visiting a wide range of plants.

This Intrepid Team of Bee Lovers Are Doing Everything They Can to Save Rare Native Species From Extinction

April/May 2025

Current Issue
March 2025

Smithsonian magazine March 2025 issue cover

Most Popular

1.

Archaeologists Unearth Ancient Clay Puppets With Open Mouths and Detachable Heads That 'Resemble Modern Toy Dolls'

The figurines were discovered in a largely unexcavated site in El Salvador. Some 2,400 years ago, they were controlled by strings that passed through their necks

2.

Scientists Are Investigating a Puzzling Underground 'Anomaly' Near the Giza Pyramids

Using remote-sensing technologies, researchers have discovered two connected structures in a previously unexplored area

3.

Why Did Vincent van Gogh Paint 26 Portraits of a Postman and His Family While Staying in the South of France?

The artist met Joseph Roulin, a 47-year-old postal worker, in the late 1880s. The series of artworks will be reunited at upcoming exhibitions in Boston and Amsterdam

4.

4,000-Year-Old Clay Tablets Show Ancient Sumerians' Obsession With Government Bureaucracy

The artifacts were excavated from a city dating back to the third millennium B.C.E. by researchers from Iraq and the British Museum

5.

A Hunter Was Out Looking for Deer in West Texas. He Found a Rare Mammoth Tusk Instead

Discovered in the drainage area of a creek bed, the tusk was initially thought to be "just an old stump"

Special Report

A brown bear launches into a river in Katmai National Park to try and catch one of the many sockeye salmon spawning in large numbers.

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

Made Possible Through the Support of

23HA-Logo_horizontal 1.png

image

image

Smithsonian Videos

Preview thumbnail for video '10 Fun Facts About Jellyfish

10 Fun Facts About Jellyfish

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

The Ultimate Skywatching Guide for Every Season

Preview thumbnail for video '10 Enchanting Butterfly Facts Revealed!

10 Enchanting Butterfly Facts Revealed!

Photo of the day

This abstract aerial photo captures the Icelandic highlands from above. A black volcanic hill covered in green moss surrounds the center while layers of black and white shades create intriguing patterns. In the top left corner, a small red crater adds a pop of color to the scene.

Layers of Color

History

Mark Rylance (left) and Damian Lewis (right) as Thomas Cromwell and Henry VIII in "Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light"

The Real Story Behind 'Wolf Hall' and the Fall of Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII's Most Controversial Adviser

Based on Hilary Mantel's novel "The Mirror & the Light," the last installment in the acclaimed television series chronicles the last four years of the statesman's life

After a trolley conductor accused Alice Stebbins Wells of using her husband's police badge to avoid paying for public transit, the Los Angeles Police Department allowed her to wear a more feminine uniform of her own design, along with a special “Policewoman’s Badge No. 1.”

Armed With Just a Badge, Los Angeles' First Policewoman Protected the City's Most Vulnerable in the Early 20th Century

The mosaics date to the third century B.C.E.

Archaeologists Discover Mosaics of Two Fighting Cupids and a Mysterious Inscription at an Ancient Greek City Hall

Science

Before taking samples, students carefully examined the environment.

Nine New Tardigrade Species Discovered Thanks to the Efforts of Danish Schoolchildren

The budding scientists collected the tiny water bears in a massive citizen science project that involved almost 30,000 participants

Individual Antarctic krill are small, but the animals live in gigantic groups that can be seen from space.

Tiny Antarctic Krill Benefit the Planet in Big Ways, but Face a Barrage of Threats

Don’t let the placid and bland surface fool you—Uranus is a singularly dynamic planet.

The Six Most Amazing Discoveries We’ve Made by Exploring Uranus

Innovation

The Burren House in San Rafael, California, is one of the most recent projects of the Irish Pub Company, a Dublin-based design group that has created upwards of 2,000 pubs in more than 100 countries on every continent except Antarctica.

How the Irish Pub Became One of the Emerald Isle's Greatest Exports

The Dublin-based Irish Pub Company has designed upwards of 2,000 pubs in more than 100 countries around the globe

Transplanting pig organs into people may soon become routine.

The Future of Transplanting Pig Organs in People

Surgeons operated on three patients in Canada.

Surgeons Are Conducting Rare 'Tooth-in-Eye' Surgeries to Restore Vision to Blind Patients in Canada

Travel

Ever since it debuted in 2008, the Running of the Reindeer has become one of the signature events of the Fur Rendezvous Festival.

Every March, Runners Race Reindeer Through the Streets of Anchorage

For three and a half blocks, athletes and ungulates share the road during the headlining event of Alaska's Fur Rendezvous Festival

Vietnam’s Hien Luong pedestrian bridge across the Ben Hai River is located along the 17th parallel, the former demarcation line between North and South Vietnam.

Former and Active DMZs Allow Visitors to Learn the Haunting History of These Landscapes

Completed in 2011, the Stuttgart City Library is one of the country’s most photographed locations.

Discover These 15 Enchanting Libraries Sure to Thrill Any Book Lover

Arts & Culture

Postman Joseph Roulin, Vincent van Gogh, 1888

Why Did Vincent van Gogh Paint 26 Portraits of a Postman and His Family While Staying in the South of France?

The artist met Joseph Roulin, a 47-year-old postal worker, in the late 1880s. The series of artworks will be reunited at upcoming exhibitions in Boston and Amsterdam

Completed in 2011, the Stuttgart City Library is one of the country’s most photographed locations.

Discover These 15 Enchanting Libraries Sure to Thrill Any Book Lover

None

See 60 Remarkable Finalists From the 22nd Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest

At the Smithsonian

Astronaut Ed White conducts the first U.S. spacewalk on June 3, 1965

Two Trailblazing Spacewalks in 1965 Opened the Door to Decades of Astronauts Pushing the Limits of Their Capabilities

Since those early steps, extravehicular activity has helped provide the solutions to many problems that astronauts face in space

Sharad Purnima: The Autumn Full Moon, Nathdwara, Rajasthan state, India, opaque watercolor, tin and gold on cotton, possibly handwoven, late 19th century

See These Newly Restored Massive Paintings Devoted to a Hindu God

This is the first image of Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy, captured by the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) and released in 2022.

This Comprehensive Guide Will Answer the Questions You Have About Black Holes—and Spark Some New Ones