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Bison gather for a recent feeding in the forest.

Science

Bison Used to Roam Eastern Europe Before They Neared Extinction. Now Researchers in Poland Want to Create a Suitable Home Where They Can Thrive

Once nearly extinct, wisent adapted to life in the Bialowieza Forest. Human intervention kept them from disappearing, and now humans are trying to return them to their true habitat

Marta Zaraska
Photographs by Kasia Strek

The Barnes Ice Cap in Baffin Island, Nunavut, Canada

Smart News

Two Thousand Years Ago, a New Ice Age Began—but Human-Caused Climate Change Recently Reversed It, According to New Research

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Smithsonian magazine September/October 2026 issue cover
Anahuacalli Museum-Opener
Travel The Marvelous Museums of Mexico City
The ancient capital has plenty of artwork and fossils, if that’s what you like. Or tour the writing rooms of a Nobel winner, the fortified home of an exiled Russian revolutionary and towers of skulls
OPENER - A giant Atlantic cockle lies open on the beach in Fort Myers, Florida, while a beachcomber searches for shells in the background.
Science Who Dwells in a Shell?
Before they become sandy souvenirs, the baubles in the bubbles of the shoreline serve as a veritable fortress for creatures like clams, mussels and conchs
A sample of cerebrospinal fluid
Innovation Solving the Long Covid Puzzle
Long Covid saps the strength and vitality of patients, who have little recourse to fight it. A team of specialists—including an afflicted researcher working mostly from her bed—is looking for answers
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Researchers Claimed a Blurry Object on Apple Maps Was ‘Very Likely’ Amelia Earhart’s Missing Plane. It Turned Out to Be a ‘Collection of Large Trees’

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See the New Tartan Pattern Created to Honor Women Accused of Witchcraft in Scotland Between 1563 and 1736

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A Farmer in Egypt Stumbled Upon a Pink Stone and Called the Authorities. They Found the Remains of Two Colossal Statues of Ramses II Beneath the Property

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In a Hoard of 5,500 Viking Age Coins, Archaeologists in Norway Found One So Rare That They Already Consider It a ‘National Treasure’

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Arts & Culture

‘Wildwood’ Is the Longest Stop-Motion Animated Film Ever. Each Frame of the Movie Is a Marvel of Handcrafted World Building

Photo of the Day

Tourist boats float above the turquoise shallows near Zanzibar, their bright colors standing out against the clear water. Photographed from above, the scene captures the island’s growing tourism and the traditional vessels that now carry visitors along the coast.

Zanzibar Paradise

By Wiktoria West

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Preview thumbnail for video 'The Remarkable, Amazing Stories of Route 66 Reflect the Twists and Turns of 100 Years of Americana

The Remarkable, Amazing Stories of Route 66 Reflect the Twists and Turns of 100 Years of Americana

Preview thumbnail for video 'A Photographer's Glimpse Into the Dwindling World of the Cascade Red Fox

A Photographer’s Glimpse Into the Dwindling World of the Cascade Red Fox

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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.

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The Remarkable, Amazing Stories of Route 66 Reflect the Twists and Turns of 100 Years of Americana

April 23, 2026 | 34 minutes

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A Photographer’s Glimpse Into the Dwindling World of the Cascade Red Fox

April 9, 2026 | 32 minutes

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The Real Story Behind Abigail Adams’ ‘Remember the Ladies’ Letter

March 26, 2026 | 31 minutes

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History

The caskets of fallen American service members are loaded onto the S.S. Joseph V. Connolly in Antwerp, Belgium, in September 1947.

Two Years After World War II Ended, This Ship Brought the Bodies of 6,251 Fallen Service Members Back Home to America

The S.S. “Joseph V. Connolly” arrived in New York City on October 26, 1947. The caskets stored in its holds contained the remains of privates and three-star generals alike

Ivan the Terrible Wanted to Marry Elizabeth I. How Did England’s ‘Virgin Queen’ Reject the Russian Czar Without Souring Trade Relations?

Researchers Claimed a Blurry Object on Apple Maps Was ‘Very Likely’ Amelia Earhart’s Missing Plane. It Turned Out to Be a ‘Collection of Large Trees’

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Science

Bats navigate in the dark using echolocation. Scientists are piecing together how the animals understand the world through the mix of echoes that bounces back.

Bats Thrive in a Messy, Noisy World. These Four Discoveries Reveal How They Can Listen and Chatter Through the Din

From eavesdropping to echolocation tricks, science is giving us an inside look into how various bat species weaponize sound

Green Sea Turtles Are Making a Remarkable Comeback on the Remote Aldabra Atoll and Around the World. But Their Recovery Is Far From Complete

The Race for Hydrogen Fuel Has Taken These Scientists to the Arctic Seafloor. But Can They Unlock Its Secrets Before It’s Too Late?

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Innovation

The user, if pregnant, will feel raised bumps on both sides of the flat lollipop—a reaction to hCG, a hormone that the body produces during pregnancy.

This Lollipop Could Help Blind Women Independently Detect Pregnancy

Design student Sneha Rao is developing Tact, an edible pregnancy test that allows people with vision impairment to feel its results on their tongues

The Humble History of the Bedpan

This Brain Implant Allows People With Paralysis to Speak and Gesture at the Same Time Via a Mind-Controlled Virtual Avatar

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Travel

All of the sites on the Shikoku Pilgrimage are associated with Kobo Daishi, a Japanese monk who lived during the ninth century and founded Shingon, a major school of Buddhism that focuses on the attainment of enlightenment during a practitioner’s lifetime.

Japan’s Smallest and Least-Populated Major Island Is a World of Pilgrimages, Delicious Food and Plenty of Forest Bathing

Each year, more than 100,000 people hike at least part of a 750-mile route on Shikoku that connects 88 Buddhist temples and other sacred sites

Seven Places in Europe That Legends Say Were Built by Giants, Devils or Dragons

These 15 Wonderful Photographs of Kenya’s World-Class Wildlife Will Have You Booking a Flight to the Savanna

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Arts & Culture

Catharina van Hemessen's 1548 self-portrait is on view in a new exhibition in Antwerp, Belgium.

She Painted the First Known Self-Portrait of an Artist at Work—and Signed It—Nearly 500 Years Ago. Who Was Catharina van Hemessen?

Few women worked as professional artists in the 16th century. A new exhibition in Antwerp, Belgium, seeks to restore this Flemish painter to the pantheon of art history giants

A New Exhibition Reveals How Hot Pink Togas and Floral Perfumes Conveyed Power in the Roman Empire

Dozens of Curious Artworks Created With Woven Strands of Human Hair Come to New York’s Morbid Anatomy Library

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At the Smithsonian

Two sperm whales come to the surface in the waters off Black River district in Mauritius on October 3, 2026

In the New Movie ‘Whalefall,’ a Cetacean Swallows a Diver Whole. The Sperm Whale’s Remarkable Anatomy and Feeding Habits Shape the Survival Thriller

The film, an adaptation of Daniel Kraus’ 2023 novel, tells the story of a young man with an extremely challenging task: make it out of a whale’s stomach alive

Watch Five Adorable Newborn Cheetah Cubs Grow on a Livestream From the Smithsonian’s Conservation Biology Institute

At the Bodega, Customers Can Get Pork Rinds, Plantains and Just About Anything They Need. Here’s How These Stores Became a ‘Community Anchor’ of Latino Life

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