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Christian Thorsberg

Daily Correspondent

Christian Thorsberg

Christian Thorsberg is a daily correspondent for Smithsonian magazine who covers new research, culture and art history. His work, which has appeared in publications across the country, contextualizes humanities and environmental news.

Highlights

  • Contributor to Smithsonian magazine, Sierra magazine, the Progressive, Prism and Grid News
  • Reporter for Circle of Blue, covering freshwater stories and Great Lakes policy in features and twice-weekly newsletters Fresh and The Stream
  • Communicated new science, climate change and Indigenous ways of knowing as a storyteller with the International Arctic Research Center

Education

Master’s and bachelor’s degrees in journalism from Northwestern University

Stories from Christian Thorsberg

Egyptian officials announced the new discoveries last week.

Archaeologists Discover a 4,000-Year-Old Tomb With a False Door at Egypt’s Ancient Saqqara Necropolis

In addition to the tomb, which once belonged to a high-ranking official, excavations revealed a network of burial shafts that still held human remains and funerary objects

On August 31, Dale Sanders reclaimed the title of oldest person to complete the Appalachian Trail. He'd previously broken the record in 2017, at age 82.

This 91-Year-Old Man Fell 71 Times While Hiking the Appalachian Trail. He Just Became the Oldest Person to Complete the 2,190-Mile Trek

Dale Sanders finished the hike in just under a year. Nicknamed “Grey Beard,” he’s no stranger to age-defying feats of endurance

The treasure was discovered by archaeologist José María Soler in 1963.

Thieves Steal 3,000-Year-Old Treasure in a ‘Super-Professional’ Museum Heist That Took Only Four Minutes

Officials were shaken after dozens of ancient artifacts vanished from the local archaeological museum in Villena, Spain. The thieves left only a few pieces from the Bronze Age treasure behind

Odysseus and Polyphemus (1896), by painter Arnold Böcklin, depicts Odysseus and his men escaping from the island of the Cyclops.

‘Odyssey’ Translator Emily Wilson Is Starting Over After Calling Christopher Nolan’s Blockbuster Film ‘Abysmal’

Nearly a decade after her acclaimed first translation was released, Wilson is taking a fresh approach to Homer’s ancient Greek epic

Hundreds of people pulled the keep of Hirosaki Castle closer to its original position.

1,800 Volunteers Pull a 400-Ton Japanese Castle Keep Back Toward Its Original Location After a Decade of Restoration Work

The chance to help move the castle keep drew thousands of applications from Japan and abroad. Groups of lottery winners took turns tugging on thick ropes attached to the massive structure

Mel Brooks starred in High Anxiety (1977), a satirical comedy of Alfred Hitchcock's filmography.

What Are Mel Brooks’ Favorite Movies? To Celebrate His 100th Birthday, the Comedy Legend Picks 20 Films to Screen Across Los Angeles

The eclectic program spans decades and genres, offering glimpses into Brooks’ comedic influences, personal history and enduring love of film

Diego Maradona and Peter Shilton both jumped for the contested ball when the Argentine star infamously knocked it into the goal with his left hand.

The Soccer Ball Used for Diego Maradona’s ‘Hand of God’ World Cup Goal Sells for $3.35 Million at Auction

Despite its role in one of the most famous games in soccer history, the historic piece of sports memorabilia fell short of its $10 million pre-sale estimate

A hunger stone along the banks of the Elbe River in Decin, a city in the Czech Republic

‘Hunger Stones’ Resurface in Europe, Bringing Centuries-Old Warnings Back Into View as Rivers Hit Historic Lows

As drought exposes stretches of riverbed in central Europe, markers carved by past generations to record low water levels are emerging once again

After being closed to the public for more than 80 years, the Nature and Us gallery, photographed here in 1911, will reopen in September.

Closed to the Public Since WWII, a ‘Hidden’ Gallery at London’s Natural History Museum Opens Its Doors Once Again

Animal skeletons, Neolithic tools and pop culture memorabilia are among the dozens of objects to be displayed in the reopened “Nature and Us” exhibition

A book of 17th-century illustrations, recently attributed to the Dutch artist Rombout Uylenburgh, went on display at the Rijksmuseum this week.

These ‘Extremely Rare’ 17th-Century Drawings Were Astonishingly Well-Preserved. Now They Are on Display for the First Time in Nearly a Century

Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum acquired the drawing book, which has artwork attributed to Rombout Uylenburgh, a celebrated 17th-century Dutch painter whose legacy later fell into obscurity

A scene from the Bayeux Tapestry depicting Bishop Odo rallying William's army during the Battle of Hastings in 1066

How Should the Bayeux Tapestry End? A New Competition Invites Children to Reimagine Its Missing Final Panel

Some historians think the 230-foot-long artwork is missing its final panel, which may have once depicted William the Conqueror’s coronation. As the tapestry goes on view in London, students will be drafting endings of their own

An early papyrus fragment from Homer's Odyssey, dated to roughly 285 to 250 B.C.E., is now on display in New York City.

You Can Now See One of the Oldest Surviving Copies of ‘The Odyssey’ at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

The papyrus fragment contains three lines that don’t appear in standard modern-day translations of Homer’s epic poem

Thieves stole three panels (one of which is pictured at left) from Antonello da Messina’s Polyptych of San Gregorio. They also took a small devotional painting (seen at right).

As Sicilians Flocked to a Religious Festival, Thieves Broke Into a Nearby Museum and Stole Four Renaissance Paintings

The missing works include three panels from a 15th-century altarpiece by Antonello da Messina, as well as a two-sided devotional painting by the artist

Schlitz beer advertised on grain operators along the Chicago River in 1900.

Schlitz Beer, an Iconic Midwestern Pour, Runs Dry in Chicago After 177 Years. Its Legacy, However, Goes Far Beyond the Pint Glass

With significant roles in the Great Chicago Fire, 1893 World’s Fair and modern-day architecture, the beer’s impact on the Windy City is undeniable

Golden figurines featuring Austrian composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart are displayed as part of the art installation by German conceptual artist Ottmar Hoerl.

More Than 200 Golden Mozart Statuettes Stolen From Salzburg Months After Famed Composer’s 270th Birthday

The Austrian public art installation heist is not the first time miniature statues of composers have been stolen

The famed circular staircase at the Vatican Museums

Following Pope Leo XIV’s Encyclical, the Vatican Announces a New Art Triennial Celebrating Human Creativity and Empathy in the Age of A.I.

More than 100 artists will showcase their art on four continents as the Catholic Church continues to emphasize human creativity and relationships over artificial intelligence tools

La Vista (1617), created by Jan Brueghel the Elder and Peter Paul Rubens, is one of the paintings held at The Prado that is reimagined in a new video.

A Total Solar Eclipse Is Coming to Spain. This Madrid Museum Is Celebrating With a Digital Artwork Illuminating Its Paintings ‘In the Light of the Eclipse’

A new animation from The Prado, called “El Prado a la luz del eclipse,” uses A.I. to imagine masterpieces by Goya and Velázquez as if their scenes occurred during a total solar eclipse

A Man Smoking and a Woman Drinking in a Courtyard, Pieter de Hooch, 1658-60, with the soldier missing from the table 

This Dutch Painting Showed a 17th-Century Drinking Game Until Someone Smudged Out a Player, Spoiling the Fun. A Museum Just Restored the Imbibing Soldier

Pieter de Hooch was known for his 17th-century portrayals of domestic life. Some scenes suggested scandal or taught a moral

Restorers work inside the Palazzo Pitti. 

One of Italy’s Most Popular Attractions, the Uffizi Galleries in Florence, Reveals Plans for a Major Renovation Over the Next Two Years

The collection of treasures, many of them connected to the Medici family, includes Italian Renaissance masterpieces, a palace and a courtly garden

A sculpture of a giant lobster disguised as a column, made by pop artist Philip Colbert, stands in Pompeii

First a Volcanic Eruption, Now a Crustacean Invasion? See the Giant Lobsters Taking Over the Ancient City of Pompeii

A pop art installation featuring more than 30 sculptures from artist Philip Colbert is the first contemporary sculpture exhibition to land in Pompeii in three decades

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