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Stories from Smithsonian magazine

How much advance warning would we have if a large comet were headed on a collision course with Earth?

How Much Warning Would We Have of an Earth-Shattering Comet? And More Questions From Our Readers

You’ve got questions. We’ve got experts

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Readers Respond to the November/December 2022 Issue

Your feedback on document detectives, the date, witches and more

After the American Revolution, why did the colonies keep their British nobility namesakes?

Why Did the American Colonies Keep Their British Names After the Revolution?

You’ve got questions. We’ve got experts

In our efforts to increase and diffuse knowledge, we highly recommend these 44 titles this year.

The Best Books of 2022

In our efforts to increase and diffuse knowledge, we highly recommend these 44 titles this year

The famed Ruby Slippers were worn by by Judy Garland in her portrayal of Dorothy Gale in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz.

It’s Showtime at the National Museum of American History

An inside look at how popular culture represents who we are as a nation

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Readers Respond to the October 2022 Issue

Your feedback on Glen Canyon, Samuel Adams and more

One reader wonders: Have any Native American nations been governed by women? 

Have Women Ever Run a Native American Nation? And More Questions From Our Readers

You’ve got questions. We’ve got experts

Among the eight exhibitions opening October 14, 2022, is "The Wright Brothers & The Invention of the Aerial Age," featuring the museum's iconic 1903 Wright Flyer.

A New Look for the National Air and Space Museum

Follow the October reopening of America’s most-visited museum with exclusive coverage from Smithsonian magazine

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Readers Respond to the September 2022 Issue

Your feedback on discrimination in World War II, the treasures of Fossil Lake and Istria

One reader wonders: Why did ants make it all over the Americas while anteaters didn’t?  

Why Do Anteaters Live Only in the Tropics and More Questions From Our Readers

You’ve got questions. We’ve got experts.

An illustration of a suited astronaut looking out of a Moon lander hatch across the lunar surface.

The Revolution in Moon Exploration

In a series of in-depth features, Smithsonian magazine reports on humanity’s renewed push to understand the moon.

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Readers Respond to the July/August 2022 Issue

Your feedback on Ukraine’s treasures, Mary Sears, and trains

One reader wonders: Why do we see the Moon during the day and not the Sun at night?

Why Can We See the Moon During the Day? And More Questions From Our Readers

You’ve got questions. We’ve got experts.

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Untold Stories of American History

Explore the lives of little-known changemakers who left their mark on the country

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Readers Respond to the June 2022 Issue

Your feedback on the World War I memorial and the Smithsonian’s new ethical collecting policy

One reader wonders: Since purple dye was scarce, why didn’t people just combine blue and red?

Why Was Purple the Color of Royalty? And More Questions From Our Readers

You’ve got questions. We’ve got experts.

In their dissent, the court's three liberal judges wrote that their fellow justices had stripped the EPA of “the power to respond to the most pressing environmental challenge of our time.”

How the Clean Air Act Came to Be

A new Supreme Court ruling curbs the EPA’s ability to regulate carbon pollution under the 1970 legislation

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Readers Respond to the April/May 2022 Issue

Your thoughts on Italian villages, the legend of the music tree and the politics of wind power

One reader wonders why men’s bicycles have crossbars but not women’s.  

Why Do Only Men’s Bicycles Have Crossbars? And More Questions From Our Readers

You’ve got questions. We’ve got experts.

One reader wonders how birds stay balanced on tree branches while they’re asleep.   

How Do Birds Stay Upright When They Are Sleeping?

You’ve got questions. We’ve got experts

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