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History

The ‘Pole of Inaccessibility’ Has Eluded Adventurers for More Than a Century

This winter, explorers will once again set out for the most remote part of the Arctic Ocean

Tom Hanks (center) won an Oscar for his portrayal of Andrew Beckett, a gay man suffering from AIDS.

Looking Back at ‘Philadelphia,’ 25 Years Later

What would the breakthrough movie about the AIDS crisis look like if it were made today?

Poe coined the phrase “the imp of the perverse” in an 1845 story of that title about an almost perfect murder.

How Edgar Allan Poe Became Our Era’s Premier Storyteller

Fans of the mystery writer have no shortage of ways to pay homage to the scribe behind “The Raven” and so much more

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Introducing Our Special Issue on America at War

The nation’s epic, expanding fight against terrorism overseas

Kristi Casteel holds her son Joshua Casteel's dog tags.

America at War

The Priest of Abu Ghraib

Inside Iraq’s most notorious prison, an Army interrogator came face to face with a shocking truth about the war—and himself

A patrol returns to Forward Operating Base Tillman, in eastern Afghanistan. It was closed in 2012, the year after this double exposure was made.

America at War

The New Archaeology of Iraq and Afghanistan

The once-fortified outposts that protected U.S. troops are relics of our ambitions abroad

A dog-tag memorial at Old North Church in Boston, which has honored service members killed in the Iraq and Afghan wars since 2006, making it the oldest such memorial in the country

America at War

How Should We Memorialize Those Lost in the War on Terror?

Americans have erected countless monuments to wars gone by. But how do we pay tribute to the fallen in a conflict that might never end?

Drawing of a helicopter on a wall of a house located at the first American helicopter crash site in Mogadishu. The Somali word on the helicopter's side, kulva, is an attempt to spell the word "Cobra," which was one kind of helicopter used to attack the village.

America at War

The Legacy of Black Hawk Down

Twenty-five years after the battle chronicled in the best-selling book, the author argues that we’ve learned the wrong lessons about fighting terrorism

Army Reservist Xiao Meng Sun, who left China six years ago, believes that military training teaches one to meet challenges.

Fighting to Be American

For centuries immigrants who served in the military could become American citizens. But are the women and men pictured here among the last?

(Mårten Teigen, Museum of Cultural History; Associated Press; Stocktrek Images, Inc. / Alamy; CDC / James Gathany; Philippe Charlier; Brian Palmer; David Iliff via Wikimedia Commons under CC BY-SA 3.0; Alamy; Pasini et al. / World Neurosurgery / Elsevier; Donovan Wiley; Library of Congress)

Our Top 11 Stories of 2018

From a 50-year-old political scandal to swarms of genetically engineered mosquitos, here are Smithsonian.com’s most-read stories

John C. Reilly stars as Oliver Hardy, and Steve Coogan stars as Stan Laurel in the new release.

Please Extend a Laurel and Hardy Handshake to the New Film ‘Stan & Ollie’

The movie showcases the famed comedy duo at the twilight of their illustrious careers

A map of the moon with labeled features, from Selenographia by Johannes Hevelius.

The 17th-Century Astronomer Who Made the First Atlas of the Moon

Johannes Hevelius drew some of the first maps of the moon, praised for their detail, from his homemade rooftop observatory in the Kingdom of Poland

Felicity Jones, playing future Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, makes the oral argument for Moritz in a scene from On the Basis of Sex.

Based on a True Story

The True Story of the Case Ruth Bader Ginsburg Argues in ‘On the Basis of Sex’

Moritz v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue was the first gender-discrimination suit Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg argued in court

Saint Nicholas, Bishop of Myra, is shown throwing three balls of gold through a window, providing the dowry of three poverty-stricken maidens in an altarpiece painted between 1433 and 1435 for a monastery in Florence. The design was based on an altarpiece by Gentile da Fabriano of 1425.

Why We Should Bring Back the Tradition of the Christmas Orange

The appeal of a last-minute stocking stuffer

In 1911, demonstrators protested following the tragic Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York City.

Why the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire Makes for a Complicated History

Charged with manslaughter, the owners were acquitted in December 1911. A Smithsonian curator reexamines the labor and business practices of the era

Abigail Spencer as Lucy Preston, Malcolm Barrett as Rufus Carlin, and Matt Lanter as Wyatt Logan just got back from saving history. Again. NBD.

'Timeless' Recapped

One Last Time, Read Our ‘Timeless’ Deep Dive Into What the Beloved TV Show Got Right and Wrong

“Timeless”’s finale teaches us how to say goodbye to the intrepid, time-traveling crew

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Ingenious Minds

Studying Political Pessimism in the Past Actually Makes Historian Jon Grinspan Optimistic About the Future

Columnist David Brooks interviews the political historian about what we can learn from negative political engagement in our country’s history

Cartoonist Thomas Nast first drew Santa Claus in January 1863, for Harper's Weekly.

A Civil War Cartoonist Created the Modern Image of Santa Claus as Union Propaganda

Thomas Nast is legendary for his political cartoons, but he’s also responsible for the jolly St. Nick we know today

Featuring Emily Blunt as Mary Poppins, the new adaptation centers on the next generation of the Banks family.

The Practically Perfect Political Timing of Mary Poppins

Disney warned of reading too much into the timing of his films, but just now everyone could use a little “spit spot” from America’s favorite British Nanny

A mini-loaf of homemade panettone

A Culinary History of Panettone, the Italian and South American Christmas Treat

The holiday pastry has been a multicultural phenomenon since the very beginning

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