How the Body Defends Itself From the Risky Business of Living
Our cells take trillions of ‘hits’ each day from toxins both natural and man-made, but hardworking enzymes repair the damage
Climate Is Often a Matter of Inches and a Little Water
Planners ignore microclimates at their peril: mistakes can mean frozen crops, lower house values and camper vans blown off the highway
Today’s physics allow outrageous possibilities: faster-than-light travel across the galaxy, or even our learning to make new universes to specification
Now Playing in Academe: the King of Rock’n’Roll
At the University of Mississippi, the first annual International Conference on Elvis Presley brought together fans and scholars
Time Stands Still in the Harmonious World of Vermeer
It’s a must-see show at the National Gallery of Art; not since 1696 have so many of his paintings been brought together in one place
Harmonicas Are…hooty, Wheezy, Twangy and Tooty
They’re from the Old Country, but there’s nothing better for American music, from blues to honky-tonk and the fans are blown away
Sure the Piano-Violin Can Do Two Things At Once—But Can It Do Them Well?
Sure the piano-violin can do two things at once—but can it do them well?
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Congress Couldn’t Have Been This Bad, or Could It?
If you think things are pretty messy on Capitol Hill today, just take a look at what was going on up there a century and a half ago
Pliny’s World: All the Facts and Then Some
In A.D. 77 a workaholic called Pliny the Elder published the first encyclopedia, Natural History. Headless people were among the many marvels
As the Institution grows in size and complexity, we are proceeding to decentralize and revitalize its parts
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A book from Smithsonian’s editor recounts tales of writers and wars, photographers and Presidents, and the experiences of life in journalism
The story behind the Smithsonian’s display tiger leads back into tiger history, man-eating and otherwise, and back to the fact that tigers are endangered
The Granddaddy of the Nation’s Trails Began in Mexico
The Camino Real, after languishing in the shadow of the Santa Fe, the Oregon and the California trails, is finally getting its due
Inside its surreal new superhotels, the city synonymous with glitz is taking fantasy to the max and creating an escapist mecca
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A Year-End Night of Magic in This Cuban Hill Town
Was Zulueta a place of memory or of myth? When a journalist returns to his ancestral home to find out, the fireworks cast a spell
There was a time when a cane was the exclamation point to a gentleman’s attire, but canes have also been put to a remarkable range of uses
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