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Articles

The Brazilian rainforest faces threats beyond deforestation.

Unfortunately, Reducing Deforestation Isn’t Enough To Protect Amazon Biodiversity

Logging, wildfires and other human disturbances lead to species die-offs

“Brian Bilston” sits above his parody of a W. B. Yeats poem.

Why Twitter’s “Poet Laureate” Has No Plans to Unmask His Real Identity

He tweets under the guise of @Brian_Bilston and uses the platform to reinvent the age-old form of writing

The dueling heroines take the lead in a fight for the town’s soul.

Why Betty and Veronica Are the Real Stars of Riverdale

In a reboot of the classic Archie comics, the two female leads take charge

The Masonic Lodge in Monrovia, Liberia. Before the civil war, the descents of American slaves who mainly controlled the government often made official decisions at the lodge, which did not allow native members.

These Abandoned Buildings Are the Last Remnants of Liberia’s Founding History

The world created by former slaves in Liberia was a cruel paradox for more than 150 years

Maialen Lujanbio wears the large trophy txapela, or beret, after becoming the first female to win the National Championship in 2009.

What Is Bertsolaritza and Who Are the Basque Poets Who Know It?

At the Folklife Festival, be sure to catch the singing, improvisational poetry slam that’s keeping a language alive

Photographer Neil Ever Osborne photographed king penguins in the Falkland Islands at the height of breeding season.

Shooting Penguins in the Falkland Islands to Save Them

Photographer Neil Ever Osborne hopes that his work helps save the species

American Exiles: Leaving Home

A series of three photo essays explores how America has treated its own people in times of crisis

Louisiana is spending $42.5 million to rebuild the marshes in the Grand Liard Bayou. Without the project, the land was expected to disappear entirely by 2050.

Age of Humans

The Residents of This Louisiana Island Are America’s First “Climate Refugees”

As the sea levels rise, these photos provide a big picture view of a place losing the battle against climate change

Some Native children were sent thousands of miles away. Others, like Oreos Eriacho, were housed closer to home, in now-decaying dorms like this one, in Ramah, N.M.

For More Than 100 Years, the U.S. Forced Navajo Students Into Western Schools. The Damage Is Still Felt Today

Photographer Daniella Zalcman explores how native populations had a new nation foisted upon them

“I hope people of the future will look back on us and see that we learned the lessons of deep time,” says Smithsonian paleontologist Scott Wing.

Age of Humans

Studying the Climate of the Past Is Essential for Preparing for Today’s Rapidly Changing Climate

A Smithsonian scientist explains why in the new Age of Humans, we must turn from crisis management to planet management

Shark Week

Sharks and Humans: A Love-Hate Story

A short history of our relationship with the ocean’s most intimidating fish

Why People Abandon High-Tech Prosthetics

That Luke Skywalker prosthetic arm may strike the average user as less than sensational

Sperm whales, giant squid and humans all have a mitochondrial "Eve."

No, a Mitochondrial ‘Eve’ Is Not the First Female in a Species

The latest story about a sperm whale “Eve” shows how people misunderstand the evolutionary term. Fear not: We can clarify

Jayson Mesman and his truffle hunting dog Samson hard at work at The Truffle Farm.

These Adorable Rescue Dogs Lead Truffle Hunting Tours in Australia’s Majura Valley

An Australian farmer trains these abandoned canines to sleuth out a gourmet delicacy

France has some 280 burial grounds for men killed in Somme combat, including the Lonsdale Cemetery in Authuille.

World War I: 100 Years Later

A Bold New History of the Battle of the Somme

British generals have long been seen as the bunglers of the deadly conflict, but a revisionist look argues that a U.S. general was the real donkey

Edna O’Brien pictured in late 2013

Novelist Edna O’Brien Explores the True Nature of Evil

Celebrated for her books about love, the writer might finally win a Nobel Prize for something darker

Treating 5-year-old Barbara Bowles required doctors who were “on a mission, looking for something brand-new.”

Childhood Leukemia Was Practically Untreatable Until Dr. Don Pinkel and St. Jude Hospital Found a Cure

A half century ago, a young doctor took on a deadly form of cancer—and the scientific establishment

Sacel Castle was the primary home of the Nopcsa family, which traced its roots in the area to the 14th century.

History Forgot This Rogue Aristocrat Who Discovered Dinosaurs and Died Penniless

Now fallen into shadow, the Romania-born Baron Franz Nopcsa was a groundbreaking scientist, adventurer — and would-be king

Wayfair's app lets you see how their products will look in your house.

How Augmented Reality Will Change How You Buy Furniture

Thanks to a new Google 3D technology named Tango, mobile devices will be able to insert virtual images into a real place

An aerial view of the southwest side of the island.

The Best Caribbean Island You’ve Never Heard Of

This tropical paradise is packed with lush landscapes and secret pleasures

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