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"It's possible my natural level is in the Senate," John F. Kennedy said—but then he won the 1960 election. As president, he and his wife hosted Ben and Tony Bradlee (left and third from left) at the White House.

Kennedy After Dark: A Dinner Party About Politics and Power

In this exclusive transcript from the JFK library, hear what he had to say just days after announcing his candidacy for the presidency

A Smith electric delivery van (such as this one in New York City) can reduce emissions by 85 percent, compared with diesel power.

Forget the Volt, Make Way for Electric Trucks

Smith trucks are powered by batteries, not diesel, which could make a big difference in the fight against climate change

The USS Zumwalt, the Navy’s next-generation warship. The 600-foot, 15,000-ton vessels is being built by General Dynamics in Maine at the Bath Iron Works.

Introducing the USS Zumwalt, the Stealth Destroyer

Set to be christened in 2013, this new naval warship will amaze, leaving almost no wake in the open seas

Unless you know how to handle a scalpel and have some detailed knowledge of anatomy, Antarctica could be the least convenient place to suffer appendicitis—but it’s happened to researchers more than once.

Health Hazards of the Traveler

Russian scientist Leonid Rogozov was the only doctor within 1,000 miles when, in 1961, he was struck by appendicitis in Antarctica

Yayoi Kusama in her New York studio:

Yayoi Kusama, High Priestess of Polka Dots

The avant-garde Japanese artist attains retrospective status—and embarks on a fashion collaboration with Louis Vuitton

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Newly Discovered Comet, Headed Toward Earth, Could Shine as Bright as the Moon

Comet C/2012 S1(ISON) could become the brightest comet anyone alive has ever seen

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Triceratops Wasn’t Toxic

Triceratops was an awesome dinosaur, but, despite one site’s claim, it wasn’t equipped with poisonous quills

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Winged Tapestries

Jim des Rivières’ portraits of moths capture the insects’ exquisite patterns

Does greed live here?

How Brains Make Money

A new breed of scientists says that if you want to understand why people make financial decisions, you need to see what’s going on inside their brains

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Scientists Invent Electronic Circuits That Dissolve in Water

The new type of temporary electronics could be implanted in the body or used to monitor the environment without a need for cleanup afterward

Clotilde Arias in 1942 with the Argentine composer Terrig Tucci

At American History, Meet the Composer of the Spanish Language National Anthem

From the Amazon River Basin to Madison Avenue, the woman behind the Spanish translation of the Star-Spangled Banner united the Americas

Caroline Linder (left) and Lisa Smith of ODLCO at their new (semi-finished) space in Chicago.

Making Objects: A Dispatch From the Future of Small-Batch Manufacturing

A pair of young design entrepreneurs are building a small-batch manufacturing company in Chicago

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Where’s My Clone-o-saurus?

Physicist Michio Kaku says we’ll be able to clone dinosaurs in the future, but he glosses over some crucial technicalities

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Great American Puzzle Update: Solving a Sticky Question

A subscriber wondered if the mailing label that is printed on the mailed copies of Smithsonian magazine would interfere with his solving the Great American Puzzle

The Sackler transforms for one-night only into a dance party that is not to be missed.

Events September 28-30: Dance Parties, Family Days and Artist Talks

This weekend, get down after dark, celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month and get an artist’s perspective on art in the collection

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The Silence that Preceded China’s Great Leap into Famine

Mao Zedong encouraged critics of his government—and then betrayed them just when their advice might have prevented a calamity

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VIDEO: Watch This Carnivorous Plant Fling an Insect Into Its Mouth

A small plant native to Australia features two sets of touch-sensitive tentacles to catapult insects towards its digestive concavity and then draw them in deeper

A large passenger jet refueling. Such planes may consume five gallons of fuel per mile traveled. But is it possible that they’re more efficient than cars?

How Bad Is Air Travel for the Environment?

A large passenger jet may consume five gallons of fuel per mile traveled. Is it possible, then, that planes are more efficient than cars?

Dating and mapping fossil finds is one way anthropologists track early human migrations. The bones from Qafzeh, Israel, (a drawing of one of the skulls, above) indicate Homo sapiens first left Africa more than 100,000 years ago.

How to Retrace Early Human Migrations

Anthropologists rely on a variety of fossil, archaeological, genetic and linguistic clues to reconstruct how people populated the world

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Science Images that Border on Art

This year’s Wellcome Image Award winners pull at your “art” strings. The curious seek out the science behind them

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