Jane Austen Never Loved Bath—but Bath Loves Jane Austen. Now, the City Is Exploring Why the Novelist Was So Unhappy There
To celebrate the author’s 250th birthday, a new exhibition spotlights her complicated relationship with the English city where she set parts of “Persuasion” and “Northanger Abbey”
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To Combat Summer Reading Slumps, This Timeless Children’s Television Show Tried to Bridge the Literacy Gap With the Magic of Stories
With a charismatic host and charming book readings and reviews, the hit series “Reading Rainbow” stands as a beacon of children’s literature
How the Etch A Sketch Etched Itself Into Pop Culture
Sixty-five years after it first hit store shelves, the iconic, red-framed drawing toy continues to enchant kids, artists, and collectors alike
How Superman Became a Character for the Ages
The superhero from Krypton has a forgotten superpower: the ability to connect to people across space and time
How an Ancestral Peruvian Ceremony Is Saving the Once-Endangered Vicuña
Each year in the first weeks of June, Indigenous communities in the Andes form a human chain to corral the camelids and shear their valuable wool
Here’s How Superman’s Iconic Motto of ‘Truth, Justice and the American Way’ Evolved Over Time
The quintessential superhero has always stood for truth and justice, but the final part of his catchphrase has morphed to match a more connected world—and his place in it
How a Deadly Circus Fire on the ‘Day the Clowns Cried’ Traumatized a Community—and Led to Lasting Safety Reforms
On July 6, 1944, a blaze broke out at a Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey show in Hartford, Connecticut. At least 167 people died, and hundreds were injured
Jewish Food Is Making a Comeback in Poland
Bagels, knishes, bialys and more are popping up in bakeries as the country reckons with historical trauma
See a Stunning Photo of New York City From Above in 1932
In her dazzling portraits of a metropolis on the rise, Berenice Abbott captured the city that never sleeps
A New Biography Offers the Most Intimate Portrait Yet of One of the 20th Century’s Greatest Authors
Research into James Baldwin’s archives reveals incisive details about the writer’s personal relationships, both platonic and romantic, with other men
Why the Ancient Craft of Dry Stone Walling Still Holds So Much Appeal in the 21st Century
Artisans around the world are ditching the mortar and embracing an old method of building rock walls
From the Coast to the Capital, Enjoy an Eyeful of Extraordinary Eastern Canada
See 15 images of our neighbor to the north from the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest
These Daring Revolutionary-Era Artists Promoted the Patriot Cause From the Heart of Enemy Territory
A new book explores how painters, sculptors and writers, especially women and people of color, used their craft to advocate for American independence while living in George III’s capital city
Why You Should Love Durian, the World’s Smelliest Fruit
The southeast Asian crop is a complex and layered one-of-a-kind fruit that consumes the lives of the devoted
The Colorful History of Tarot Is as Mesmerizing as the Decks Themselves
The original meaning behind the cards, first created 500 years ago, still remains elusive. But that didn’t stop our reporter from traveling to Milan in an effort to find out
Go Behind the Scenes of the Running of the Bulls
An offbeat journey to the legendary Spanish festival 100 years after the life-changing trip that inspired Ernest Hemingway to write “The Sun Also Rises”
A Bold Finnish Artist Brought These Precious Little Hippopotamus-Like Trolls to the World 80 Years Ago
Tove Jansson was a trailblazing illustrator and author—and the inventor of the beloved Moomins, the central characters of her whimsical children’s books
How the Beloved ‘Peanuts’ Found Its Way to Define the Modern Comic Strip
With poignant wisdom and gentle wit, Charles M. Schulz reinvented the form and introduced the nation to Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Linus, Lucy and so many more indelible characters
When a Lumberjack’s Imagination Ran Wild, He Created More Than 200 Sculptures in Wisconsin’s Northwoods
Decades later, a conservator keeps Fred Smith’s art alive in the whimsical Wisconsin Concrete Park
When ‘The Wiz’ Debuted on Broadway 50 Years Ago, It Sparked a Brand New Day for Audiences
How the remarkable musical transformed a beloved folk tale into a celebratory vision for the future of Black America
America Deported Her for Publishing a Book Titled ‘Lesbian Love.’ Years Later, She Was Murdered by the Nazis for Being Jewish
Eve Adams, an immigrant and the proprietor of a 1920s lesbian tearoom, was imprisoned for disorderly conduct and obscenity, then sent back to Europe, where she became a target of the Holocaust
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