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Arts & Culture

Carl Laemmle in 1918

This Hollywood Titan Foresaw the Horrors of Nazi Germany

Carl Laemmle, the founder of Universal Pictures, wrote hundreds of affidavits to help refugees escape Europe

Inauguration History

Quiz: How Much Do You Know About Presidential Food?

In honor of Inauguration Day, here’s a little quiz to see how much you know about presidential food history

Tony Lu prepares a dish.

Atlas of Eating

Meet the Michelin-Starred Chef Pushing the Limits of Vegetarian Cuisine in China

Master chef Tony Lu discusses China’s changing tastes and his own innovative approach to ‘Vegetarian Fusion’

The Admiral, 16th century | Giuseppe Arcimboldo

Atlas of Eating

A Brief History of Food as Art

From subject to statement, food has played a role in art for millennia

On a chilly day in Tokyo, customers slurp hot ramen at the Tsukiji fish market.

Atlas of Eating

You’ve Been Slurping Ramen All Wrong

In Japan, ramen is a culinary touchstone that goes way beyond food

Breaking Ground

Smithsonian Artifacts and Music Legends Share the Stage in Tonight’s Star-Studded Television Program

Notable African-American performing artists commemorate the opening of the National Museum of African American History

"No one on earth can be totally secure, because nothing can completely protect you from life’s tragedies and the relentless passage of time.”

Michael Jackson, Donald Trump and Other Famous Americans Who Escaped Brushes With Death

The roads not taken for these 13 lucky souls saved their lives

Kiya Anderson has a father in prison and a mother who is unable to care for her. She has lived in numerous foster homes.

American Incarceration

The Everyday Struggle of a Child Whose Parents Are Incarcerated

With more American men and women in prison than ever before in our history, millions of children are struggling with the effects of a fractured family life

From left to right: Ricky Jackson is finally a free man; Japanese Americans head into internment in 1942; a Maryland boy (in red) has an inmate mom.

American Incarceration

The Far-Reaching Effects of American Incarceration

Three photo essays explore the history and modern-day consequences of the world’s highest incarceration rate

Oil portrait of Barack Obama by Kadir Nelson

A Portrait of Obama in the Final Days of His Presidency

Commissioned for Smithsonian magazine, this painting shows a leader at a crossroads

Abstract artist Wassily Kandinsky, who may have been a synesthete, once said: "Color is the key. The eye is the hammer. The soul is the piano with its many chords. The artist is the hand that, by touching this or that key, sets the soul vibrating automatically."

Art Meets Science

Feel the Music—Literally—With Some Help From New Synesthesia Research

How one artist created a show inspired by the neurological experience of synesthesia

Lin Huiyin and Liang Sicheng on honeymoon in Europe

The Couple Who Saved China’s Ancient Architectural Treasures Before They Were Lost Forever

As the nation teetered on the brink of war in the 1930s, two Western-educated thinkers struck out for the hinterlands to save their country’s riches

Singer-songwriter St. Vincent performs with color guard team Field of View.

A New Documentary Conceived by David Byrne Explores the Wonder of the Color Guard

The dazzling offshoot of the marching band gets its moment in the spotlight

The warrior was buried in an olive grove outside the acropolis of Pylos. Though archaeologist Carl Blegen explored the olive grove in the 1960s, he did not find anything.

This 3,500-Year-Old Greek Tomb Upended What We Thought We Knew About the Roots of Western Civilization

The recent discovery of the grave of an ancient soldier is challenging accepted wisdom among archaeologists

A Sonic Boom drum major dashes across the field.

March to the Joyous, Raucous Beat of the Sonic Boom of the South

College football seasons come and go, but the joyous thunder of Jackson State’s iconic marching band rolls on

Souvenir Disneyland scrapbook with Frontierland’s iconic symbols from 1955

How Disney Came to Define What Constitutes the American Experience

The entertainment company has been in the business of Americana since its inception

The word “jazz” was first used in print in California sportswriting around 1912.

This Is the “Jass” Record That Introduced Millions of Americans to a New Kind of Music

The record that introduced millions of Americans to a new kind of music

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The Top History Books of 2016

Here are some of the best titles to hit shelves this past year

Marsh Ponds; Mavilette, Nova Scotia, 2014

Canada

A Photographer Captures Emptiness and Longing in Longfellow’s Nova Scotia

Photographer Mark Marchesi spent four years tracing images from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s epic poem, “Evangeline”

Dried cohineal insects from the author's study

The Bug That Had the World Seeing Red

How a Mesoamerican insect once created the globe’s most coveted color

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