Arts & Culture

Five Ways to Eat Seaweed

For years a staple of Asian cuisine, the leafy green is becoming a popular new “super food” in the U.S.

April 18, 2014

These Intricate Cardboard Models Perfectly Capture the Look and Feel of World Cities

A photographer and model-maker created these dreamscapes, including a forest animal, to convey the essence of the urban metropolis

April 16, 2014

The Many Manifestations of the Color Pink

Lisa Kessler traveled across the country to hunt down images that show pink in America

April 15, 2014

Art Meets Science

What Can We Learn From Pictures of People and Their Trash?

A photography project meets public service campaign aims to raise awareness about what we throw in the trash in just one week

April 11, 2014

From Iceland to Croatia, Go On the Ultimate “Game of Thrones” Tour

Want more “Game of Thrones” than a show every Sunday and books every few years? Consider visiting the filming locations

April 10, 2014

Architects Give the Classic Chess Set a Radical Makeover

The designer behind the traditional kings and queens would resign if he saw these avant-garde game boards

April 9, 2014

Four Years After Marian Anderson Sang at the Lincoln Memorial, D.A.R. Finally Invited Her to Perform at Constitution Hall

A benefit concert presaged the opera singer’s eventual rapprochement with the Daughters of the American Revolution

April 9, 2014

Art Meets Science

These Delicate Images of Seaweed Were Captured Using a Flatbed Scanner

In a new book, photographer Josie Iselin highlights the exquisite colors and forms of kelp and other marine algae

April 8, 2014

Afraid to Go Back to the Cronut? Here Are Five Pastries That Could Take Its Place as the Pastry of Choice

Satisfy your sweet tooth with these delicious treats

April 8, 2014

New York City’s Disappearing Mom-and-Pop Storefronts

Two photographers set out to see what happened to small family businesses in New York City in a decade

April 7, 2014

Peter Matthiessen’s Lifelong Quest for Peace

In one of his final interviews, the award-winning writer talks about what inspired him to travel to the farthest reaches of the globe

May 2014

New Research

Could Noah’s Ark Float? In Theory, Yes

Basic physics suggests that an ark carrying lots of animal cargo could float, but science doesn’t support other facets of the biblical tale

April 4, 2014

Ten Ancient Stories and the Geological Events That May Have Inspired Them

If you dig deep enough, say scientists, you can find some truth to legends and creation stories

April 4, 2014

How Did the Cruellest Month Come to Be the Perfect 30 Days to Celebrate Poetry?

A Smithsonian historian makes the case why springtime is the best time to reawaken a thirst for verse

April 4, 2014

Art Meets Science

Bronze Sculptures of Five Extinct Birds Land in Smithsonian Gardens

Artist Todd McGrain memorializes species long-vanished, due to human impact on their habitats, in his “Lost Bird Project”

April 4, 2014

What the New Cesar Chavez Film Gets Wrong About the Labor Activist

Despite the good intentions, the biopic misleads and distorts his role in the farm workers movement

April 2, 2014

These Sketches Will Take You Into the Artistic Mind of Edward Hopper

At the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, a new exhibition and a novella delve into the inexplicable sense of mystery in Hopper’s paintings

April 1, 2014

Art Meets Science

Art and Science Collide in the Discovery of the Higgs Boson

Particle Fever, a documentary about the physicists who found the “God particle,” suggests doing science isn’t that different from making art

March 31, 2014

Mario Batali: The Best Restaurant in Rome

Take a peak inside Rome’s La Pergola

March 31, 2014

What the Heck Do I Do With

What the Heck Do I Do With a Cardoon?

The labor-intensive crop is absolutely worth the effort

March 28, 2014