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At the Smithsonian / Curators' Corner

Our fundamentally human social, ecological, and behavioral adaptations have, over time, ratcheted up our adaptability.

Anthropocene

The Moral Dilemma We Face in the Age of Humans

Humans are proficient problem solvers—but so far that trait has come at a cost. Can our species remain resilient without destroying the world?

Fireworks over Beijing during 2013's Lantern Festival

To Limit Pollution, The Chinese Are Faced With Giving Up an Ancient Tradition

For the Chinese, who invented both gun powder and fireworks, foregoing old traditions may clean up the air—just a bit

"We are limited to one vessel, with nowhere else to go."

Anthropocene

A New Way for Stewardship of Mother Earth: Indigeneity

Smithsonian geographer Doug Herman proposes a return to sustainable solutions, based on the path laid by Indigenous peoples for millennia

Anthropocene

A Poem Dedicated to Earth in the Age of Humans

National Portrait Gallery historian David Ward writes a new ode for the Anthropocene

Latino populations like those in Red Hook, Brooklyn, suffered greatly during Hurricane Sandy

Anthropocene

Latinos Are Suffering the First Effects of Climate Change, Their Voices Need to Be Heard

The director of the Smithsonian Latino Center weighs in on the disproportionate burden that climate change brings to Latino populations

Eleanor Roosevelt leans forward from the back seat of the Roosevelt car to catch a comment from her husband, Franklin, as they campaign for his fourth term as president.

Ken Burns’ New Series, Based on Newly Discovered Letters, Reveals a New Side of FDR

In “The Roosevelts”, Burns examines the towering but flawed figures who really understood how character defined leadership

The Fight for Catalonian Independence Took the Form of a Giant “V” in the Streets of Barcelona

Hundreds of thousands of protestors formed a giant red and yellow V, symbolizing the “Way Forward” and marking the region’s national holiday

No Man's Land could be the most terrifying of places. "Men drowning in shell-holes already filled with decaying flesh," wrote one scholar.

World War I: 100 Years Later

The Legend of What Actually Lived in the “No Man’s Land” Between World War I’s Trenches

Born of the horrors of trench warfare, a ghoulish tale of scavengers and scofflaws took hold 100 years ago

Master navigator Mau Piailug teaches navigation to his son and grandson with the help of a star compass.

How the Voyage of the Kon-Tiki Misled the World About Navigating the Pacific

Smithsonian geographer Doug Herman explains the traditional science of traversing the ocean seas

If there had been Academy Awards in the mid-1920s, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s The Big Parade produced by Irving Thalberg, directed by King Vidor, and starring John Gilbert and Renée Adorée, would have swept the prizes.

World War I: 100 Years Later

The Blockbuster World War I Film that Brought Home the Traumatic Impact of War

The blockbuster silent film The Big Parade is among the first to explore the psychological trauma of war

Lee surrendering to Grant at Appomattox

Which General Was Better? Ulysses S. Grant or Robert E. Lee?

The historic rivalry between the South’s polished general and the North’s rough and rugged soldier is the subject of a new show at the Portrait Gallery

More than 1,200 newspapers serve ethnic communities across America. Current front pages from some of those publications are on display at the Newseum.

Washington, D.C.

News For All: How the Immigrant Experience Shaped American Media

From Benjamin Franklin to Noticiero Univision, the Newseum discusses the profound influence of immigrants on modern news

Hokule'a departs on 4-year worldwide voyage from Honolulu in May 2014.

For Four Years, This Polynesian Canoe Will Sail Around the World Raising Awareness of Global Climate Change

A Smithsonian curator chronicles the genesis of the project that hearkens back to when ancient navigators traveled the oceans

Human towers for democracy at the anniversary of Castellers in Barcelona.

What Does a 36-Foot-Tall Human Tower Have to Do With Catalan Independence?

An eye-catching protest across Europe is steeped in cultural heritage says Smithsonian curator Michael Atwood Mason

A green turtle.

Why Do We Have Trouble Talking About Success In Ocean Conservation?

Despite what you’ve read in the news, there’s still hope for a future with a healthy ocean

This month's Atlantic cover story by Ta-Nehisi Coates is generating some serious discussion about "The Case for Reparations."

Breaking Ground

America’s Moral Debt to African Americans

The director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture joins the discussion around “The Case for Reparations”

Family photographs collected from around the United States are featured in Beyond Bollywood. Here, Pandit Shankar Ghosh, Shrimati Sanjukta Ghosh, with Vikram (Boomba) Ghosh at Samuel P. Taylor State Park, Lagunitas, Calif., ca. 1970.

How Museums and the Arts are Presenting Identity So That It Unites, Not Divides

Curators and practioners of the arts share a renewed focus on how culture and heritage shape who we are as Americans

Members of Coxey's Army, 1894

Washington, D.C.

How a Ragtag Band of Reformers Organized the First Protest March on Washington, D.C.

The first March on Washington was a madcap affair, but in May of 1894, some 10,000 citizens descended on D.C., asking for a jobs bill

Several scenes in this month's box office smash Captain America: The Winter Soldier were filmed at the National Air and Space Museum.

How Captain America Made the Leap From the Museum to the Front Pages

Filmed at the Smithsonian, the smash hit prompts curator Amy Henderson to ponder the real world anxieties underlying our superhero fictions

Celebrating his 20th anniversary as the host of Turner Classic Movies, Robert Osborne describes his job as "such luck."

On the Red Carpet with “Mr. Oscar” Himself, Robert Osborne

In celebration of his 20-year anniversary at Turner Classic Movies, the ultimate film buff stops by the Smithsonian to chat

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