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The Mississippi Delta, seen from space in 2001.

America's Waterways: The Past, Present and Future

The 70 Million-Year-Old History of the Mississippi River

Dive into the secret past and uncertain future of the body of water that has defined a nation

Karen Orozco Gutierrez and Ann Banks returned to Alabama to visit the area where Banks' ancestors had enslaved people, including Orozco Gutierrez's ancestor Milton.

Two Women, Their Lives Connected by American Slavery, Tackle Their Shared History

One descended from an enslaver, the other from the people he enslaved. Together, they traveled to the Deep South to learn their families’ pasts

Meroe, 150 miles north of Khartoum, served as a necropolis for the kings and queens of Kush for close to 600 years.

Why Sudan’s Remarkable Ancient Civilization Has Been Overlooked by History

The African nation’s pyramids and other archaeological sites are only now emerging from the shadow of its more storied neighbor to the north

The rusted pirate fishing vessel STS-50 evaded authorities time and time again—until its luck ran out.

The Hunt for the Modern-Day Pirates Who Steal Millions of Tons of Fish From the Seas

These criminal actors threaten fragile species, forcing an international coalition to track them down

Allied freighters ablaze in the harbor of Bari, Italy, after the German attack.

How a Chemical Weapons Disaster in WWII Led to a U.S. Cover-Up—and a New Cancer Treatment

The physician who led the investigation into a deadly explosion in Italy found the truth, and some hope

More than $8 million worth of books from the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh were stolen or destroyed.

The Inside Story of the 25-Year, $8 Million Heist From the Carnegie Library

Precious maps, books and artworks vanished from the Pittsburgh archive, and the caper’s final chapter was just written

Word Puzzles

Play the Smithsonian Magazine Crossword: July/August Issue

Test your mettle with this puzzle created exclusively for ‘Smithsonian’ readers

None

Readers Respond to the June 2020 Issue

Your feedback on home brewing, Alexander the Great and Kangaroo Island

After George Floyd’s death, Jason Allende, 13, and his family joined protesters in Junction City, Kansas, on May 29, 2020.

Secretary Lonnie Bunch: Learning From Americans’ Past Ordeals

Looking to history can help find healing and hope

In Africa, ivory has been a status symbol because it comes from elephants, a highly respected animal, and because it is fairly easy to carve into works of art.

Why Is Ivory So Precious? And More Questions From Our Readers

You’ve got questions. We’ve got experts

Poles like these at a Boston fire station are no longer used universally, but they remain emblematic of the profession.

How an Ingenious Fireman Brought a Pole Into the Firehouse

More than a century ago, David Kenyon of Chicago discovered the fastest way to the ground floor

The sequencer on the 808, a row of 16 color-coded buttons, offered artists a way to store beats they programmed.

The TR-808 Drum Machine Changed the Sound of Pop Music Forever

Sometimes, technology has more impact after it’s obsolete

When I felt strong enough to go out for a walk, out of desperation from being locked up in the flat, I would walk along the Thames on the large promenade that borders the river. It was a cool night in April, and the sun had left a searing purple and pink horizon line on the city. It is rare to see such colors linger at dusk and I had with me my Polaroid camera. I took a few shots and remember how silent and eerie the city felt. A ghost town is truly what it was. This image was taken home and washed with water, sprayed with a foamy bleach and then doused with liquid hand sanitizer in the patches of foam.

Covid-19

Start With a Polaroid, Then Add Disinfectant. Here’s the Result

A quarantined photographer makes the most of the harsh materials at hand to create a fragile portrait of life in a pandemic

Sunset Drive In, San Luis Obispo 7/25/1981 "Let's hope young people today can get fascinated by the aura of that time," Kappeler says.

A Snapshot of Life in America in 1981

The magic of a young artist’s carefree trip across the country four decades ago

The third president evidently had a love of vanilla ice cream.

Make Thomas Jefferson’s Recipe for Ice Cream

The co-author of the Declaration of Independence also drafted a radical recipe

As innovations go, the ice cream truck might seem merely nutty. But summer would never be the same.

How the Ice Cream Truck Made Summer Cool

As innovations go, the Good Humor vehicle is as sweet as it gets

Kanzi, 39, has used lexigrams to communicate with researchers since age 2.

What Can Bonobos Teach Us About the Nature of Language?

A famed researcher’s daring investigation into ape communication—and the backlash it has caused

Mary McLeod Bethune, pictured in the 1920s, when her school became a co-ed institution and she became the president of the National Association of Colored Women.

100 Years of Women at the Ballot Box

Mary McLeod Bethune Was at the Vanguard of More Than 50 Years of Black Progress

Winning the vote for women was a mighty struggle. Securing full liberation for women of color was no less daunting

Spanning 92 feet across the Daiya River, the nearly 400-year-old Shinkyo Bridge serves as the sacred gateway to Nikko and the Toshogu Shrine complex.

The Way of the Shogun

Looking for the soul of modern Japan on an ancient road once traveled by poets and samurai

Lucretia Mott’s signature Quaker bonnet—hand-sewn green silk with a stiff cotton brim—from the collection of the National Museum of American History.

100 Years of Women at the Ballot Box

What Made Lucretia Mott One of the Fiercest Opponents of Slavery and Sexism

Her humble Quaker upbringing taught her how to stand up for her beliefs

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