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Why I Take Fake Pills

Surprising new research shows that placebos still work even when you know they’re not real

Since October 2001, the most populous states have also resettled the most refugees, but some states have accommodated more than might be expected, while others have taken in fewer.

By the Numbers: The United States of Refugees

President Trump’s order temporarily barring all refugees and many immigrants has ignited debate about U.S. policies toward outsiders

Guided only by phone GPS, Salar, left, and Saif crossed the Aegean. “I downloaded every possible map,” says Salar.

A Modern Odyssey: Two Iraqi Refugees Tell Their Harrowing Story

Fleeing violence in Iraq, two close friends embarked on an epic journey across Europe—and ended up worlds apart

Sefton Delmer reads in the radio booth in 1941.

Fighting the Nazis With Fake News

A new documentary rediscovers a World War II campaign that was stranger than nonfiction

Discussion

Reader responses to our March issue

The old Simpsons "haunted" the family house in a 2014 Halloween episode

The Simpson Family Made Its Television Debut 30 Years Ago

When they arrived on the Tracey Ullman show, their look was a little more ragged

What Is Dark Matter and More Questions From Our Readers

You asked, we answered

A quarter of the U.S. population (including a girl in Moline, Illinois) turned out for the Liberty Bell.

World War I: 100 Years Later

How the Liberty Bell Won the Great War

As it entered World War I, the United States was politically torn and financially challenged. An American icon came to the rescue

Researchers have documented more than 4,000 fossils on clifftop beds accessible to the public.

Canada

Darwin Would Have Loved the Cliffs of Newfoundland, Where 500-Million-Years-Old Fossils Reside

Step back in time half a billion years to a world of mysterious sea creatures that would have thrilled Darwin

The government worker Chandra Rangani tends to the health of Thimmamma Marrimanu.

Evotourism ®

The Biggest Tree Canopy on the Planet Stretches Across Nearly Five Acres

In remote India, a visit to Thimmamma Marrimanu offers a spectacular lesson in the vital coexistence of living things

Kilauea at sunrise: A massive flow streams from a lava tube at the Kamokuna ocean entry.

Evotourism ®

Hawaii’s Must-See Lava Flows Are Home to New, Startling Ecosystems

These stunning volcanoes are creating new islands of evolution

$50,000 platinum grill worn by rapper Lil Jon

A New Photo Book Showcases the Absurd Extravagance of the World’s Wealthiest Citizens

Economic recession or not, there are few limits on the ways the mega-rich will flaunt their fortunes

In 2015, Misty Copeland became the first African-American woman to be promoted to principal dancer at the American Ballet Theatre.

Ballerina Misty Copeland on Working With Prince, Her Must-See Dances, and Why She Wants to Bring “Ballet Across America”

Ahead of a performance in Washington, D.C., the prima ballerina talks about ballerina bodies and misconceptions about the art form

Emily Dickinson

Emily Dickinson Was Fiercer Than You Think

A new biopic shows the poet as more than a mysterious recluse

Ask Smithsonian 2017

Why Is Pennsylvania Ave D.C.’s Main Thoroughfare and More Questions From Our Readers

Your questions answered by our experts

The remnants of a Viking barn still stand at what had been the settlement of Gardar.

Ask Smithsonian 2017

Why Did Greenland’s Vikings Vanish?

Newly discovered evidence is upending our understanding of how early settlers made a life on the island — and why they suddenly disappeared

The last natural case of smallpox was recorded in Somalia in 1977.

A Child From 17th-Century Europe Might Have Rewritten the History of Smallpox

The deadly scourge goes back for centuries, but how many?

January/February 2017 Cover

Discussion

Reader responses to our January/February issue

Most players of “Walden” go straight to survival tasks, admits Fullerton.

Can a Video Game Capture the Magic of Walden?

Henry David Thoreau’s famed retreat gets pixelated

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