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It was his weekends as a Civil War re-enactor that urged Joseph McGill to campaign for the conservation of slave cabins.

One Man’s Epic Quest to Visit Every Former Slave Dwelling in the United States

Joseph McGill, a descendant of slaves, has devoted his life to ensuring the preservation of these historic sites

The computing power of an infant's brain still astounds.

Sleeping Babies Can Sense When Mommy and Daddy Are Fighting

The infant brain is even more impressionable than previously thought

Staffers are trained to both prepare food and discuss political issues with customers.

Where War Is What’s for Dinner

Pittsburgh’s Conflict Kitchen has a global menu, with dishes from countries that have diplomatic problems with the U.S.

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Is Your Cell Phone Helping to Fund a Civil War?

The rare minerals used to build your cell phone are coming under scrutiny by federal regulators

Carlos, by Joseph Rodriguez: a sense of ownership of the city

An Exploration of Latino Art at the Smithsonian

Smithsonian Secretary G. Wayne Clough previews a new exhibit at the American Art Museum

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From the Editor

From the Editor

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Discussion

Discussion

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Contributors

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The Civil War

Will the Real Abraham Lincoln Please Stand Up?

A former Disney animator makes a provocative discovery by studying photos taken during the Gettysburg Address

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The Muppets Take the Smithsonian

Elmo, Fozzie Bear, the Count, Miss Piggy and 17 other Jim Henson puppets are coming to the American History Museum

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Coming Soon: The Sifang Art Museum

A first look at the 15,000-square-foot space being built outside of Nanjing, China

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Why Don’t Lions Attack Tourists on Safari and More Questions From Our Readers

A Moon-less Earth, yoga history, climate change and human speech

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A New Poem: “Argument from Design”

American poet David Yezzi’s latest composition

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The Insane and Exciting Future of the Bionic Body

From “i-limbs” to artificial organs, advances in technology have led to an explosion of innovation in the increasingly critical field of prosthetics

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What Urban Planners Can Learn From a Hindu Religious Festival

Every 12 years, one Indian city balloons from a few million residents to tens of millions. How does this happen with such ease?

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Why David Hockney Has a Love-Hate Relationship With Technology

A new retrospective highlights the artist’s two, seemingly opposite passions

Unlike the chest-beating primates of popular imagination, Brazil’s northern muriquis are easygoing and highly cooperative.

Humans Would Be Better Off If They Monkeyed Around Like the Muriquis

Biologist Karen Strier has been studying these peace-loving Brazilian primates and their egalitarian lifestyle for decades

Or like stout Cortez when with eagle eyes / He star'd at the Pacific—and all his men / Look'd at each other with a wild surmise— / Silent, upon a peak in Darién. —John Keats

Following in the Footsteps of Balboa

The first European to glimpse the Pacific from the Americas crossed Panama on foot 500 years ago. Our intrepid author retraces his journey

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What Is Al Pacino’s Next Big Move?

For six years, the actor who made his mark as Michael Corleone has been obsessing over a new movie about that ancient seductress Salome

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The Art That is Hidden in Plain Sight

A Milan-based artistic duo uses color to reveal a series of dreamlike panoramas concealed in white light

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