CURRENT ISSUE
December 2023
Features
![OPENER](https://th-thumbnailer.cdn-si-edu.com/d8IBfpUmjyy3ZMdaitNVj1cY8ls=/400x300/filters:no_upscale():focal(1200x903:1201x904)/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/68/01/6801b243-4116-4594-b197-3eafe4252dac/three.jpg)
State of the Art
In the birthplace of Italian sculpture, a powerful automated robot tries its hand at an ancient craft
![Frog](https://th-thumbnailer.cdn-si-edu.com/fFYkJeI06C1FKYcEfeQ5If7bJuk=/400x300/filters:no_upscale():focal(2400x1806:2401x1807)/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/75/ed/75ed16cf-58d8-4bcd-ac46-e129dcf7a6be/dsc4464_copia.jpg)
Clinging to Life
The surprise rediscovery of a rare frog has conservationists doubling down on the need to protect vulnerable habitat
![OPENER - Stark-Star grapes—native to North America, and considered a “champion cultivar” by Jerry Eisterhold, founder of TerraVox Winery.](https://th-thumbnailer.cdn-si-edu.com/5J2oNLLfZvWskUWMCK8liej0EYE=/400x300/filters:no_upscale():focal(818x615:819x616)/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/c8/74/c874d0c7-7911-4fa1-940e-9476d045ad70/opener_-_dec2023_f05_forgottengrapes.jpg)
American Vintage
The nation’s wine industry was once built on native grapes. Now one Missouri winemaker is restoring the vines to their former glory
![Opener - reindeer](https://th-thumbnailer.cdn-si-edu.com/YAHiWAAhBsd1AJJ32Abd7Jomutw=/400x300/filters:no_upscale():focal(870x655:871x656)/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/64/cb/64cb1ef2-92c6-46a0-a96e-862b0141939f/openerpygmyreindeer.jpg)
Valley of the Reindeer
On Norway’s Svalbard archipelago, a rare animal is thriving—for now
![Opener - Babyn Yar, outside Kyiv, where 33,771 Jews were killed over two days in September 1941. The small portraits show unidentified Ukrainians, likely Jews, before the war.](https://th-thumbnailer.cdn-si-edu.com/rPBVdwzqbrIsdVLFvi13ryi3FqQ=/400x300/filters:no_upscale():focal(1800x1354:1801x1355)/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/37/48/37482159-c7d6-435e-9f6f-ff337982b21e/babynyaropener.jpg)
The Ravine
Plans to create a uniquely ambitious Holocaust memorial at the site of an infamous massacre were finally underway. Then a new war in Ukraine changed everything
Departments
Discussion
Your feedback on Vietnam veterans, the value of stagecraft and one very adventurous anthropologist
What Comes Next for the Smithsonian's New Human Remains Task Force
As the Smithsonian grapples with a dark legacy, a new task force will recommend ethical policies for handling human remains
The Stuff of Legend
A president’s forbearance spurred history’s most enduring toy craze
Freedom Fighter
Thaddeus Stevens is one of the greatest heroes in U.S. history. Why hasn’t he gotten his due?
Tipple Play
A Yuletide mainstay continues to warm cockles and ventricles everywhere
Head Over Heels
Collectors go nuts over one of the rarest stamps in history
Photo Ops
The daring journalist who made a splash on both sides of the lens
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