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May 2012
Features
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Tasmania's New Devil
With one big bet, an art-loving professional gambler has made the Australian island into the world’s most surprising new cultural destination
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Sympathy for the Devil
The island’s most famous inhabitant is under attack by a diabolical disease
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The 10 Best Small Towns in America
From the Berkshires to the Cascades, we've crunched the numbers and pulled a list some of the most interesting spots around the country
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A Man and His Islands
For this renowned travel writer, no place has proved harder to decipher than his home for the past 22 years
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Dreams of Kenya
The dusty village where Barack Obama’s father was raised had high hopes after his son was elected president. What has happened since then?
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Mexican Mission
Mitt Romney’s father was born in a small Mormon enclave where family members still live, surrounded by rugged beauty and violent drug cartels
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Chairman of the Board
An ode to surfing’s fiercest, most successful competitor – who now has a place in the Smithsonian collections
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Make Way for Penguins
Few places let you get as close to the raffish birds—many of which are endangered—as South Africa’s Robben Island
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A Monument To Courage
To visit the brutal prison that held Mandela is haunting, yet inspiring
Departments
Contributors
The Green Museum
Home
Be it ever so humble, it's more than just a place. It’s also an idea—one where the heart is
Where They Lived
A photographer's images of domestic tranquility pay tribute to U.S. service members
What a Slide!
Last year major-leaguers scored the fewest runs per game in 19 seasons. A top statistician says that’s something to root, root, root for
Land of the Free
Compare documents filed by the first and last homesteaders in the United States
Home Sweet Homer
Twenty-five years after The Simpsons made their TV debut, the show's creator talks about Homer's odyssey—and his own
Onward, Voyagers
With the spacecraft poised to leave our solar system, the writer who helped compile the time capsules they carry reflects on our foray into outer space
The Conscience of the King
Robert Caro, the esteemed biographer of Lyndon Baines Johnson, talks on the Shakespearean life of the 36th president
Fruit Punch
The man who helped make the banana an American favorite also mercilessly used his company’s power to topple foreign governments
Out of the Flames
A new addition to the Smithsonian collections tells a new story about the legendary disaster
Playlist: Kings of Romance
This Just In: Freedom Fighter
Ask Smithsonian
You ask, we answer – our Smithsonian experts fill you in on the truths behind your burning questions
Spotlight
Shot In the Dark
Get a sneak peak at the new project that will search for mysterious cosmic energies that drive our universe