What Happened to FDR’s Fireside Chats? And More Questions From Our Readers
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Whatever happened to President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s tradition of fireside chats? Frances Gelles | Denver
The spread of radio gave Roosevelt the means to have his speeches broadcast into listeners’ homes in real time, through relatively informal messages he called fireside chats. But while Roosevelt was the first to be able to employ this approach on a large scale, he was not the last. Every president since then has found ways to use the media of their day to deliver personal, conversational messages directly to the public. Jimmy Carter once gave a televised “fireside chat” while sitting by an actual White House fireplace. Ronald Reagan didn’t use the fireside title or motif, but he did deliver radio addresses to the public each Saturday. Barack Obama was the first president to communicate with the public through social media, a practice carried on by his successors, Donald Trump and Joe Biden. The title and medium may have changed, but the spirit of the presidential fireside chat lives on. —Claire Jerry, curator of political history, National Museum of American History
What are the factors that limit the altitude a housefly can reach? Monica Cartwright | North Wales, Pennsylvania
The maximum height to which any insect can fly is based on three factors that change with altitude. One is temperature: At a certain point, an insect flies high enough that the air is too cold and it comes back down. The second is air density: When the air gets too thin at greater heights, the insect’s wings can’t propel it as well in the air. The third is oxygen, which insects need and which becomes less plentiful higher up. That said, plenty of insects can be found at high altitudes. Insects that live in mountainous areas have evolved ways to compensate for these environmental conditions. Flies have been collected at altitudes higher than 20,000 feet above sea level. Some migratory species of butterfly purposefully take advantage of the lower energy cost of flying at high altitudes because it’s easier for them to ride wind currents there. —Floyd Shockley, curator of entomology, National Museum of Natural History
Are there any pre-European Native American sites or structures still in use today? Joshua Macel | Collegeville, Pennsylvania
The village of Sky City in New Mexico has been in use since the year 1150, before European contact. It is said to be the oldest continually inhabited community in North America. The Native people belonging to the Acoma Pueblo tribe who live there today are believed to have descended from early Puebloans, Mogollon and other ancient peoples. Sky City is situated on a 365-foot-high mesa, about 60 miles west of Albuquerque. The village does not have electricity, sewers or running water. To compensate for the lack of these conveniences, the village depends on ancient techniques that were in place before the first Europeans arrived. For instance, the villagers still collect rainwater in a natural hole in the middle of the village, just as their ancient ancestors did. The Acoma Pueblo villages, including Sky City, are the only Native American sites to be designated by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. —Dennis Zotigh, cultural specialist, National Museum of the American Indian
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This article is a selection from the June 2025 issue of Smithsonian magazine