D.C.’s Newseum Is Closing Its Doors at the End of the Year
The museum dedicated to the history of journalism and the First Amendment has struggled financially since opening 11 years ago
Thirty Years After Fall of Berlin Wall, a Citywide Celebration
A week-long arts festival will feature concerts, immersive exhibitions, art installations, panel discussions and more
A Chunk of Trinitite Reminds Us of the Sheer, Devastating Power of the Atomic Bomb
Within the Smithsonian’s collections exists a telltale trace of the weapon that would change the world forever
Why Lie Detector Tests Can’t Be Trusted
Federal agencies embraced the polygraph in the 1950s to reassure the public that they could unmask spies
Imagining a World Where Soviets and Americans Joined Hands on the Moon
Before he was assassinated, JFK spoke of a cooperative effort in space
HBO’s ‘Chernobyl’ Miniseries Is Driving Tourists to the Nuclear Disaster Site
Chernobyl tourist agencies have reportedly experienced a 30 to 40 percent jump in bookings since the show’s premiere
Cold War Nuclear Bomb Tests Are Helping Researchers Identify Art Forgeries
Traces of carbon-14 isotopes released by nuclear testing enable scientists to date paintings created post-World War II
During the Cold War, the CIA Secretly Plucked a Soviet Submarine From the Ocean Floor Using a Giant Claw
The International Spy Museum details the audacious plan that involved a reclusive billionaire, a 618-foot-long ship, and a great deal of stealth
Particles From Cold War Nuclear Bomb Tests Found in Deepest Parts of the Ocean
Crustaceans in the Mariana Trench and other underwater canyons feed on food from the surface laced with carbon-14 from Cold War bomb tests
U-2 Spy Plane Images Reveal Ancient Archaeological Sites in the Middle East
Two patient archaeologists organized and scanned the images to find structures destroyed or covered up over the last 60 years
How Did the White Picket Fence Become a Symbol of the Suburbs?
And why the epitome of the perfect house became so creepy
How CIA-Backed Spies Detected Soviet Nukes First During Cuban Missile Crisis
A report from Yahoo News lays out how a network of agents detected Soviet operations on the island before a U-2 spy plane snapped the famous photos
Color TV Transformed the Way Americans Saw the World, and the World Saw America
A historian of 20th century media argues that the technological innovation was the quintessential Cold War machine
When Fidel Castro Charmed the United States
Sixty years ago this month, the romantic victory of the young Cuban revolutionaries amazed the world—and led to a surreal evening on “The Ed Sullivan Show”
Berlin’s Famous East Side Gallery Protected from Development
The outdoor gallery on a former section of Berlin Wall has been threatened by a building boom in recent years
This Veterans Day, Visit America’s Top Military Sites
A new book offers a guide to the museums, bases and once-secret locations that reveal America’s complex military history
The Dawn of Television Promised Diversity. Here’s Why We Got “Leave It to Beaver” Instead
Using original archival research and FBI blacklist documents, a new book pieces together the intersectional narratives that never made it on air
This Freak Aviation Disaster Brought Supersonic Idealism Down in Flames
In a just-released Smithsonian Book, author Samme Chittum assesses the Concorde’s demise with the keen eye of a crime reporter
The Senator Who Stood Up to Joseph McCarthy When No One Else Would
Margaret Chase Smith was the first woman to serve both the House and the Senate and always defended her values, even when it meant opposing her party
An Immersive Art Installation Will Temporarily Resurrect the Berlin Wall
This fall, event organizers plan on constructing a pseudo-city within a block of Berlin in order to emulate life in an unfamiliar country
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