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Politics

Image from the cover of Emma Byrne's new book, Swearing is Good For You.

The Science of Swearing

A new book explains the neuroscience of why we swear—and how it can sway our listeners

Left: Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Terminal, 6th Street & Constitution Avenue, Washington, D.C. Opened in 1873, demolished in 1908. Right: View of the Constitution Avenue entrance, north side, of the National Gallery of Art.

Trending Today

Why Doesn’t Garfield Assassination Site on the National Mall Have a Marker?

A new campaign by historians seeks to bring recognition to the site where the 20th president was shot

An Italian marble sculpture of William Pitt the Younger as the Infant Hercules Strangling the Serpents Fox and North by Pieratoni (called ’Sposino’), c.1790

The Ugliest Sculpture Ever, Says the Portrait Gallery’s Director

A bizarre sculpture of a baby Hercules strangling two snakes set this art historian on a course of discovery

Tracey Crouch, who will oversee issues related to loneliness and isolation in the U.K.

Trending Today

The U.K. Now Has a “Minister for Loneliness.” Here’s Why It Matters

Tracey Crouch will oversee the government’s efforts to tackle “the sad reality of modern life”

Nilgai antelope, like the cattle fever ticks they carry, are considered an invasive species in places like Texas.

Why We Should Rethink How We Talk About “Alien” Species

In a trend that echoes the U.S.-Mexico border debate, some say that calling non-native animals “foreigners” and “invaders” only worsens the problem

Oil rig offshore of Huntington Beach, California

Future of Energy

Administration Proposes Opening Nearly All U.S. Coastlines to Offshore Drilling

Over 90 percent of America’s waters will be available for oil and gas drilling under proposed plan

During the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, President John F Kennedy discusses results of surveillance missions in Cuba

History of Now

How the Presidency Took Control of America’s Nuclear Arsenal

From Truman onwards, the ability to order a nuclear strike has shaped the office

Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks in "The Post."

What The Post Gets Right (and Wrong) About Katharine Graham and the Pentagon Papers

A Smithsonian historian reminds us how Graham, a Washington socialite-turned-publisher, transformed the paper into what it is today

Coast guard officers in Costa Rica say they’re understaffed and overwhelmed. “We’re just order,” says Colonel Miguel Madrigal. “Not the law.”

An Unexpected Victim of Costa Rica’s Drug Trade: Fish

The archipelago was once synonymous with tourism, sustainability and biodiversity. Now collapsing fisheries have led to turmoil

Hugh Jackman in "The Greatest Showman."

Based on a True Story

P.T. Barnum Isn’t the Hero the ‘Greatest Showman’ Wants You to Think

His path to fame and notoriety began by exploiting an enslaved woman, in life and in death, as entertainment for the masses

Large animal skeletons at the Finnish Natural History Museum.

The Hidden Biases That Shape Natural History Museums

Here’s why museum visitors rarely see lady animals, penis bones or cats floating in formaldehyde

This dinosaur footprint was found in sandstone at Dinosaur Track at Hackberry Canyon in Grand Staircase-Escalante National. A proclamation recently signed by President Trump would reduce the protected area by half.

What Shrinking Fossil-Rich National Monuments Means for Science

Smithsonian.com asks paleontologists how their work will change after the decision to slash Bears Ears and Grand Staircase

Catalan Mossos d'Esquadra officers scuffle with demonstrators as they cordon off the area around Lleida museum in the west of Catalonia, Spain, on Monday, Dec. 11, 2017.

What to Know About the Removal of 44 Artworks from Catalan’s Museum of Lleida

The fate of the works has become a point of contention in Catalonia’s bitter push for independence

Members of parliament react to the passage of the Marriage Amendment Bill, from left to right, Cathy McGowan, Adam Brandt and Andrew Wilkie.

Australia Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage in Jubilant Vote

The first same-sex weddings will be able to take place as early as January 9

Christine Keele at the Marlborough Street court

Christine Keeler, the British Model at the Heart of a 1960s Political Scandal, Is Dead at 75

Keeler had simultaneous relationships with a Conservative politician and a Soviet attaché, prompting concerns that she had revealed British state secrets

Bears Ears National Monument

Trending Today

Five Things to Know About the Redrawn National Monuments

The president is reducing two massive National Monuments by millions of acres. Read the context behind the decision and what to expect going forward

Marianne Means during a 1983 interview with C-SPAN's Brian Lamb.

Pioneering Political Journalist Marianne Means Has Died at Age 83

The first woman assigned to cover a president’s activities on a full-time basis, Means wrote a widely syndicated column about the goings-on in Washington

Gaius Gracchus attempted to enact social reform in Ancient Rome but died at the hands of the Roman Senate in 121 B.C.

History of Now

Before the Fall of the Roman Republic, Income Inequality and Xenophobia Threatened Its Foundations

In a new book, history podcaster Mike Duncan describes what preceded Caesar’s rise to Emperor

Bill Nye speaks at a press conference in New York as environmental advocates gather on the eve of the Paris Climate Summit (COP21).

The Blessing and the Curse of Being Bill Nye

The zany scientist talks about his recent transformation into the public—and controversial—face for science

A voting sign from the 2008 election.

For a Few Decades in the 18th Century, Women and African-Americans Could Vote in New Jersey

Then some politicians got angry

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