Atlas of Eating

Reuben Riffel on Becoming a Top Chef in Post-Apartheid South Africa

South African food culture fosters connection, he says

Atlas of Eating

Chef Margarita Carrillo Arronte on Why Mexican Cuisine Is a UNESCO Treasure

Meet the woman dedicated to preserving traditional Mexican cuisine

Tony Lu prepares a dish.

Atlas of Eating

Meet the Michelin-Starred Chef Pushing the Limits of Vegetarian Cuisine in China

Master chef Tony Lu discusses China’s changing tastes and his own innovative approach to ‘Vegetarian Fusion’

Tourists and Cubans gamble at the casino in the Hotel Nacional in Havana, 1957. Meyer Lansky, who led the U.S. mob’s exploitation of Cuba in the 1950s, set up a famous meeting of crime bosses at the hotel in 1946.

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: Cuba

When the Mob Owned Cuba

Best-selling author T.J. English discusses the Mob’s profound influence on Cuban culture and politics in the 1950s

Secretary Sally Jewell

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: Alaska

Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell Explains Why Preserving Alaska’s Wildness Is Essential

A former petroleum engineer, Jewell recognizes that balance is key to preserving Alaska for future generations

John McPhee

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: Alaska

Pulitzer-Prize Winning Author John McPhee Recalls Alaska Before Cell Phones, GPS and Most of Its National Parks

McPhee’s trips to Alaska in the 1970s inspired his seminal outdoors narrative “Coming Into the Country” and helped launch his career