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November 2021

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Features

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The Dive to 1495

In the frigid Baltic Sea, archaeologists probing the surprisingly well-preserved remains of a revolutionary warship are seeing the Age of Discovery in a new way

Opener v3

New Chapter

At the nation’s most innovative public library, you can play the ukulele, learn photography or record a song in a top-flight studio. You can also check out a book

A rainbow on rugged landscape

Welcome to Mars

A hostile landscape. Cramped quarters. Dehydrated food. A photographer takes part in experiments to live on another planet

Opener Art

The Righteous Defiance of Aristides de Sousa Mendes

In 1940, as thousands of desperate refugees flooded into Bordeaux, one diplomat in the city had a choice. Follow orders and stop them from escaping German-occupied France. Or disobey—and risk everything

Departments

A Sustainable Planet

As a hub for research and education, the Smithsonian is poised to help the world find solutions to climate change

Discussion

Your feedback on sake, astrophysicist Avi Loeb and diphtheria

Prologue

High and Dry

Behold the gnarly Joshua tree, a beloved desert denizen that is feeling the heat

Prologue

Creation Stories

How a photographer stranded by the pandemic made a connection with home

Prologue

The Sauce Detectives

From Pompeii to modern laboratories, scholars dig deep to recreate a weird taste that delighted ancient Rome

Prologue

In Defense of King George

The author of a new biography shines a humane light on the monarch despised by the colonists

Prologue

Slam-Dunk Design

The world is bonkers for sneakers. This pivotal 1996 concept for Michael Jordan is a big reason why

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