These Satellite Maps Reveal Rampant Fishing by Untracked 'Dark Vessels' in the World's Oceans

A new study finds about 75 percent of industrial fishing is not publicly tracked, and clandestine ships may enter marine protected areas | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

What Genealogical Records Taught Me About My Family

For millions of enslaved people, bondage stole more than freedom—it severed a link to the past. Now their descendants are recovering their heritage | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

Feast Your Eyes on the Stunning Islamic Art in This New Exhibition

A sumptuous new show in Los Angeles aims to leave museumgoers hungry for more | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

How an Eye-Popping Museum Specimen Boosted the Beleaguered Blue Whale

For decades, visitors to the Smithsonian could behold the immense size of the sea mammal with their own eyes | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

Readers Respond to the December 2023 Issue

Your feedback on robot artists, marsupial frogs and abolitionist icons | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

Roman Imperial Cult Temple Unearthed Beneath a Parking Lot in Italy

The pagan temple sheds new light on the empire's gradual embrace of Christianity | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

See the 'Adorable'—and Deadly—Black-Footed Cat at a Utah Zoo

Eight-month-old Gaia is part of a breeding program for her vulnerable species, which is considered the "world's deadliest cat" | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

American Moon Mission Suffers Fuel Leak, Has 'No Chance' of a Soft Landing

Launched early Monday, the Peregrine spacecraft started losing propellant almost immediately, and the mission, which is carrying NASA scientific instruments, has been derailed | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

While Hiding From the Nazis in an Attic, a Jewish Man Created 95 Issues of a Satirical Magazine

An exhibition of Curt Bloch's little-known wartime publications is going on display in Berlin | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

A Lesser-Known Psychedelic Drug Shows Promise for PTSD Treatment

Ibogaine, derived from a central African shrub, has been used in rituals for two millennia. But in a small study, it appeared to reduce symptoms of PTSD among veterans | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

This Instagram-Famous Abandoned Boat May Soon Disappear From California Shoreline

The already-dilapidated S.S. Point Reyes suffered more damage during the recent storms that pummeled the coast | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

A Journey to Discover an African Homeland

New generations of Black Americans are taking intimate tours that connect them with the lands and cultures their ancestors were forced to leave behind | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

Does Climate Change Affect Leaves' Fall Colors? And More Questions From Our Readers

You’ve got questions. We’ve got experts | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

More Than 200 Years After He Toured Florida, America's First Great Environmentalist Is Inspiring Locals to Reconnect With Nature

A new generation is discovering the rambling Southern route of William Bartram and his legendary 1791 travelogue | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

Lily Gladstone Makes Golden Globes History as First Indigenous Best Actress Winner

The "Killers of the Flower Moon" star accepted the award by speaking in the Blackfeet language | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

'Unsolvable' Code Hidden in Antique Dress Pocket Is Finally Cracked

Short, handwritten lines of unrelated words contained coded weather reports to send via telegraph in the late 19th century | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

Viral Lists Reveal Artists Whose Work May Have Trained an A.I. Art Generator

Thousands of painters, cartoonists, sculptors and other creatives are featured in the documents, which reinvigorated debates around copyright infringement and consent | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

One Liter of Bottled Water May Contain 240,000 Tiny Plastic Fragments

A new technique reveals that the liquid may contain 10 to 1000 times more plastic pieces than previously thought | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

Plans to Install Contemporary Stained-Glass Windows in Notre-Dame Cathedral Spark Backlash

French officials have called on artists to submit designs for six new windows in the structure's south aisle | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

Early Primates May Have Feasted on Soft, Sweet Fruits

An analysis of more than 400 fossilized teeth suggests the creatures weren't eating many seeds, nuts or other hard foods | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

Explore the History and Natural Wonders of Alaska

Wild, rugged and expansive, the 49th state is begging to be explored | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

Alps-Style Hut-to-Hut Travel Is On Its Way to Alaska

Several ambitious projects are poised to bring a long trail and 25 new huts to the Last Frontier | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

The Scientist Using Bugs to Help Solve Murders

At crime scenes around the world, the forensic entomologist Paola Magni is taking her field into uncharted waters | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

A New Project Uses Isotopes to Pinpoint the Birthplaces of the Enslaved

In South Carolina, members of the local Black community are teaming up with scientists to produce a novel study of the trans-Atlantic slave trade | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

Archaeologists Discover Early Medieval Cemetery in Wales

The site contains skeletons in unusual positions and evidence of feasting rituals | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

See 25 Breathtaking Images From the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Contest

Representing some of the world's best nature photography, the pictures are being put to a popular vote for the People's Choice Award | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

Navajo Nation President Asks for Delay of Moon Mission Carrying Human Remains

The commercial launch, scheduled for January 8, is slated to carry human remains to the lunar surface, which the Navajo Nation president calls a "desecration of this sacred space" | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

Meet 'Hercules,' the Largest Male Funnel-Web Spider Ever Found

Despite belonging to the most venomous arachnid species on Earth, the spider will be using his bite for good in a program to produce antivenom | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

Stuck in a Tokyo Hotel, the Beatles Divided a Canvas Into Quarters and Started Painting

"Images of a Woman," signed by all four members of the band, could fetch as much as $600,000 at auction | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

Get Your Year on the Right Track With These 15 Photos of Trains Around the World

With 2024 in its earliest days, take to the rails with inspiring images of life on and around the rails | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

Just How Old Are the Cave Paintings in Spain's Cova Dones?

With help from a now-extinct bear, archaeologists have unlocked the mysteries of Spain’s Cova Dones | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

Final Suspect in 20-Year Art Heist Case Turns Himself In

Nicholas Dombek is one of nine individuals accused of stealing millions of dollars worth of artwork, sports memorabilia and cultural artifacts | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

How John Coltrane's "My Favorite Things" Changed American Music

Looking back at the moment when one of our greatest jazzmen raised the stakes for everyone who came after | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

Scientists Uncover the Earliest Fossil Evidence of Photosynthesis

Ancient cyanobacteria contained structures for producing oxygen around 1.75 billion years ago, according to a new study | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

This 1,200-Year-Old Artifact Is Stunning—But Nobody Knows What It Is

The intricately decorated silver object was likely created by a highly skilled craftsperson in England | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

The Great Lakes Reached a Record Low for Ice Cover on New Year's Day

The 'extreme' lack of ice follows warm temperatures in December and calls attention to recent downward trends in ice coverage on the lakes | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

Purchased for $25, This Bargain Brooch Could Sell for $19,000—Thanks to 'Antiques Roadshow'

The piece is part of a rare collection by the Victorian-era designer and architect William Burges | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

The Real History Behind 'The Zone of Interest' and Rudolf Höss

Jonathan Glazer's new film uses the Auschwitz commandant and his family as a vehicle for examining humans' capacity for evil | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

These Ants Can Diagnose and Treat Their Comrades' Infected Wounds

Matabele ants in sub-Saharan Africa often sustain injuries while hunting termites—and their survival strategy may help humans fight infections, too | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

You Can Soon Take a Private Tour of the Acropolis—For a Steep Price

Scheduled to begin April 1, the off-hours visits will cost €5,000 ($5,500) per group | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

The American Soldier Whose Fear of Fighting in Vietnam Led Him to Defect to North Korea. He Stayed There for 40 Years

During his time in the repressive country, Charles Robert Jenkins married a Japanese abductee, taught English at a school and appeared in propaganda films | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

Should Endangered Turtles Have Legal Rights?

To protect the majestic reptiles around the isthmus of Panama, an ambitious conservation group digs deep both on and off the beach | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

Museum Realizes Ten J.E.H. MacDonald Sketches Are Fakes—and Puts Them on Display

A new exhibition showcases how the Vancouver Art Gallery investigated the artworks' authenticity | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

NASA Captures Stunning Images of Jupiter's Moon Io on Closest Flyby in 20 Years

The Juno spacecraft's instruments will help scientists better understand volcanic activity on the volatile moon's surface | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

Decades-Long Debate on 'Teenage' Tyrannosaur Fossils Takes Another Turn

A new paper adds to evidence suggesting a group of disputed fossils, identified by many scientists as young T. rex, are actually another species | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

Nazi-Looted Painting Returned to Collector's Heir

The 16th-century piece was one of more than 1,100 artworks taken from a Dutch-Jewish art dealer's collection during World War II | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

Engineers Design a Vibrating Pill for Weight Loss That Could Create a Feeling of Fullness

The capsule is the size of a multivitamin, and in an experiment with pigs, it appeared to reduce the animals' appetites | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago

From These Modest Wartime Quarters, George Washington Kept the Revolution Alive

The general's war tent, an iconic part of the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia, carries as much symbolism now as it did then | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 10 months ago