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Transporting a Live Elephant Is Exactly as Difficult as You Would Imagine

The team at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy needs to transport Kinani, a blind male elephant, to a 4,000-acre compound where he'll be able to roam freely without disturbing other wildlife. Weighing in at nearly eight tons, it'll take careful maneuvering and custom equipment to bring the animal to his new sanctuary.




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Ask Smithsonian: Why Do Geese Fly in a V?

Geese have known something for millions of years that humans have only recently figured out for themselves.




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Grand Canyon Uranium Mining

With hundreds of new uranium mining claims filed within just a few miles of Grand Canyon National Park, a proposed new law would close the area to mining development and prevent radioactive contamination from discharging into the park




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How does Liu Bolin Make Himself Invisible?

Watch how the artist directs his team so when a photograph is taken, Bolin is completely camouflaged by his surroundings




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Bringing Back the Olympia Oysters

Oysters were Mark Twain's favorite food: http://j.mp/LCWpx8 What the tiny shellfish lacks in size, it makes up for in taste. Meet the farmers who are counting on the Olympia's success




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Herman Leonard's Jazz Photographs

Read more at http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/Herman-Leonards-Eye-for-Jazz.html With just a camera as his ticket, Herman Leonard captured jazz icons performing on and off stage.




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Behind the Canvas with Artist Alex Katz

The figurative painter talks about the artistic process, his education and his influences.




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How We See Oppenheimer. Plus: Smithsonian’s Inside Look at the Top-Secret Los Alamos Site

Christopher Nolan's epic new film "Oppenheimer" is no mere biopic… nor is it the first attempt to capture the father of the atomic bomb in fiction. We look at prior dramatizations of this very complicated man—including one wherein J. Robert Oppenheimer played himself!—and examine why they worked or didn't. In the episode: Physicist-turned-photographer Minesh Bacrania shares his experience photographing inside the top-secret labs at Los Alamos National Laboratory, where J. Robert Oppenheimer and other scientists created the first nuclear weapon. Next, with Christopher Nolan’s film Oppenheimer exceeding commercial expectations, Smithsonian magazine writer Andy Kifer discusses the complexities of Oppenheimer's genius and how prior attempts to depict him in film and television and on stage have fared. Read Andy Kifer’s “The Real Story Behind Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer” here (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-real-history-behind-christopher-nolans-oppenheimer-180982529/) . See Minesh Bacrania’s photographs of Los Alamos and read Smithsonian senior editor Jennie Rothenberg Gritz’s text here (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/exclusive-behind-scenes-look-los-alamos-lab-where-robert-oppenheimer-created-atomic-bomb-180982336/) or in the July/August 2023 issue of Smithsonian. There’s More to That is a production of Smithsonian magazine and PRX Productions. From the magazine, our team is Chris Klimek, Debra Rosenberg and Brian Wolly. From PRX, our team is Jessica Miller, Genevieve Sponsler, Adriana Rozas Rivera, Terence Bernardo, and Edwin Ochoa. The Executive Producer of PRX Productions is Jocelyn Gonzales. Episode artwork by Emily Lankiewicz. Music by APM Music.




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Thomas Edison's Boxing Cats

From the inventor's New Jersey film studio, the delight of cats doing things on film was discovered early in 1894




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The Hall of Presidents

Senior historian Sid Hart discusses the highlights of the National Portrait Gallerys Hall of Presidents. (Filmed and Edited by Ryan Reed / Produced by Beth Py-Lieberman, Megan Gambino and Jesse Rhodes). Read more at https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/tour-the-portrait-gallerys-hall-of-presidents-on-presidents-day-39165669/




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Ask Smithsonian: Why Do Flamingos Stand on One Leg?

Have you ever wondered why these birds strike this peculiar pose? Find out in this one-minute video, where Ask Smithsonian host Eric Schulze walks us through the reasons behind the majestic bird’s one-legged stance.




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Driving While Black

Watch this exclusive clip from the upcoming Ric Burns documentary about the "Green Book"




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Mathew Brady's Vision

Mathew Brady is known for his Civil War photography and groundbreaking work in the field. Read more about the Civil War at http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/Civil-War-History.html.




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Before Beyoncé and Taylor Swift Ran the World, There Was Joan Baez

Taylor Swift and Beyoncé have achieved a degree of power in the music industry that singer/songwriters of earlier eras like Joan Baez—as the folk icon tells us—never even contemplated. Six decades ago, Baez was part of a folk revival that regarded music not merely as entertainment but as a vessel for political engagement and social change. In the documentary Joan Baez: I Am a Noise, the now-83-year-old musician and activist reflects on her career and legacy. Smithsonian senior editor Jennie Rothenberg Gritz interviewed Baez about the film and about the shifting intersection of art and activism. We present excerpts from that conversation in this episode. Then, veteran music critic Evelyn McDonnell discusses how the political dimensions of pop music have changed since Baez’s era, and what it means that many fans now look Beyoncé and Taylor Swift not just for great music, but for comment on the state of the world. Clips from Joan Baez: I Am a Noise in this episode are used with permission from Magnolia Pictures & Mead Street Films. Learn more about that film here (https://www.magpictures.com/joanbaez/) . Evelyn McDonnell’s latest book is The World According to Joan Didion (https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-world-according-to-joan-didion-evelyn-mcdonnell?variant=41001679487010) . You can learn more about Evelyn and her work at her site, Populism (https://populismblog.wordpress.com/about-2/) . Find prior episodes of our show here (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/podcast/) . There’s More to That is a production of Smithsonian magazine and PRX Productions. From the magazine, our team is Chris Klimek, Debra Rosenberg and Brian Wolly. From PRX, our team is Jessica Miller, Adriana Rosas Rivera, Genevieve Sponsler, Rye Dorsey, and Edwin Ochoa. The Executive Producer of PRX Productions is Jocelyn Gonzales. Fact-checking by Stephanie Abramson. Episode artwork by Emily Lankiewicz. Music by APM Music.




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Ask Smithsonian: How Do Microwave Ovens Cook Food?

You don’t actually see microwaves, you only see what they do to your food. So how, exactly, does it warm up your lunch?




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The Descendants: Neikoye Flowers as David Miles Moore Jr

Smithsonian magazine commissioned Drew Gardner for a project that connects Black Americans today to their lost ancestry. Read about Gardner’s project and process, as well as more details about the subjects of this incredible series here: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/descendants-black-civil-war-heroes-wear-heritage-pride-180983397/ Video produced by Sierra Theobald. Special thanks to Drew Gardner Additional credits: Emma MacBeath, WikiTree US Black Heritage project; Ottawa Goodman, research and coordinator; Sam Dole, Penumbra Foundation; Elizabeth Zuck, set design; Calvin Osbourne, props and costume; Angela Huff, hair and make up; Diego Huerta, Lexia Krebs, behind-the-scenes filming; background prints by Fujifilm USA




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Ask Smithsonian: Do Cannibals Still Exist?

Hungry for an answer? Host, Eric Schulze, dishes one up in less than a minute.




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The Life of George Ault

Alexander Nemerov looks back at the artist's life and how earlymisfortunes shaped his interpretation of the 1940s




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A Good Day for a Swim With Orcas

Our photographer gets up close and personal with orcas in Norway. Credit: Jacques de Vos and Jeremy Goncalves with Valhalla Orca Expedition




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How an Octopus Eats

While camouflaged on the ocean floor off the coast of Israel in the Red Sea, octopods use their arms to grab unsuspecting prey




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This Woman Manages America's Oldest Lighthouse

Boston’s iconic lighthouse, the Boston Light, is managed by a single person: Sally Snowman. She is the 70th keeper of the lighthouse since it was built over 300 years ago.




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The Perfect Game Heard 'Round the World

Watch newsreel footage of Angel Macias' astonishing performance at the Little League World Series.




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In Their Midst

Paul Raffaele explores gorilla tourism, raising gorillas in captivity and the future of the Congo mountain gorillas




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Pikas and Climate Change

Related to rabbits and hares and adapted to high-elevation habitat, the American pika faces a bleak future as temperatures rise and snow cover disappears




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This WW2 RAF Bomber Dealt a Deathblow to the German Economy

In WW2, the British made destroying German dams a key strategic target in order to kneecap the German industrial effort. To accomplish this, they needed a special plane to deliver the payload: the Lancaster Bomber.




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Building the Onrust

From steaming the wooden planks to hoisting the ship into the water, this replica of a 17th century ship needed the work of many volunteers to set sail




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Ask Smithsonian: What’s the Oldest Animal?

Take a guess - the answer might surprise you




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March on Washington - Julian Bond




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America's Backyard

Take a tour of the National Mall, past and present (Kenneth R. Fletcher). Read more at https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/a-brief-history-of-pierre-lenfant-and-washington-dc-39487784/




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Epic Hermit Crab Migration

One morning on St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands, photographer Steve Simonsen captures thousands of hermit crabs migrating




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The Rhythms of Bali Gamelan Music

Read more at http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/aroundthemall/2008/12/music-of-the-tropics-balinese-drum-troupe-performs-at-the-sackler/ Bells and gongs are the sounds behind Gamelan music, which has different variants from one Indonesian island to the next.




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Dave Shealy's 2000 Skunk Ape Footage

From Smithsonian.com's story on Dave Shealy, Florida's self-proclaimed skunk ape expert: www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/trail-floridas-bigfoot-skunk-ape-180949981/




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SmithsonianX Superhero Stan Lee Course: Behind The Scenes

The legendary Stan Lee, creator of the Avengers, Spiderman and Iron Man, has partnered with the Smithsonian National Museum of American History to launch the first global online course about superheroes to fans around the world. Register now: smithsonian.com/edx/superheroes




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David Burnett on Being a War Photographer in Vietnam

In the years before digital cameras, the process of getting shots from the field to the printers was incredibly complicated and dangerous. Video by Adam Grossman | Good Dog Media




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Ask Smithsonian: How Do Vaccines Work?

Have you ever wondered how a simple shot can keep you from dying a horrible death? In this one-minute video, Ask Smithsonian’s host, Eric Schulze, unravels how vaccines boot-camp our bodies into shape, getting us ready to fight off deadly diseases.




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Cat and Mouse

Jim Henson, creator of the Muppets, thought in images, as this clip from his early 1960s piece "Cat and Mouse" exemplifies. Henson's prolific mind is celebrated in the new Smithsonian traveling exhibition "Jim Henson's Fantastic World."




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Ask Smithsonian: How Do Dolphins Sleep Without Drowning?

Not to worry—shut-eye comes easily to these aquatic mammals




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Sticky Rice in Laos

From the fields to the monasteries to the markets, this rice dish is everywhere in this Asian nation Written & Narrated by Mike Ives Music by Tuxedo Special thanks to Vilayluck Onphanmany & Eliza Berry




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Need a New Organ? Surgeon Anthony Atala Sees a Future Where You Can Simply Print It Out

Anthony Atala | Smithsonian Magazine’s 2016 American Ingenuity Award Winner for Life Sciences The director of the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Atala is a surgeon and leading expert in creating living human tissues and organs to replace those that are defective or damaged. He has spent the past decade attempting to construct living organs using 3-D printing technology. Atala implanted the world’s first laboratory-grown organ into a human in 1999 and, this year, he and his colleagues “printed” cartilage, bone and muscle tissue before successfully implanting them into a lab animal. That’s a crucial first step toward Atala’s long-term goal of overcoming the dire shortage of donated organs with custom-made body parts. Read more about Atala's work: http://smithmag.co/SiiV2J | #IngenuityAwards And more about the American Ingenuity Awards: http://smithmag.co/77xPqy




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New Discoveries at Saqqara

An incredible trove of archaeological artifacts has been unearthed once again at Saqqara—including 100 coffins, and incredibly rare statues dating back 4,500 years.




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National Treasure: The Feud Behind the Peacock Room

The Peacock Room at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art has it all: friendship, betrayal, revenge, and… peacocks. Learn more about the iconic artist James McNeill Whistler and his shocking feud with patron Frederick Leyland in this new episode of National Treasure. --------- To learn more about the Peacock Room at Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art, read below: How Golden Peacocks on a Dining Room Wall Destroyed a Longstanding Friendship in Victorian Society https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/how-golden-peacocks-on-a-dining-room-wall-destroyed-a-longstanding-friendship-in-victorian-society-180984735/ Digital Editorial Director: Brian Wolly Director of Programming: Nicki Marko Supervising Producer & Scriptwriter: Michelle Mehrtens Producer & Editor: Sierra Theobald Motion Designer: Ricardo Jaimes




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Rare Footage of Duke Ellington Playing Baseball

[Harry Carney Home Movies], Ruth Ellington Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History




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Watch the ScanEagle Drone in Action

This unmanned aerial vehicle can be launched from, and land on, a moving ship thanks to new technology Narrated by T.A. Frail Script by Brendan McCabe Video courtesy of Insitu




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Ask Smithsonian: How Long Can a Person Hold Their Breath?

Gasp! The answer will amaze you. Still Image Credit: MaFelipe / iStock




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Ask Smithsonian: What Happens to Your Body in Space Without a Spacesuit?

Obviously it's a bad idea to go out into space without a trusty spacesuit, but what exactly happens?




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Walking Through Civil War History

Edwin Bearss lends a dynamic personality and a booming voice to teaching the history of the Civil War in northern Virginia (Meredith Bragg)




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Roads Scholars

As highways encroach ever further into animal habitats, drivers and wildlife are in greater danger than ever. And off the beaten path, decaying old forest roads are inflicting damage as well. “Roads are this incredibly disruptive force all over the planet that are truly changing wild animals’ lives and our own lives in almost unfathomable, unaccountable ways,” says science journalist Ben Goldfarb, author of the 2023 book Crossings: How Road Ecology Is Shaping the Future of Our Planet. Ben wrote about this problem (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/case-destroying-old-forest-roads-180983693/) for the March 2024 issue of Smithsonian. For Earth Day, we’ll talk to Ben about what’s being done to make the relationship between roads and lands more harmonious, and we’ll meet Fraser Shilling — a scientist at UC Davis who’ll tell us what he’s learned from his rigorous scholarly examination of… roadkill. Meep meep! Learn more about Ben and his work at his site (https://www.bengoldfarb.com/about) . Learn more about Fraser and the UC Davis Road Ecology Center here (https://roadecology.ucdavis.edu/people/fraser-shilling) . Find prior episodes of our show here (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/podcast/) . There’s More to That is a production of Smithsonian magazine and PRX Productions. From the magazine, our team is Chris Klimek, Debra Rosenberg and Brian Wolly. From PRX, our team is Jessica Miller, Adriana Rosas Rivera, Genevieve Sponsler, Rye Dorsey, and Edwin Ochoa. The Executive Producer of PRX Productions is Jocelyn Gonzales. Fact-checking by Stephanie Abramson. Episode artwork by Emily Lankiewicz. Music by APM Music.




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What's a Kolache Doing in Brooklyn?

Czech immigrants brought the pastry to Texas; Autumn Stanford brought them to New York




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Inside Photographer Robert Frank's The Americans

The National Gallery of Art organized a comprehensive exhibit of Robert Frank's work (Images courtesy of: National Gallery of Art; Produced by: Diane Bolz and Brian Wolly)




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Albert Einstein Lives On

Through the science of robotics, researchers in California have created a lifelike bust of Albert Einstein to teach others, and themselves, about the breakthroughs made with robots