Used more for grasping than locomotion, seahorse tails are both flexible and uniquely strong. (Video courtesy Dominique Adriaens, UGent)

Staff writer Abigail Tucker recounts the scene of a beach littered with horseshoe crabs and a sky filled with red knots. Read more at http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/Return-of-the-Sandpiper.html

Explore the lesser-known details of the founder’s childhood, home life and career and gain a deeper understanding of his contributions to the United States. --- For more videos from Smithsonian Magazine: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/ Digital Editorial Director: Brian Wolly Supervising Producer & Scriptwriter: Michelle Mehrtens Video Editor: Sierra Theobald

Read more at http://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/colombia-dispatches.html In Valledupar, Colombia, Turco Gil operates a school to teach local children how to play vallenato music. Listen to Juan David Atencia, a blind 9-year-old prodigy play the accordion.

The Ouija board might seem like a simple game that sparks spooky childhood memories, but have you ever pondered its mysterious history? Even more importantly, does it actually…work? Uncover the fascinating truth behind the game and its unusual origins. ___ A little more information: In the late 19th century, Americans were captivated by Spiritualism, the belief that the dead could communicate with the living. Charles Kennard saw the commercial potential in this trend, leading to the creation of the Ouija board. Yet, the backstory behind its invention, its rules, and even its name are all wrapped up in uncertainty. One thing is certain: the more turbulent the times, the more popular the game became – particularly during World War II and the social upheaval of the late 1960s. Ultimately, the allure of the Ouija board lies in its ability to tap into human imagination and curiosity. Whether regarded as a nostalgic artifact or a mystical tool, the Ouija board is here to stay. #OuijaBoard #Ouija #history #Smithsonianmagazine Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@SmithsonianMagazine Read more about the history of the Ouija Board here: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-strange-and-mysterious-history-of-the-ouija-board-5860627/ Did you know that US Navy Officers rely on a system called the “ouija board” to track the movement of airplanes on a carrier? Learn more here: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/air-space-magazine/how-things-work-the-ouija-board-10048217/ For more videos from Smithsonian Magazine: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/ Get More Smithsonian Magazine: Official Site: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/smithsonianmagazine/ X: https://x.com/smithsonianmag Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/SmithsonianMagazine/ Digital Editorial Director: Brian Wolly Director of Programming: Nicki Marko Manager of Programming: Michelle Mehrtens Scriptwriter: Dan Wolf Video Editor: Adam Benavides

It's been helping humans in myriad ways for over a million years, our host Eric Schulze has more

Read more about Thomas Jefferson: http://j.mp/w07Y8G At the turn of the 18th century, Americans learned what their leaders looked like through paintings and drawings, explains a historian at the National Portrait Gallery

He is (K)enough… or is he? With filmmaker Greta Gerwig's Barbie breaking box-office records—and devoting much of its story to Ken's existential crisis—we wondered if there's any more to Barbie's perennial plus-one. Journalist and lifelong Barbie fan Emily Tamkin talks us through Ken’s development, or lack thereof, over the decades. Read Emily’s “A Cultural History of Barbie,” and Chris’s brief Ken history “Not Your Average Beau,” here (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/cultural-history-barbie-180982115/) or in the June 2023 issue of Smithsonian. Emily is the author of The Influence of Soros: Politics, Power, and the Struggle for an Open Society and Bad Jews: A History of American Jewish Politics and Identities. Learn more about Emily and her work here (https://www.emilytamkin.com/) , or subscribe to her Substack newsletter (https://emilyctamkin.substack.com/) . 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.

Henry Ford spent the majority of the war as a pacifist. By 1917, however, his state-of-the-art assembly line was churning out vital engine parts to feed the war machine.

From the Americas to Europe then back again, there's more to the potato than meets the eyes.

Read more at http://www.smithsonianmag.com/specialsections/womens-history/The-Writers-Eye.html Scholars and friends of Eudora Welty discuss how her hobby influenced her later works.

In this clip from the documentary, see how Cassady embodied the spirit of Jack Kerouac's iconic character from On the Road

Four decades ago, Pablo Escobar brought to his Medellín hideaway four hippopotamuses, the centerpieces of a menagerie that included llamas, cheetahs, lions, tigers, ostriches and other exotic fauna. After Colombian police shot Escobar dead in December 1993, veterinarians removed the animals—except the hippos, which were deemed too dangerous to approach. The hippos fled to the nearby Magdalena River and multiplied.  Today, the descendants of Escobar’s hippos are believed to number nearly 200. Their uncontrolled growth threatens the region’s fragile waterways. Smithsonian contributor Joshua Hammer joins us to recount this strange history and explain why Colombian conservationists have embarked upon an unusual program to sterilize these hippos in the wild via “invasive surgical castration,” a procedure that is, as he has written (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/pablo-escobar-abandoned-hippos-wreaking-havoc-colombian-jungle-180984494/) for Smithsonian magazine, “medically complicated, expensive and sometimes dangerous for hippos as well as for the people performing it.” Then, ecologist Rebecca Lewison tells us how her long-term study of hippo populations in Africa offers hints of how these creatures will continue to alter the Colombian ecosystem—and what authorities can do about it. Let us know what you think of our show, and how we can make it better, by completing our There's More to That listener survey here (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfS90zjBZ2oGa9JxVa-R5affKcOHaR2-ib1_KZeWm3HDQXJIA/viewform) . Read Josh Hammer's Smithsonian story about Escobar's hippos and their descendants here (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/pablo-escobar-abandoned-hippos-wreaking-havoc-colombian-jungle-180984494/) . Learn more about Rebecca Lewison and her work here (https://cmi.sdsu.edu/rebecca-lewison/) . 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.

More on 3D scanning: http://j.mp/JM43KD Specialists are using new technology to unravel a mystery in the Smithsonian collections.

Tensions intensified between Cuba and the United States in October 1962 as they appear destined to plunge the planet in global war

The 12,000 year old skeleton of a teenage girl was found in Hoyo Negro, an underwater cave system on the Yucatan Peninsula.

Read more at http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/Arcimboldos-Feast-for-the-Eyes.html The Hapsburg Dynasty's court painter's unique style of portraiture, using fruits, vegetables and animals to compose his faces -- has fascinated artists and the general public for centuries.

Daring anglers hook sharks from the cabin of a huge airship in Fisher Island

Last summer, news reports of orcas deliberately tearing the propellers off of yachts in the Strait of Gibraltar thrilled observers who were eager to cast these intelligent and social pack hunters as class warriors striking a blow for the “common mammals” against the one percent. That turned out to be wishful thinking, according to guest Lori Marino, a biopsychologist who studies whale and dolphin intelligence. She told us that these six-ton whales were just having fun—if they wanted to harm the occupants of those boats, we’d know it.  Even so, these encounters are becoming a predictable seasonal occurrence between the months of May and August: A 50-foot charter vessel sank after its hull and rudder were damaged in an orca encounter near the Strait of Gibraltar on May 12. So here again is our episode on the perils of assigning human motives to wild animals, featuring Marino and Smithsonian assistant digital science editor Carlyn Kranking. This episode was originally released in September 2023.   Dr. Marino invites you to learn more about The Whale Sanctuary Project at their site (https://whalesanctuaryproject.org/about-the-whale-sanctuary-project/) . You can also see Dr. Marino in the documentary films Blackfish (2013), Unlocking the Cage (2016), and Long Gone Wild (2019). Find prior episodes of our show here (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/podcast/) . And read the transcript of this episode here (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/are-wild-animals-really-just-like-us-180982939/) . There’s More to That (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/podcast) 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.

On September 2, 1935, Florida was hit by the most intense hurricane ever recorded—a category 5. Despite early warnings by the weather authorities, a calamitous loss of life shocked the nation

Two lionfish in Papua New Guinea swim gracefully

Duke University scientists used vibrations from a loudspeaker to understand how water beads and rolls off lotus leaves

Read more about FDR at http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/From-the-Castle-FDRs-Stamps.html A stamp collector since childhood, Franklin Roosevelt designed postage stamps to help promote his presidential agenda.

Some of the brightest minds in the world gathered at Smithsonian's "The Future is Here" conference to discuss the great triumphs and future innovations in science and technology http://www.smithsonianmag.com/ideas-innovations/The-Future-is-Here.html

A learning simulation, combined with fMRI readings, is able to predict the visualizations seen by a dreamer in real time

Read more about Thorpe: http://j.mp/M9PsXT Smithsonian conservators go to extreme lengths to prepare an iconic box of cereal for display

Whether you're a passionate astronomer or a beginner eager to explore the cosmos, join us as we deep-dive into seasonal skywatching. Gain valuable insights into identifying meteors, stars, and fascinating deep-sky objects that grace the night sky. Interested in learning more? Check out this piece from Smithsonian Magazine on the celestial events to watch in 2024: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/nine-dazzling-celestial-events-to-watch-in-2024-180983505/ And don't forget to subscribe to our channel for more exciting videos exploring the wonders of the natural world. --- Digital Editorial Director: Brian Wolly Supervising Producer & Scriptwriter: Michelle Mehrtens Video Editor: Sierra Theobald

Read more at http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/In-Search-of-the-Mysterious-Narwhal.html Staff writer Abigail Tucker relates her experiences reporting from the small Arctic village of narwhal hunters.

Recently digitized footage showing Marines loading onto LST with supplies on equipment and waiting on the beach, among other things. (U.S. Marine Corps History Division and Moving Image Research Collections, University of South Carolina)

Merry "Corky" White, author of Coffee Life in Japan, traces the history of coffee culture in the United States

Put your hands together for our host, Eric Schulze, as he dives into history to answer your questions.

Smithsonian staff writer Abigail Tucker came across imperiled zebras, dusty savannahs and perilous roads while researching the Tanzanian lions. Read more at http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/The-Truth-About-Lions.html

Listen to a short lecture given by curator Margaret Weitekamp on Gene Kranz career with NASA and how his vest ended up at the Smithsonian

Serving 30 million people in seven states and Mexico, the drying Colorado River can still be saved by sustainable measures and collaboration

http://j.mp/z7WXi2 Researchers and scientists work together to find a way to play recordings made by the studio of inventor Alexander Graham Bell

The American Ingenuity Award winner is using geographic information systems to map history's most iconic landscapes

Lonnie Bunch, the director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, discusses the Martin Luther King, Jr. memorial, one of America's greatest monuments.

Read more at http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/In-Vogue.html At 62 years old, Edward Steichen convinced the U.S. Navy to let him gather a team of photographers to capture the men serving their country in the Pacific Ocean during World War II.

But at speeds nearing 100 mph, there's a fine line between helping and hurting

Curator Larry Bird takes you inside the history of the Bradford dollhouse

Ron Mueck's "Big Man" sculpture at the Hirshhorn Museum is a crowd favorite, sparking a wide variety of reactions. Read more at https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/ron-muecks-big-man-is-big-13474925/

More on the unsuccessful plot to kill Lincoln: http://j.mp/VnSZ9g During his inauguration tour in 1861, the president's life was threatened in the city of Baltimore.

Article: http://j.mp/AwLdIY The global orchid community convenes in Singapore to compete for the title of best in show.

Regular dust bathing removes pest and parasites and keeps the wild bird's iridescent feathers in top condition. (Credit: Carla Rhodes)

With federal funding, scientists and engineers hope to restore the Everglades ecosystem by removing dikes and canals and building the world's largest reservoir

With an 80-acre scale model of the 1.6 million-acre Everglades wetland system, scientists study how to restore the flow of water that was interrupted years ago

When Gary Roberts found this orphaned elephant next to its dead mother, he made an attempt to fly it to safety

As the British marched towards the White House, the first lady ordered a portrait of George Washington to be saved

At the Coastal Discovery Museum’s exhibition, visitors will be able to view a 3D digital interactive that reconstructs the original Fort San Marcos on Santa Elena. (Credit: Coastal Discovery Museum at Honey Horn)