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The Future of the Smithsonian

We asked visitors to the National Mall what they thought should be in the Smithsonian collections in 2050. The consensus? Lady Gaga and much more...




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Shooting Stars: Farzana Wahidy

Selected by Reza for our special issue, this up-and-coming photographer discusses her work




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Ask Smithsonian: When Will the Leaning Tower of Pisa Topple?

Have you ever wondered if the Leaning Tower of Pisa is a catastrophe waiting to happen? In this one-minute video, Ask Smithsonian host Eric Schulze explains how architects and engineers spent the last eight hundred years or so making things go from bad to worse, bringing the gravity-defying tower to the brink of disaster




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Vint Cerf of Google on the Future of the Internet

Vice president of engineering and chief evangelist at Google on the connected world in 2050. Read more at: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/vinton-cerf-on-where-the-internet-will-take-us-1128826/




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Is Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin the Future of Space Exploration?

Jeff Bezos | Smithsonian Magazine’s 2016 American Ingenuity Award Winner for Technology The Princeton-educated Amazon founder, Washington Post owner and new-economy pioneer also helms an innovative spaceflight company, Blue Origin, which he founded in 2000. This year it became the first aerospace manufacturer to launch, land and relaunch a rocket into space—an essential leap toward our extraterrestrial future. Bezos aims to revolutionize travel and work in space by making spaceflight so inexpensive that entrepreneurs will rush to create new businesses that have not even been imagined yet. Blue Origin’s achievement has been described as comparable to the shift from the sail to the steam engine. Read more about Bezos’ work: http://smithmag.co/GICDO2 | #IngenuityAwards And more about the American Ingenuity Awards: http://smithmag.co/77xPqy




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These Gentle Giants Would Rather Be Left Alone

Historically feared by humans, brown bears were once aggressively hunted in the contiguous U.S. Because of this, 95% of these majestic creatures live in Alaska.




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SmartNews: Making Gasoline from Bacteria

Researchers from South Korea have discovered a unconventional way to produce gasoline.




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We Asked: Are You Optimistic About the Earth’s Future?




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Saving a Nest of Baby Rabbits Mauled by a Dog

After a dog digs up a rabbit's nest and leaves a litter exposed, the team at the Toronto Wildlife Center must rehabilitate the malnourished babies before they can be released back into the wild.




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No Need for a Plane, This Snake Can Fly

Watch as researchers study the paradise tree snake that is capable of launching itself as far as 330 feet




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The Sights and Tastes of Hanoi

In Vietnam's capital city, pho restaurants dot the streets and fill them with the aromas of the flavorful soup. Read more at http://Smithsonian.com/pho




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Ask Smithsonian: What Keeps Satellites From Falling Out of the Sky?

Are you the kind of person who needs to know what keeps satellites from plummeting to the Earth in a big, fiery ball? Then you need to watch this one-minute video, where Ask Smithsonian host Eric Schulze gives us the lowdown on what-in-the-name-of-science makes those satellites stay up.




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Removed From its Setting, the Hope Diamond Stands Alone

The naked stone is on exhibit at the Natural History museum through next spring




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Music in One of the World's Most Violent Cities

Fifteen-year-old Esteban, a clarinetist from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, uses music to survive his chaotic environment Reporting by Dominic Bracco II / Prime and Susana Seijas




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Performing Ask Your Mama

In a workshop at the University of Michigan, composer Laura Karpman oversees a rehearsal of Ask Your Mama, a musical rendition of the Langston Hughes epic poem, with George Manahan conducting




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Listen to the Sounds of the Music Box

More on The Music Box: http://j.mp/KX15yK The artists behind the most eccentric place in New Orleans present their wacky homemade instruments




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American History Museum Transformed

A step-by-step tour of the renovation of the National Museum of American History (Narration by Beth Py-Lieberman / Edited by Ryan Reed and Brian Wolly)




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With "Master of None," Aziz Ansari Has Created a True American Original

Aziz Ansari | Smithsonian Magazine’s 2016 American Ingenuity Award Winner for Performing Arts The actor, comedian and author is being honored for his starring role as Dev Shah in “Master of None,” the Netflix series that he created with Alan Yang. Like the character he plays, Ansari is the son of Indian immigrant parents, and his smart, surprising take on life, love, technology and cultural identity in the United States has helped make the show “the year’s best comedy straight out of the gate,” as the New York Times put it. Among Ansari’s other accomplishments are his unforgettable portrayal of the loopy Tom Haverford on NBC’s “Parks and Recreation,” his best-selling book about dating in the internet age, Modern Romance (co-authored with Eric Klinenberg), and his blockbuster stand-up act that sold out Madison Square Garden. Read more about Ansari’s work: http://smithmag.co/jvdAaL | #IngenuityAwards And more about the American Ingenuity Awards: http://smithmag.co/77xPqy




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The Endangered Gorillas of the Congo

In the Virunga National Forest, the mountain gorilla population sits in the middle of a war zone in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as forest rangers track and keep a watchful eye on the threatened primates Music: Kevin MacLeod




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The Joys of Bird Spotting

The Chesapeake Bay watershed is the winter home for a broad variety of birds, and avid bird watchers flock to the region to find the rarest species (Meredith Bragg)




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The World's First "Yoga" Film

Thomas Edison's 1902 trick film, "Hindoo Fakir," depicts an Indian fakir-yogi performing a magic act.




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Elephant Fight Club

Bull elephant Kevin, crazed with testosterone, challenges Greg, the most powerful elephant in the group




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A Taste of Tradition

Learn about the history of wild rice and the Ojibwa




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The Long History of 3D Photography

A museum in Portland, Oregon highlights the multi-layered path of 3D imagery, from stereoscopes of the American West to blockbuster movies




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Elevating the Forgotten Histories of Black Women Through Folk Music

The power behind the music of Our Native Daughters comes from giving voice to the struggles of those who came before us—and few have struggled to be heard as much as black women.




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Wrongfully Admitted to Sunbury Asylum

In 1945, Maraquita Sargeant was admitted to a mental institution in Australia against her will and remained their for 22 years - produced by Matt Cleaves and George Clipp




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Ask Smithsonian: Why Do We Love Junk Food?

What is it about junk food that makes it so hard to resist? Find out how this empty-calorie food is designed to keep us wanting more in this one-minute video with Ask Smithsonian host, Eric Schulze.




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Dogs Can Sniff Out Malaria

Sally, a Labrador retriever, sniffs sock samples and then pauses on the sample worn by a child with malaria. (Durham University/Medical Detection Dogs/London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine)




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The History of Boogie Woogie

Smithsonian's own jazz man, John Edward Hasse, gives a lesson on the influential music genre. Read more at: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/the-smithsonians-ambassador-of-jazz-53620539/




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Bees Drink Nectar From a Coffee Flower

Honeybees get a caffeine buzz and memory boost when they drink coffee nectar




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Scientists Didn't Know Much About Earthquakes Before 1933

On March 10, 1933, a major earthquake caught the Los Angeles area by surprise. The devastation was of sufficient scale to spur scientific interest in earthquakes—and how to predict them.




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How Neil Armstrong Saved the Gemini 8 Spacecraft

Gemini 8 was in trouble. After completing the first space docking with another craft, it begins to spin uncontrollably. Ditching protocol, commanding officer Neil Armstrong tries an unorthodox plan.




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FBI Cerberus Undercover Footage




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The Historic Neighborhoods of Buenos Aires

Take in the sights and sounds of the European influences of Argentina's capital city (Produced by: Brendan McCabe). Read more at: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/daniel-politi-on-hola-buenos-aires-138874294/




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U.S. Marine Corps Archival Footage: 28th Marines on Iwo Jima

Recently digitized footage shows the Marine assault on Iwo Jima during World War II, including prepping equipment, arriving on the island and raising the flag. (U.S. Marine Corps History Division and Moving Image Research Collections, University of South Carolina)




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Survey: Help Us Design Our Future Season

We're over here making podcasts, and you're over there listening. Let's bridge that gap! We want to know more about you, like: why you're listening, what your favorite topics are, and what Smithsonian magazine can do to make "There's More to That" even better. Tell us what you think at  smithsonianmag.com/podcastsurvey (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/podcastsurvey) .




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World Science Festival: Misunderstood Geniuses—William Harvey




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Visiting Lafcadio Hearns Japan

The temples and scenery of Japans San-in coast are as captivating now as they were when Lafcadio Hearn wrote about them in the 19th century (Produced by: Brendan McCabe; Narration by: T.A. Frail; Music by: Kevin MacLeod; Photos by: Hans Sautter / Aurora Select).




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The Rise and Fall of the Aztec Civilization

Explore the history of the Aztecs, their incredible achievements in art, architecture, and warfare, as well as the factors that led to their decline. --- For more videos from Smithsonian Magazine: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/ Digital Editorial Director: Brian Wolly Supervising Producer & Scriptwriter: Michelle Mehrtens Producer: Nicki Marko Video Editor: Sierra Theobald




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My Three-Hour Tour of Eight Smithsonian Museums

How to build a museum tours app? Send the intern out to see if she can see it all in just three hours




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Abraham Lincoln: An Extraordinary Life

Behind the Scenes with Harry Rubenstein At the National Museum of American History (Beth Py-Lieberman, Ryan Reed and Molly Roberts). Read more at http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/life-of-lincoln.html




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Farewell Panda, Tai Shan Leaves for China

Read more at http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/aroundthemall/2009/12/tai-shan-will-return-to-china/ Visitors to the National Zoo have enjoyed watching their baby panda grow up over the last four years.




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Flipping Out Over Pinball

David Silverman has collected more than 800 pinball machines to preserve their history and create a national pinball museum.




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How the Meaning of Thanksgiving Has Changed

The holiday was used as a call for freedom during the civil rights movement and as a day of mourning by Native Americans.




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John F. Kennedy's Campaign for President

The curators at the American History museum delve into the archives to show artifacts from the 1960 election.




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The Shocking History and Legacy of the Salem Witch Trials

What fueled the frenzy that sent so many to their deaths in colonial America? And how did Americans reckon with the aftermath of the panic? --- 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




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Meet the Team of Scientists Who Discovered Gravitational Waves

Kip Thorne, Rainer Weiss, Barry Barish and Ronald Drever | Smithsonian Magazine’s 2016 American Ingenuity Award Winners for Physical Sciences In February, physicists announced the first-ever detection of gravitational waves—a phenomenon Albert Einstein predicted back in 1915. The faint reverberation, from two merging black holes 1.3 billion light-years ago, registered in the two giant detectors that make up the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory, or LIGO. It took decades for LIGO’s founders—Weiss, of MIT, and Thorne and Drever, of Cal Tech—to amass the necessary funding and brainpower. Barish, a particle physicist at CalTech, became LIGO’s director and expanded its work to include more than 1,000 researchers worldwide. Their revolutionary achievement opens the way for a new understanding of the universe, perhaps even a glimpse of the Big Bang. Read more about their work: http://smithmag.co/FZBFeP | #IngenuityAwards And more about the American Ingenuity Awards: http://smithmag.co/77xPqy




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How One Photographer Recreated 19th Century Portraits With the Descendants of Civil War Heroes

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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The Terrifying Physics of WWII Dive Bombing

The act of dive bombing during World War II was a death defying trial of skill and nerve. You aimed your plane down, four miles above the ocean and plummeted at speeds of up to 275 miles per hour




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The Best Small Towns to Celebrate Fall

Travel to Oregon, Minnesota, North Dakota and Rhode Island to see beautiful autumn foliage and much more. --- 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