Recently digitized footage shows Marine in dugouts in the field, working on building a hospital and assisting the wounded on the front lines. (U.S. Marine Corps History Division and Moving Image Research Collections, University of South Carolina)

Discover why scientists think we are in a new geologic age and what it means for our future.

While President Kennedy may be one of the best known gravesites in Arlington, there are many other notable Americans buried in these sacred grounds (Ryan Reed and Molly Roberts). Read more at http://smithsonian.com/arlington

Courtesy of GoPro

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

Uncover the bittersweet story of this ancient treat. Read more at https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/a-brief-history-of-chocolate-21860917/

The North American Orchid Conservation Center is working to ensure the survival of some of the most unique plants in the world

Richard Saul Wurman, the founder of the popular speaker series, shares his ideas for how to make learning more interesting

Have you ever wondered whether lie detectors actually...work? Join us as we delve into the history and science behind these devices - from how they measure "deception" to the controversies surrounding their use. This video is the first episode of the National Treasure series, where we share behind-the-scenes stories of objects in the Smithsonian Collections. --------- To learn more about the exhibition "Forensic Science on Trial" at Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, read below: What a 100-Year-Old Lie Detector and 150-Year-Old Arsenic Tests Tell Us About Forensic Science Today https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/what-a-100-year-old-lie-detector-and-150-year-old-arsenic-tests-tell-us-about-forensic-science-today-180984623/ Forensic Science on Trial https://americanhistory.si.edu/explore/exhibitions/forensic-science-trial Digital Editorial Director: Brian Wolly Supervising Producer & Scriptwriter: Michelle Mehrtens Producer: Nicki Marko Producer & Editor: Sierra Theobald Motion Designer: Ricardo Jaimes Original Footage: Cade Martin

Read more about the event here: http://j.mp/TyPfBO The world famous Chinese artist uses pyrotechnics to turn a 40-foot-tall pine tree into an optical illusion.

Researchers from the University of West Florida are slowly uncovering the remains of a 16th-century shipwreck of a Spanish galleon in the shallow, murky waters near Pensacola

The science behind going belly up

Learn how to stage a sit-in right next to the Greensboro lunch counter, the location of one of the civil rights movement's most famous protests (Video by: Katy June-Friesen). Read more at http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/Courage-at-the-Greensboro-Lunch-Counter.html

See how researchers at Smithsonian's National Zoo are trying to glean insight into elephant foraging behavior and more.

Equipped with wings and a propeller, Moulton Taylor Aerocar aerobile was capable of taking off from a stoplight or the runway

Listen for the subtle clicks of the eland bull's knees

A new law enforcement tool is marking alleged criminals without their knowledge

See how geometric designs are inspiring new ways to make stretchy materials. (Video by Ahmad Rafsanjani and Damiano Pasini/McGill University)

Smithsonian Institution Secretary Dr. David Skorton joins some of the world’s leading thinkers in a spirited discussion about our ever changing planet

Artist Abbot Thayer illustrated the prevalence of camouflage in the animal world and advocated using it as a military tactic

As part of Project Mercury, NASA prepared to send a chimpanzee, Ham, into space to test the effects of space on a living creature.

Watch Dr. Suzan Murray perform her morning rounds (Kenneth R. Fletcher)

Follow team LEO A DALY as they replicate the Discovery space shuttle's arrival in Washington, D.C. for CANstruction

Document Deep Dive: http://j.mp/SUXoTF How the Emancipation Proclamation Came to Be Signed: http://j.mp/12q5SE0 What did it take to pull together a draft of the Emancipation Proclamation, Lincoln's inkwell and his pen?

The grand buildings of Washington, D.C. would look quite different were it not for the work of Palladio. Read more at Smithsonian.com

It’s not the most urgent news story that’s gripped the world since 2020, but it might be the weirdest: The last three years have seen more 400 “encounters”— many reports have used the word “attacks”—between orca whales and boats in the Strait of Gibraltar. Because the orcas are particularly fond of tearing the propellers off of yachts, the temptation to characterize these six-ton, pack-hunting, demonstrably intelligent mammals as class warriors fighting back against the 1 percent is strong, and the memes have been fun (https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/events/orca-wars-killer-whales-attacking-boats) . But trying to understand animal behavior in human terms is a mistake. In this episode, we speak with Carlyn Kranking (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/author/carlyn-kranking/) , Smithsonian’s assistant digital science editor, about why stories about animal behavior are so popular with our readers, and how she decides which ones deserve more scrutiny. Then, I speak with Lori Marino, a biopsychologist with a specific focus on whale and dolphin intelligence, about what’s really happening between the orcas and the yacht set. 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, Terence Bernardo, 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.

As foliage darkens in the fall, the pigments within the plant matter break down and transform

Over 50 different actors have portrayed the famous detective on the big screen, from Basil Rathbone to Robert Downey, Jr. Photos Courtesy of The Internet Archive; Mary Evans/Ronald Grant/Everett Collection; TM and © 20th Century Fox Film Corp. All rights reserved, Courtesy: Everett Collection; © United Artists/courtesy Everett Collection; © Paramount/ Courtesy: Everett Collection; © Orion Pictures/courtesy Everett Collection; Everett Collection

A true-life saga involving organized crime, racial prejudice, and evolving American identity, David Grann’s 2017 nonfiction book Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the F.B.I. seemed at first glance like a perfect fit for Martin Scorsese, the beloved filmmaker whose dozens of critically adored movies include Taxi Driver, GoodFellas, and The Departed. But when Jim Gray, a former chief of the Osage Nation, and other Osage leaders invited the filmmaker to Oklahoma to hear their concerns about his new project, Scorsese came. Scorsese listened. And then he rewrote and reconfigured Killers of the Flower Moon from soup to nuts, with a result that has earned a rapturous response from Native viewers like Gray and journalist Sandra Hale Schulman, and from the broader critical community, too. The movie opens in theatres tomorrow and will appear on the Apple+ streaming service before the end of the year. In this episode, Schulman walks me through a brief history of how Native Americans have been depicted in a century’s worth of movies. Then, Chief Gray tells me about his personal connection to Killers of the Flower Moon, the pattern of Native American erasure from national discourse, and how he and his colleagues persuaded Scorsese to rethink the new movie. A transcript of this episode can be found here (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonianmag/how-the-osage-changed-martin-scorseses-mind-180983094smithsonianmag.com/smithsonianmag/how-the-osage-changed-martin-scorseses-mind-180983094) . Sandra’s Smithsonian story about Native representation in cinema is here (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/a-brief-history-of-native-representation-in-film-180983043/) . You can learn more about Sandra and her work at her site (http://www.sandraschulman.com/) . Dennis McAuliffe Jr.’s The Deaths of Sybil Bolton: An American History, which Chief Gray cites as formative in this episode, is here (https://www.amazon.com/Deaths-Sybil-Bolton-American-History/dp/081292150X) . 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, Terence Bernardo, 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.

Smithsonian magazine's poetry consultant recites his poem commissioned for a special photography issue

Anna Coleman Ladd fits soldiers for masks in her studio

ARTICLE: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/civil-war-veterans-come-alive-in-audio-and-video-recordings-97841665/ In this exclusive clip from the 1930s, Confederate veterans step up to the mic and let out their version of the fearsome rallying cry.

(Footage: Erin Trieb. Video Editing: Nicole Boliaux)

After reviewing more than 30,000 photos, the editors of Smithsonian magazine are proud to announce the winning submissions. Learn more about the finalists and winners of 2024 here: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/see-winners-21st-annual-smithsonian-magazine-photo-contest-180984001/. --- 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

Through her television shows, Julia Child shared her love for culinary arts with the world.

In the 1920s, the U.S. was in full thrill-seeking mode. From horse-diving (you have to see it to believe it) to barnstorming. And at the center of many of these activities were a group of daring young women.

Read more at http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/science/2010/04/01/a-peep-experiment/ Our Surprising Science blogger tests whether stale peeps or fresh peeps are better for the spring tradition of peep jousting.

With his bright red coat, big orange nose, and wide eyes, Elmo is arguably the most famous of the Sesame Street muppets–but he didn’t always have it this good. Elmo began as an "Anything Muppet"—an extra, if you will, until Kevin Clash refashioned his character into the one we know—and kids love–today. Throughout the '80s his star continued to shine, eventually becoming an international icon and best-selling Christmas toy. Forty years later, he’s still going strong, enshrined in a popular exhibit at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.

Ranchers and wildlife advocates are at odds over how to handle the gray wolf's return to the Rockies

Using new technologies, Smithsonian entomologists are using detailed photo of ant faces to understand the differences among the 12,000 species

Looking at the future of geopolitics, the author reveals the surprising results of his research. Read more at http://www.smithsonianmag.com/specialsections/40th-anniversary/George-Friedman-on-World-War-III.html

Eclipses have been a subject of fascination throughout human history, and the fact that we now have a clearer understanding of what they actually are—at least in the celestial mechanics sense—than we did in centuries past has not made them any less exciting. With the North American total solar eclipse (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/prepare-for-2024s-solar-eclipse-now-with-these-four-key-steps-180981933/) just days away as we’re releasing this episode, and the next one visible from the contiguous United States not due until 2044, we’ll learn about the eclipses from astronomy obsessive (and Smithsonian science correspondent) Dan Falk and hear from Indigenous astronomer Samantha Doxtator about how the Haudenosaunee people have observed and interpreted these mysterious daylight darkenings of the skies over many centuries. You can read Dan’s Smithsonian story about how ancient civilizations responded to eclipses here (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/how-ancient-civilizations-reacted-to-eclipses-180983894/) . 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 biomimicry: http://j.mp/RI3OOB Scientists believe the iridescent wings of the morphos butterfly could be used in technology to benefit humans.

This year marks the 100 year anniversary of Japan's gift of cherry blossoms to Washington, D.C.

More on the crocs at Smithsonian.com: http://j.mp/SWhbxZ The two Cuban crocodiles are the first for the zoo since 1988.

"OK Go made music videos relevant again." – Stephen Colbert OK Go​, Damian Kulash Jr. and Trish Sie​ won the Smithsonian magazine​ American Ingenuity Award for Visual Arts for pushing the music-video envelope with their zero-gravity video for "Upside Down & Inside Out." Read more about their work and see the video here: http://smithmag.co/HZ8vzr The Smithsonian has been celebrating innovation in American culture for more than 150 years, and following in this tradition, Smithsonian magazine presents the American Ingenuity Awards, honoring revolutionary breakthroughs in the arts and sciences, education and social progress. http://smithmag.co/R7hyRO

Part of the visual album of Joan Baez' "Whistle Down the Wind," this cover of Joe Henry's "Civil War" was directed by New York University's Deborah Willis

Human remains discovered at Wharram Percy are about to be examined by an expert, in a bid to determine what happened. Is it a medieval murder mystery—or something far more sinister?

From the stars moving across the night sky to clouds moving over snow-capped mountains, photographer John Eklund captures the beauty of the region