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

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

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.

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

Hailing from an area known for its raucous music and dance traditions, the Kalapriya Dance Troupe perform at the opening of the "Garden and Cosmos" exhibit (Anika Gupta). Read more at: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/dance-of-the-desert-hindu-folk-performance-brings-raucous-rhythms-to-the-mall-1-180941518/

Television reporter Shannon LaNier is a direct descendant of the third President of the United States. (Credit: Drew Gardner)

What was the motivation behind the American Ingenuity Award winner's medical breakthrough that will save thousands of lives

Recently digitized footage shows the 5th Div. cemetery dedication on Iwo Jima with band, gun salute and officers speaking. In the final scene, tow Marines kneel over the temporary resting place of 3/13 PFC Ernest T. Langbeen. (U.S. Marine Corps History Division and Moving Image Research Collections, University of South Carolina)

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

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.

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.

Two weeks before he died, the legendary astronaut wrote a letter in recognition of Jeff Bezos' work, read at the 2016 American Ingenuity Awards Smithsonian magazine American #IngenuityAwards

The American Ingenuity Award winner on the connection between history and music

The facts of Sojourner Truth’s life are inspiring: Born into slavery in the late 1790s, she became an influential abolitionist and Pentecostal preacher, transfixing audiences from the mid 1840s through the late 1870s with her candid and powerful voice, not to mention her singing. Tall and strong, Truth was physically formidable, too. No one was using the term “intersectionality” in the 19th century, but Truth embodied this idea, declaring that her Blackness and her womanhood were equally essential facets of her identity. But many people, both in Truth’s lifetime and in the approximately 140 years since her death, have found it useful to recast Truth as they wish to remember her instead of as she was. There’s no better example of this than “Ain’t I a woman?,” the hypothetical that Truth supposedly put to the audience when she addressed a women’s rights convention in 1851 in Akron, Ohio—the city where a public plaza will be dedicated in her honor this spring. There’s reason to doubt she said that, or at least that she said it in that way. In this episode, we speak with two historians who’ve dug into Truth’s complicated legacy and challenged much of what’s been written about this American icon. Cynthia Greenlee reported on recent efforts to honor Truth (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/remarkable-untold-story-sojourner-truth-180983691/) for the March 2024 issue of Smithsonian. Nell Irvin Painter wrote the groundbreaking 1996 biography Sojourner Truth: A Life, A Symbol, and she’s hard at work on a follow-up volume titled Sojourner Truth Was a New Yorker and She Didn’t Say That. Together, Greenlee and Painter help us understand us who Sojourner Truth really was, and why several generations of activists have claimed her as a symbol — at the expense of our understanding of her as a person. Read Cynthia Greenlee’s March 2024 Smithsonian story about Sojourner Truth here (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/remarkable-untold-story-sojourner-truth-180983691/) . You can learn more about Dr. Greenlee and her work at her site (https://www.cynthiagreenlee.com/) . You can learn more about Dr. Nell Irvin Painter’s work as an author, artist, and historian at her site (http://www.nellpainter.com/) . And read more here for the history of Mar-a-Lago (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/history-mar-a-lago-180965214/) mentioned in our dinner party fact. 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.

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

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.

Discover how Ella Jenkins' joyful songs and storytelling have inspired generations of young listeners, while her commitment to advocacy has profoundly affected the world of music and beyond. --------- For more videos from Smithsonian Magazine: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/ Digital Editorial Director: Brian Wolly Director of Programming: Nicki Marko Supervising Producer & Scriptwriter: Michelle Mehrtens Producer & Editor: Sierra Theobald Motion Designer: Ricardo Jaimes

Tired of waiting to catch your flight? Then strap on your very own jetpack and off you go!

A clip from the father of video art's 1969 piece

Filmed for movie theaters in 1910, the heavyweight championship fight between Jack Johnson and Jim Jeffries was a nationwide phenomenon Narration: T.A. Frail

Members of the National Museum of American Historys jazz program discuss the legacy of jazz in the United States

The photographer talks about what he aims for in his shots of industrial scars on the American landscape. Read more at http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/Devastation-From-Above.html.

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

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)

Jeffersons respect for the enlightenment ideals of memory, reason and imagination shaped how he organized his library (Video: Molly Roberts). Read more at https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/on-the-hunt-for-jeffersons-lost-books-38566672/

David Burnett on His Experience Jumping Out of a Plane With D-Day Vets

During World War II, Japanese Americans who were sent to internment camps used scraps and found materials to create beautiful works of art.

How the American Ingenuity Award winner plans to build a self-sustaining civilization on Mars

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.

Watch a selection from the Smithsonian Institution's submission for the UNESCO Memory of the World Register of historic artifacts

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

Quiksilver captures stunning aerial views of the world champion surfer's dazzling technique

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

For more than a year now, the world has been treated to breathtaking images of the outer reaches of our universe from the NASA instrument. But how does it even work? --- 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/arts-culture/Hazel-Scotts-Lifetime-of-High-Notes.html In a performance filmed for World War II soldiers, Hazel Scott begins with a section from Liszt's "Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2" and ends with a jazzy tune (Army / Navy Screen Magazine).

Jellyfish, the wobbly wonders of the ocean, often astound with their unique shapes, sizes, and stings. Learn more about these marine marvels as we dive deeper into the underwater world. --- 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 Footage provided by Storyblocks and Shutterstock

A shipwreck discovered off New Zealand dates to a time before Cook's arrival

The discoveries include sharks, shorebirds, mammals and saber-toothed salmon, with the oldest remains dating to almost nine million years ago

The energetic streams are together 23 million light-years in length—roughly as long as 140 Milky Way galaxies lined end to end

The technology, enabled by thorium atoms, could keep time more accurately than atomic clocks and enable new discoveries about gravity, gravitational waves and dark matter

The so-called good-luck flag, which hung on an American veteran's wall for many years, returned home last month after nearly eight decades

The viewfinders are outfitted with special lenses that help people with red-green colorblindness distinguish between hues

Unearthed last year, the remains could reveal new information on the extinct sea reptile, which crushed mollusks and shelled creatures with its large, round teeth

Scientists sent bioengineered heart tissue samples to the ISS to study how to keep astronauts safe during future long-term space travel

In the dusty landscape surrounding the city of Marfa, a huge 3D printer is constructing 43 new rooms and 18 residential homes as part of an expansion of El Cosmico

The "John Evenson" tugboat was helping another ship enter the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal in Wisconsin when it sank to the bottom of Lake Michigan in 1895