Smithsonian Magazine

How Women Researchers Changed Our Understanding of Women’s Economic Lives

How can better data drive economic change? 'We Do Declare' uses oral histories to reveal how women collected evidence, ...
Smithsonian Magazine

Tudor Courtiers Exchanged Portrait Miniatures as Love Tokens. Centuries Later, New Research Is Unlocking the Secrets of These Intimate Artworks

Over the past few years, art historians have identified several previously unknown paintings by Elizabeth I's favorite artist ...
Smithsonian Magazine

The Sweat of Tourists Has Covered Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel Fresco in a White Film. Now, the ‘Last Judgment’ Is Getting a Much-Needed Cleaning

Patches of calcium lactate have dulled the colors of the famous 16th-century mural, which hasn't been cleaned since 1994.
Smithsonian Magazine

In the World’s Best Place to See Wild Jaguars, Residents Are Using the Big Cat’s Appeal to Reach Conservation Goals

Brazil’s Pantanal region has the highest jaguar density on Earth, drawing camera-toting visitors to its riverbanks. Despite ...
Smithsonian Magazine

Why Has Punch, an Adorable Baby Monkey, Struggled to Fit in With His Troop? Scientists Explain the Lives of Japanese Macaques

Over the past few weeks, a baby macaque at Japan’s Ichikawa City Zoo named Punch has taken the internet by storm. Viral ...
Smithsonian Magazine

The Historic Comic Books That Introduced Superman and Captain America Just Entered the Smithsonian in a Landmark Acquisition

The National Museum of American History adds 'Action Comics No. 1' and 'Captain America Comics No. 1' to its vast pop culture ...
Smithsonian Magazine

To Help Save Wildlife, Ecologists Learn A.I. Skills at the National Zoo’s Science Campus

In a unique class hosted at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, early-career ecologists learned to apply emerging ...
Smithsonian Magazine

In ‘Bride of Frankenstein,’ the Monster’s Wife Never Speaks. Now, Maggie Gyllenhaal’s ‘The Bride!’ Gives the Iconic Character a Voice

Directed by James Whale, the 1935 movie and its prequel, a 1931 adaptation of Mary Shelley's classic novel, laid the ...
Smithsonian Magazine

Thirty-Four Years Ago, a British Museum Staffer Stole 350 Prints in Broad Daylight. A New Book Chronicles the Thefts and Their Fallout

While seemingly unreported at the time, the pilfering was uncovered by historian Barnaby Phillips as part of his research for ...
Smithsonian Magazine

After Pearl Harbor, Americans Living in Japan Endured Imprisonment, Torture and a Lengthy Battle to Return Home

A new book chronicles the tense negotiations that secured the return of nearly 3,000 Allied civilians held by the Japanese ...
Smithsonian Magazine

The Ten Best Books to Complement Your Viewing of This Year’s Oscar-Nominated Movies

Ahead of the 2026 Academy Awards, take a look at the titles that have been adapted into some of the recognized films, and ...
Smithsonian Magazine

These Clownfish Lose Their Baby Stripes in Response to Peer Pressure, New Research Suggests

Tomato clownfish perform a dramatic underwater wardrobe change based on the social dynamics of their environment ...