Why Cokie Roberts Admired Dolley Madison
The legendary newswoman, who died at 75, appeared on a Smithsonian podcast earlier this summer to speak about a favorite topic, the first ladies
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Cherokee Indians Can Now Harvest Sochan Within a National Park
For the first time, the indigenous community is allowed to gather the cherished plant on protected land
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Women Scientists Were Written Out of History. It's Margaret Rossiter's Lifelong Mission to Fix That
The historian has devoted her career to bringing to light the ingenious accomplishments of those who have been forgotten
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When the Socialist Revolution Came to Oklahoma—and Was Crushed
Inside the little-known story of the Green Corn Rebellion, which blazed through the Sooner State a century ago
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Inside a New Effort to Change What Schools Teach About Native American History
A new curriculum from the American Indian Museum brings greater depth and understanding to the long-misinterpreted history of indigenous culture
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Here's the Guitar That Prince Revolutionized Music With in 'Purple Rain'
The artist gave the "cloud" guitar to the Smithsonian in 1993, but only now do we know it's the same instrument used in the iconic movie
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Babies Born by C-Section Have Different Gut Microbes Than Vaginally Delivered Infants
Method of delivery can influence the bacteria in infants' guts, according to a new study, but differences were found to disappear within nine months
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From Skinning Coconuts to Tire Recycling, This Photographer Captures Vietnam at Work
Huynh Thanh Huy presents a striking portrait of a nation undergoing a dramatic shift from agriculture to manufacturing
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How Peter Wayne Lewis Infuses His Artwork With the Spirit of Jazz
A new exhibit explores bebop and the Buddha
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Is the Future of Entertainment the 40-Years-Old 'Choose Your Own Adventure' Series?
Forty years ago, a beloved paperback series set the stage for today's obsession with interactive entertainment
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When Young George Washington Started a War
A just-discovered eyewitness account provides startling new evidence about who fired the shot that sparked the French and Indian War
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Where Does the Word 'Teetotaler' Come From? and More Questions From Our Readers
You've got questions, we've got experts
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In This Interactive Football League, Fans Pick the Plays
Your Call Football's streaming app platform lets fans control the actions of real live players, earning points and winning prizes
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How Lonnie Bunch Built a Museum Dream Team
An exclusive excerpt from the Smithsonian Secretary’s new book, ‘A Fool’s Errand’
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Scientists Recreate the Face of a Denisovan Using DNA
By mapping gene expressions, researchers can determine some anatomical features of our distant hominin relatives
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North America Has Lost Nearly 3 Billion Birds Since 1970
The staggering population loss of 29 percent of North American birds could signal an ecological crisis
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Joachim Gans, the First Practicing Jew to Set Foot in North America, Finally Gets His Due
The metallurgist came to the Roanoke settlement looking for raw materials to support the English war effort
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How the New Movie 'Ad Astra' Offers a Plausible Vision of Late-21st Century Space Travel
Shuttle astronaut Garrett Reisman helped writer-director James Gray make his space adventure authentic(ish)
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Could Eating Sea Urchins Help Revive Kelp Forests?
A Norwegian 'urchin ranching' company wants to take the echinoderms from the wild, fatten them up and sell them to restaurants
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Paul Simon Has 50 Ways to Charm an Audience
As the 2019 recipient of the Smithsonian’s Great Americans Medal, the musician divulged he still has one more song to write
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How Charlotte Moore Sitterly Wrote The Encyclopedia of Starlight
The "world’s most honored woman astrophysicist" worked tirelessly for decades to measure the makeup of the sun and the stars
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