Smithsonian Magazine

Smithsonian Magazine takes you on a journey through history, science, world culture and technology with breathtaking images from around the world.

discussion

Our Shared Future • IN A DEEPLY DIVIDED MOMENT, A NEW INITIATIVE AIMS TO BRING AMERICANS TOGETHER BY RECKONING WITH OUR RACIAL PAST

Enter the un discovered FLORIDA ® Sweepstakes

King of the Road • At first, it was all about hauling things we needed. Then the pickup truck itself became the thing we wanted

Chrome Jewels • BOASTFUL OR BEAUTIFUL (OR BOTH), HOOD ORNAMENTS ADORNED EARLY PICKUPS—AND THEN WERE DROPPED AS UNSAFE

WHAT IF? • Imagining a different history for Africa and conjuring a world that might have been

Decoding Lady Wroth • On the trail of the first female English novelist, a Renaissance noblewoman with a secret she hinted at in a cipher

Hiding in Plain Sight • IN EARLY-MODERN EUROPE, CIPHERS EXPRESSED ROMANCE, FRIENDSHIP AND MORE. SOME REMAIN MYSTERIES TO THIS DAY

DATELINE: TAMPA • A 19th-century reporter’s invaluable guide to a disappearing Native American landscape

When Time Stopped • A watch belonging to an American crew member points to the final chaotic hours and minutes aboard the Titanic

Don’t Be Puzzled • YOU CAN FIND SEVEN ANSWERS IN THESE PAGES

after • It has been 20 years since four jetliners hijacked by terrorists crashed into the Twin Towers, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania. The attacks killed nearly 3,000 people. To honor their memory, we worked with photographer Jackie Molloy to create portraits of several female first responders and others who were on the scene, as well as women, men and now-grown children who lost a loved one. We also asked a number of them what they remember about that September day, and we learned how it continues to shape their lives, in unique and profound ways, after two decades.

Who She Was

Connection

Forces Beyond

Hero

One of My Friends

The Last Place

Conversations

IN THE LAND OF THE ANCIENT ONES • Ann Axtell Morris gets her due in a movie created partly on remote tribal lands the pioneering archaeologist studied nearly a century ago

Blues in a Minor Key • Jimmy Holmes is the last in a line of music legends. At his Mississippi juke joint, he goes all out to keep a singular American art form alive

SEEDS OF CONFLICT • TURKISH AUTHORITIES AND BRITISH ARCHAEOLOGISTS ARE BATTLING OVER ANCIENT PLANTS THAT ARE ESSENTIAL TO SCIENCE—AND MIGHT HOLD CLUES TO NEW SUPERFOODS

ask smithsonian • YOU’VE GOT QUESTIONS. WE’VE GOT EXPERTS