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

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

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

More on biomimicry: http://j.mp/RI3OOB Scientists believe the iridescent wings of the morphos butterfly could be used in technology to benefit humans.

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

An exclusive group of thought leaders gathered at the museum to discuss how the world prepares for the next global pandemic, raises public awareness, and explores potential responses and solutions

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

The Marine Band, having played at nearly every presidential swearing-in ceremony since Thomas Jefferson's in 1801, readies for Barack Obama's inauguration (Meredith Bragg). Read more at http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/Inauguration-2009.html

A new study reveals the secrets and chemical makeup behind "Shreckstoff"

The American Ingenuity Award winner describes what it takes to tell a great story

Jim Henson, creator of the Muppets, thought in images, as this clip from his early 1960s piece "Cat and Mouse" exemplifies. Henson's prolific mind is celebrated in the new Smithsonian traveling exhibition "Jim Henson's Fantastic World."

Related to rabbits and hares and adapted to high-elevation habitat, the American pika faces a bleak future as temperatures rise and snow cover disappears

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.

Have you ever wondered why these birds strike this peculiar pose? Find out in this one-minute video, where Ask Smithsonian host Eric Schulze walks us through the reasons behind the majestic bird’s one-legged stance.

With hundreds of new uranium mining claims filed within just a few miles of Grand Canyon National Park, a proposed new law would close the area to mining development and prevent radioactive contamination from discharging into the park

Credit: Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage

After reviewing more than 30,000 photos, the editors of Smithsonian Magazine are proud to announce the Grand Prize Winner. #shorts

Reclining and dining in the ancient classical world

Autodesk vice president Brian Mathews talks with the NASA science communicator about the search for life on other planets and why it’s important

For over 80 years, the Scurlock photography studio catalogued the lives of the black middle class of Washington, D.C (The exhibit, The Scurlock Studio and Black Washington: Picturing the Promise, is on view at the National Museum of American History through November 15, 2009. Thanks to Lonnie Bunch, Director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, which co-organized the exhibit). Read more at http://www.smithsonianmag.com/people-places/The-Scurlock-Studio-Picture-of-Prosperity.html

The Orkneys, an archipelago of islands off the northern coast of Scotland, are home to some of the greatest neolithic treasures in western Europe: from the settlement of Skara Brae to the Ness of Brodgar.

The answer…and why you should care

Read more at http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/Arcimboldos-Feast-for-the-Eyes.html The Hapsburg Dynasty's court painter's unique style of portraiture, using fruits, vegetables and animals to compose his faces -- has fascinated artists and the general public for centuries.

The two discussed their ancestors’ legacy more than 150 years after the famous figures both attended the Seneca Falls Convention. (Credit: Drew Gardner)

Read more at http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/aroundthemall/2011/06/dancing-splash-mob-floods-the-natural-history-museum In an effort to celebrate World Oceans Day, organizers planned a "splash" mob at the National Museum of Natural History's Sant Ocean Hall.

Some of the brightest minds in the world gathered at Smithsonian's "The Future is Here" conference to discuss the great triumphs and future innovations in science and technology http://www.smithsonianmag.com/ideas-innovations/The-Future-is-Here.html

Credit: Nathan Cooper

Read more at http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/In-Search-of-the-Mysterious-Narwhal.html Staff writer Abigail Tucker relates her experiences reporting from the small Arctic village of narwhal hunters.

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)

Our host, Eric Schulze, explains how science is tackling this puzzling question from space.

Serving 30 million people in seven states and Mexico, the drying Colorado River can still be saved by sustainable measures and collaboration

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

http://j.mp/z7WXi2 Researchers and scientists work together to find a way to play recordings made by the studio of inventor Alexander Graham Bell

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

Photographer Drew Gardner has a passion for history. His long-term project, “The Descendants,” (https://www.drewgardner.com/descendants)  wherein he recreates famous portraits of historical figures featuring their direct offspring, is his most visible expression of this interest. But like a lot of people who study history, Gardner has in recent years begun to contemplate more deeply the question of whose stories have been judged worthy of preservation, and whose have been allowed to fade into obscurity. That was how he decided to shift his specific focus to locating and photographing Black American descendants of Civil War veterans. You can take a look at Gardner’s photographs and read magazine editor Jennie Rothenberg Gritz’s exploration of their meaning here (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/descendants-black-civil-war-heroes-wear-heritage-pride-180983397/) . On the latest episode of the Smithsonian podcast “There’s More to That,” (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/podcast)  I speak with Janisse Flowers and her 9-year-son, Neikoye, who are descended from the Civil War drummer boy David Miles Moore Jr. After some reflection, Janisse and her husband decided to grant Gardner’s request to photograph Neikoye dressed in a replica of Moore’s Union Army uniform. Both Janisse and Neikoye share their surprise over how this experience made them more conscious of their heritage. I’m also joined by Gardner himself, who describes the challenges—and, he hopes, the potential benefits—of asking Black Americans to revisit one of the most painful chapters of America’s history by (almost) literally stepping into their ancestors’ shoes. You can learn more about Drew and his work at his website (https://www.drewgardner.com/) . 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, 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.

With an 80-acre scale model of the 1.6 million-acre Everglades wetland system, scientists study how to restore the flow of water that was interrupted years ago

Research in Tanzania shows that impalas follow baboons to sausage trees to share fruits and feel safer from predators. (Video courtesy Brooke Davis)

Jane Butel, author and expert on food from the American Southwest, reveals the stories behind how chili peppers, beef and wine became part of the region's cuisine (Meredith Bragg)

Humans have been modifying plants since the beginning of agriculture, but now, globalization and new technologies have given us more control and more power over our food than ever before.

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).

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

New DNA analysis adds to growing research indicating the famous Pacific island did not collapse from overuse of resources before the arrival of Europeans

"Le Lyonnais" descended into the depths off the coast of Massachusetts after colliding with the "Adriatic," a sailing vessel that left the floundering steamship to fend for itself

The noisy-but-shy bird, known as the hoiho, has earned the most votes for a second time amid threats to its survival

Officials launched an investigation and recovered the $360,000 print less than a week after it vanished from Grove Gallery. Two men have been charged for the crime

The annual award ceremony featured costumes, songs and paper airplanes as scientists recognized comedic research across ten disciplines

The vertical sign stretched across three stories of the Manhattan hotel, which once welcomed the likes of Bob Dylan, Patti Smith, Andy Warhol and Janis Joplin

The “beloved” rodent named Cinnamon was spotted this week with help from drones. She has been wandering and eating grass after escaping her zoo enclosure last Friday