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Denali Has One of the Deepest Canyons in the World

Ruth Glacier’s Great Gorge is quite simply one of the continent’s most awe-inspiring sights. At 2,000 feet and over ten miles long, it’s one of the deepest canyons in the world.




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The Astonishing Spying Capabilities of This U.S. Satellite

The "Manned Orbiting Laboratory," or "MOL," was built to capture high-resolution images of Soviet targets on the ground. It was so advanced, it could pick up objects on earth as small as a baseball




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Was This Cave an Ancient Lab for Preserving Human Bodies?

A series of remarkably well-preserved human remains in a remote cave in Scotland has archaeologists grappling with a staggering question: were these bodies brought here during the Bronze Age to be mummified?




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This London Blacksmith Forges Replicas of Medieval Swords

A London blacksmith has perfected a technique known as pattern welding to create elaborately-designed replica Saxon swords and knives. He demonstrates his technique on camera.




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How Coffee Breaks Became a Staple of American Life

Coffee - it's a staple of American life, and inside the vaults of the National Museum of American History, they know the secret to its wide spread success: packaging




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Academy Award Nominee Kathleen Turner Discusses Political Journalist Molly Ivins

More on Kathleen Turner and her show at Arena Stage: http://j.mp/T0IkkZ Before taking the stage in "Red Hot Patriot: The Kick-Ass Wit of Molly Ivins," Academy Award nominee Kathleen Turner discusses the woman who inspired the show.




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This Bandit-Faced Dino Hid From Predators Using Multiple Types of Camouflage

Credit: David Marshall, University of Bristol




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How Lizzie Borden Became the Main Suspect in Her Family's Murder

How did a god fearing church-goer like Lizzie Borden become a suspect in the gruesome crime of the century? Her inconsistent account, and an eerie nonchalance, immediately damaged her credibility with investigators.




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Ask Smithsonian: How Do Noise-Canceling Headphones Work?

Our host, Eric Schulze explains how 1 + 1 = 0 when it comes to sound




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SmartNews: Why Are These Mice Unafraid of Cats?

Scientists are researching how the rodent can become less susceptible to its feline foe.




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Boston and New York Competed for America’s First Subway

In March 1895, Boston and New York City began an epic and highly competitive race to become the first American city with a working subway system.




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Did the Spanish Flu Impact America's Ability to Fight in WWI?

By late September 1918, in a bid to contain the spread of the flu, the U.S. had made the decision to cancel the draft. It was too little, too late—in October alone, over 200,000 Americans were killed by the disease.




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These Famous Names Came Out of Omaha

After his arrival in Omaha in 1892, Tom Dennison - nicknamed the "Grey Wolf" - controlled the city's street's for more than 30 years




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Underwater Volcano

A remote camera captures the first-ever video of an erupting underwater volcano




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Ask Smithsonian: Have Cats Been Domesticated?

When did we start getting cuddly with cats? And have those tabbies really been tamed? In this one-minute video, Ask Smithsonian host Eric Schulze investigates the surprising history and science behind today’s house cat.




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2016 FLAP Canada Bird Layout




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Lava Stream From Kilauea Volcano

A massive lava stream from Kilauea Volcano flows into the ocean from a lava tube at the Kamokuna ocean entry on the southeast side of the Big Island at sunrise. Credit Elyse Butler




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Political Props

Smithsonian curator Larry Bird shows off convention artifacts and other campaign memorabilia from the collection of the National Museum of American History (Smithsonian.com). Read more at http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/Inauguration-2009.html




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How the Titanic Sinking Became Fake News

Hours after the Titanic sank, news organizations latched onto a telegraph message that seemed to say that the ship and all its passengers had been rescued. It would turn out to be a tragic case of fake news.




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Mating and Sentinel Calls

Hear audio of mouse lemurs and pied babblers (Note: Lemur calls have been slowed down to one-tenth their speed so that scientists can analyze their differences.)




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3D Imaging of the Apollo 11 Capsule - Outside




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Baby Talk From a Rhesus Macaque

Watch how a mother rhesus makes funny faces to her infant child to grab its attention




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Could 3D Printing Save Music Education?

DC chef Erik Bruner-Yang interviews Jill-of-all-trades Kaitlyn Hova about her plan to infuse STEM education with open source, 3D printable instruments.




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No Need for a Plane, This Snake Can Fly

Watch as researchers study the paradise tree snake that is capable of launching itself as far as 330 feet




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American History Museum Transformed

A step-by-step tour of the renovation of the National Museum of American History (Narration by Beth Py-Lieberman / Edited by Ryan Reed and Brian Wolly)




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With "Master of None," Aziz Ansari Has Created a True American Original

Aziz Ansari | Smithsonian Magazine’s 2016 American Ingenuity Award Winner for Performing Arts The actor, comedian and author is being honored for his starring role as Dev Shah in “Master of None,” the Netflix series that he created with Alan Yang. Like the character he plays, Ansari is the son of Indian immigrant parents, and his smart, surprising take on life, love, technology and cultural identity in the United States has helped make the show “the year’s best comedy straight out of the gate,” as the New York Times put it. Among Ansari’s other accomplishments are his unforgettable portrayal of the loopy Tom Haverford on NBC’s “Parks and Recreation,” his best-selling book about dating in the internet age, Modern Romance (co-authored with Eric Klinenberg), and his blockbuster stand-up act that sold out Madison Square Garden. Read more about Ansari’s work: http://smithmag.co/jvdAaL | #IngenuityAwards And more about the American Ingenuity Awards: http://smithmag.co/77xPqy




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Scanning the Worlds Greatest Violins

In between trips to archaeology digs around the world, scientist Bruno Frohlich uses 3-D imaging to uncover what makes a great stringed instrument. Read more at: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/scanning-a-stradivarius-13807009/




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Ask Smithsonian: Can Elephants Jump?

In this one-minute video, our Ask Smithsonian Host, Eric Schulze, weighs in on whether or not elephants can jump.




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Henri Cartier-Bresson's With the Abraham Lincoln Brigade in Spain

Filmed by the famous photographer during the Spanish Civil War, this clip debuted at the 2010 Orphan Film Symposium




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Why Should Humans Care About Biodiversity Loss?

Humans don't just impact the interconnected web of life—we depend on it.




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Dogs Can Sniff Out Malaria

Sally, a Labrador retriever, sniffs sock samples and then pauses on the sample worn by a child with malaria. (Durham University/Medical Detection Dogs/London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine)




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Visiting Lafcadio Hearns Japan

The temples and scenery of Japans San-in coast are as captivating now as they were when Lafcadio Hearn wrote about them in the 19th century (Produced by: Brendan McCabe; Narration by: T.A. Frail; Music by: Kevin MacLeod; Photos by: Hans Sautter / Aurora Select).




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March on Washington - Critical Past 1




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John F. Kennedy's Campaign for President

The curators at the American History museum delve into the archives to show artifacts from the 1960 election.




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Edward Curtis: Photographing the North American Indian

A close look reveals how the famed photographer altered his glass negatives, creating the popular image of Native Americans that still exists today




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How Do You 3-D Scan a Dinosaur?

A night at the museum with the Smithsonian's "Laser Cowboys" http://j.mp/17Vclt8 Using laser scanners and high-tech computer software, Vince Rossi and Adam Metallo are recreating a digital Dinosaur Hall before it's dismantled




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As Hurricanes Get Stronger, Can a $34 Billion Plan Save Texas?

After Hurricane Ike destroyed thousands of homes and inflicted an estimated $30 billion in damages in 2008, engineers hatched an ambitious plan to protect southeast Texas and its coastal refineries and shipping routes from violent storms. The $34 billion collaboration spearheaded by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is a harbinger of the type of massive public works projects that could be required to protect coastal cities like New York and Miami as sea levels rise and hurricanes become less predictable and more severe due to climate change. Smithsonian magazine contributor and Texas native Xander Peters reflects on his experiences growing up in a hurricane corridor and tells us how the wildly ambitious effort came together. Then, Eric Sanderson, an ecological historian, tells us how the project could be applied to other low-lying coastal cities. Read Xander Peters' Smithsonian magazine story about the Ike Dike here (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/galveston-texas-plan-stop-next-big-storm-hurricane-ike-180984487/) . Let us know what you think of our show, and how we can make it better, by completing our There's More to That listener survey here (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfS90zjBZ2oGa9JxVa-R5affKcOHaR2-ib1_KZeWm3HDQXJIA/viewform) . Find prior episodes of our show here (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/podcast/) . Listen to the New York Botanical Garden podcast "Plant People" here (https://www.nybg.org/plantpeople/) . 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.




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How Fast Can an Elephant Run?

Researchers at a conservation center in Thailand tested many variables to study an elephant’s gait and how they accelerate when facing danger




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How Americans Got Hooked on Counting Calories More Than A Century Ago

In 1918, Lulu Hunt Peters—one of the first women in America to earn a medical doctorate—published the best seller Diet and Health With Key to the Calories, making a name for herself as an apostle for weight reduction in an era when malnutrition was a far greater public health threat than obesity. She pioneered the idea of measuring food intake via the calorie, which at the time was an obscure unit of measurement familiar only to chemists.  A century later, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports (https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db360.htm) that 42 percent of American adults are clinically obese and that Type 2 diabetes is on the rise (https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2022/p1229-future-diabetes-surge.html) . With those who can afford it now turning to pharmaceuticals to help them lose weight, we’ll examine why and how calorie counting has failed to help Americans maintain a “healthy” weight.  In this episode of “There’s More to That,” we hear from food historian Michelle Stacey about Peters’ legacy—and from Ronald Young Jr., creator and host of the critically acclaimed podcast “Weight For It (https://www.radiotopia.fm/podcasts/weight-for-it) ,” about how American society continues to stigmatize what he calls “fat folks” for reasons that have nothing to do with public, or even individual, health. A transcript is below. To subscribe to “There’s More to That,” and to listen to past episodes on the complex legacy of Sojourner Truth (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-to-separate-fact-from-myth-in-the-extraordinary-story-of-sojourner-truth-180983820/) , how Joan Baez opened the door for Taylor Swift (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/before-beyonce-taylor-swift-ran-world-joan-baez-180983893/) , how machine learning is helping archeologists to read scrolls (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-artificial-intelligence-is-making-2000-year-old-scrolls-readable-again-180984264/) buried by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius nearly 2,000 years ago and more, find us on Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/theres-more-to-that/id1694965155?ign-itscg=30200&ign-itsct=podcast_box_player) , Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/4NYRCRxkYJTLjW71sqYOFv?si=08fa62c3e59d450f&nd=1) or wherever you get your podcasts. Read Michelle Stacey's story about Dr. Lulu Hunt Peters in the June 2024 issue of Smithsonian here (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/doctor-pioneered-counting-calories-century-ago-were-still-dealing-with-consequences-180984282/) . Listen to Ronald Young, Jr.'s podcast "Weight For It" here (https://www.radiotopia.fm/podcasts/weight-for-it) . 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.




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The Endangered Orchids of North America

The North American Orchid Conservation Center is working to ensure the survival of some of the most unique plants in the world




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Cai Guo-Qiang Makes a 40-Foot-Tall Pine Tree Explode

Read more about the event here: http://j.mp/TyPfBO The world famous Chinese artist uses pyrotechnics to turn a 40-foot-tall pine tree into an optical illusion.




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The Incredible Flying Car of the 1950s

Equipped with wings and a propeller, Moulton Taylor Aerocar aerobile was capable of taking off from a stoplight or the runway




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The Father of Camouflage

Artist Abbot Thayer illustrated the prevalence of camouflage in the animal world and advocated using it as a military tactic




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CANstruction 2012 with Defending Champion

Follow team LEO A DALY as they replicate the Discovery space shuttle's arrival in Washington, D.C. for CANstruction




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Palladio: America's Architectural Grandfather

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




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Those Orcas Aren't Doing What You Think

It’s not the most urgent news story that’s gripped the world since 2020, but it might be the weirdest: The last three years have seen more 400 “encounters”— many reports have used the word “attacks”—between orca whales and boats in the Strait of Gibraltar. Because the orcas are particularly fond of tearing the propellers off of yachts, the temptation to characterize these six-ton, pack-hunting, demonstrably intelligent mammals as class warriors fighting back against the 1 percent is strong, and the memes have been fun (https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/events/orca-wars-killer-whales-attacking-boats) . But trying to understand animal behavior in human terms is a mistake. In this episode, we speak with Carlyn Kranking (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/author/carlyn-kranking/) , Smithsonian’s assistant digital science editor, about why stories about animal behavior are so popular with our readers, and how she decides which ones deserve more scrutiny. Then, I speak with Lori Marino, a biopsychologist with a specific focus on whale and dolphin intelligence, about what’s really happening between the orcas and the yacht set. Dr. Marino invites you to learn more about The Whale Sanctuary Project at their site (https://whalesanctuaryproject.org/about-the-whale-sanctuary-project/) . You can also see Dr. Marino in the documentary films Blackfish (2013), Unlocking the Cage (2016), and Long Gone Wild (2019). Find prior episodes of our show here (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/podcast/) . And read the transcript of this episode here (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/are-wild-animals-really-just-like-us-180982939/) . There’s More to That (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/podcast) 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.




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A Former Afghan Interpreter for the U.S. Military Recalls the Dangers of the Job

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




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The Weird Thrills That Americans Pursued in the 1920s

In the 1920s, the U.S. was in full thrill-seeking mode. From horse-diving (you have to see it to believe it) to barnstorming. And at the center of many of these activities were a group of daring young women.




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Stephen Colbert Congratulates OK Go | Smithsonian American Ingenuity Awards

"OK Go made music videos relevant again." – Stephen Colbert OK Go​, Damian Kulash Jr. and Trish Sie​ won the Smithsonian magazine​ American Ingenuity Award for Visual Arts for pushing the music-video envelope with their zero-gravity video for "Upside Down & Inside Out." Read more about their work and see the video here: http://smithmag.co/HZ8vzr The Smithsonian has been celebrating innovation in American culture for more than 150 years, and following in this tradition, Smithsonian magazine presents the American Ingenuity Awards, honoring revolutionary breakthroughs in the arts and sciences, education and social progress. http://smithmag.co/R7hyRO




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A 500-Year-Old Cold Case in the Village of Wharram Percy

Human remains discovered at Wharram Percy are about to be examined by an expert, in a bid to determine what happened. Is it a medieval murder mystery—or something far more sinister?