Magazine

Leo Reuss rehearses with celebrated stage actress Christl Mardayn in 1937. Reuss’ bleached hair and beard were remnants of his false identity as a farmer.

When the Nazis Seized Power, This Jewish Actor Took on the Role of His Life

After he was forced off the German stage in 1934 by antisemitic hecklers, Leo Reuss found a daring way to hide in plain sight

None

Readers Respond to the September/October 2024 Issue

Your feedback on the First Continental Congress, Douglas MacArthur and England's tangled history

None

The Enterprising Woman Who Built—and Lost, and Rebuilt—a Booming Empire During the Klondike Gold Rush

With flinty perseverance and a golden touch, Belinda Mulrooney earned an unlikely fortune in the frozen north and reshaped the Canadian frontier

Jonathan Shapiro, a Vermont-based wilderness instructor and certified “specialist” tracker on the East Coast, during an evaluation in the California desert.

Even as A.I. Technology Races Ahead, the Prehistoric Science of Wildlife Tracking Is Making a Comeback

Humans perfected how to identify wild animals over millennia, and now biologists are rediscovering the exceptional worth of the tracks and marks left behind

A colorized photo of superhero rodent Mighty Mouse’s exuberant turn in the 1951 parade.

How the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Went From Its Modest Start to an American Tradition Rivaling Stuffing and Pumpkin Pie

A century on, the country’s most beloved Thursday spectacle reaches new heights

Phil Little Thunder, a great-great-grandchild of the Lakota chief whose village was attacked in 1855. An ancient cottonwood known as the Witness Tree, right, still stands.

How Recovering the History of a Little-Known Lakota Massacre Could Heal Generational Pain

When the U.S. Army massacred a Lakota village at Blue Water, dozens of plundered artifacts ended up in the Smithsonian. The unraveling of this long-buried atrocity is forging a path toward reconciliation

With its exquisitely vaulted ceiling and inlaid walnut bookshelves covering three floors, the East Room was designed as a treasury and showroom for Morgan's rare book collection.

Women Who Shaped History

This Savvy Librarian Was the True Force Behind New York’s Iconic Morgan Library

It fell to Belle da Costa Greene, a Black woman whose racial identity was kept secret for decades, to catalog J.P. Morgan's immense collection of books and art

John Larson's original polygraph, a gift to the Smithsonian from the Berkeley Police Department, where Larson was the first rookie cop with a PhD.

Why the Creator of One of the First ‘Lie Detectors’ Lived to Regret His Invention

The early polygraph machine was considered the most scientific way to detect deception—but that was a myth

A selection of the bounty from Isabella Dalla Ragione’s orchard, including apples, pears, plums, almonds, hazelnuts and grapes.

Meet the Italian 'Fruit Detective' Who Investigates Centuries-Old Paintings for Clues About Produce That Has Disappeared From the Kitchen Table

Renaissance paintings, medieval archives, cloistered orchards—how one Italian scientist is uncovering secrets that could help combat a growing agricultural crisis

A selection of ballots from the 1860s shows a variety of the persuasive flourishes then in vogue.

Back in the 19th Century, Your Election Ballot Could Double as a Work of Art

During and after the Civil War, inventive illustrations allowed Democrats and Republicans to turn American ballots into powerful propaganda

After female penguins lay eggs, parents take turns warming the nest during the roughly 43-day incubation period.

How Scientists’ Tender Loving Care Could Save This Endangered Penguin Species

From fish smoothies to oral antibiotics, researchers are taking matters into their own hands in a radical effort to save New Zealand’s yellow-eyed penguins

Could a private citizen get hold of a genome and use it to bring an extinct animal back to life? 

Could Anyone Bring an Extinct Animal Back to Life? And More Questions From Our Readers

You’ve got questions. We’ve got experts

None

Readers Respond to the July/August 2024 Issue

Your feedback on escaped hippos, coastal defenses and ancient cultures

Stella Stimson, a suffragist and temperance crusader, led an all-women campaign to document fraud at the polls and bring down a corrupt mayor.

When a Trailblazing Suffragist and a Crusading Prosecutor Teamed Up to Expose an Election Conspiracy

An unlikely duo exposed political corruption in Terre Haute, Indiana, in 1914—and set a new precedent for fair voting across the country

A few costumed tykes—including a Batman and a Green Hornet—hitting the streets in Oakland, New Jersey, in October 1966. 

The Celtic Origins of Trick-or-Treating

The spine-tingling roots of a mischievous Halloween tradition

An 1851 ink-and-watercolor gift drawing titled A Type of Mother Hannah’s Pocket Handkerchief by Polly Jane Reed, a Shaker in New Lebanon, New York.

These Colorful Drawings Defy Expectations of Shaker Art

Colorful, intricate drawings on view at the American Folk Art Museum are anything but simple

To celebrate the guitar’s 70th birthday, Fender has released a Limited Edition 1954 Hardtail Deluxe Closet Classic, complete with gold hardware, for more opulent collectors. 

The Stratocaster Became Rock Music’s Most Iconic Guitar 70 Years Ago

The plucky design behind the legendary instrument that forever changed the look of rock 'n' roll

None

How Black Americans in the South Boldly Defied Jim Crow to Build Business Empires of Their Own

The Great Migration transformed the nation—but millions of African Americans never left their Southern communities. Their unlikely success makes their stories all the more remarkable

None

Remarkable Documents Lay Bare New York’s History of Slavery

A newly digitized set of records reveals the plight and bravery of enslaved people in the North

A forlorn station sign recalls the days when Terowie was a vital railway stop between the towns of Adelaide and Alice Springs.

General MacArthur's Dramatic WWII Comeback Began in Australia. Trace His Journey From the Outback to the Queensland Coast

After a harrowing escape from the Philippines, the prickly American famously vowed "I shall return" from a remote train station before marshaling Allied forces to victory

Page 1 of 83