The Future is Here and the Future is STEM

Our May issue is out now and we’re excited to bring you features in each of the disciplines know collectively as STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics).

Richard Conniff reports on the trillions of microbes that dwell inside our bodies. Elizabeth Royte on the future of 3-D printing and Franz Lidz on how LEGO is constructing the next generation of engineers.

Who are lost tribes of the Amazon?

Deep in the jungles of Colombia, shadowy groups of Indians believed to have vanished long ago are living the way their ancestors have for thousands of years – And refusing to encounter the modern world.

Our March issue is all about nature and filled with amazing stories and mysterious creatures. We explore the light of deep sea creatures, look into the complicated relationship of female elephants,  and soak in the beautiful words of poet Billy Collins new poem, Deep. 

Who Were the First Americans? Find Out in Our February Issue

Our latest issue is now live! Brandan Borrell risks life and limb examining the Komodo dragon, Rebecca Stott travels to the house where Charles Darwin lived for 40 years and Will Ellsworth-Jones tells the story of the secretive street artist Banksy.

The December issue of Smithsonian introduces the American Ingenuity Awards. dream hampton profiles Grammy Award winner Esperanza Spalding. Abigail Tucker on the high school sophomore who invented a new way to test for a deadly form of cancer and how one legal crusader is giving young people in America’s prisons a second chance.

In the November issue of Smithsonian, Roy Blount Jr. examines Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln, photographers Fiona Rogers and Anup Shah capture incredible images of a gorilla family and Claire Martin of Outside uncovers a fierce battle being waged over a Malibu lagoon.

Cover art by René Milot

Lewis Lapham’s Antidote to the Age of BuzzFeed

[Lewis] Lapham, the legendary former editor of Harper’s, who, beginning in the 1970s, helped change the face of American nonfiction, has a new mission: taking on the Great Paradox of the digital age. Suddenly, thanks to Google Books, JSTOR and the like, all the great thinkers of all civilizations past and present are one or two clicks away. The great library of Alexandria, nexss of all the learning of the ancient world that burned to the ground, has risen from the ashes online. And yet—here is the paradox—the wisdom of the ages is in some ways more distant and difficult to find than ever, buried like lost treasure beneath a fathomless ocean of online ignorance and trivia that makes what is worthy and timeless more inaccessible than ever. There has been no great librarian of Alexandria, no accessible finder’s guide, until Lapham created his quarterly five years ago with the quixotic mission of serving as a highly selective search engine for the wisdom of the past. - Continue reading at Smithsonian.com.

Photo by: Neville Elder / Corbis

Article by: Ron Rosenbaum

The October issue of Smithsonian is all about secrets of American history! David Byrne explains how our brains process music. Abigail Tucker details the great vampire panic of New England and David Wise on the remarkable story of the CIA burglar who went rogue.

Ed note: We highly recommend picking up the October issue in print. “Jeopardy!” record holder Ken Jennings created our Great American History Puzzle.

The September issue of Smithsonian is all about design! Walter Isaacson shares his insight on Steve Jobs and the beauty of Apple. Mark Stevens profiles Ai Weiwei as he prepares for his first U.S. retrospective and Tom Vanderbilt sheds light on how humans are stealing designs from animals.

What do you think of our cover?

Ed note: If you get your hands on a print copy of the magazine let us know what you think of the redesign.

The July/August issue of Smithsonian is all about the Olympics! Frank Deford explains why Britannia rules the games, Sally Jenkins on the greatest Olympian of all time and Joshua Hammer lets the good Thames roll in his piece on the iconic river.

Ed note: Check out the full table of contents here.

The June issue of Smithsonian is all about food! Jerry Adler and Andrew Lawler examine how the chicken powers modern civilization, Mimi Sheraton samples the world’s most ancient and essential ingredient, Ruth Reichl examines the marriage of Julia Child and Lolis Eric Elie shares his mom’s famous gumbo recipe.

Ed note: Check out the full table of contents here.