Sidedoor

Latest Episodes:

The Monumental Imagination of Augusta Savage Dec 28, 2022

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Public monuments to honor Black Americans in the 1930s: that was the vision of Augusta Savage, a Harlem Renaissance sculptor who has been called one of the most influential artists of the 21st century. But the monuments she left behind might not be what you'd expect.

Guests:

Karen Lemmey, Lucy S. Rhame Curator of Sculpture at the Smithsonian American Art Museum
Grace Yasumura, assistant curator at the Smithsonian American Art Museum
Tess Korobkin, Professor of American Art at University of Maryland, College Park

A Very Merry Sidedoor Dec 14, 2022

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What is it about a mistletoe that says “smooch?” And what the heck is figgy pudding anyway? The holidays are here again, and with them come songs, foods, and rituals so familiar we may not think to ask where they come from...until now! In this holiday special, we track down the origins of some puzzling Christmastime traditions, jingling all the way from Norse mythology to Victorian home cooking, the Emancipation Proclamation, and even out of this world.

Guests:

Margaret Weitekamp, chair of the Space History Department of the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum; curator of cultural and social history of spaceflight

Ashley Rose Young, food historian at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History

Teddy Reeves, curator of religion at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture

Jim Deutsch, curator at the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage

Lucy Hicks Anderson Nov 30, 2022

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Known for her smashing parties, lighter-than-air souffles and comedic wit, Lucy Hicks Anderson never let anyone tell her how to live her life – not even the courts. When her gender was put on trial in the 1940s, the publicity around her case made her one the first documented Black transgender figures in American history.

Guests:

Ashleigh Coren, Acting Head of Education for the Smithsonian American Women's History Initiative

C. Riley Snorton, author of Black on Both Sides: A Racial History of Trans Identity

Reservation Math: Navigating Love in Native America Nov 16, 2022

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If you’ve heard the phrase, “full blooded,” you’re already familiar with the concept of blood quantum. But Native Americans are the only peoples in the United States whose identity is defined by it. Through the photography of Tailyr Irvine, displayed at the National Museum of the American Indian, we take a look at the colonial origin story of blood quantum: where it came from, why it endures, and how it continues to impact the most personal decisions many Native Americans make about love and family today.

Guests:

Tailyr Irvine, photojournalist; member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes; additional interviewer for this episode
Michael Irvine, member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes and Nizhóní Ajéí's father
Cecile Ganteaume, curator at the National Museum of the American Indian and author of Officially Indian: Symbols That Define the United States
Ruth Swaney, Tribal Budget Director for and member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes
Leah Nelson, member of the Navajo Nation and Nizhóní Ajéí's mother
Desi Rodriguez-Lonebear, social demographer and assistant professor of Sociology and American Indian Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles; citizen of the Northern Cheyenne Nation and Chicana
David Wilkins, political scientist and professor of Leadership Studies at the University of Richmond; member of the Lumbee Nation

Wronging the Wrights Nov 02, 2022

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It took pride, deceit, and a giant catapult to set off the feud between the Wright brothers and the Smithsonian. On December 17, 1903, the Wrights made history when they flew across a blustery beach in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. The airplane they flew that day is now a centerpiece of the National Air and Space Museum’s collection. This is the story of how it nearly wasn’t.

Guests:

Peter Jakab, senior curator at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum

Tom Crouch, senior curator emeritus at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum

Who Built the White House? Oct 19, 2022

Show notes

"I wake up every morning in a house built by slaves." After Michelle Obama said those words at the 2016 Democratic National Convention, thousands of Americans flooded the White House Historical Association with calls. Who were the enslaved African Americans who built the White House? This led historians from the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture and the White House Historical Association on a years-long journey that turned up some interesting answers and even bigger questions.

Guests:

Lina Mann, historian, the White House Historical Association

Mary Elliott, curator of American slavery, Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture

Spooked at the Smithsonian Oct 05, 2022

Show notes

The Smithsonian Institution was founded on principles of reason and scientific inquiry. So why is the museum home to countless tales of unexplained phenomena and —dare we say — ghost sightings? Inspired by an apparition at the National Museum of American History, we creak across the floorboards of the museum's attics, sneak into an old house in the woods, and even travel back in time to bring you a collection of spooky stories that can only be found at the Smithsonian.

Guests:

Molly Horrocks, Collections Manager, Division of Political and Military History at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History

Pamela Henson, Institutional Historian at the Smithsonian Libraries and Archives

Cpl. Ronald Howlin, Security Officer at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center

Deborah Hull-Walski, Collections Manager, Education Collections at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History

Melissa Johnson, daughter of Deb Hull-Walski and former skeptical teenager

Kim Dixon, former volunteer at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo

Did Meat Make Us Human? Sep 21, 2022

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Eating meat is what made us human. At least, that's one of the leading theories to explain how our brains got so big. The theory says that our human ancestors evolved bigger brains as a result of switching from a plant-based to a nutrient-rich meat diet. But earlier this year a Smithsonian researcher discovered that this theory may not have as much meat on its bones as previously believed.

Guests:

Briana Pobiner, paleoanthropologist; research scientist and museum educator with the Human Origins Program at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History

Becky Malinsky, curator of primates, Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute

Andrew Barr, paleoanthropologist; assistant professor of anthropology, The George Washington University

Love in the Time of Emoji Sep 07, 2022

Show notes

When LOL just isn't enough to respond to a friend's killer joke, emoji are there for you. But for many people, there isn't an emoji to represent them or the things they want to say. This has pushed activists, designers, and straight up regular folks to create their own emoji. It's not as easy an undertaking as you might think, but every now and then one of these new emoji is so innovative it breaks the digital mold and finds itself in the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. In this episode of Sidedoor, we explore how one groundbreaking emoji is changing digital representation and the future of museum collections.

Guests:

Jennifer 8 Lee, Founder of EmojiNation
Andrea Lipps, Contemporary Design Curator at Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum
Evan Bonnstetter, Director of Product Policy for Tinder
Keith Broni, Deputy Emoji Officer for Emojipedia

Dynamo Dot Aug 24, 2022

Show notes

Dorothy Liebes was a whirlwind in the weaving world. Throughout the 1930s, she spun luxury fabrics so bold and colorful that their style could only be described as the "Liebes Look." But when the United States entered World War II, she wondered how an artist like herself could be helpful at a time when “there would be no need for luxuries.” What she didn’t know was that wartime would bring an opportunity to put her weaving skills to work in an entirely new way. Joining forces with the American Red Cross, she brought professional artists to the bedsides of wounded soldiers - with results that surpassed Dynamo Dot's wildest expectations.

Guests:

Alexa Griffith, manager of content and curriculum at the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum

Susan Brown, acting head of textiles at the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum

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