Smithsonian Channel Pick of the Week

Latest Episodes:

Letters Reveal Ben Franklin's International Social Network Jun 05, 2017

Show notes

Caroline Winterer is the principal investigator of the Benjamin Franklin Project. By using social network analysis, she is challenging accepted historical narratives about one of our founding fathers.

What Maximum Security Meant for Ancient Tomb Raiders May 18, 2017

Show notes

The Han dynasty tombs were packed with some of the empire's most valuable relics. To guard against theft, colossal stones, each weighing six tons, were cut to block the passageways from relentless tomb raiders.

This Was the Birth of DNA Profiling May 08, 2017

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In 1983, police in Leicestershire, England struggle to make their case - until they join forces with scientists, who are just discovering the potential of DNA profiling.

The Taj Mahal Was Really Built for Love May 08, 2017

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The allure of the Taj Mahal isn't just architectural. Seen as a memorial to true love, the Taj was built out of grief after the death of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan's favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal.

The Entire Bay of Santorini Is an Active Volcanic Crater May 01, 2017

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What happened to the giant volcano thought to have destroyed Atlantis? The answer may be the island of Santorini... all of it.

The Extraordinary Life Cycle of a Hornet Colony Apr 28, 2017

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After a hornet queen lays hundreds of eggs, her workers set about feeding the larvae chewed-up prey. With tiny waists, the workers can't digest solid food; they instead subsist on drops of amino acid from the larvae.

A Coconut Octopus Uses Tools to Snatch a Crab Apr 24, 2017

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Coconut octopuses are among the most intelligent invertebrates around: They use tools, carry their shelters around for when they need them, and, fittingly, adopt an underwater walking motion that's very similar to humans.

These Are the Three Main Categories of Bloodstain Pattern Apr 24, 2017

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Today, bloodstain pattern analysis is routinely used in murder investigations - analysts draw on chemistry, mathematics and physics to determine the area of origin where an injury occurred.

World's Biggest Spider Gobbles Down an Unsuspecting Lizard Apr 17, 2017

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Everything about the Goliath birdeater is big and terrifying: from an 11-inch leg span to a deadly venom that makes the organs of its victims to shut down and self-digest from the inside. Now see it in action.

The Only Live News Report from the Attack on Pearl Harbor Apr 17, 2017

Show notes

On December 7, 1941, an NBC radio affiliate in Honolulu made an urgent phone call to New York. In it, he begins to describe what the world would later know as the attack on Pearl Harbor.