Sidedoor Podcast

At the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian, archivists are working with Native communities to correct the historical record…one photo at a time. In this episode, we go inside the archives, where century-old photographs once labeled “Indian man” or “woman in costume” are being reexamined and renamed so they can be reconnected to living descendants. It’s a painstaking effort that’s also challenging the romanticized imagery popularized by photographers and anthropologists of the late 1800s and early 1900s. Guests: - Emily Moazami, head archivist at the @smithsoniannmai Archive Center - Nathan Sowry, reference archivist at the National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center - Rachel Menyuk, processing archivist at the National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center Special thanks to the Harmon Family: Leonard Harmon, Pam Pierce Harmon Johnston, Mike Harmon, and Matthew Harmon Check the link in our bio to: - Search the Smithsonian Online Virtual Archives for family photos. - Learn about our Ethical Returns and Shared Stewardship Policy. - Find out how to submit an inquiry or request. Questions? Reach out to the team at [email protected]. Transcript available on si.edu/sidedoor 📝 Available now on all podcast streaming platforms! 🎧💛

May the 4th Be With You! Star Wars was the movie that changed everything! It wasn't just a box office smash, Star Wars, reignited American cinema during one of Hollywood's toughest eras. 🎬 From its record-breaking theater run to its revolutionary special effects, Lucas's masterpiece proved that the magic of the movies is here to stay. How are you celebrating Star Wars Day today? Let us know in the comments! Cover image: ©Lucasfilm Ltd. All rights reserved.

May the Fourth be with you!   Before you watch your favorite Star Wars movie tonight, take a listen to our latest @SidedoorPod episode. This week, host Lizzie Peabody finds the droids you *are* looking for behind the scenes at @AmHistoryMuseum with curators Eric Jentsch and Ryan Lintelman and objects conservator Dawn Wallace.   Head to the link in our bio for the full podcast episode, which traces C-3PO’s and R2-D2’s costumes from a galaxy far, far away to our @AmHistoryMuseum . ©Lucasfilm Ltd. All rights reserved.

A long time ago, in movie theaters not far away, Star Wars: A New Hope, revolutionized American entertainment. In honor of May the 4th, we explore how a scrappy space fantasy reinvented a tale as old as time — and gave Americans hope in a time of difficulty. We'll also trace the journey of two bickering droids from a galaxy far, far away to the Smithsonian's @amhistorymuseum . Guests: - Ryan Lintelman, curator of entertainment at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History - Eric Jentsch, curator at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History - Dawn Wallace, objects conservator at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History Transcript available on si.edu/sidedoor 📝 Available now on all podcast streaming platforms! 🎧💛 #podcast #starwars

The American flag is 250 years old. But where does Betsy Ross fit into the story? This week on @SidedoorPod , we revisit the story of Betsy Ross and the American flag in our episode, “Broad Stripes, Bright Stars, and White Lies.” Available now, wherever you listen to podcasts. 📷: “Betsy Ross 1777,” Print. In the collection of our @AmHistoryMuseum Woven picture of Betsy Ross, 1904. In the American Textile History Museum Collection at our @CooperHewitt . 🎥: Betsy Ross tableau vivant performed by actresses Mary Brian and Esther Ralston (seated, as Betsy Ross), on page 58 of the June 27, 1925, Exhibitors Herald. In the collection of The Museum of Modern Art Library. Ernest C. Peixotto, “Philadelphia, Independence Hall, Chestnut Street,” drawing, @AmericanArt , Gift of Dr. Fortunato Porotto, 1963.6.1 Betsy Ross making the first flag, 1776 [according to legend]. Copy of painting attributed to Frank McKernan., ca. 1900 – 1982. National Archives and Records Administration. William Nowland Van Powell, “Columbus Commanded By Abraham Whipple, Bringing In British Brig Lord Lifford,” painting, Naval History and Heritage Command, 1974.

When a Smithsonian archaeology intern opened a dusty box of bones in a Panamanian warehouse, she didn't expect to find a mystery, let alone a potential crime scene. But Nina Hirai’s discovery of a tapir skull riddled with what appeared to be bullet holes sparked an investigation that would lead her several miles up the Panama Canal and nearly forty years into the past. Join us as we unspool the strange, unresolved story of a tapir named Alice, and ask what it means to live with uncertainty when the past refuses to explain itself. Guests: - Nina Hirai, former archeology intern at @smithsonianpanama - Nicole Smith-Guzmán, archeology curator at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute - Ashley Sharpe, research archeologist at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute - Aureliano Valencia (“Yeyo”), archeological research technician at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute - Phyllis (Lissy) Coley, professor emerita in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Utah and research associate at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute - Monica Brenes Lynan, former veterinarian at Parque Municipal Summit in Panama - Andres Ramos, lider de guardabosques del Monumento Natural Barro Colorado / head park ranger at Barro Colorado Island Transcript available on si.edu/sidedoor 📝 Available now on all podcast streaming platforms! 🎧💛 #podcast #reseach #science

From hand-rolled pastels for colored pencils to a parade of Peeps, the "Made in America" story is one of incredible scale and craftsmanship. 🍭🖍️ In our latest episode, featuring @cooperhewitt , we’re peeling back the wrapper on American industry to see what happens when the "human touch" meets the machine age. Photographed by @christopherpaynephoto . Swipe for Peeps and then hit the link in our bio to listen to "Made in America." 📷1: Pastel cores used for colored pencils, 2017. Photographed by Christopher Payne (American, born 1968). General Pencil Company (Jersey City, New Jersey). Courtesy of the artist. 📷2: Peeps Marshmallow Chicks cooling on a conveyor belt before packaging, 2023. Photographed by Christopher Payne (American, born 1968). Just Born Quality Confections (Bethlehem, Pennsylvania). Courtesy of the artist. #Smithsonian #Podcast #MadeInAmerica #IndustrialDesign #AmericanHistory #BehindTheScenes

The eccentric Arctic explorer. The hot surgeon. The murder? On this last day of winter, will their secrets stay frozen solid? You tell us. 🔊Listen to A Very Cold Case, our third episode of the season, on all podcast streaming platforms NOW! #truecrime #murder #mystery 📸: Portrait of Emil Bessels in Fur Parka, Smithsonian Institution Archives, Acc. 11-007, Box 004, Image No. MNH-1122A Engraving of the Arctic explorer Charles Francis Hall (Wikimedia Commons) Partial clipping from “The Story of Ice” in the New York Herald, September 21, 1873, page 5. Courtesy of Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, Library of Congress. Smithsonian Libraries and Archives.

What does it look like for something to be made in America? Through the photography of @christopherpaynephoto , we journey across the past, present and future of American manufacturing to answer this question. From centuries-old textile mills to modern assembly lines, Payne’s photographs offer a rare, behind-the-scenes view of how everyday objects—from pencils to airplanes to marshmallow Peeps—are made. With the help of @Smithsonian curator, Susan Brown, and author, Rachel Slade, we also explore the history behind these factories, and how the story of American manufacturing is the story of our nation itself. Guests: - Christopher Payne, Architectural and Industrial photographer - Susan Brown, associate curator, and acting head of textiles at @cooperhewitt ; curator of the exhibition Made in America - Rachel Slade, author of the book Making it in America: The Almost Impossible Quest to Manufacture in the U.S.A. (and How it Got That Way) Transcript available on si.edu/sidedoor 📝 Available now on all podcast streaming platforms! 🎧💛

"You'll do all right... if you stay away from science." 🚫 Imagine being a high schooler and hearing that from your physics teacher. Vera Rubin did. Spoiler alert: She didn't listen. Vera went on to prove the existence of dark matter, changing our understanding of the universe forever. Before tomorrow's new episode drops, catch up on the story of how she defied the odds (and her teacher) to become one of history's most influential astronomers. 🌌✨ #SmithsonianWHM #WomensHistoryMonth Visual description: A split-screen social video featuring two women in a remote video call. The top frame shows a woman in a green sweater speaking into a professional microphone. The bottom frame shows a woman with glasses and a striped shirt listening intently and taking a sip from a mug. Large white and orange text overlays track their conversation about astronomer Vera Rubin. The text reveals that Rubin's high school physics teacher told her she would be "all right" only if she "stayed away from science."

Something dark and invisible makes up as much as 90 to 95 percent of the universe—and it took a little girl staring out a bedroom window at the night sky to bring it to light. As a child, Vera Rubin built her own telescope. As an adult, she uncovered a problem no telescope could solve: stars at the edges of galaxies were moving just as fast as those near the center. The math contradicted everything astronomers expected to see...unless the universe was filled with unseen matter. This is the story of how Vera Rubin pushed through the gender barriers of the 1950s and turned a fringe idea into one of astronomy’s biggest open questions. What is dark matter? How did Rubin help prove it was real? And what does it mean that most of the universe is made of something we can’t see? Guests: - Ashley Yeager, Associate News Editor at Science News and author of Bright Galaxies Dark Matter and Beyond: The Life of Astronomer Vera Rubin - Ramona Rubin, Granddaughter of Vera Rubin - Deidre Hunter, Astronomer at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona - Amruta Jaodand, Astrophysicist at the Chandra X-Ray Center in the Smithsonian @centerforastro Transcript available on si.edu/sidedoor 📝 Available now on all podcast streaming platforms! 🎧💛 #WomenInScience #SmithsonianWHM #SmithsonianWomensHistory #WomensHistoryMonth

From the "King of Zydeco" to the "Crown Prince," the music never stops! 🪗✨ This Black History Month, we’re diving into the soulful, high-energy world of Clifton Chenier, how he popularized the unmistakable sound of Zydeco, and how his son is carrying the torch. Whether it’s Clifton’s classic recordings or C.J.’s modern stage presence, the family's impact on American music is legendary. #SmithsonianBHM. 🎧 Tune into The King of Zydeco to hear the story of how the Chenier's helped shape a genre and why Zydeco remains the heartbeat of Louisiana. 📸: 1. Robert "Mack" McCormick Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution 2. Indian Summer Showcase Concert; NMAI; DC; Potomac Atrium; Saturday; September 21 2013; C.J. Chenier and the Red Hot Louisiana Band. #BlackHistoryMonth #Zydeco #MusicHistory #Podcast