January 2012

Opening Announcements, Cover, Contents

From the Editor, Letters, Indelible Images, Wild Things, Interview

Phenomena, My Kind of Town, Now on our Website, Around the Mall

Evolution World Tour, Introducing Evotourism, Family Reunion, Beautifully Adapted, Fight for Survival

Journey through the history of life from the Jurassic Coast to the Cradle of Humankind

By Smithsonian magazine

Kangaroo Island, Australia

By Laura Helmuth

Foraminifera Sculpture Park, China

By Karen Larkins

Isle Royale, Michigan

By T.A. Frail

Whales Walked Here, Discovering Human Ancestors, Darwin’s Laboratory, In the Aftermath

Wadi Hitan, Egypt

By Abigail Tucker

The Cradle of Humankind, South Africa

By Erin Wayman

Galápagos Islands, Ecuador

By Laura Helmuth

Mount St. Helens, Washington

By Lyn Garrity

Extinction Beach, Deciphering Heredity, Evolution Museum, Prehistoric Horses

Jurassic Coast, England

By Sarah Zielinski

Mendel's Garden, Czech Republic

By Beth Py-Lieberman

Questions for Cristián Samper, director of Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History

By Laura Helmuth

Ashfall Fossil Beds State Historical Park, Nebraska

By Megan Gambino

An Eye for Genius

It's easy to see the value of a Picasso painting now. But would you have bought one in 1905, before the artist was known? Gertrude Stein and brother Leo did, and they bought Matisse and Cezanne, too, hosting salons and amassing a collection that would help shape the course of modern art.

By Arthur Lubow

American Studies

In a new book and exhibition, the esteemed photographer pursues a passion for history and lets us see familiar icons in a fresh light.

By Terence Monmaney

God, Government and Roger Williams’ Big Idea

Banished from Massachusetts, the Puritan minister originated a principle that remains contentious to this day—separation of church and state.

By John M. Barry

The Last Page

The Hoarding Instinct

Dispatches From My War on Stuff

By Richard Conniff