Smithsonian Associates - Educating and Entertaining Audiences for More Than 50 Years

For centuries, the English monarchy was male, but several notable women shattered that royal glass ceiling. Tudor scholar Carol Ann Lloyd-Stanger leads an assumption-challenging survey of female reigns, from the first crowned queen of England to the record-breaking longevity of Elizabeth II, examining how each redefined the role of the ruler and nature of the monarchy.

Great art is timeless, and speaks to us across time, culture, and space. Yet great works come from real people living real lives. Paul Glenshaw examines Albert Bierstadt’s 1868 work Among the Sierra Nevada, California—a majestic depiction of the natural beauty of the American West that also served as part of a brazen self-marketing scheme, a lure to immigrants and settlers, and a reflection of the complex legacy of Manifest Destiny. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)

Join one of the most famous art detectives in the world to hear tales from a long FBI career solving art crimes. Drawing on the headline-making cases he worked on, Robert Wittman explores notorious art heists and daring recovery operations.

Veggies are usually the supporting culinary players in a meal, but the new Milk Street: Vegetables moves them center of the plate. Christopher Kimball shares tips on how to roast, braise, steam, and stir-fry everyday vegetables into simple but appealing dishes, and demonstrates a recipe or two from the book’s globally influenced collection.

The state of Oaxaca in Mexico, and its eponymous Spanish colonial capital city, have been important cultural crossroads from pre-Columbian times to the present day. Learn about its rich cultural history, from the domestication of maize corn more than 10,000 years ago to Oaxaca’s emergence as a contemporary international cultural center.

In-Person and Streaming Program: Cookbook author, New York Times columnist, and host of “Kenji’s Cooking Show,” J. Kenji López-Alt believes that once you master the mechanics of a stir fry and how to achieve wok hei—the special flavor a hot wok imparts to food—you’re ready to cook home- and restaurant-style dishes from across Asia and the United States. Join him as he discusses the science and technique of cooking in a wok and endless ideas for brightening up dinner.

The landscape of the Pacific Northwest has been significantly shaped by massive floods in the geologic past. Geologist Kirt Kempter explores the catastrophic supervolcano eruptions that unleashed lava flows beginning approximately 17 million years ago and the widespread flooding at the end of the last Ice Age cycle that carved much of the Columbia River Gorge.