Thomas Smallwood, born into slavery in 1801 near Washington, D.C., bought his freedom, began organizing mass escapes from slavery by the wagonload, and wrote about the escapes in newspaper dispatches. Smallwood never got the credit he deserved, says journalist Scott Shane. Shane recounts the exploits of Smallwood and his white colleague, Charles Torrey, setting them against the backdrop of the slave trade in the United States.

Using direct printing and water-based printing inks, create realistic-looking schools of fish or a single artistic print simply by inking a whole fish and pressing it to paper.

At the heart of Buddhism lies a deep concern with how individuals live—how their actions affect others and contribute to their own awakening. Steven M. Emmanuel, chair of the philosophy department at Virginia Wesleyan University, introduces Buddhist ethics. He outlines the differences between Buddhist and Western approaches to ethics and offers a detailed discussion of Buddhist practice, focusing on the role that meditation plays in moral development.

Smithsonian Chamber Music Society audiences are privy to the unparalleled experience of being able to hear two magnificent quartets of instruments—one made by Antonio Stradivari, the other by his teacher Nicoló Amati—in this popular four-concert series on Saturdays. This concert features music composed by Haydn, Bethoven, and Dvorák.

Over the centuries, humans have developed tools to see what was once invisible. Cameras, telescopes, microscopes, and MRI machines reveal what the eye cannot, transforming our understanding of the universe and the human body. Daniel K. Sodickson—a physicist and pioneer in biomedical imaging—traces the history of vision, from early eyes in ancient oceans to high-tech devices integrated with artificial intelligence, showing how imaging reshapes the way we see the world, others, and ourselves.

When it comes to sex and love, ancient peoples tell us a lot about topics including what was forbidden; opportunities for premarital and extramarital sex; their ways of lovemaking; and how members of the same and the opposite gender expressed love for one another. Drawing from a multitude of cultures, professor emeritus of classics Robert Garland discusses what we know and don’t know about sex and love in the ancient world.

A cascade of violence between England and France, the Hundred Years War (1337–1453) included some of the most significant battles in history. Military historian Michael Livingston examines how medieval Europe was consumed by two full centuries of war from 1292 to 1492 far beyond the borders of its main combatants and how this prolonged violence helped shape modern Europe’s political systems, military innovations, and national identities.

Explore the basics of color theory, including temperature, value, and harmony-creating color schemes. In hands-on projects, learn to use a color wheel with tinting and toning, color charts, and color harmony studies.