During World War II, the United States government forcibly removed over 120,000 Japanese Americans from the Pacific Coast. These individuals, two-thirds of them U.S. citizens, were sent to ten camps built throughout the western interior of the United States. Many would spend the next three years

This archived webcast features filmmaker Ken Burns discussing this documentary The Roosevelts: An Intimate History. The webcast included historian Clay Jenkinson, Smithsonian curator Harry Rubenstein, and Roosevelt biographer Geoffrey Ward. The conversation covered varied topic

Although we might think of fax machines as a relatively recent (if somewhat dated) technology, this episode uncovers the surprising history of the wireless fax machine. Host Tory Altman speaks with Hal Wallace, associate curator of the museum's electricity collection, about this 1930s device that

How did women serve in uniform during World War I? In this episode, host Tory Altman joins Curator Margaret Vining of the Museum's Division of Armed Forces History to talk about women's service in the conflict, and how their contributions helped the cause of the woman suffrage movement.

One of the most enduring national brand characters to appear in the early days of advertising is everyone's favorite sartorially gifted legume, Mr. Peanut. In this episode, host Tory Altman joins Kathleen Franz, professor at American University, to talk about the history of "spokes-characters" in

The history of patenting higher-level organisms began in the mid-1980s with a little guy called OncoMouse. In this episode, host Tory Altman joins Mallory Warner of the Museum's Division of Medicine and Science to talk about the first animal patented in the United States, and some of the ethical

Whether convenient, fast, organic, processed, gourmet, ethnic, or local—the foods available to Americans have never been more plentiful and diverse, or more ripe for discussion. Coupled with big changes in who does the cooking, where meals are consumed, and what we know (or think we know) about

The story of America includes the history of those who have lived through extraordinary circumstances. One such person was Camilla Gottlieb, whose ordinary life in Vienna suddenly became endangered when the Germans invaded and annexed Austria in 1938. As a Jew, she confronted devastating cha

Although many children are already familiar with what money looks like and with how and when their families use money, it is important that they also understand how money itself works. The money we use, coins and currency, has very little value on its own. Coins and bills only h

  Our Founding Fragments video series gets up close and personal with historical treasures in the collection of the National Museum of American History. This is our fifth episode in the series, and in it our host Tory joins curator Dr. Margaret S