Between 1865 and 1869, thousands of Chinese migrants toiled at a grueling pace and in perilous working conditions to help construct America’s First Transcontinental Railroad.  The Chinese Railroad Workers in North America Project seeks to give a voice to the Chinese migrants whose labor on

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

This teapot was made in England about 1766-1770, possibly by the Cockpit Hill Factory, Derby, England. Inscribed on one side of the teapot is “No Stamp Act” and on the other is “America, Liberty Restored,” both within flowerheads and stylized scrolling leaftips in black. The cover is pain

Author Betsy Hearne wanted to know more about the women in her family's past, so she researched her family for the book Seven Brave Women, which tells the story of her female ancestors dating back to the Revolutionary War. You, too, can explore the women in your family or community who

Meet Ramón, who longs to masquerade as a vejigante with his older brothers. Find out more about the book Lulu Delacre, the author and illustrator. A vejigante is a person who dresses in costume to help celebrate Carnival in Ponce, Puerto Rico.

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.

This robot was constructed in 1987 by Dr. Kenneth Kinzler and his colleagues at the Johns Hopkins Oncology Center's Molecular Genetics Lab run by Dr. Bert Vogelstein. It was used to conduct PCR in research on the p53 gene, which is linked to 50 percent of human cancers. Polymerase chain reaction,

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