Sidedoor

Smithsonian Institution
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Sidedoor

More than 154 million treasures fill the Smithsonian’s vaults. But where the public’s view ends, Sidedoor begins. With the help of biologists, artists, historians, archaeologists, zookeepers and astrophysicists, host Lizzie Peabody sneaks listeners through the Smithsonian’s side door, telling stories that can’t be heard anywhere else. Check out si.edu/sidedoor and follow @SidedoorPod for more info. 

  1. Finding Cleopatra

    10 HR AGO

    Finding Cleopatra

    Edmonia Lewis was the first sculptor of African American and Native American (Mississauga) descent to achieve international fame. Her 3,000-pound masterwork, “The Death of Cleopatra,” commemorated another powerful woman who broke with convention… and then the sculpture disappeared. On this return episode of Sidedoor, we find them both.  You can see "The Death of Cleopatra" at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. The new exhibition, The Shape of Power: Stories of Race and American Sculpture features 82 artworks created between 1792 and 2023, including two by Edmonia Lewis.  Guests: Marilyn Richardson, art historian and independent curator   Kirsten Pai Buick, professor of art historian at the University of New Mexico and author of Child of the Fire: Mary Edmonia Lewis and the Problem of Art History's Black and Indian Subject Karen Lemmey, the Lucy S. Reign Curator of Sculpture at the Smithsonian American Art Museum

    27 min
  2. Bitcoin Bank Heist

    13 NOV

    Bitcoin Bank Heist

    Imagine this: invisible robbers break into a bank and steal massive sacks of cash, but instead of running away with it they set their haul on the front stoop of the bank in a glass case. Everyone can see the money, but only the robbers can get to it. That’s how IRS Special Agent Chris Janczewski describes the 2016 Bitfinex heist – when mystery hackers made out with over $70 million in Bitcoin. By 2020, their loot had ballooned to over $4 billion. With only digital footprints to follow, federal agents tracked the criminals through the blockchain, across the dark web, and up the service elevator of a posh Manhattan apartment building in a sleuthing story that ends at the Smithsonian.  The renovated The Value of Money exhibition will be opening at the National Museum of American History in November 2024. Check it out in person or online! Guests: Ellen Feingold, curator of the National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History Zia Faruqui, United States Magistrate Judge at the District Court for the District of Columbia  Ari Redbord, Ari Redbord is the Global Head of Policy at TRM Labs Chris Janczewski, Head of Global Investigations at TRM Labs, previously a special agent with IRS-CI Cyber Crimes Unit

    40 min
  3. The Wide Awakes

    30 OCT

    The Wide Awakes

    They carried torches and marched at night. Their goal: defend free speech in America. What started as a small group of young men demonstrating during the 1860 election, snowballed into a mass movement of working-class Americans marching to end slavery. They called themselves the Wide Awakes. And they’re widely seen as the political force that helped elect Abraham Lincoln and spur the Civil War. So why has their story gone untold? And why is now the time to tell it?   Guests:  Jon Grinspan, Curator of Political History at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. Author of Wide Awake: The Forgotten Force that Elected Lincoln and Spurred the Civil War Kevin Waite, Associate Professor of History at Durham University. Author of West of Slavery: The Southern Dream of a Transcontinental Empire

    36 min
  4. The Devil’s Composer

    16 OCT

    The Devil’s Composer

    Imagine Jaws without the sneaking tuba. Or Psycho without the shrieking violins. Music can help a horror film strike fear in the heart of theatergoers. And you can trace some of these musical scare tactics back to the era of SILENT films — when organists made up film scores on-the-spot.  To celebrate the spooky season this year, we're slashing apart a 1917 silent horror film with composer Andrew Earle Simpson to find out how music can be the beating heart of suspense. Grab your popcorn and get snuggly under the blanket. But be sure to check the closet for a pianist before turning out the lights.  Want to see this movie for yourself? Don’t miss our live screening of The Devil’s Assistant at the National Museum of American History! Join Lizzie, Andrew, and Ryan on Wednesday, October 30th at 7:30pm to see this movie the way it was made to be watched – with live musical accompaniment. We’ll have objects from the Smithsonian collections and audience Q&A.  Reserve your FREE tickets here. Guests: Andrew Earle Simpson, composer and professor of music at the Benjamin T. Rome School of Music, Drama, and Art at The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC.  Ryan Lintelman, curator of entertainment at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History

    39 min
  5. Bankers in the Boudoir

    2 OCT

    Bankers in the Boudoir

    In the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Frodo becomes invisible when he puts the Ring on his finger. Well, at banks in the 1970s, this is basically what happened when a woman put a wedding ring on her finger. Her credit cards would no longer work, and the banks wouldn't count her income as part of the household income.  This led to a fight for women's financial independence that gave rise to the landmark Equal Credit Opportunity Act (or ECOA) and the creation of the first women's banks.  In honor of the 50th anniversary of ECOA becoming law, we’re looking back at a time when women had to have their husband or father cosign on a credit application. What did it take to pass this landmark legislation? And how did it improve women's lives in America?    Guests:  Rachel Seidman, curator at the Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum; curatorial consultant to the Smithsonian American Women's History Museum  Emily Card, PhD, author of Staying Solvent: A Comprehensive Guide to Equal Credit for Women Elizabeth Babcock, director of the Smithsonian American Women's History Museum Jeanne Hubbard, former CEO of The Adams National Bank

    32 min
  6. Jim the Penman

    18 SEPT

    Jim the Penman

    During the mid-1800s, one third of all paper money in America was thought to be fake. It was the golden age of counterfeiting, and one exceptionally talented con artist stood out from all the rest. His fakes were nearly perfect…but for a trademark tell. Known to law enforcement only as “Jim the Penman,” this celebrity criminal led many Americans to wonder: can great art truly be criminal?  Guests Ellen Feingold, curator of the National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History

    38 min

  7. SEASON 11 TRAILER

    It's Season 11

    Sidedoor returns for its eleventh season on Wednesday, September 18th!

    1 min

  8. 28 AUG

    Are Robots About to Level Up?

    Within just a few years, artificial intelligence systems that sometimes seem to display almost human characteristics have gone from science fiction to apps on your phone. But there’s another AI-influenced frontier that is developing rapidly and remains untamed: robotics. Can the technologies that have helped computers get smarter now bring similar improvements to the robots that will work alongside us? In this episode of The Joy of Why podcast, Daniela Rus, a pioneering roboticist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, talks to host Steven Strogatz about the surprising inspirations from biology that may help robots rise to new levels.   Subscribe to The Joy of Why from Quanta Magazine wherever you listen to podcasts!

    40 min
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Trailers

Hosts & Guests

About

More than 154 million treasures fill the Smithsonian’s vaults. But where the public’s view ends, Sidedoor begins. With the help of biologists, artists, historians, archaeologists, zookeepers and astrophysicists, host Lizzie Peabody sneaks listeners through the Smithsonian’s side door, telling stories that can’t be heard anywhere else. Check out si.edu/sidedoor and follow @SidedoorPod for more info. 

Information

  • Creator
    Smithsonian Institution
  • Years Active
    2016 - 2024
  • Episodes
    209
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Smithsonian 2016
  • Show Website
    Sidedoor

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