Sidedoor

Smithsonian Institution
  • 4.6 (2.2K)
  • Society & Culture
  • Semimonthly

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. 18h ago

    History by a Hair

    When the Smithsonian’s Richard Kurin learned that a museum curator found hair inside a Bible in the Smithsonian’s collections, his own hair stood on end. This wasn’t just any Bible. It was Thomas Jefferson’s personal Bible. Could the hair belong to Jefferson? If so, it might help resolve one of the oldest and most contested questions in American history: Was Thomas Jefferson the father of Sally Hemings’s children? The mystery hair sent Kurin on a years-long quest for answers. Now, he’s ready to share what he found. Join us as well follow him from the Smithsonian to Monticello, DNA laboratories, and the living rooms of Jefferson and Hemings descendants. Can scientists reconstruct a genome from a 200-year-old strand of hair? And what might that DNA reveal? Guests:  Richard Kurin, Smithsonian distinguished scholar, and ambassador-at-large Leslie Greene Bowman, president emerita of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation  Arthur (Art) Westerinen, great-great-great grandson of Sally Hemings through her son Eston Hemings  Robert Fleischer, senior scientist emeritus at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute’s Center for Conservation Genomics Beth Shapiro, co-director of the Paleogenomics Lab at UC Santa Cruz Richard E. Green, professor of bimolecular engineering at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and co-director of the Paleogenomics Lab David Miller, sixth generation descendent of Thomas Jefferson through his daughter Maria Eppes Clara Lee-Nutt, great-great-great granddaughter of Sally Hemings through her son Madison Hemings Explore More Did Thomas Jefferson Father Sally Hemings' Children? | Smithsonian Magazine

    History by a Hair

  2. Oct 21

    Meet the Beetles!

    Beetles make up a quarter of all known animal life on Earth. A QUARTER! Beetles are everywhere, doing almost everything. From eating flesh off skeletons to making poop disappear, these little buggers make the world a lot less gross for the rest of us… and look cool doing it. With a little help from the Smithsonian’s beetle experts, we’ll discover why these tiny powerhouses are so wildly diverse, why Ancient Egyptians considered them sacred, and what makes a dung beetle beautiful. (Yes, really.) Get ready to see beetles in a whole new light. Just watch where you step.  Guests: Inger Toraason, osteological specimen preparator at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of National History's Osteo Prep Lab Floyd Shockley, entomologist and collections manager for the Department of Entomology at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History  Frank Krell, coleopterist and curator of beetles at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History

    Meet the Beetles!

  3. Oct 7

    The Baby Elephant and The Elixir of Poo

    When baby Asian elephant Linh Mai was born at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo, her mother rejected her. Then things got worse. Linh Mai couldn’t digest her formula, she was losing weight, and her care team was running out of time. Join us behind the scenes at the National Zoo to learn how curators and "turd nerds" race to save Linh Mai with an unusual treatment: a fecal microbiota transplant. But not just any poop will do! Roll up your sleeves (and pinch your nose) as we explore the extraordinary lengths people will go to save one very big baby. Guests:  Sally Bornbusch, Microbial Ecologist with the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute’s Center for Conservation Genomics and Department of Nutrition Science Robbie Clark, Curator and Manager for Elephant Trails at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute Erin Kendrick, Clinical Nutritionist at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute

    The Baby Elephant and The Elixir of Poo

  4. Season 13 Trailer

    It's Season 13!

    Season 13 of Sidedoor is almost here! Follow us behind the scenes at the National Zoo to meet the new baby elephant, Linh Mai. We open the vaults to see some of the weirdest beetles in the collection. And we track the wild journey of the Declaration of Independence after it was signed (which was actually not on July 4, 1776). New episodes begin next week!

  5. Sep 16

    The Accidental Rise of Botox

    One of the deadliest poisons known to man is now used to treat wrinkles, migraines, and even, maybe, depression. How did that happen?  This is a special episode from Unexplainable  podcast from Vox and the Vox Media Network.  Guests:  Jean Carruthers, ophthalmologist and “godmother” of cosmetic Botox.  David Simpson, neurologist at Mount Sinai hospital in New York.  Axel Wollmer, psychiatrist at the Asklepios clinic in Hamburg, Germany.

    The Accidental Rise of Botox

  6. Sep 2

    The Art of Slowing Down

    What happens when we slow down enough to really experience art? We visit a museum to discover how slow looking at art can cultivate awe, empathy, and a greater sense of connection in a distracted world. This episode comes from the podcast The Science of Happiness.  Science of Happiness on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-science-of-happiness/id1340505607 Science of Happiness on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4dq0wmiZlk58Eu0NcqgWei?si=6756c114ff904008 Science of Happiness Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/scienceofhappinesspod/ Science of Happiness Website Landing Page: https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/podcasts/series/the_science_of_happiness

    The Art of Slowing Down

  7. Aug 19

    A Nature Lover Confronts Her Fear of Spiders

    How do you stop being so afraid? Tracy Twombly had such a strong phobia of spiders, it was messing with her life — stressing her out while she was working at her native plant nursery or hiking through the woods. So, she embarked on a journey to make peace with her eight-legged neighbors (even the extra hairy ones). This is a special episode from the Up From Dust podcast, produced by the NPR Network, KCUR Studios, and the Kansas News Service. Artwork for this episode by, Jessica Cornelison

    A Nature Lover Confronts Her Fear of Spiders

  8. Aug 5

    America, Meet America

    For more than two decades, the StoryCorps silver Airstream trailer has crisscrossed the country, recording the stories of everyday Americans. In this episode honoring the 250th anniversary of the United States, our friends at The StoryCorps Podcast introduce you to the kaleidoscope of voices that make up these United States.

    America, Meet America
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Hosts & Guests

4.6
out of 5
2,236 Ratings

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 - 2026
  • Episodes
    260
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Smithsonian 2016
  • Show Website
    Sidedoor

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