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Sidedoor

Author: Smithsonian Institution

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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. 


207 Episodes
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The Wide Awakes

The Wide Awakes

2024-10-3038:091

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 WarKevin Waite, Associate Professor of History at Durham University. Author of West of Slavery: The Southern Dream of a Transcontinental Empire
The Devil’s Composer

The Devil’s Composer

2024-10-1640:23

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 
Jim the Penman

Jim the Penman

2024-09-1839:312

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? GuestsEllen Feingold, curator of the National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History
It's Season 11

It's Season 11

2024-09-1102:45

Sidedoor returns for its eleventh season on Wednesday, September 18th! 
It’s Season Eight!

It’s Season Eight!

2022-06-0801:06

Sidedoor returns for its eighth season on Wednesday, June 15th!
It’s Season Seven!

It’s Season Seven!

2021-09-2901:29

Sidedoor returns for its seventh season on Wednesday, October 6th!
Bonus: Patsy Mink

Bonus: Patsy Mink

2021-09-2208:08

A new season of Sidedoor is just two weeks away! In the meantime, we’re sharing a special guest episode from Wonder Media Network’s podcast, “Encyclopedia Womannica.” In this episode, you’ll hear about the life of Patsy Mink, the first Asian-American woman to serve in Congress and run for U.S. President. She was also the first woman of color elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. She made a brief appearance in the Sidedoor episode, “Votes for Hawaiians,” and here you’ll hear more about how she paved the way for Asian-Americans across the nation. Encyclopedia Womannica is a daily podcast that explores the trials, tragedies and triumphs of groundbreaking women from antiquity through modernity, in just five minutes a day. You can find more episodes HERE. (https://wondermedianetwork.com/encyclopedia-womannica)
The “Men of Progress” painting, from 1862, shows the first Secretary of the Smithsonian surrounded by a group of scientists and inventors credited with “altering the course of contemporary civilization.” But what may be most remarkable about this tableau is who’s not there. To mark the 175th anniversary of the Smithsonian’s founding, the National Portrait Gallery’s Portraits podcast takes us back in time – to trace how the concept of progress has evolved, and who current Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III would put in his “portrait of progress.”
This summer – for the first time ever - skateboarding will be an Olympic sport. In honor of its Olympic debut, we’re revisiting one of our favorite episodes: the story of how the best women skateboarders stood toe-to-toe with the most powerful people in the industry to demand equal pay. One of those women is none other than Mimi Knoop, who is coaching the USA women’s skateboarding team. In this bonus episode, we also talk about how skateboarding's entry onto the Olympic stage is a major achievement for the sport, but one not everybody is happy about.  
100 years ago, in the hills of West Virginia, Black, white and European immigrant coal miners banded together to demand better pay and safer working conditions and were met with machine guns. While the story made headlines in 1921, it didn't make it into the history books. In our final episode of the season, we unearth this buried history to help mark the centennial of the largest labor uprising in American history.
Ode to Cicadas

Ode to Cicadas

2021-06-3032:263

Every 17 years, the notorious Brood X cicadas crawl out of the earth by the billions to deafen Washington D.C. After nearly two decades underground, they spend their few short weeks in the sun singing, mating, and dying so the next generation can start anew. The cicadas' distinctive sound and strange life cycle have captivated our human ancestors for millennia, inspiring songs, art, royal attire and even some unique burial rituals. 
The Goddess of Broadway

The Goddess of Broadway

2021-06-1627:291

When Diosa Costello took the stage in the 1939 production of “Too Many Girls,” she became the first Puerto Rican performer to tread the boards on Broadway. She was fearless, funny, and brimming with talent. She never considered herself a trailblazer, but her legacy – and the gowns she left at the Smithsonian – tell a different story
LeRoy Neiman was a colorful man, both figuratively and literally. His handlebar mustache, long cigar, and sketchpad were fixtures at the sidelines of American pop culture: from boxing matches to jazz clubs and political conventions. His paintings, sketches, and prints papered the second half of the 20th century, highlighting American icons in his colorful expressionist style. He was rich, famous, and adored by many Americans… but not the art critics.
One hundred years ago this week, from May 31 and June 1, 1921, a mob targeted and destroyed nearly 40 blocks of a wealthy black neighborhood in North Tulsa, Oklahoma. No one knows how many people died, no one was ever convicted, and no one really talked about it nearly a century later. This is the story of the Tulsa Race Massacre and why it's important that you know it.At least 1,256 homes, along with churches, schools, businesses and even a hospital were deliberately burned or destroyed. Recently found documents are helping historians and researchers better understand the events that took place. And lots of this work is happening by staff at the National Museum of African American History and Culture. In fact, part of the Power of Place exhibition at the museum is dedicated to the events of the massacre.
On The Money

On The Money

2021-05-0531:251

We carry portraits around all the time: pocket-sized history lessons in the form of dollars and cents. The recent decision to put Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill has us thinking about who’s on our money, and how they got there. This episode of the “Portraits” podcast, from the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, takes a whirlwind tour of money of yore, featuring everything from piles of bunnies to George Washington’s nipples. This episode will have you taking a closer look at the portraits you might be sitting on right now.
In 1918, a flu pandemic killed more than 50 million people worldwide. Forty years later, it nearly happened again. This week on Sidedoor we go back to a time when the viruses were winning, and we remember one man, Dr. Maurice Hilleman, whose vaccine virtuosity helped turn the tide in the war against infectious diseases.We’ve updated this episode with a bonus interview to reflect on what we’ve learned from our current pandemic. If you want to learn more, please see vaccinesandus.org.
Henrietta the river herring is not a particularly glamorous fish. But she’s got grit. Every summer, she swims out to the Atlantic ocean, and every spring, she makes the 500 mile journey back to Maryland’s Patapsco River, where she was born—a habitat that’s been only partially accessible to herring like her for more than a century. But this year will be different. Join the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center’s herring tagging team as they study what happens to herring like Henrietta when someone gives a dam.
Hot Bird Summer

Hot Bird Summer

2021-04-0729:32

Every spring, for as long as records have been kept, a crowd of hundreds of black crowned night herons descend on the Smithsonian’s National Zoo, mating, eating and generally causing a ruckus. Many of the keepers at the zoo enjoy them, but they can be a tough bird to love.Every fall, peace is restored when the herons decamp and fly off to… where? For more than a century, nobody knew. Until now. 
When Lena Richard cooked her first chicken on television, she beat Julia Child to the screen by over a decade. At a time when most African American women cooks worked behind swinging kitchen doors, Richard claimed her place as a culinary authority, broadcasting in the living rooms of New Orleans’s elite white families. She was an entrepreneur, educator, author, and an icon—and her legacy lives on in her recipes.
A Very Cold Case

A Very Cold Case

2021-03-1034:582

American newspaper publisher and all-around eccentric, Charles Francis Hall, was an unlikely candidate to become an Arctic explorer. Nevertheless, he made three trips to the frozen north, until he died there under suspicious circumstances. Sharpen your powers of deduction and join us on Sidedoor for an epic frozen whodunit, featuring shipwreck, romance, and a social media darling with a dark secret.
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Comments (27)

Mona Peterson

I've been consistently impressed by 'Sidedoor' and its ability to dive into fascinating, lesser-known stories with such depth and nuance. The hosts have a real knack for uncovering hidden gems and presenting them in a compelling and engaging way. https://canada-butcher-paper.podigee.io/1-new-episode

Aug 3rd
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Shawna

I love hearing about Orangutans

Feb 16th
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MaPepa

According to the BBC, the non-renewal of the loan has nothing to do with reproductive life issues. Instead, they claim it is a reflection of the political climate.

Nov 11th
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ncooty

@06:26: This was pretty dumb. The guy could've simply noted that the tools used to make a wooden chair use mined materials. It would've saved him from that absurd stretch of his.

Oct 29th
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ADONIS

great story

Jun 26th
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ncooty

I appreciated hearing this story as a matter of history, but was quite disappointed by the over-simplified, self-righteous advocacy masquerading as facts or expertise. This podcast is quite often childishly simplistic and obnoxiously preachy when it deals with complex subjects.

Dec 29th
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ncooty

Very interesting episode. Too bad the post-script story cut off at the end.

Nov 5th
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ncooty

Sounds like a guy so identified with victimhood that he takes offense at perfectly innocuous interactions. This sort of uncharitable, eagerly vengeful mock frailty is antithetical to liberalism and social capital. It shouldn't be celebrated.

Oct 2nd
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ncooty

I'm grateful to the people who help people like me learn these histories that I haven't heard otherwise. Many of these stories and facts are gut-wrenching, but I would rather know them than not.

Sep 15th
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ncooty

@32:25: "Alums"?! Are they salts? No, good grief; you mean alumni.

Sep 6th
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ncooty

Kim Sajet's relentless self-promotion seems to pay off for her. Rather than promoting the work and people of the National Portrait Gallery, she seems to take every opportunity to act as if she *is* the NPG. Maybe once in a blue moon, someone else at NPG could be interviewed--maybe even actual experts.

Aug 28th
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ncooty

It's unfortunate that this episode did not mention that, whereas planting most milkweeds benefits monarchs, planting *Mexican* milkweed in more northern latitudes can signal some monarchs to end their southern migrations prematurely.

Aug 28th
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ncooty

I kept waiting for a reasonable discussion of race in this episode, but as with so much other racially charged blather, it's just a bait-and-switch fueled by identity-based victimhood and salacious race-baiting. The actual merits all related to income and poverty, yet the host and guest sanctimoniously acted as if all black people are poor and all poor people are black, neither of which is true. We don't need to use race as a blunt proxy for income, wealth, or socio-economic status. Doing so needlessly imputes racism. Moreover, if these virtue-signalling race-baiters actually think race is a reasonable proxy for wealth, then they seemingly have no basis for objecting to banks, landlords, and employers doing likewise, but that would be ludicrous. And it is equally ludicrous to do so for political convenience or social inflammation. I suppose it would've been too much to expect that the producers might ask whether various minority groups (presumably not just racial ones) are under-re

Aug 16th
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ncooty

It would've helped to as the bishop what she means by "spiritual" and "religious" and, if they are at least partially supernatural, what the supernatural aspect adds. (I don't think it would've been fruitful to ask that of Teddy. He didn't seem strongly committed to meaning in words; he seemed more interested in the vernacular of ultra-liberal signalling.)

Aug 2nd
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ncooty

That was utterly heart-rending. It's the sort of story that helps us understand why so many people would rather forget or look away, and why we absolutely must not.

Jul 25th
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ncooty

@24:21: Why do people use double negatives only to trip over them? I think he meant "no overstatement."

Jul 14th
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ncooty

I just can't listen to that old-timey pseudo-folksy, aw-shucks propaganda that weaves together scarce apocryphal tidbits with yards of wholecloth.

Jun 21st
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Shane Marten

You guys should take another look at this episode...maybe a new interview with the same guy??

May 4th
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César Remísio

My kid's and I loved the Apolo's 12 close call, what a great history told by your team. Keep up with the good work. YUPPIE

Oct 6th
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Florian Stummer

This is really one of my favorite podcasts. Tried it after I read a review in New Scientist. Keep up the great work. It's such fun to do the gardening alongside. Cheers!

Jun 3rd
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