Sidedoor

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

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

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.

In 1935, a diver searching Lake Champlain found something extraordinary: a nearly intact warship from the American Revolution. It was the Gunboat Philadelphia. In this episode, we dive into the story of how a ragtag American army built a fleet of ships to stand up against the British Navy in 1776 ... and lost. But that loss changed the course of U.S. history. 
So, how did Benedict Arnold and a bunch of sailors who had never been on a boat before turn the tide in the Revolutionary War? Listen, and find out! 
Guests: 
Jennifer Jones, Curator and Project Director for the Gunboat Philadelphia Preservation Project at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History
Kenneth Cohen, Chair of the Curatorial Division of Military and Society, and Curator of Early American History at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History
This episode received support from Smithsonian's Our Shared Future: 250, a Smithsonian-wide initiative commemorating the nation's 250th. Major support for Smithsonian’s Our Shared Future: 250 has been provided by Lilly Endowment Inc. Additional generous contributions have been made by Target, Caterpillar Foundation, and the Gates Foundation.

In the 1880s, a conservator at the Smithsonian set out for Montana to capture an American bison before the dwindling species vanished forever. He returned with six taxidermied bison that he displayed in the museum. 
The bison diorama wowed visitors so much that it helped kickstart a movement to save the species. But then, just like that, the stuffed bison vanished! 
Where did they go? 
With the nation's 250th birthday fast approaching, the director of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History set out to find the missing bison. It's a journey that led west —where it all began— and ended on the steps of the museum. 
Guests: 
Kirk Johnson, Director of the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History
Siobhan Starrs, Senior Project Manager and Exhibition Developer at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History 
Jonny BearCub Stiffarm, Volunteer with the Fort Peck Tribal Bison program in Montana. Member of the Assiniboine Nation and a former Buffalo Program administrator at the World Wildlife Fund 
Jim Wood, Assistant Director for Communications at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History
This episode received support from Smithsonian's Our Shared Future: 250, a Smithsonian-wide initiative commemorating the nation's 250th. Major support for Smithsonian’s Our Shared Future: 250 has been provided by Lilly Endowment Inc. Additional generous contributions have been made by Target, Caterpillar Foundation, and the Gates Foundation.