Sidedoor

Smithsonian Institution

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.

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21 episodes
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Avg 33 min
English

Episodes 21

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S12 · E21
August 19 · 25 min
A Nature Lover Confronts Her Fear of Spiders
This is a special episode from the Up From Dust podcast, produced by the NPR Network, KCUR Studios, and the Kansas News Service.
- Transcript
S12 · E20
August 5 · 25 min
America, Meet America
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.
- Transcript
S12 · E19
July 22 · 32 min
The Gunboat Philadelphia
In 1935, a diver searching Lake Champlain found something extraordinary: a nearly intact warship from the American Revolution.
- Transcript
S12 · E18
July 8 · 32 min
The Missing Bison
The search for the Smithsonian's missing 19th-century bison diorama, which originally helped launch the American Bison conservation movement, takes us on a journey.
- Transcript
S12 · E17
June 24 · 42 min
American Aspirations: A Nation in Pursuit
In this special episode, Secretary Bunch puts his curator hat back on to lead Lizzie through American Aspirations, a new exhibition he co-curated.
- Transcript
S12 · E16
June 17 · 31 min
U.S. History in 100 Objects (with Roman Mars)
The story of America can easily be found in the everyday objects that shape our lives.
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S12 · E15
June 10 · 27 min
How Can You Forget Me
In this episode, we explore how an accidental discovery resurrected the stories of a nearly forgotten generation of Filipino immigrants who came to work in the fields.
- Transcript
S12 · E14
May 27 · 32 min
High Art, Low Ride
How did a car with chopped suspension and hydraulics become a symbol of pride and self-expression for an entire community?
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S12 · E13
May 13 · 30 min
The People in the Pictures
In this episode, we go inside the archives, where century-old photographs once labeled “Indian man” or “woman in costume” are being reexamined and renamed so they can be reconnected to living descendants.
- Transcript
S12 · E12
April 29 · 30 min
May the 4th Be With You
A long time ago, in movie theaters not far away, Star Wars: A New Hope revolutionized American entertainment.
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S12 · E11
April 15 · 30 min
Broad Stripes, Bright Stars, and White Lies
We discovered, there’s actually no proof that Betsy Ross sewed the first flag. In fact, we don't even know what the first American flag even looked like!
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S12 · E10
April 1 · 34 min
Tapir Caper
When a Smithsonian archaeology intern opened a dusty box of bones in a Panamanian warehouse, she didn't expect to find a mystery, let alone a potential crime scene
- Transcript
S12 · E9
March 18 · 32 min
Made in America
Through the photography of Christopher Payne, we journey across the past, present and future of American manufacturing
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S12 · E8
March 4 · 34 min
Dark Matter, Bright Mind: How Vera Rubin Saw the Unseen
Something dark and invisible makes up as much as 90 to 95 percent of the universe—and it took a little girl staring out a bedroom window at the night sky to bring it to light.
- Transcript
S12 · E7
February 18 · 48 min
Chinatown Murder Case
A string of unsolved murders in San Francisco's Chinatown in the 1970s led police to the door of a young Korean immigrant named Chol Soo Lee.
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S12 · E6
February 4 · 40 min
The Wright Sister
Katharine Wright was her brothers' biggest champion, official spokesperson, closest confidante and the only one of the Wright siblings with a college degree.
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S12 · E5
January 21 · 50 min
The King of Zydeco
Through rare archival recordings and firsthand stories, we trace Chenier’s journey from a sharecropper’s son to the undisputed King of Zydeco.
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S12 · E4
January 7 · 31 min
Will the Real Uncle Sam Please Stand Up?
How did a real guy go from meatpacker to meme, to personification of a nation and, eventually, the most famous Army recruiter in history?
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S12 · E3
Dec 24, 2025 · 32 min
A Very Cold Case
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.
- Transcript
S12 · E2
Dec 10, 2025 · 39 min
A Mold with a Grudge
This is the story of how penicillin changed the world.
- Transcript

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