Posts by Forbes Washington DC
Director Mike Leigh On The Improvisational Path to ‘Hard Truths’
Marianne Jean-Baptiste in Hard Truths Courtesy of Bleecker Street Mike Leigh’s first movie in six years finds the writer-director back together with one of the stars of 1996 breakthrough, Secrets & Lies, Marianne Jean-Baptiste. Both Leigh and Jean-Baptiste earned Oscar nominations for Secrets & Lies (Best Director and Best Original Screenplay for him, and Best…
Read MoreKid Is a Love Letter to the Perfect New York Slice
Sam and Brett Nidel and Tamara McCarthy’s new restaurant, Kid, is inspired by the perfect New York slice. Andrew Bui Like a primary school classroom in a Wes Anderson film, everything at Kid has a purpose. Colorblock pizza shakers double as vessels for house-dried spices and decor. An arcade game floats at the end of…
Read MoreHow a Mass Extinction Driven by Ancient Volcanoes Led to the Age of the Dinosaurs
/https%3A%2F%2Ftf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ffiler_public%2Fb0%2Fd5%2Fb0d54e61-d5f0-4ac7-9d07-536d1b49b28e%2Fciechocinek_formation_reconstruction_web.jpg?w=1024&resize=1024,1024&ssl=1 "How a Mass Extinction Driven by Ancient Volcanoes Led to the Age of the Dinosaurs")
Dinosaurs only started to live large after a mass extinction altered the planet in their favor. Lucas Atwell CC BY-SA 3.0 Everyone knows about the mass extinction that ended the Age of Dinosaurs. About 66 million years ago, a seven-mile-wide asteroid slammed into our planet and began a mass extinction that wiped out all the…
Read MoreWhat Leaving the WHO Means for the U.S and the World
On his first day in office, President Donald Trump signed an executive order withdrawing the U.S. from the World Health Organization (WHO)—a move that experts say makes the U.S. and other countries less safe from infectious diseases and other public-health threats. “For Americans it may not be obvious immediately what the impact will be, but…
Read MoreHealth Agencies On Communications Pause
With respiratory-disease season in full swing and a bird flu outbreak rapidly evolving, the new Trump Administration has ordered federal health agencies to secure White House approval before communicating with the public. “As the new Administration considers its plan for managing the federal policy and public communications processes, it is important that the President’s appointees…
Read MoreA Los Angeles Photographer Captures the Devastating Fires Threatening His Beloved Community
/https%3A%2F%2Ftf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ffiler_public%2F05%2Fa3%2F05a3b4a4-e76a-4c9c-86b5-a693bb1845ba%2Fpalisadesfire08.jpg?w=1024&resize=1024,1024&ssl=1 "A Los Angeles Photographer Captures the Devastating Fires Threatening His Beloved Community")
When the Palisades Fire started in early January, I was out of town in a remote area in central California with practically no cell service, and my family was out of the country. I hiked to the top of a hill, and my phone started blowing up. It was time to make a beeline home.…
Read MoreThe Mental-Health Toll of the California Wildfires Is Just Beginning
Firefighters are making progress on containing the wildfires that have been raging for weeks in Southern California. But even once the physical threat of the fires diminishes, the mental-health toll will linger for months and even years, experts say. With thousands of people evacuated and homes destroyed, rebuilding people’s social and psychological resources is one…
Read MoreHow to Get Better at Doing Things Alone
As a recent college graduate in a new city, Samantha Elliott thought she’d be lonely. Instead, she found companionship in the most unexpected place: with herself. And that, ironically, helped expand her community. “Being alone has this negative connotation, like it’s a punishment, but you’re learning to be friends with yourself,” says Elliott, who’s 24.…
Read MoreThe Health Risks and Benefits of Weight-Loss Drugs
The newest weight-loss drugs, Wegovy and Zepbound, are incredibly popular. But doctors are still learning about all of the ways they affect the body—both helpful and harmful—beyond reducing weight. In report published in Nature Medicine, Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly, chief of research and development at the VA St. Louis Health Care System and clinical epidemiologist at…
Read MoreOne Thing The Grammys Get Right: Music Docs
Clockwise from top: Michael Jackson and Bob Dylan in The Greatest Night in Pop; Joseph “Rev Run” Simmons and Darryl “DMC” McDaniels in Kings From Queens; June Carter Cash in June: The June Carter Cash Story. Courtesy of Netflix; Courtesy of Peacock; The Grammy Awards are justly famed for getting it wrong a whole lot…
Read MoreHow Art Humanizes the Hospital Experience: An Interview With RxART Director Katie Hollander
Katie Hollander is the new director of RxART. Photo: Victoria Hely-Hutchinson Since its founding in 2000, RxART has long been one of the art world’s most beloved and worthy charities. The organization pairs major artists with children’s hospitals to help decorate spaces in ways that might give comfort desperate moments. With over forty projects completed…
Read MoreWinter Wellness 2025: Where to Reset
As we settle into 2025, the wellness industry continues its dramatic evolution from luxury indulgence to serious self-investment. Today’s wellness seekers aren’t just looking for a spa day—they’re demanding experiences backed by science and measured by results. The shift tracks: In an era of constant connectivity and unprecedented stress, a basic massage isn’t going to…
Read More