Sidedoor
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.
- Update frequency
- every 13 days
- Average duration
- 26 minutes
- Episodes
- 230
- Years Active
- 2016 - 2025
Face Value
Money is power. But who's on our money - or isn’t - can be just as powerful. While Lady Liberty has graced American coins and dollars for most of our history, it wasn’t until the 1970s that a real wo…
00:31:54 |
Wed 13 Mar 2024
Jeepers Leapers!
Did you know a person born on February 29 is called a "leapling"? This special episode is hopping with Leap Day trivia! Like, why do we need an extra day every four years anyway? And will I get paid …
00:13:30 |
Wed 28 Feb 2024
Til Death Do Us Part?
They say love is eternal. What about heartbreak? This Valentine’s Day, we bring you some of Japanese theater’s most popular tales of scorned lovers seeking vengeance from beyond the grave — with a bu…
00:29:20 |
Wed 14 Feb 2024
To Sidedoor, With Love
From brontosauruses with bronchitis to birds on a wire to flying space rocks and a botched heist at 20 thousand feet. In this episode, Lizzie and Sidedoor producer James run all around the Smithsonia…
00:36:22 |
Wed 31 Jan 2024
Tails of Bravery
As long as there have been wars, animals have joined their human companions on the battlefield. But a few have served so bravely they’ve been memorialized at the Smithsonian. In honor of these furry …
00:46:31 |
Wed 17 Jan 2024
The Milkmaid Spy
Virginia Hall dreamed of being America’s first female ambassador. Instead, she became a spy. Joining the ranks of the U.S.’s first civilian spy network, she operated alone in occupied France, where s…
00:28:55 |
Wed 03 Jan 2024
Auld Lang What?
It’s a song we often hear at the start of the new year. But what does “auld lang syne” even mean? And how did it come to be associated with New Year's Eve? With a little musical sleuthing, we find Ch…
00:21:18 |
Wed 20 Dec 2023
Welcome Back, Otter
North American River Otters are popping up in places they haven't been seen in decades and nobody really knows why. As we search for answers we discover a trail of fish heads, poop splats and cuddle …
00:26:07 |
Wed 06 Dec 2023
Wrinkled Radicals
When Maggie Kuhn was forced to retire from the job she loved at age 65, her colleagues gave her a sewing machine as a parting gift. Outraged, she shut the sewing machine in a closet and, instead, sti…
00:31:20 |
Wed 22 Nov 2023
Farewell Giant Pandas
All three Giant Pandas are leaving the Smithsonian's National Zoo for China by the end of the year. What's up with that?! We sat down with the director of the Zoo, Brandie Smith, to find out why the …
00:29:23 |
Wed 08 Nov 2023
Resurrected: Spooked at the Smithsonian
The Smithsonian Institution was founded on principles of reason and scientific inquiry. So why is the Smithsonian home to countless tales of unexplained phenomena and—dare we say—ghost sightings? Ins…
00:37:54 |
Wed 25 Oct 2023
CSI: Southern Pacific
Looks like these criminals used correct postage, 'cause justice is about to be delivered. Okay, there are no snappy one-liners in this crime scene investigation, but there are explosions, collisions,…
00:38:56 |
Wed 11 Oct 2023
Cellphones Rock
Cellphones put the power of the world at our fingertips. With the touch of a finger, you can instantly connect with your doctor, have food delivered to your office or simply obliterate your niece at …
00:28:22 |
Wed 27 Sep 2023
The 'Gentle Anarchy' of the Muppets
Icky Gunk. Moldy Hay. Kermit. You might recognize one of these names. Before Kermit joined Miss Piggy and Big Bird, he was kicking it with Sam and Friends — a local tv show in Washington, D.C. that l…
00:33:32 |
Wed 13 Sep 2023
It's Season 10!
Sidedoor returns for its tenth season on Wednesday, September 13th!
00:01:45 |
Wed 06 Sep 2023
A Wild Ride on the Pony Express
In 1860 the fastest way to get a message to a family member, partner, or colleague wasn’t by text but by hoof…specifically, a pony’s. In just ten short days the Pony Express delivered mail between St…
00:30:17 |
Wed 30 Aug 2023
The Hungerford Deed
When a 200-year-old legal document anonymously arrived at his office, Smithsonian Libraries and Archives conservator William Bennett assumed it would be full of boring legal jargon. Instead, he found…
00:29:08 |
Thu 17 Aug 2023
Tyrannosaurus FX
When you imagine the sound of a dinosaur, you probably think of a scene from the Jurassic Park movies. How do sound designers make these extinct creatures sound so believably alive? And what does mod…
00:24:45 |
Wed 02 Aug 2023
Special: People Eating People
A Smithsonian researcher has made a discovery we couldn't wait to sink our teeth into — what might be the earliest evidence of our human ancestors eating each other. This conversation is a special up…
00:13:36 |
Wed 19 Jul 2023
The Toxic Book of Faces
Before the invention of photography, only the rich could afford to have portraits of themselves. But in the early 1800s, a device called the physiognotrace democratized portraiture, making it possibl…
00:33:14 |
Wed 05 Jul 2023
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