MacworldTheres more to life than money, and heaven knows Apple isnt short of a dollar or two. So when I hear that the companys TV+ streaming service is losing $1 billion a year, my first reaction isnt shock, but intrigue. Is TV+ worth all that lost cash? On reflection, I think it is.At the time of writing, theres considerable excitement in the Price household ahead of the Severance S2 finale. By the time you read this article, that excitement will have been replaced by other emotions: sadness; loss; confusion about the relevance of those goats; a deep sense of satisfaction at a story (hopefully) well told; anger at structural missteps and (potentially) unresolved plot threads; and exasperation at the inevitable cliffhanger. But above all, we will be counting down the dayshopefully not yearsuntil the third season.Severance, by any metric, has been a hit. Despite the seemingly niche premise, the show is getting plenty of viewers: in February Deadline reported it had logged 589 million minutes viewed in the U.S. and at one point ranked #4 on Nielsen. We already know its surpassed Ted Lasso as the most-watched series in Apple TV+ history, but those are impressive numbers for a show on any platform.Unlike most high-viewership shows, its also almost universally liked (with the caveat that quite a few people think the second season hasnt been as good as the first). Even accounting for that slight dip it still has a 96 percent overall critic rating on Rotten Tomatoes, not to mention 14 Emmy nominations. It gets people talking around the water cooler and has its own subreddit. The Guardian calls it a cultural juggernaut.If youve seen the show and noted its production values and austerely sumptuous set design, you wont be surprised to hear that all this success and adoration comes at a cost. Severance is one of the most expensive TV projects ever commissioned, with costs reportedly exceeding $20 million per episode. Apple has spared no expense, a seeming trend with Apple TV+ content. Overall, its estimated by The Information that Apple is losing $1 billion a year from its streaming business.Thats a lot of money, and if this was any other company the alarm bells should be sounding. But since were talking about Apple, Ill say two things: the company can afford it and its totally worth it.Apple doesnt run ads on the TV+ platform, at least not yet, so you cant really ascribe revenue directly to one show or another. (Product placement could be a direct source of revenue, but TV+ shows tend to plug Apples own products rather than taking money for plugging those by other companies, and Severance doesnt have any obvious product placement at all.) Severance was never going to be a profitable project in any easily definable way. But it definitely generates money, principally by being such a cultural behemoth that people sign up to TV+ in order to join the conversation. Its been suggested that the show has earned Apple $200M in new sign-ups, and while Id serve a pinch of salt with that figure, it gives us a ballpark sense of how important a tentpole hit can be to a streaming platform.But Severance and other breakout TV+ hits are worth far more to Apple than the money they bring in. For one thing, they are part of the pivot Ive written about repeatedly over the past couple of years, the process by which the company moves away from making most of its money from selling iPhones and into selling other things to iPhone owners. A person owning an iPhone makes them more susceptible to paying for things like TV+ (and Apple Music, Arcade, Fitness+, and so on), but the reverse is also true: a person who likes Severance is more likely to at least consider buying an iPhone.Like the iPod in the early 2000s, a streaming hit can act as bait for the entire Apple ecosystem. Spending $20M on an episode is worth it if only a few hundred thousand people watch that episode and end up as lifelong Apple customers.Apple is more than a company that designs and sells phones and computers. Its a lifestyle brand, and its fortunes depend on being perceived in a particular way. If it starts to be perceived as a bullying monopolist or a hyperbolic promise-breaker then that damages its image and its ability to resonate with customers. And, conversely, if a few successful TV shows can make Apple seem charming and folksy (Ted Lasso), funny and rebellious (Bad Sisters), cultured and literate (Pachinko), cynical and flatulent (Slow Horses), or weird and smart (Severance) then that buys priceless reputational benefits.More broadly, Apple stands to benefit simply by bringing good art into existence. The company worked this angle to a certain extent when the TV+-distributed movie CODA won three Oscars, and I found its attempt to horn in on the plaudits mildly distasteful since the film had been made and even premiered at Sundance before Apple got involved. But with shows like Severance, Apple can rightly claim to be a cultural force for good.Speaking to Variety last week, Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos said he was confused by Apple TV+ and didnt really see the point. I dont understand it beyond a marketing play, he said. But theyre really smart people. Maybe they see something we dont. Netflix doesnt have a wider brand ecosystem like Apple, so of course Sarandos doesnt understand. If youre Netflix, you measure the success of a show by the number of subscriptions it drives versus the money it costs. But when youre in the reputation business like Apple, you get to play a longer game.Thats not to say that Apple will play a longer game. Last week it was reported that the company intends to slash its TV+ budget. I hope thats not accurate. Because theres more at stake than money. Also Severance is a great show and I dont want it to get canceled before I find out about those goats.FoundryWelcome to our weekly Apple Breakfast column, which includes all the Apple news you missed last week in a handy bite-sized roundup. We call it Apple Breakfast because we think it goes great with a Monday morning cup of coffee or tea, but its cool if you want to give it a read during lunch or dinner hours too.Trending: Top storiesFuture iPhones might ditch the USB-C port. Good.Apple Intelligence isnt just bad, its making Apple worse, reckons the Macalope.Is Siri really that bad? Yes, yes it is. Which might be why Apple has reportedly ousted the Siri boss.This years WWDC keynote will be must-see Apple TV.Apple Watch SE 3 or 11e? Why following the iPhone is the wrong strategy.Your iPhones Action button is surprisingly powerfulheres everything it can do.iPhone 16e Speedtest results show how impressive Apples CI modem is.EU orders Apple to open up iOS connectivity features.Podcast of the weekThe second part of Apples M4 Mac rollout happened with the release of the M4 MacBook Air and the new Mac Studio. We review them in the latest episode of the Macworld podcast.You can catch every episode of the Macworld Podcast onSpotify,Soundcloud, thePodcasts app, orour own site.Reviews cornerCodeweavers CrossOver for Mac review: One of the simplest ways to run Windows apps on a Mac.Surfshark One review: Impressive antivirus plus a reliable VPN service.The rumor millThis iOS 18.4 feature confirms: Apple is working on something big.Apples first foldable iPhone could cost more than the priciest iPad Pro.The rumored iPhone 17 Air is a trial run for phones with zero ports. Something which the EU has confirmed would be completely legal.New leak corroborates a major iPhone redesign this year.In a twist, Apple has two new Mac displays in the works.Software updates, bugs, and problemsNew Mac phishing attack causes fake freezes to nab your Apple ID password.Apple Passwords bug left users vulnerable to phishing attacks for three months.Theres a firmware update for Apples new MagSafe charger (but not the old one).iOS 18.4 beta 4 is out now, but the new Siri may not arrive until next year.And with that, were done for this weeks Apple Breakfast. If youd like to get regular roundups, sign up forour newsletters, including our new email from The Macalopean irreverent, humorous take on the latest news and rumors from a half-man, half-mythical Mac beast. You can also follow usonFacebook,Threads,Bluesky, orXfor discussion of breaking Apple news stories. See you next Monday, and stay Appley.

The opening of the new, $300 million Rafael Violy-designed National Medal of Honor Museum in Arlington, Texas, has drawn praise locally from critic Mark Lamster, who reviewed it as a unifying "sublime force" whose "uncompromising assertion of abstract form" is an answer to conservative proponents of Neoclassicism and its ability to communicate Americas values. "What could easily descend into a jingoistic celebration of American militarism keeps its focus squarely on the valor and sacrifice of its subjects," he added simply.Photo: Corey Gaffer, courtesy of the National Medal of Honor MuseumThe austere design comprises 102,000 square feet and features a box-like, aluminum-clad primary exhibition hall that hovers 40 feet above the ground, supported by stainless steel pylons that tell the individual stories of over 3,500 Medal of Honor recipients dating to the awards inception during the Civil War.Two projects in coastal Uruguay will follow it as the last Violy designed before hi...

The success of Split Fiction is no secret, with the co-op title doing well both critically as well as commercially. The game has gotten popular enough that, according to Variety, a bidding war for a movie adaptation has been kicked off.While offers are coming through from various Hollywood studios, the production is being led by Story Kitchen, which is reportedly putting together a cast and crew for the movie, including writers and a director. In light of this, neither Split Fiction developer Hazelight Studios, nor Story Kitchen have made any statements or announcement.For some context about Story Kitchen, the company is also working with developer Sandfall Interactive on a movie adaptation of upcoming turn-based RPG Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.As for Split Fiction, Hazelight showed off the critical acclaim the title got in an accolades trailer released earlier this month. The title also sold quite well, with the studio taking to social media to celebrate the fact that it had sold 2 million copies of the game in its first week alone.Split Fiction is a co-op adventure game where two players take on the role of Zoe and Mio. Both of the girls get trapped in a simulation, and must work together to figure out how to escape. Along the way, the duo will have to deal with various fantasy and sci-fi-themed challenges that are brought to life thanks to either of their interests in the genres.Most recently, a pair of speedrunners were able to finish a secret level in the game that director Josef Fares described as being challenging enough that only a few members of the development team had been able to clear it. On finishing this level, the duo were met with a video featuring Fares congratulating them on their achievement, and inviting them to Hazelights offices for a sneak peak at the studios next game.Wow, amazing, said Fares in the video. You have to understand that there are barely people on our team that can make it. It took us a lot of time to finish it. And Im telling you that this is a crazy, crazy achievement that you have done.Im going to say one thing, Fares continued. If you see me in real life, somewhere, and you can prove to me that you actually did this challenge, I can promise you, the first one to do that, Im going to fly you to Sweden and show you footage of our next game.In the meantime, Fares had also revealed earlier this month that the studio had already begun working on its next game. Speaking on a podcast, Fares said that the success of Split Fiction is driving the development team to want to do even better with its next outing.To tell you this, weve been talking about this a lot, we in the team really really feel like oh, they really like this so much, said Fares. We can do way better. Thats the funny part. Its not like were feeling now how will we top this or do better than this. We just feel, just wait till what we do next, you know.Split Fiction is available on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. Check out our review for more details.

While BioWare has largely moved its development efforts on its next title after releasing Dragon Age: The Veilguard, the company has released a small DLC weapons pack for the game. Dubbed the Rooks Weapons Appearance pack, the weapons pack can be picked up for free by those that manage to buy Dragon Age: The Veilguard and play it before April 8.Curiously, despite being a separate weapons pack, it cant be grabbed by those that dont already have a copy of Dragon Age: The Veilguard on PC. According to fans of the game on Reddit, the Rooks Weapons Appearance pack includes the Watchful Blade, Watchful Shield and Watchful Maul for Warrior, the Watchful Poniard and Watchful Staff for Mage, and the Watchful Bow and Watchful Saber for Rogue.Making the DLC even stranger is the fact that it was previously released for the Xbox Series X/S version of Dragon Age: The Veilguard back in January. The latest release is specifically for PC through Steam, Epic Games Store and EAs own digital store. Players have also noted that the PS5 version of the RPG doesnt have a similar DLC yet.Former lead UX designer from the studio, Bruno Porrio, had also revealed details during GDC 2025 about the development of Dragon Age: The Veilguard earlier this month. In a talk, Porrio spoke about the challenges in designing the games interface, since older iterations of the game caused confusion for the QA team. This confusion largely stemmed from the primers and detonators system that BioWare has been using in its titles over the last decade.So much confusion around detonation, Porrio said. There was a lot of confusion, and players werent really utilizing the detonations.Dragon Age: The Veilguard has seemingly underperformed according to the projections set by EA. Back in February, CEO Andrew Wilson revealed that he believes the cause of the games commercial failure stemmed from it not featuring any online shared-world components.To break beyond the core audience, games need to directly connect to the evolving demands of players who increasingly seek shared-world features and deeper engagement alongside high-quality narratives in this beloved category, said EA CEO Andrew Wilson. Dragon Age had a high-quality launch and was well-reviewed by critics and those who played; however, it did not resonate with a broad enough audience in this highly competitive market.While BioWare has moved on to working on what will be the next Mass Effect game, the studio has apparently been restructured. In an update, BioWares Gary McKay had revealed back in January that a new Mass Effect game is being developed by a team made up of veterans from the original Mass Effect trilogy.Now that Dragon Age: The Veilguard has been released, a core team at BioWare is developing the next Mass Effect game under the leadership of veterans from the original trilogy, including Mike Gamble, Preston Watamaniuk, Derek Watts, Parrish Ley, and others, wrote McKay in January.Given this stage of development, we dont require support from the full studio. We have incredible talent here at BioWare, and so we have worked diligently over the past few months to match many of our colleagues with other teams at EA that had open roles that were a strong fit.Dragon Age: The Veilguard is available on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. Check out our review for more details.

Ella JeffriesStaff ContributorAfter sifting through thousands of submissions, 60 incredible photographs were selected as finalists for the 22nd annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest. The images span six categoriesPeople, Travel, Natural World, Drone/Aerial, American Experience and Artisticand offer a glimpse into the diverse stories, landscapes and moments that define our world.Now it's time for you to choose your favorite. Head over to the voting pageto cast your vote in the Readers' Choice competition. The winners from each category, as well as the Grand Prize and Readers' Choice winners, will be announced at the end of March.People Drifting along the waterways of Long Xuyen, Vietnam, I captured this womans quiet strength. Her gaze, framed by a non la hat, reflects the resilience and deep connection of life along the Mekong Deltas timeless flow. Erhan Coral "Young Captain" Mohammad Harouni is a young tour leader who lives in Kong in southern Iran and shows tourists the old boat-building workshop and other sights of the area. The building of boats known as lenj in the Kong area is 1,200 years old and was registered in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List in 2011, but now, due to technological advances and heavy construction costs, this industry has declined and is being forgotten. Maho Christmas is full of color in Maramures, Romania. The entire community gathers at church happy to see and to be seen with traditional costumes. Young girls on the balcony listen to the prayer between beautifully painted saints. Marian Plaino Following a grueling and life-changing seven-year drought, nomadic tribes have turned static to access water. As the rains return, new generations conflict with older ones as they resist a return to the nomadic life. Tribe and village elders will frequently pressure younger people to adorn traditional attire and live based on their nomadic traditions, but with each day, the gap and tensions grow deeper. Marios Forsos A young voodoo adept prepares for the main ceremony. It takes a long time and an inordinate amount of dedication for someone to become an adept through a rather grueling process designed to open the person's third eye and allow them to communicate and receive the messages of the spirits. Contrary to common belief, most voodoo is benign in nature, and priests are both spiritual as well as practical guides. Marios Forsos This project tells the story of Black women maintaining composure and elegance through difficult times. It captures the idea of resilience and strength, even as the world around them changes dramatically and becomes dystopian. Inspired by the nostalgia of the 1990s, when human connection seemed simpler and easier, this narrative uses elements of '90s hairstyles and Jackie Kennedy-inspired fashion to highlight the tension between the past's simplicity and the complexities of the present. Michael Acheampong Through my camera lens, I capture the way women and girls from the Romanian village of Mila 23 harmoniously merge with their surroundings, whether dressed in their regular or traditional clothing. Their garments, often simple and practical for daily life, echo the colors and textures of the Danube Delta, from the soft hues of their skirts to the delicate embroidery of their traditional dresses. These women, grounded in tradition yet living in the present, blend effortlessly with the serene landscape of the delta, as if they are a natural part of its timeless rhythm. Mioara Chiparus This image is part of my series Sankofa, which explores diasporic identity: all of us being from different parts of the world and coming together to unite as one. Michael Acheampong Little girls are putting makeup on their faces prior to a folk performance. Somenath Mukhopadhyay This piece was tailor-made for my mom, who modeled for the first time. As the eldest son in a single-parent family, I've witnessed her resilience through many challenging times. To me, my mom embodies both the indomitable spirit and the elegance of a peony. In the summer of 2024, when my mom first wore her newly acquired peony-patterned qipao, the vibrant energy of the large blooming peony immediately captured my attention. The intricate, layered petals of the peony enchanted me and inspired the creation of this photographic artwork. Taolue YuVote for your favorite here!Travel A group of tourists eat at a restaurant in the San Telmo neighborhood of Buenos Aires. Apolo Sales This was taken very early during the long Alaskan sunrise over the Inuit village of Mekoryuk, Alaska. The village is one of the last still thriving on Nunivak Island, about 30 miles off the west coast of Alaska. The photo depicts the morning sun striking a row of colorful houses very near the inlet leading to the Bering Sea. Brady Linkous Local houses in Hamnoy in Lofoten, Norway. This a very popular spot to take photos, yet it is equally as scenic still. The entire setting is just beautiful. Casper Sorensen During a serene morning in Vietnam, I captured these women harvesting vibrant water lilies. Their graceful movements and the floating blossoms created a mesmerizing blend of tradition and natural beauty. Erhan Coral This photograph was taken at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia. The lens captured the subtle vitality present within this tranquil environment, revealing a transition to a world without boundaries. This work employs a fresh perspective to explore the vastness of existence and the perpetual essence of life. Michelle Lau A foggy morning in downtown Dubai with the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, as the main subject. Greg Metro A horse and its carriage in the colorful town of Izamal in Yucatn, Mexico. Mikel Camara A Bhutanese woman dressed in traditional kira attire is carefully spreading spices under the sun against a backdrop of a traditional Bhutanese wall. The setting reflects the vibrant culture and resourcefulness of Bhutanese life. Bhutan, a picturesque kingdom perched atop the Himalayan hills, experiences harsh winters, compelling its people to dry and store vegetables and spices during the warmer months. This practice ensures sustenance during the extreme cold, when venturing outside becomes difficult. The scene captures a harmonious blend of tradition, resilience and natural beauty. Moumita Sarkar This photo captures a fisherman on Inle Lake in Myanmar. Inle is also a nature resource lake where many different species live. Fishermen living around Inle Lake are making a living by traditional fishing. This is their lifestyle. Inle Lake, which is booming in tourism, is also a place where you can fully enjoy the beauty and peaceful waters. Myo Minn Aung A group of workers unloads paddy straw from a truck in Kazipur Upazila, Sirajganj District, Bangladesh. Farmers use paddy straw as food and bedding for their livestock. Also, paddy straw is used for various other purposes including house canopies and a form of biofuel. Syed Mahabubul KaderVote for your favorite here!Drone/Aerial This photograph beautifully captures the traditional process of soy sauce production in Vietnam, showcasing the country's deep agricultural heritage. The overhead perspective highlights rows of clay jars, each containing fermented soybeans, a crucial step in the centuries-old craft of making soy sauce. The workers, dressed in vibrant attire and iconic conical hats, add life and movement to the scene, reflecting the human effort behind this staple ingredient. The image not only celebrates Vietnam's expertise in soy sauce manufacturing but also underscores the harmonious blend of tradition, labor and culture in agricultural practices. Betl Simsek The photo is an arial shot of a basketball court taken in a tropical environment where the court blends in nicely with the surrounding nature. Casper Srensen The Bentonite Hills in Utah are a surreal landscape shaped by millions of years of geological processes. These hills owe their vibrant, swirling colorsreds, purples, blues and graysto bentonite clay, formed from volcanic ash compressed and altered over time. Rich in iron oxides and other minerals, each layer tells a chapter of Earths history, while the soft, erodible clay constantly shifts, reshaping the terrain with every rainfall. This fragile, ever-changing land is a visual timeline of natures artistry. From above, as captured in this aerial image, the hills resemble a living painting. Their mesmerizing bands ripple outward, forming hypnotic patterns reminiscent of flowing watercolors. The perspective reveals their intricate textures and vibrant hues in stunning detail, giving the landscape an otherworldly aura. Theres an emotional resonance here, too. The undulating layers evoke the raw intensity of Joaquin Phoenixs "Joker," his face fractured with emotion, much as the hills layers are fractured by time. Both the land and the character seem to share a story of turmoil, beauty and transformation. In the Bentonite Hills, art and geology meet, creating a profound connection between nature, history and the human experience. Marek Bieglaski An aerial view of Nallihan Hill (Girl Hill) in Ankara Province, Turkey, on March 10, 2024. The hill draws visitors due to its proximity to the Bird Paradise wildlife sanctuary and its geological structure. Erin Ertrk As winter and spring drew to a close, the coastal ice floes were gradually fragmenting. The time had come for this family to embark on a great odyssey across the drifting ice floes, a world in perpetual change. In this unstable environment, every day is a new adventure, where instinct and adaptation become essential to their survival. Florian Ledoux As a tropical nation situated near the equator, Vietnam experiences snowfall so infrequently that it's almost mythical. Thus, capturing the fleeting beauty of snow on Fansipan's summit is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that feels almost surreal. Le Viet Khanh Farmers in Rajshahi, Bangladesh, are harvesting paddy from paddy fields. The workers create a beautiful view from above as they cut the paddy and line it up for drying, which helps to dry the paddy quickly and evenly. A few farmers are harvesting paddy by hand using sickles in the traditional way of Bangladesh. Workers labor from early morning to late evening every day. It is very hard work. Md Bipul These natural reeds are a refuge for birds that migrate there in the winter, but the beautiful lagoon of Bandar Anzali has been set on fire by a group of profiteering and land-grabbing people. Mohammad Varaseth Workers process dried fish at Bangladesh's largest drying factory in Chittagong, preserving tradition with sun-dryinga centuries-old method. This profession sustains many fishing families, showcasing resilience and cultural heritage. Muhammad Amdad Hossain An aerial tapestry unfolds over the ground of the Ijtema religious gathering in Dhaka, Bangladesh, where hundreds of vibrant canopies drape the landscape, forming a breathtaking mosaic of colors from above. Each tent, a testament to the diverse tapestry of cultures and nationalities, converges under the open sky, reminiscent of a cultural kaleidoscope. Amid the sea of colors, unity resonates as Muslims from around the world gather for the sacred congregation, echoing the spirit of togetherness and devotion. Here, atop the canvas of unity, the second-largest Muslim gathering after hajj, souls converge, woven together by faith and fellowship, as the Ijtema emerges as a timeless symbol of communal harmony and spiritual renewal. Pinu RahmanVote for your favorite here!Natural World Thats a really, really, really big baby! Nothing but smiles after swimming with this extra-curious humpback calf in the crystal clear waters of French Polynesia. In the winter, the Polynesian islands are full of migrating whales, coming to breed and raise their babies. This young female definitely didnt know the meaning of personal space. She kept doing circles around me until mom decided it was time to go. Brittany Ilardi Here you can see the head of a bug calledHalyomorpha halys, known as the brown marmorated stink bug. In addition to compound eyes, they have simple eyes called ocelli that help the insects with orientation and with horizon detection during flight. Thorben Danke A cinnamon-bun-shaped updraft on a tornado-warned storm. Craig Boehm This fascinating bubble coral (Plerogyra sinuosa), if you look very carefully,is often inhabited by tiny creatures such as bubble coral shrimps or, as in this case,by a small ghost goby, about one centimeter long, sitting comfortably on one of its vesicles. Franco Tulli This was taken in Komodo National Park, using a wireless remote. We trekked up into the hills on Komodo Island until we spotted a big dragon moving around in the distance. Most of the dragons we saw were pretty inactive, so seeing one up and about was quite exciting. Once we got close enough, I used a modified pole with the camera attached, my ranger right by my side with his trusty stick. The dragon seemed curious, but not in an aggressive, frenzied way. He continued to go up to the camera, flicking his tongue to smell the lens. It was quite exciting! Leighton Lum Tsukiyotake is a poisonous mushroom that grows on dead broad-leaved trees such as beech trees. The large ones grow to about 12 inches. Every year, there are news reports of people eating them by mistake, thinking they are edible, and becoming poisoned. I like mushrooms that glow at night and fireflies, so in the fall I look for these tsukiyotake and take photos. Dead trees lose their leaves and can no longer produce nutrients. The little remaining nutrients are given to the tsukiyotake, which then glow at night. They glow especially brightly at night after rain, looking like a chandelier in the pitch black forest. On this day, I went to the mountains in the evening to look for mushrooms, and I found a tree with many tsukiyotake growing on it. I thought I would take a picture after the sun went down, but the moon was brightly illuminating the forest that day, so I waited until the moon went down late at night to take this photo. I fixed my camera on a tripod and took the photo with a four-minute exposure time. Mashiro Hiroike A tender moment between a mother polar bear and her 6-month-old cub, playfully embracing on the pack ice north of Svalbard, Norway. This image reflects the deep connection and bond shared between mother and cub, who remain inseparable for two to three years as she prepares him for a life of solitude. Michael Stravrakakis One mantis cannibalizes another on the street. Takuya Ishiguro Taking a photo of a caiman from above is not that easyyou need to be in the perfect place at the perfect time. And that happened! I was walking on a bridge close to a lake, and I saw this young caiman under the bridge and got this photo. Rafael Del Prete At Volunteer Point beach in the Falkland Islands, a group of king penguins steps ashore after a dangerous journey at sea. One penguin raises its head and trumpetsa triumphant call that echoes across the beach, marking their return. For me, this moment was more than a simple observation; it felt like a quiet celebration of lifes persistence and beauty, even in the face of immense challenges. Steffen FoersterVote for your favorite here!The American Experience Ship loading and unloading at Puerto Coln, Panama. Ports on either side of the Panama Canal are incredibly active due to their strategic location. This photo was taken from a small Cessna plane. Alex Visbal At the funeral for a widely celebrated reverend in Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley, an usher proudly escorts parishioners to their seats before the three-hour service begins. Ben Strang This image is showing the aftermath of two hurricanes that occurred within a month at the beach where I live. Hurricanes Helene and Milton destroyed our island of paradise, but we still keep the American spirit alive, especially in these trying times. I was on Anna Maria Island, Florida, with my wife during the two hurricanes. We could see how our neighbors were affected by the storms. We started to drive by these two houses when something caught my eye: the American flag and what it represents during the hurricane. It represents freedom. Many people were affected, but this wont destroy our pride. The American spirit is still alive, because we can rebuild and start anewleaving behind the old and starting with a new foundation. Chris Seman Kane McAllister, a saddle bronc rider from Ronan, Montana, looks upon the Wilsall Rodeo from his camper. David Clumpner Peter Gargagliano and Ben Stieler, members of the Bread & Puppet Theater, float in the Great Salt Lake on a day off from the national tour of their Apocalypse Defiance Circus. Garrett MacLean A biker jumps high on his dirt bike with dust flying all around him, in a scenic setting. I came across an event called "Dust to Dust," organized by a group of adventurers and creatives who gathered in Utah's rugged landscapes to adventure with their bikes. I love photographing action scenes and long wanted to photograph people with their bikes in action, so I jumped on this opportunity and traveled from San Francisco to Utah. Thanks to all of their hard work and adventurous spirits, I came back with some of my most memorable images. The sunset blazing through the red rocks and the golden light hitting the dust made this one of my favorites. Karthik Subramaniam I was traveling in Monument Valley and had gone into the visitor center to buy some souvenirs. While wandering through the handicrafts, I noticed how the three buttes seen through the clean and clear windows of the Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park visitor center felt like hanging pictures on the wall. Kaustav Sarkar I was part of a Joe McNally photo workshop that allowed us to photograph the abandoned Ellis Island Hospital. Known as the "Hard Hat Tour," it takes people to the areas most don't get to see when going to Ellis Island. We were very lucky that morning to get beautiful light coming into the rooms. To think of all the millions of immigrants being brought into that room, for them to see the Statue of Liberty outside this window must have made their trip to America worth all the hardships. Patrick Cashin A crowd watching the solar eclipse on the Mall in Washington, D.C., with the Capitol in the background. Prescott Moore Lassman The former home of Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz, who commanded U.S. and allied forces in the Pacific in World War II, is now haloed by a freeway onramp, an apt example of America's sometimes cavalier attitude toward its past. Nimitz House is located on Yerba Buena Island in San Francisco Bay, near the city. Virginia HinesVote for your favorite here!Artistic This abstract artwork captures the tranquil essence of a sunset on the coast of Mauritius. The image is composed of elongated horizontal bands, blending vibrant orange and pink tones from the fading sun with the deep blue and green hues of the ocean. A thin, glowing line, created by the light of a distant boat, slices across the horizon, serving as a delicate focal point amid the dreamy composition. The horizontal stretching transforms the natural scene into a surreal and meditative interplay of color, light, and motion, evoking a sense of endless calm and infinite beauty. Alexandre Brisson This art portrait of a theater actor uses red to reflect a passionate nature. The doppelgngers symbolize the inner alter ego that exists within every person in this profession, showcasing their complexity. The final result is significantly different from the original and is a product of creative and technical manipulation. I wanted to reflect the duality of the hero's creative nature, so I added fragments of fabric and flowers, adjusted the exposure, and played with warm and cool tones. Anna Tut This image represents a documentation of horse lovers and their emotional bonds with the animals. The image was taken in Portugal of a girl and her beloved horse. It made me think of one of my favorite childhood movies, The Horse Whisperer, where there was a girl and her horse, and how they got through a traumatic event with patience, trust and healing. This can be reflected in many aspects of life and inspire others with such a bond. I think it's all something we can look up to. That's why I want to inspire others with my images, so they can identify and relate to the emotions there. Katarzyna Farkas Since the 1970s there has been a rapid and extreme increase in plastic production, with shocking results. Plastic is now everywhere, even at the bottom of the ocean. Although it's light, durable and strong, it doesn't decompose but rather breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces, called microplastics, that can kill wildlife, release toxins and enter the food chain. Lori Eanes A female cyclist rides in front of the iconic circular opening of the Marie-Elisabeth-Lders-Haus, an extension of the German Bundestag in Berlin. The extension building, a remarkable piece of modern architectural design, is a symbolic connection between the once separate parts of Berlin. Anna Wacker An old photo of the grave of a teenager who was martyred in the eight-year Iran-Iraq War. Everywhere in the world, people who sacrifice their lives to protect their homeland, regardless of their religion, are valuable to their people and will forever be remembered as unforgettable legends of the homeland. Maho This image captures a solitary explorer standing beneath the arc of the Milky Way, enclosed between the vast dunes of the Arabian Peninsula's Rub' al-Khali desert and the cosmic expanse above. I sought to juxtapose a human figure against these two timeless forms: windswept sands below, an eternal celestial vault above. Matteo Strassera This is a portrait of a woman composed from four faces. The sequence shows the time flow: past, present and future. We live in multidimensional time. Mihaela Rogova A face is glimpsed through streaked glass, decorated with flowers. Zamira Sozieva The Mandarin Oriental hotel in Shenzhen is an architectural marvel made of metal and glass. One morning, I captured it at the moment when the rising sun shone on it, making it resemble a golden triangle. Zhaohua ZhuVote for your favorite here!Get the latest Travel & Culture stories in your inbox.

Photograph of Jack Carter (Macbeth), Kenneth Renwick (Second Murderer) and George Nixon (First Murderer) in the Federal Theatre Project production of Macbeth at the Lafayette Theatre, Harlem. Library of CongressOn the nightof April 14, 1936, traffic on Seventh Avenue near 131st Street in New York Citys Harlem neighborhood was at a virtual standstill, the roads jammed for ten blocks. The sort of throngs youd expect for a generational prize fightall of them hoping to get a ticket to the most sensational show in town, a curious adaptation of Macbeth, directed by a dramaturgical wunderkind named Orson Welles under the aegis of the Federal Theater Project, a New Deal program designed to help support the arts.It was an era of artistic and political daring, led by the luminaries of the Harlem Renaissance, and Welles, then just 20 and already a respected interpreter of Shakespeare, was debuting one of the boldest productions in the history of American theater. Welles adapted Shakespeares text himself, significantly revising details, moving the setting from Scotland to Haiti and featuring an all-Black cast. In his staging, Welles also swapped medieval witchcraft for voodoo ritualshence the productions nickname, Voodoo Macbeth.Black audiences initially feared that, in the hands of a white director, the production might make a mockery of Black cultural practices. Such concerns evaporated on that buzzy April night in 1936 at the Lafayette Theater. By all metrics, Voodoo Macbeth was a smash, as critics fawned over the performances, the eye-popping costuming (above) and the voodoo drumming. As one reviewer wrote of a particularly hypnotic moment in the drumming: If it doesnt make you feel the creeps, you are unimaginative indeed.A sparkle always came to Welles eye whenever he thought back on the production. By all odds my great success in my life was that play, he recalled in a 1982 BBC interview. Everybody who was anybody in the Black or white world was there. And when the play ended there were so many curtain calls that finally they left the curtain open, and the audience came up on the stage to congratulate the actors.Debuting amid Jim Crow, Voodoo Macbeth not only provided critical work to Black New Yorkers amid the Great Depression150 cast members were involvedbut also elevated Black actors, in New York and beyond: After finishing its sold-out ten-week run at the Lafayette, the production toured cities from Dallas to Indianapolis to Syracuse. At a time of deep racial prejudice, Welles Voodoo Macbeth granted Black Americans some semblance of equalityand on the stage, it allowed them to bewitch the world.Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine now for just $19.99This article is a selection from the March 2025 issue of Smithsonian magazineGet the latest Travel & Culture stories in your inbox.Filed Under: African American History, Great Depression, New York City, Theater, William Shakespeare

JADES-GS-z14-0 is the most distant known galaxy, dating to less than 300 million years after the Big Bang. Scientists were surprised to find oxygen there. ALMA (ESO / NAOJ / NRAO) / S. Carniani et al. / S. Schouws et al. / JWST: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Brant Robertson (UC Santa Cruz), Ben Johnson (CfA), Sandro Tacchella (Cambridge), Phill Cargile (CfA)Scientists have detected oxygen in the most distant known galaxy. Astronomers from two separate research teams made the observations, which were published in the journals Astronomy & Astrophysics and The Astrophysical Journal this month.The new findings challenge our understanding of cosmic historythe detection of oxygen points to the possibility that galaxies formed much more quickly after the Big Bang than astronomers thought.It is like finding an adolescent where you would only expect babies, Sander Schouws, the first author of the paper in The Astrophysical Journal and an astrophysicist at Leiden University in the Netherlands, says in a statement. The results show the galaxy has formed very rapidly and is also maturing rapidly, adding to a growing body of evidence that the formation of galaxies happens much faster than was expected.Oxygen discovered in most distant galaxy known yetWatch on The galaxy, named JADES-GS-z14-0, was discovered last year by NASAs James Webb Space Telescope. Because its light takes 13.4 billion years to reach us, astronomers are actually seeing the galaxy as it was when the cosmos was less than 300 million years oldjust a short blip after the Big Bang, compared to the universes long lifespan. More precisely, when astronomers view JADES-GS-z14-0, theyre looking back to a time when the universe was just 2 percent of its current age.Until now, researchers thought that era was too early for a galaxy to have heavy elements. Galaxies typically start out with young stars that contain only the lightest elements, such as hydrogen and helium. As they evolve, heavier elements like oxygen can formand these can get dispersed across a galaxy at the end of a stars life.But with the help of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), a telescope in ChilesAtacama Desert, the researchers found that the galaxy has around ten times more heavy elements than astronomers would have predicted. The discovery represents the most distant detection of oxygen to date.I was astonished by the unexpected results, because they opened a new view on the first phases of galaxy evolution, Stefano Carniani, an astronomer at the Scuola Normale Superiore of Pisa in Italy and lead author of the paper in Astronomy & Astrophysics, adds in the statement. An artist's illustration of the oldest and farthest galaxy ever confirmed,JADES-GS-z14-0. ESO / M. KornmesserJADES-GS-z14-0s brightness and large size have surprised scientists, reports Ashley Strickland for CNN. In general, galaxies this early in the universe are very different from the famous galaxies we know from the beautiful images of Hubble and JWST, Schouws says in an email to the outlet. They are a lot more compact, rich in gas and messy/disordered. The conditions are more extreme, because a lot of stars are forming rapidly in a small volume.While more research is needed to understand how JADES-GS-z14-0 formed heavy elements, the finding points to the ever-growing potential of space observation to reveal insights on the early universe.I was really surprised by this clear detection of oxygen in JADES-GS-z14-0, adds Gerg Popping, a European Southern Observatory astronomer who was not involved in either study, in the statement. It suggests galaxies can form more rapidly after the Big Bang than had previously been thought. This result showcases the important role ALMA plays in unraveling the conditions under which the first galaxies in our universe formed.Get the latest stories in your inbox every weekday.Filed Under: Astronomy, Astrophysics, James Webb Space Telescope, New Research, Outer Space, telescope, universe

Cool FindsThis Dusty Painting Turned Out to Be Gustav Klimts Long-Lost Portrait of an African PrinceExperts think the renowned Austrian Symbolist painted the artwork in 1897. An art gallery in Vienna has priced it at $16 millionPrince William Nii Nortey Dowuona, Gustav Klimt, 1897 Wienerroither & KohlbacherSeveral years ago, the owners of an old, dusty painting walked into an art gallery in Vienna. They presented experts with a photograph of the work, claiming that it had been painted byGustav Klimt, the famed Austrian Symbolist. A young gallery assistant dismissed them.It was not imaginable that this was a Klimt; it was very dirty, Lui Wienerroither, co-owner of the galleryWienerroither & Kohlbacher, tells theWashington Posts Victoria Craw.But the team, wanting to be sure, decided to investigate. Co-owner Ebi Kohlbacher found the couple at a nearby coffee shop, and Wienerroither called the art historianAlfred Weidinger.The painting, which depicts an African prince, turned out to be a genuine Klimt. Now, the piece is on display at TEFAF Maastricht, an art fair in the Netherlands, where its expected to sell for over $16 million. Gustav Klimt, the renowned Austrian Symbolist Josef Anton Trka / Public domain via Wikimedia CommonsBorn in 1862, Klimt founded theVienna Secession movement, a school of painting that rejected Austrian academic standards. Klimt is famous for his use of gold leaf in paintings such asThe Kiss (1908),Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I (1907) andJudith and the Head of Holofernes (1901).Though unsigned, the two-foot-tall portrait is stamped with a symbol indicating that its almost certainly from the estate of Gustav Klimt, as Weidinger says in a statement, per the Washington Post. The artwork had been auctioned off in 1923five years after Klimts deathbefore changing hands several times. Since the 1950s, its been part of a private collection.Weidinger identified the painting as Klimts portrait of Prince William Nii Nortey Dowuona, a leader of the Osu tribe in modern-day Ghana. AsArtnets Brian BoucherTiergarten am Schttel, a zoo that sometimes also staged exhibitions of people.The Kiss, Gustav Klimt, 1908 Gustav Klimt / Public domain via Wikimedia CommonsWith his friend, artistFranz Matsch, Klimt observed a display of the prince and some 120 members of his tribe. This group had made the 53-day journey to Vienna to participate in a Vlkerschau, a kind of exploitative ethnographic exhibition popular in Europe in the 1800s and 1900s. For some six months in Vienna, they were observed by about 10,000 people per day.These people were dehumanized in these exhibitions,Marie Rodet, a historian at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, tells the Washington Post. They were used and exploited, and in a context in which actually it was almost about affirming the superiority of the white race over the rest of the world.After the exhibition, both Klimt andMatsch painted the prince. Weidinger thinks that a patron had commissioned both artists but ultimately chose Matschs version, which explains why Klimts is unsigned, per Artnet. While Matsch depicted the prince head-on against a solid green background, Klimt painted him from the side against a floral backdrop.Flowers were a common motif in Klimts early work, such asPortrait of Sonja Knips (1898), when he was honing his decorative style, according to Wienerroither. The artist would paint The Kiss about a decade later.In recent years, Klimt paintings have fetched astonishing sums at auctions. His long-lostPortrait of Miss LieserLady With a Fan (191718) sold for more than $108 million in 2023. Wienerroither tells the Washington Post that $16 million is a very reasonable price for the princes portrait.Klimt gives him such a dignity and warmth, Wienerroither adds. It is touching, because you feel this is a person you know.Get the latest stories in your inbox every weekday.Filed Under: Africa, African History, Art, Art History, Arts, Austria, Colonialism, Cool Finds, European History, Painters, Painting, Portraiture

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