There's More to That

The famed Route 66 has had many lives. It emerged in an era when cars were new but roads were dangerous and intended for horses. But there were those who imagined a highway that would connect the cities of the Midwest to the West Coast — and Route 66 was born.
During the Great Depression, the roadway helped migrants find their way to new jobs in the West. During World War II, it facilitated the transportation of munitions and armaments en route to the Pacific theater. Later, it became a busy thoroughfare for Americans wanting to explore their country.  Storefronts, towns, gas stations, cafes and much more grew up along its edges. Then, as major interstates became the main byways for traveling Americans, Route 66 fell into obsolescence, becoming more a time capsule than roadway. Today, some of those roadside stops still exist, catering to tourists seeking a dose of unvarnished Americana.
This episode chronicles the origin of the federal interstate system and how Route 66 fits into that history — before the massive tangle of highways and roads we know today were paved and packed with traffic.
To subscribe to “There’s More to That,” and to listen to past episodes about an interactive map commemorating the 250th anniversary of the United States, the ongoing fascination with the sinking of the ’Edmund Fitzgerald’ and the moving return of personal belongings to the Rosebud Sioux tribe, find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts.
“There’s More to That” is a production of Smithsonian magazine and PRX Productions. 
From the magazine, our team is Ari Daniel, Debra Rosenberg and Brian Wolly. From PRX, our team is Ali Budner, Cleo Levin, Genevieve Sponsler, Sandra Lopez-Monsalve and Edwin Ochoa. The executive producer of PRX Productions is Jocelyn Gonzales.
Fact-checking by Stephanie Abramson.
Episode artwork by Emily Lankiewicz. Images via Library of Congress and public domain.

Gretchen Kay Stuart is a wildlife photographer who has cultivated a special relationship with the Cascade red fox. She first spotted the rare animal in 2020 on the slope of Mount Rainier in Washington State. “I instantly fell in love,” she recalls.
So Stuart started documenting the foxes wherever she could. Sometimes she’s witnessed tragic endings, but other times, the outcome has been more rewarding. For instance, she received exclusive access to photograph a family of these foxes, and her documentation is helping bring awareness to this subspecies that has only 50-some individuals remaining.
In this episode, host Ari Daniel talks to Stuart and Jocelyn Akins of the Cascades Carnivore Project about what makes these foxes special, the threats they’re facing, and what’s being done to keep them from going extinct.
A transcript is below. Stuart’s favorite Cascade red fox photograph will be featured in a new exhibition, “The Nature of Hope,” celebrating the life of Jane Goodall. The image is also part of a fundraiser sponsored by the conservation group Vital Impacts to benefit the Jane Goodall Institute.
To subscribe to “There’s More to That,” and to listen to past episodes about a prehistoric cave that entombed animals for millennia; the teeming world of migrating birds, bats and bugs above our heads; and the army of experts and citizen scientists devoted to protecting native bees, find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts.
“There’s More to That” is a production of Smithsonian magazine and PRX Productions. 
From the magazine, our team is Ari Daniel, Debra Rosenberg and Brian Wolly. From PRX, our team is Ali Budner, Cleo Levin, Genevieve Sponsler, Sandra Lopez-Monsalve and Edwin Ochoa. The executive producer of PRX Productions is Jocelyn Gonzales.
Fact-checking by Stephanie Abramson.
Episode artwork by Emily Lankiewicz. Images by Gretchen Kay Stuart and public domain.

In March of 1776, Abigail Adams — who would go on to become the nation’s second first lady — wrote a letter to her husband, John Adams, as he and the other founders were debating independence. She wrote, "I desire you would remember the ladies and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors. Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the husbands."
A common contemporary interpretation is that Abigail Adams was advocating for women’s suffrage and rights more broadly. But most historians offer an alternative understanding. They believe that she was condemning husbands who had unchecked power over their wives.
In this episode, host Ari Daniel speaks with historian Cassandra Good about the role of women in revolutionary America, the importance of this letter at the time, and how it has been interpreted since.
A transcript is below. To subscribe to “There’s More to That” and to listen to past episodes about Smithsonian magazine’s interactive map to celebrate the 250th birthday of the United States, the discovery of an enslaved man’s narrative about his fight for freedom, and a baseball field resurrected in a World War II-era Japanese internment camp, find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts.
“There’s More to That” is a production of Smithsonian magazine and PRX Productions. 
From the magazine, our team is Ari Daniel, Debra Rosenberg and Brian Wolly. From PRX, our team is Ali Budner, Cleo Levin, Genevieve Sponsler, Sandra Lopez-Monsalve and Edwin Ochoa. The executive producer of PRX Productions is Jocelyn Gonzales.
Fact-checking by Stephanie Abramson.
Episode artwork by Emily Lankiewicz. Images via Massachusetts Historical Society / National Gallery of Art and public domain

Snakes bite five million people each year, killing some 125,000 and disfiguring or blinding three times as many. Antivenoms aren’t always readily available where the problematic snakes live. They also can be deadly themselves, as they could induce life-threatening allergic reactions.
Within the last couple years, however, researchers have made substantial progress toward creating safer antivenoms, reducing the chance of anaphylaxis. Some dream of a universal remedy, but venom is a complex brew, and many of its most dangerous components remain unknown to science.
In this episode, host Ari Daniel speaks with journalist Victoria Malloy, who wrote a story for Smithsonian magazine about antivenoms, and researcher Irene Khalek. They discuss the danger of snakebites globally, the history of antivenoms and their traditional manufacture, and the various efforts underway to create safer versions.
To subscribe to “There’s More to That,” and to listen to past episodes about the teeming world of migrating birds, bats and bugs above our heads; a prehistoric cave that entombed animals for millennia; and the army of experts and citizen scientists devoted to protecting native bees, find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts.
“There’s More to That” is a production of Smithsonian magazine and PRX Productions. 
From the magazine, our team is Ari Daniel, Debra Rosenberg and Brian Wolly. From PRX, our team is Ali Budner, Cleo Levin, Genevieve Sponsler, Sandra Lopez-Monsalve and Edwin Ochoa. The executive producer of PRX Productions is Jocelyn Gonzales.
Fact-checking by Stephanie Abramson.
Episode artwork by Emily Lankiewicz. Illustration by Emily Lankiewicz / Images from Paul Starosta via Getty Images and public domain.

In honor of the United States’ 250th birthday this year, Smithsonian magazine has curated an interactive map, “250 Places to Celebrate America.” The map features 250 of the most dramatic, intriguing, and surprising places to visit across the country, spanning ten categories including food, film and oddball Americana.
In this episode, we speak with one of the editors behind the map project. In addition, we interview a preeminent historian and co-host of the podcast “This Day” to discuss the significance of the 250th anniversary, how other national birthdays have been celebrated in the past and the larger context of this moment in American history.
To subscribe to “There’s More to That,” and to listen to past episodes about the growing concerns around human-made objects in orbit hurtling back toward Earth, the vast fleet of shipwrecks at the bottoms of the Great Lakes and the L.A. wildfires as viewed through the eyes of two photographers, find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts.
“There’s More to That” is a production of Smithsonian magazine and PRX Productions. 
From the magazine, our team is Ari Daniel, Debra Rosenberg and Brian Wolly. From PRX, our team is Ali Budner, Cleo Levin, Genevieve Sponsler, Sandra Lopez-Monsalve and Edwin Ochoa. The executive producer of PRX Productions is Jocelyn Gonzales.
Fact-checking by Stephanie Abramson.
Episode artwork by Emily Lankiewicz. Illustration by Emily Lankiewicz / Images via public domain.