In Focus delivers deeper coverage of the political, cultural, and ideological issues shaping America. Published daily by senior writers and experts, these in-depth pieces go beyond the headlines to give readers the full picture. You can find our full list of In Focus pieces here.

“Everybody that thought about the 1619 Project … saw that the Smithsonian had fingerprints on it,” Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch III once said with pride — a curious boast given the project’s many inaccuracies. But a visit to one of his museums reveals that the reverse is also true.