25 at 250: A fossilized bison skull and the Friendship 7

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🗓️ 17 April 2026

⏱️ 14 minutes

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Summary

The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History has a new exhibit tracing the rise, near extinction and recovery of the bison. Museum director Kirk Johnson talks about a prehistoric skull at the centerpiece of the story and why it's important for American history.

And, NASA's Artemis II mission made history this month by sending four astronauts farther from Earth than any other humans have been before. But moments like this echo the earliest days of American spaceflight in 1962, when John Glenn orbited the planet three times in a cramped capsule called the Mercury Friendship 7. Mike Neufeld, curator emeritus at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, discusses the history and modern significance of the Friendship 7

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Transcript

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0:00.0	WBUR Podcasts, Boston.
0:07.6	Today, the bison is the largest land mammal in North America.
0:13.7	The Smithsonian unveils fossilized remains of a giant from North America's past.
0:28.2	Yeah. remains of a giant from North America's past. It's Friday, April 17th, and this is here and now anytime from NPR and WBWR, Boston.
0:34.7	I'm Shiko Tha Uri.
0:37.7	Today on the show, we continue our series examining 25 objects that helped tell the story of America in honor of the country's 250th birthday.
0:47.1	Three, two, one, zero, ignition, lift off.
0:53.2	NASA's recent Artemis II mission echoes the earliest days of American spaceflight.
0:58.3	A curator at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum explained the history and modern significance of the Friendship Seven spacecraft.
1:07.3	But first, the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History has a new exhibit tracing the rise,
1:13.5	near extinction, and recovery of America's national mammal. A six-foot-wide skull of an ancient
1:20.1	bison named Junior is the centerpiece of the new exhibit that opens next month. Kirk Johnson
1:25.7	is the director of the National Museum of Natural History.
1:28.3	Here's his conversation with Deb Becker.
1:30.3	The skulls from American Falls Reservoir in Idaho, which is known to be a source for these gigantic bison skulls.
1:38.3	And when you say gigantic, they really are immense. They're much, much bigger than modern bison.
1:43.3	You know, six feet is on the small ends. of them got as much as eight or nine feet wide. When you see these things, you think you're looking at the tusks of mammoths or macedons, not bison horns. So this enormous skull, I mean, is it fragile? How do you even get it from Idaho to Washington? Pack it very carefully, put it in a wood and crate and ship it. It's not fossilized. I mean,
2:04.6	it's not petrified. It's actually still the original bone. So it is somewhat delicate.
2:08.5	Does it have teeth? Yeah, it's got the upper teeth. They don't have the lower jaws for it.
2:13.1	So what was the role of bison among Native American tribes as animals and humans evolved in North
2:21.1	America? How would you describe it? Well, it's sort of an interesting story because bison come
2:24.9	into North America from Asia sometime after 200,000 years ago. So they're here first. Then humans
	...

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