The Atlas Obscura Podcast
Episodes
Welcome to Provincetown
22 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We're sharing with you a new Witness Docs show: Welcome to Provincetown, a documentary podcast in the vein of reality television about a small town on...
The Voice at Embankment Station
21 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The voice announcement at Embankment Station in London is unlike any other announcement on the Tube. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See...
Roger Williams Root
20 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The hunt to memorialize Rhode Island’s founder created one of the state’s strangest and most enduring myths.To Learn more about Roger Williams rel...
Lake Lanier
19 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Legends and troubled history lay beneath Lake Lanier in Forsyth County. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information ...
Cranes of the DMZ
18 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between North and South Korea has become an accidental bird sanctuary for one of the world’s most endangered crane spec...
Classic: Wonders in Your Backyard
15 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Occasionally the podcast team requests messages about the strange and wondrous places you experience. These are some of first responses we received la...
Journey to Black Star Square
14 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Producer Baudelaire Ceus brings listeners to Accra, Ghana and a gigantic public square dedicated to Ghanaian independence.READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: ht...
Vilcabamba
13 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This small town in Ecuador was thought to hold the fountain of youth and drew the curiosity of scientists and wellness practitioners alike. READ MORE...
Star Trek Original Series Set Tour
12 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Sets from the original 1960’s Star Trek have been recreated for fans and actors alike in Ticonderoga, New York.READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www....
Disabled Hikers
11 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Syren Nagakyrie set out to make a whole world of incredible beauty more available to millions of people with disabilities - starting with the Olympic ...
Classic: Pyramiden
08 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
An abandoned Russian mining village is literally frozen in time.READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/pyramiden Hosted by Sim...
Congo Square
07 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Congo Square in New Orleans is the heart of where African drumming found its way into American music and the birth of Jazz.READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: ht...
Places Team Favorite Atlas Entries
06 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Jonathan Carey and Michelle Cassidy of the Atlas Places Team bring listeners stories of two of their favorite places that can be found in the Atlas - ...
Amir Siraj and the Interstellar Object
05 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Amir Siraj was a sophomore in college when he discovered what may be the first documented interstellar object to hit earth. Hosted by Simplecast, an...
House the Giants Built
04 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Anna Swan had an adventurous life before settling in Seville, Ohio and building a house large enough to fit her large life. Hosted by Simplecast, an...
Grasshopper Glacier Re-Listen
01 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A rapidly disappearing glacier holds the key to a forgotten species, a century-old entomological mystery, and… an opera. This episode previously a...
Floating Freedom School
30 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This paddleboat gave some Black children a place to learn even when they were denied formal education on land. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz ...
The Hodges Meteorite
29 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This meteorite is one of the very few on record to have hit a human being. READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-hodges-me...
The Goiter Belt
28 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A public health crisis plagued the Midwest until a simple solution was introduced to a ubiquitous cooking ingredient. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz...
Tiny Doors ATL
27 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A number of tiny, mysterious doors scattered throughout Atlanta, Georgia ask viewers to imagine what might be found on the other side.READ MORE IN THE...
The House on the Rock Re-Listen
24 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Join host Dylan Thuras and producer Harry Huggins as they visit the unruly architecture of The House on the Rock - one of the inspirations for Atlas O...
Catalina Island Bison Herd Re-Listen
23 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The strange story of Catalina Island’s herd of bison, and the harrowing story of producer Sarah Wyman’s encounter with these intimidating resident...
National Corvette Museum Sinkhole Re-Listen
22 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Eight rare vehicles at the National Corvette Museum in Kentucky vanish, thanks to a massive sinkhole.Read more in the Atlas: https://www.atlasobscura....
The Cardiff Giant Re-Listen
21 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
All summer we’ve been asking you to send us your summer travel stories. In this installment we hear a listener’s tale of a theological dispute tha...
Leimert Park Re-Listen
20 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Producer Baudelaire Ceus travels to Leimert Park, a unique neighborhood in Los Angeles characterized by its historical relationship to Black liberatio...
Booming Dunes Re-Listen
17 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
An audio postcard from the desert of Badain Jaran in China, home of the Booming Dunes, and possibly the coolest sand sounds you’ve ever heard.Read m...
Garbage Goat
16 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This sculpture in Spokane, WA was created by a"welding nun" decades ago. READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/garbage-eating-g...
The Divorce Colony
15 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
For a brief period the small frontier city of Sioux Falls, South Dakota drew in socialites and celebrities who were desperate to end their marriages.F...
The Cincinnati Subway
14 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
There are two miles of abandoned tunnels beneath the streets of Cincinnati, OH. A relic of an attempt to establish underground transportation in the c...
The Places You Return To
13 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Atlas Obscura listeners share stories from places they love so much they keep going back. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.co...
La Paz Re-listen
10 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In the busy, traffic-packed capital city of Bolivia, we meet the zebras who keep the streets of La Paz safe for its citizens.READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: h...
World’s Oldest Edible Ham
09 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Atlas Obscura’s resident food and death reporter Sam O’Brien takes us to Smithfield, Virginia, where we meet a 120-year-old ham, and the people wh...
Nakagin Capsule Tower
08 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This social and architectural experiment in Tokyo, Japan was once the leading building in a movement attempting to pair construction and biological gr...
Phone Booth on a Roof
07 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The City Hall in Lincoln, Illinois has an unusual architectural appendage with a curious history. READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.c...
Eastern State Penitentiary
06 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The founders of this prison in Philadelphia, PA aimed to revolutionize incarceration for the better - and unintentionally created new horrors. READ...
The Heidelberg Project Re-Listen
03 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We take you to East Detroit, where an artist transformed a largely abandoned street into an immersive, living museum -- which grew into something even...
San Juan Sound
02 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
San Juan Sound is an iconic studio where musicians, engineers, and quite possibly a music-loving ghost carry on the Island’s musical traditions, whi...
Madame Tussaud
01 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Dylan Thuras braves one of New York’s most touristy sites to bring listeners the lesser-known history of Madame Tussaud’s origins. Hosted by Simpl...
Two of Our Favorite Mummies
31 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Jonathan Carey and Michelle Cassidy of the Atlas Places Team bring listeners the stories of two mummies - one preserved in a bog in Jutland, Denmark a...
A Sound Garden
30 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
An orchard of metal poles sits on a hill overlooking Lake Washington. And when the wind blows, this musical sculpture "sings the world into existence"...
The Root Bridges of Cherrapunji Re-listen
27 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In the depths of Northeastern India, centuries-old bridges are not built, they are grown.Read more in the Atlas: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/r...
The Livestock Living at the End of the World
26 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The pigs once plopped on an uninhabited Auckland Island known for capturing castaways now play an important role in modern medical research. READ MOR...
Carhenge
25 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This experimental automotive replica of Stonehenge has become a symbol of the town of Alliance, Nebraska. But residents haven’t always been fans.REA...
Père Lachaise Cemetery
24 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Producer Baudelaire Ceus searches for the resting place of famed author Richard Wright among the graves of other cultural icons like Gertrude Stein, O...
Leaning Tower of Niles
23 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Niles, Illinois is home to an exact replica of Italy’s leaning tower of Pisa - only it’s half the size of the original structure.READ MORE IN THE ...
Not Lost in the Umbrella Covers Museum
20 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Brendan Francis Newnam, the host of the new podcast Not Lost, and Dylan Thuras discuss how getting lost is the best way to find yourself. And Brendan ...
The Places We Return To
19 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Atlas Obscura contributors take listeners to some of the places they loved so much they keep going back.Got your own place that calls you to return ag...
Monongahela Incline
18 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This funicular in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania used to offer coal and steel workers a respite from the smog of industry. READ MORE IN THE ATLAS:https:/...
Goblin Valley State Park
17 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Today the story of how a street lamp, a tangle with municipal government, and a love of the stars led a man to Goblin Valley, Utah a “dark sky certi...
The Last Big Mac in Iceland
16 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Take a trip to a hostel in Iceland to visit the country’s last Big Mac, where the burger’s existence unfolds a story about economics and national...
The Boiling River Re-Listen
13 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A river in the Amazon is so hot that anything that falls into it will die … but how did it get this way?Read more in the Atlas: https://www.atlasobs...
Ruins of Le Jardin d'Agronomie Tropicale
12 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This garden park in Paris, France contains the ruins of a colonial exhibition from 1907.READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/le...
The Maiden of Deception Pass
11 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Thousands of years ago, a young woman named Ko-kwal-alwoot crouched over a set of tide pools, looked into the water, and saw a face looking back at he...
National Ice Core Lab
10 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Scientists in Denver, Colorado store and conduct tests on miles of ice core samples dating back hundreds of thousands of years. READ MORE IN THE ATLA...
Forestiere Underground Gardens
09 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This underground oasis in Fresno, California is a winding maze of rooms and passageways filled with lush citrus trees. READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https:...
Mafra Palace Library Bats Re-listen
06 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A grand library in Portugal has some unexpected nighttime caretakers -- tiny bats. READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/mafra-...
The Noah Purifoy Desert Art Museum
05 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Noah Purifoy was a pugilistic LA artist who eventually filled a 10 acre plot of land in Joshua Tree, CA with his of-kilter art. Noah Purifoy’s Ou...
Upton Chamber
04 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
An underground chamber in Upton, MA puzzled some New Englanders while others long knew its ancient origins. READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.a...
Benin Bronzes
03 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Thousands of masks from the former Kingdom of Benin are spread throughout museums across the world. Is that where they belong? Hosted by Simplecast,...
Hashima Island
02 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Hashima Island in Japan was once the most densely populated place on Earth. Until – almost overnight – everyone left. Additional information for ...
Sputnik IV Crash Site Re-listen
29 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Typically, space junk ends up deep in the Pacific Ocean. This is the story of when it plunged back to earth … onto a street in small-town Wisconsin....
Forest of the Future Library
28 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This forest in Oslo, Norway will provide the trees for paper as part of a century long art project featuring famed contemporary authors. READ MORE IN...
The Last Tenement
27 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The Last Tenement in Boston’s old West End has come to represent everything that can go wrong with urban planning.READ MORE IN THE ATLAS:https://www...
The Timbuktu Manuscripts
26 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
These documents highlight the intellectual legacy of an ancient civilization based in Timbuktu, Mali.READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura....
Islands of America
25 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Writer and island-hopper Anna Marlis Burgard takes us on a tour of three of the 135 strange, incredible, and wondrous islands she’s explored in the ...
Ubatuba Whale(s) Re-listen
22 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We dig into the tales of TWO whales washing ashore along the southeastern coast of Brazil. And learn how one became a scientific marvel and the other,...
Bloody Island
21 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This island between Missouri and Illinois was a preferred meeting place for duels to the death in the early 1900’s. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz...
The Louis Armstrong House Museum
20 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Famed Jazz musician Louis Armstrong’s house in Corona, Queens in New York is now a museum preserving his legacy. READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://...
Gnomesville
19 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A community of kitschy lawn gnomes have taken over an Australian roundabout.READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/gnomesville Ho...
The Ends of the World
18 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Science writer Peter Brannen takes listeners on a tour of the world’s five major mass extinctions. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See p...
Shoreham Power Plant Re-listen
15 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We venture out to Long Island, not for the beautiful beaches, or an Islanders game, or to hang with Billy Joel. We're here to explore the fraught hist...
Listener Encounters with the Unknown
14 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Last month we asked listeners about your encounters with the unknown, and boy did you all deliver! This presents two stories we received from listene...
The Rotary Jail Museum
13 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The only remaining operational Rotary Jail, found in Crawfordsville, Indiana, shows visitors how inmates were once locked within the building’s wall...
Watts Towers
12 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
One of the United State’s most famous pieces of self-built architecture consists of seventeen interconnected towers that rise like inverted ice crea...
Museum of Innocence
11 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This museum built of memories in Istanbul, Turkey was created in a book before it was created in real life. READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atla...
Traveling While Aging (Classic)
08 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Host Dylan Thuras confronts the good and the bad ways travel changes as you move through different life stages. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz com...
Lake Natron
07 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Lake Natron in Monduli, Tanzania can leave welts and burns on human skin but is a bit of a paradise for another animal.READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https:...
Sinchi Warmi Amazon Lodge
06 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Learn how a group of indegnous women in Puerto Misahuallî, Ecuador fought “machismo” to become entrepreneurs and build an eco-friendly getaway. ...
Chemin de la Mâture
05 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This treacherous path cut through a stretch of the Pyrenees Mountains in France may have played a key part in one nation’s quest for international i...
Corpus Clock and Chronophage
04 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Explore a modern landmark in a medieval city. The Corpus Clock in Cambridge, England honors both the past and future of telling time.READ MORE IN THE ...
Gastropod’s “Buried Treasure: Weeds, Seeds, and Zombies.”
01 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Atlas Obscura presents Gastropod’s episode “Buried Treasure: Weeds, Seeds, and Zombies.” Gastropod Hosts Cynthia Graber and Nicola Twilley exami...
The World’s Oldest Living Things Re-listen
31 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
As part of Women’s History Month Atlas Obscura will be sharing some episodes from the archive including this tour of the world's oldest living thing...
The Office of Collecting and Design Re-listen
30 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
As part of Women’s History Month Atlas Obscura will be sharing some episodes from the archive including this conversation with Jessica Oreck who h...
The Kalamazoo Gals of the Old Gibson Guitar Factory Re-Listen
29 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
As part of Women’s History Month Atlas Obscura will be sharing some episodes from the archive including this story of the women who stepped up to ...
Bwindi Impenetrable Forest Re-listen
28 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
As part of Women’s History Month Atlas Obscura will be sharing some episodes from the archive including this story of a national park in Southwest U...
Kulning Re-Listen
25 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
As part of Women’s History Month Atlas Obscura will be sharing some episodes from the archive including this story of how herdswomen in Northern Swe...
Torre Argentina Cat Sanctuary
24 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Criminal and This is Love host Phoebe Judge brings us to the ancient ruins of Torre Argentina in Rome - the site of Julius Caesar’s assasination, ...
Life Changing Locations with the Places Team
23 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Jonathan Carey and Michelle Cassidy of the Atlas Places Team bring listeners two Atlas Obscura locations developed as the result of a life-changing de...
Pyramid of Djoser
22 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Travel to the world’s oldest intact pyramid in Egypt - and learn about the genius who also influenced the fields of architecture, astronomy, and med...
Edna Lawrence Nature Lab with Brian Chesky
21 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
AirBnB founder and CEO Brian Chesky discusses how design experiences, like those found at the Edna Laurence Nature Lab, shape his work. Hosted by Simp...
Good Vibrations Antique Vibrator Museum Re-Listen
18 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
As part of Women’s History Month Atlas Obscura will be sharing some episodes from the archive including this museum’s buzzing collection which hon...
Ford’s Folly
17 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A giant abandoned dam in Sudbury, Massachusetts, marks the inglorious failure of America’s champion of industry to triumph over nature. READ MORE I...
Rhubarb Triangle
16 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Farmers in Yorkshire, England take years to coax their rhubarb plants into a world-renowned delicacy using a century-old technique.READ MORE IN THE AT...
Haitian Monument
15 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The Haitian Monument in Savannah, Georgia was built to commemorate the Haitian soldiers who came to the rescue of Patriots fighting in the Revolutiona...
Kuruvungna Sacred Springs
14 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Eight thousand years ago, this land’s first inhabitants built a village around a sacred spring. And today, in what is now Los Angeles, CA, their des...
Women of the Black Panther Mural Re-Listen
11 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
As part of Women’s History Month Atlas Obscura will be sharing some episodes from the archive starting with the story of how a 30-foot-tall mural on...
Possum Monument
10 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Wausau, Florida’s monument and annual festival celebrate this furry critter’s contributions to the community. READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www...
Elephant Clock
09 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The Elephant Clock, a replica of an ancient invention, sits in Ibn Battuta Mall in Dubai, surrounded by stores like The Gap, and H&M. READ MORE IN TH...
Hotel Theresa
08 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The Hotel Theresa in Harlem, New York played a pivotal role in the influential neighborhood’s cultural identity. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz ...
The Capitol Stones
07 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Gigantic pieces of the United States Capitol rest in Rock Creek Park in Washington, DC - waiting for anyone willing to step off the beaten path. REA...