The Atlas Obscura Podcast
Episodes
Civic Musical Road
02 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The grooves cut in this road outside Lancaster, CA play the finale of the William Tell Overture. READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com...
St. Brigid’s Well
01 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
St. Brigid’s well in Clare, Ireland is site integral to the story of how a pagan goddess became a Christian saint. READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://...
The Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office
28 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This office, established by the founder of the American Red Cross, changed the lives of thousands of Civil War soldiers and their families.READ MORE I...
Vermontasaurus
24 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This folk art dinosaur was almost pushed to extinction due to lack of a building permit. READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/...
Lake Karachay
23 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Lake Karachay in Ozersk, Russia is the site of a former secret Soviet Union nuclear facility - that’s inspired art despite the little that’s publi...
Sites of Vision with the Places Team
22 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Jonathan Carey and Michelle Cassidy of the Atlas Places Team bring listeners two Atlas Obscura locations created by people compelled by visions - the ...
Ponyhenge
21 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Lincoln, Massachusetts is home to one of the strangest pony herds you’re likely to see - and it’s been growing for more than a decade. READ MORE ...
The Last Sears in New York City
17 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Producer Johanna Mayer takes a trip to the last Sears in New York City, a Brooklyn landmark, with two people whose lives were shaped by the department...
Extreme Travel with Dave Seminara
16 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Host Dylan Thuras speaks with Dave Seminara, author of the book Mad Travelers, about extreme travel and the people who love it. Hosted by Simpleca...
Panorama of the City of New York
15 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The Panorama of the City of New York a star of the 1964 World’s Fair where it competed for attention with new technology like touch-tone phones and ...
International Cocoa Quarantine Center
14 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Nicola Twilley takes us to suburban London, where a 1000 square meter greenhouse is all that stands between us and the chocapocalypse. Listen to the ...
Milky Seas
10 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Join host Dylan Thuras, a satellite scientist, and a ship captain in search of gigantic swaths of bioluminescence that can radiate up from the surface...
The Theater of Electricity
09 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Step inside the Theater of Electricity in Boston and learn about the World’s Largest Air-Insulated Van Der Graaf Generator.READ MORE IN THE ATLAS:ht...
Leimert Park
08 Feb 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...
Quarantine at Malta Lazaretto
07 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Writers Geoff Manaugh and Nicky Twilley take us inside a crumbling, centuries-old quarantine facility, and we explore the history and future of quaran...
Boulders Beach Penguin Sanctuary
03 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Boulders Beach in Simon’s Town in South Africa, is a destination where sunbathers, tourists, and penguins share both the beach and parts of the town...
Monkey Island
02 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Monkey Island, Cayo, Santigo is an island off the coast of Puerto Rico where more than 1500 imported monkeys have lived and been studied by researcher...
The Citadelle Laferriere
01 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The Citadelle Laferriere in Haiti was built to ensure the island remained free after Haitians defeated French colonizers.READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https...
Bell Ringing of Old North Church
31 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Boston’s Old North Church was cemented in American History by Paul Revere’s famous midnight ride. But now the ringers who play these bells in a ce...
City Museum
27 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In 1993 Bob Cassilly began to turn an old shoe factory into a massive interactive museum that now includes a plane fuselage, caves, and a ten-story sl...
Gorgeous Grotesques with the Places Team
26 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Jonathan Carey and Michelle Cassidy of the Atlas Places Team find beauty and fascination at the sites of warped and bizarre statues in Nuremberg, Germ...
Musk Ox Farm
25 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The Musk Ox Farm in Palmer, Alaska aims to domesticate a species that used to roam the earth at the same time as the sabretooth and wooly mammoth.READ...
Chopin’s Heart
24 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The Church of the Holy Cross in Warsaw, Poland is the final resting place of famed composer Frédéric Chopin’s heart - smuggled there by Chopin’s...
Razzouk Tattoo
20 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Razzouk Tattoo in Jerusalem has given Christian pilgrims permanent souvenirs from their travel for centuries.READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlas...
Great Zimbabwe
19 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Visit the ruins of an ancient economic powerhouse’s capital city, Great Zimbabwe in the nation of Zimbabwe and learn how a colonial empire was deter...
Lily Dale Spiritualist Community
18 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Reporter Sam O’Brien takes us to Lily Dale, the world’s largest surviving community of spiritualists, where she learns (even if you don’t believ...
Relampago Del Catatumo
17 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
There’s an everlasting lightning storm in Northwestern Venezuela that appears in the night sky nearly every night.READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://ww...
Cisternerne
13 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A massive 19th-century reservoir under the city of Copenhagen has been repurposed as a contemporary art cave. We venture inside to learn more about it...
The Museum of Icelandic Sorcery and Witchcraft
12 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Reporter Eric Grundhauser recounts a memorable visit to an unusual museum in Iceland, where he explored the ancient lore of the occult, learned how to...
Organ Stop Pizza
11 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The largest theater pipe organ in the world lives in a restaurant in Mesa, Arizona. Phenomenal musicians play requests while diners feast on pizza.REA...
Alnwick Poison Garden
10 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The Alnwick Poison Garden in England is a place where stopping and smelling the flowers could actually kill you. The garden is dedicated entirely to p...
The Unclaimed Baggage Center
06 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The Unclaimed Baggage Center in Scottsboro, Alabama bills itself as “the nation’s only retailer of lost luggage.” If you’ve ever lost a bag d...
Beer Can House
05 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
John Milkovisch spent 18 years covering his Houston home in beer cans. The house has been preserved for visitors since John’s death in 1988. READ M...
Grandma Ida’s Nut Rolls Gravestone
04 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Resident food and death correspondent, Sam O’Brien, returns to tell us about a grave with a nut roll recipe engraved on it and the layered and touch...
Bwindi Impenetrable Forest
03 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A national park in Southwest Uganda is home to nearly half the world’s population of endangered mountain gorillas. They and the local community rely...
Beechey Island Graves Part 2 Re-Listen
30 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In this two-part series, we venture towards frozen graves tied to an infamous Arctic expedition. We follow two groups of adventurers, separated by m...
Beechey Island Graves Part 1 Re-Listen
29 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In this two-part series, we venture towards frozen graves tied to an infamous Arctic expedition. We follow two groups of adventurers, separated by mor...
Hachiko Re-Listen
28 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
After a profound show of devotion for his master, a dog becomes the symbol of loyalty for an entire nation. Read more in the Atlas: https://www.atlas...
Gold Medal Flour Re-Listen
27 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The crumbled ruins of the world’s largest flour mill became one of Minneapolis’ most prominent graffiti-writing locations, and later a museum.Read...
The Village Where Every Person’s Name Is a Song Re-Listen
23 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In Kongthong, India, every person’s name is a unique song, composed by their mother within a week of their birth, part of a centuries-old tradition....
The Family Tree Re-Listen
22 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
A listener’s voicemail sent us searching for the story of a very special -- and giant -- oak tree Peoria, Illinois, and the family of arborists who ...
Seljavallalaug Swimming Pool Re-Listen
21 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The oldest (maybe) swimming pool in Iceland is a stunning oasis built into the side of a lush hill. Read more in the Atlas: https://www.atlasobscur...
Widow Jane Mine Re-Listen
20 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This old cement mine in Rosendale, New York, has been used as everything from a mushroom farm to a recording studio.Read more in the Atlas: https://ww...
Happy Holidays from the Atlas Obscura Team
16 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The Atlas production team would like to share some of their favorite holiday places as 2021 comes to a close. This episode will be followed by a ser...
Shipwrecked Doritos
15 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In 2006 a massive haul of Doritos was shipwrecked on Hatteras Island on the Outer Banks, leaving its mark on the town forever.READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: ...
The Naica Cave
14 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Professional Adventurer George Kourounis knew he needed to visit the Cave of the Crystals, located nearly a 1000 feet beneath northern Mexico, the mom...
Post Office Bay
13 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Post Office Bay on the Galapagos Islands is a post office that runs on luck and the goodwill of visitors. It has a knack for bringing strangers togeth...
Carousel of Happiness
09 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
A music box given to Scott Harrison while he served in Vietnam inspired him to hand-carve all the animals for the Carousel of Happiness in Nederland, ...
The Past Beneath Our Feet with the Places Team
08 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Jonathan Carey and Michelle Cassidy of the Atlas Places Team catch listeners up on the new and surprising additions to Atlas Obscura that capture thei...
Museum of Minerals and Crystals
07 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This small mineral museum in Dodgeville, Wisconsin is home to plenty of rocks - some of which may rival those in the Smithsonian National Museum of Na...
Lake Nyos - The Deadliest Lake
06 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In 1986 an unknown natural disaster at Lake Nyos in Menchum, Cameroon left more than 1700 people dead in one night - and puzzled scientists. Learn how...
Centers for Disease Control Museum
02 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Visit a museum inside the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia, which documents how public health officials have slowed the ...
Abandoned Chacaltaya Ski Resort
01 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Hear from the caretakers of a ghost town in Bolivia that was once the world's highest ski resort. READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura....
Micropia
30 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Take a trip to Micropia, the world’s only museum dedicated to microscopic organisms and learn about our invisible life companions.READ MORE IN THE...
Tree of 40 Fruits
29 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The Tree of 40 fruits in San Jose California is an horticultural marvel of 40 types of stone fruit trees grafted together to form a living work of art...
Looking for Pawpaws
25 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The Sporkful host Dan Pashman brings listeners on a quest to find a fruit indigenous to North America that has never been industrialized - but may be ...
International Cryptozoology Museum
24 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
It’s easy to dismiss Bigfoot, the yeti, the Loch Ness monster, and other cryptids as far-fetched X-Files fodder. But the International Cryptozoology...
The Jagannath Temple
23 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In a collaboration with our friends at Science Diction, we explore the Indian temple complex that gave rise to the word "juggernaut," which means an u...
Sunny Jim Cave
22 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We follow a long set of wooden stairs deep underground to a sea cave with a mysterious and colorful past, and take in a spectacular, hidden view of th...
Red Sea Blue Hole
18 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This stunning geological marvel just north of Dahab, Egypt has been called the deadliest dive spot in the world. But is that reputation deserved?READ ...
What Makes an Atlas Obscura Place?
17 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Jonathan Carey and Michelle Cassidy of the Atlas Places Team aim to answer the question at the heart of Atlas Obscura - “What kind of place merits a...
The Office of Collecting and Design
16 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Jessica Oreck has spent the last 30 years collecting odd and forgotten objects. Now, they’re all beautifully curated and on display in the Office of...
The Forgotten Songs Sound Sculpture
15 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This unique installation in Sydney, Australia combines art and ornithology, commemorating the calls of the city’s lost birds. Plus, bin chickens!REA...
The Hot Ale Flip
11 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Visit the taverns of colonial America to take a frothy sip of the hot ale flip and how it helped pave the way for contemporary mixology. READ MORE IN ...
The International Church of Cannabis
10 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Travel to Denver Colorado and meet Steve Berke who helped found the first International Church of Cannabis in 2015. READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://ww...
The Plotz Plot
09 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Josh Foer, the co-founder of Atlas Obscura, takes us to a remote patch of land in the Arizona desert, where he built (and later rebuilt) a museum in h...
The House on the Rock
08 Nov 2021
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...
Haw Par Villa
04 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This amusement park in Singapore holds the Ten Courts of Hell, a series of dioramas that depict the kind of horrible fates awaiting people who behaved...
The Capitoline Wolf
03 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Matthew Shifrin, host of the podcast Blind Guy Travels, stops by to tell us about a memorable trip he took to Italy, and a visit with an ancient wolf ...
Cueva de los Tayos
02 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This Ecuadorian cave has captured the attention of government officials, scientists, professional cavers and is home to a particularly rare creature. ...
Yemrehanna Kristos Church
01 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Photographer and author Paul Koudonaris brings listeners to this Ethiopian Church and explores ossuaries, jeweled skeletons, and death practices throu...
Isla de Las Muñecas
28 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
An island filled with hundreds of hanging and decomposing dolls is a window into the sociology of why we pursue experiences that inspire fright, fear,...
Hårgaberget
27 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We send reporter Sarah Wyman to northern Sweden to climb a mountain, explore a grim legend, and listen to the devil’s violin. Listen to Lena Jonsso...
Clown Motel
26 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Tonopah, Nevada is home to the Clown Motel - an inn on the edge of the desert that’s packed with statues and figurines of Clowns. The eerie and full...
The Real Alchemist of Castle Frankenstein
25 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Two members of the Atlas Obscura team go in search of the true story that may have inspired the literary classic, Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein. READ...
The Pennsylvania Firefly Festival
21 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The deep woods of Pennsylvania hold a phenomena that has drawn attention from scientists and people around the world, and was almost recently destroye...
The Great Stalacpipe Organ
20 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The Luray Caverns in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia are home to an instrument draws out the secret sounds of millenia-old stone. READ MORE IN T...
Maine’s Burning Blueberry Fields
19 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Travel to Penobscot, Maine, where one farmer maintains the tradition of burning his crop each year to rejuvenate it the next. READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: ...
The World's Quietest Room
18 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Experience the Orfield Anechoic Chamber: a room inside a concrete bunker that was once known as the quietest place on earth. READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: h...
Glaum Egg Ranch (Re-listen)
14 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In honor of the release of our new book, we bring you another Gastro Obscura Classic: A ranch on the outskirts of Aptos, California features a magical...
Disgusting Food Museum (Re-listen)
13 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In honor of the release of our new book, we bring you another Gastro Obscura Classic: Open your minds and steel your stomachs as we go to a food museu...
Sourdough Library (Re-listen)
12 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In honor of the release of our new book TODAY, we bring you a Gastro Obscura Classic: Inside a living, breathing collection of sourdough starters in B...
The Spritz Cookie Gravestone
11 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Explore the unexpected combination of recipes and graves through the story of Naomi Odessa Miller Dawson’s spritz cookies. This week we’re celebr...
Seashell Shrines and Bones with the Places Team
07 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Places editors Jonathan and Michele are back again with a few new standout entries to the Atlas … including ancient ossuaries and a shrine covered i...
The Last White Deer of Mount Madonna
06 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The story of the white deer on Mount Madonna, the two robber barons who put them there, and the last survivor of the herd. We have a new book coming o...
The Scarpetta House
05 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
From the Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death we move to the Scarpetta house, where full-size reenactments help investigators perfect their skills in...
Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death
04 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Eighteen macabre miniatures housed at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore Maryland have shaped the field of criminal investigation. ...
Magical Summer Memories Vol. 4 - The Magic of Water
30 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
All summer we’ve been asking you to send us your summer travel stories. And in this final installment of summer stories we tackle a topic that trans...
The Mammoth Site of Hot Springs
29 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We sift through the dirt to solve a mystery involving a massive mammoth grave site. We have a new book coming out! It's called Gastro Obscura: a Food...
The Curse of the Kreischer Mansion
28 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Host Dylan Thuras visits a Staten Island mansion with a dubious and vitriolic past, only to learn the site’s curse may not be as obvious as it seems...
Pando the Trembling Giant
27 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Fishlake National Forest is home to the biggest organism by mass on the planet - but this giant is shrinking and an usual group has banded together to...
Magical Summer Memories Vol. 3 - The Cardiff Giant
23 Sep 2021
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...
Rödstensgubben
22 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
A trip to Sweden prompts producer Sarah Wyman to dig into a superstitious story passed through generations about the Red Stone Man. Hosted by Simplec...
Martian Meteorites and Greek Columns with the AO Places Team
21 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Places editors Jonathan and Michele are back again with a few new standout entries to the Atlas … including a spot in Antarctica that’s home to th...
The World’s Largest Collection of Small Versions of Large Things
20 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Artist Erika Nelson didn’t set out in life to necessarily become one of the foremost connoisseurs of large things, but her museum in Lucas, KS is ne...
Magical Summer Memories Vol. 2 – Via Francigena
16 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
All summer we’ve been asking you to send us your summer travel stories. Our second installment in the series follows one listener from London to Rom...
Nepali Folk Musical Instrument Museum
15 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This secluded museum beats the drum for the preservation of Nepal's musical heritage. READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/ne...
The Mirror Lab
14 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
A spinning furnace tucked under the football stadium at the University of Arizona is building giant telescope mirrors. READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https:...
Good Vibrations Antique Vibrator Museum
13 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This museum’s buzzing collection honors vibrator history. READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/good-vibrations-antique-vibra...
Magical Summer Memories Vol. 1
09 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
All summer we’ve been asking you to send us your summer travel stories. This is the first of a series of listener-powered episodes about this magica...