The Atlas Obscura Podcast

World’s Loneliest Tree

08 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

About 400 miles south of New Zealand, on the subantarctic Campbell Island / Motu Ihupuku, stands a Sitka spruce whose nearest neighbor is 170 miles aw...

Million Dollar Point

07 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We visit Vanuatu in the South Pacific and go underwater to visit a very strange place from a very strange episode at the end of World War. READ MORE ...

Atlas Obscura 101

06 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We’ve made 100 episodes of the show and figured it was time to hear from the people who make it happen. Enjoy! (And go back and catch up on any epi...

Milo Bitters

02 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A listener in Lawrence, Kansas takes us on his journey of discovering the secrets of his hometown. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.a...

Arecibo Observatory

01 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This site, and the enormous telescope that sits on it, is loved and lost to both scientists and everyday Puerto Ricans. READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https:...

Big Bertha Drum

31 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

She’s about 8 feet wide and 500 pounds. And her history spans all the way from the stockyards of Chicago...to a nuclear test during the Manhattan Pr...

Åtvidaberg Sun Cannon

30 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Sun cannons have been around since the 1600s. But as far as we know, there’s only one left that’s still up and running. We pay it a visit. READ M...

Dead Companions

26 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We nearly stump host Dylan Thuras with a seemingly simple question: Who are the top five dead people he would like to go on a road trip with? Hosted b...

The Tank

25 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

An industrial water tank-turned-concert hall in the high deserts of Colorado is nothing less than a sonic wonder of the world. READ MORE IN THE ATLAS...

Beishan Broadcast Wall

24 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

On the tiny Kinmen Island, a bow-tie-shape strip of land between China and Taiwan, sits a giant weaponized wall of sound that still stands--and still ...

Places with a Purpose

23 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

There are tens of thousands of entries in the Atlas -- In these episodes, we hear from the people who sift through them, Jonathan and Michele, and hea...

American Chestnut Foundation

19 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The story of the unimaginable destruction of the American Chestnut tree and the group of scientists, academics and tree lovers who are desperately try...

Traveling While Aging

18 Aug 2021

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 comp...

Mississippi River Basin Model

17 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A walk through this scale model has you feeling like a giant, and striding from Baton Rouge to Omaha in an hour. LEARN MORE about the model and the g...

Forbes Pigment Collection

16 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A repository in Cambridge, Massachusetts holds over 2,700 pigments that’ve been quietly coloring the world around us since the beginning of human hi...

The White Squirrel of Prospect Park

12 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Our team goes on a quest to find Prospect Park’s elusive -- and perhaps most magical -- resident rodent. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. S...

Vigeland Mausoleum

11 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

On the outskirts of Oslo, Norway, there’s a mausoleum some say is the city’s “best kept secret.” It’s the underrated masterpiece of a mostly...

The World’s Oldest Living Things

10 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Artist Rachel Sussman takes us on a tour of the world's oldest living things, which she’s been documenting for 10 years. READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: h...

The Shrek Donkey of Barron Park

09 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We visit a park in Palo Alto, California, home of the world’s most famous donkey. READ MORE IN THE ATLAS https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-do...

Malcolm and the Mermaid

05 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Host Dylan Thuras chats with author and podcaster Malcolm Gladwell about a beloved Disney movie, and the deeper questions it raised about the stories ...

La Piedra Movediza

04 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A huge rock, teetering on the edge of a hill for thousands of years, brought tourism, fame, and what’s said to be a 100-year curse to the town of Ta...

Winchester Mystery House

03 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Does this sprawling mansion in San Jose, California live up to its reputation as one of the most haunted places in the world? Read more in the Atlas: ...

Salton Sea

02 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The story of how humans desperate for water created a lake the size of the city of Los Angeles. And then, how that thirst turned toxic. Read more in t...

The Boiling River

29 Jul 2021

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.atlasob...

The Village Where Every Person’s Name Is a Song

28 Jul 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 Kalamazoo Gals of the Old Gibson Guitar Factory

27 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The story of the women who stepped up to produce thousands of guitars during World War II, only to be written out of the history. Read more in the At...

The Family Tree

26 Jul 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 ...

Beale Treasure

22 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Grab your pickaxes, your shovels, and your code breaking supercomputers because today we’re going on a treasure hunt. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWi...

Kilwa Kisiwani

21 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We dig through more than 1,000 years of dirt, history, colonialism, and myth on the Swahili Coast. Read more in the Atlas https://www.atlasobscura.co...

Oh The Places We Could Go!

20 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

There are tens of thousands of entries in the Atlas -- today we meet the people who sift through them. Learn more about submitting to the Atlas here: ...

Josephine Baker’s Chateau

19 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Writer and travel educator Tracey Friley tells the story of the glamorous life of entertainer, French Resistance agent, and civil rights activist, Jos...

Sputnik IV Crash Site

15 Jul 2021

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....

Spacecraft Cemetery

14 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Where does space stuff go after it dies? To this spot deep, deep in the Pacific Ocean. Read more in the Atlas: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/spa...

Catalina Island Bison Herd

13 Jul 2021

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...

The Baalbek Trilithon

12 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This ancient temple complex in Northern Lebanon is one of the most well-preserved Roman ruins on earth, and one of the most overlooked. Read More in ...

Introducing Toxic: The Britney Spears Story

09 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Comedians Tess Barker and Babs Gray, who you might know from Lady to Lady or the now legendary Britney’s Gram podcast, are here to bring you a brand...

Harvard Bridge Smoots

08 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

How an MIT fraternity pledge instituted a new, unique unit of measurement. Read more in the Atlas: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/harvard-bridge...

Valley of the Whales

07 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The fossils of Wadi al-Hitan (Valley of the Whales) in Egypt give us a glimpse of a remarkable evolutionary history. Read more in the Atlas: https://...

Dude Chilling Park

06 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A renegade art project in Vancouver galvanized a small community, pitted residents against city government, and ultimately resulted in a new name for ...

A (Quick) 4th of July Greeting from the Largest Pothole in the World

05 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Host Dylan Thuras convinces his family to stop at this most unusual attraction in Pennsylvania Read More in the Atlas: https://www.atlasobscura.com/pl...

Museum of Broken Relationships

01 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This episode will break your heart. And that’s a good thing. Read More in the Atlas: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/museum-of-broken-relations...

Science that Doesn’t Stop

30 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Host Dylan Thuras riffs on a subject that has long fascinated him: the world’s longest-running science experiments. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz...

Shoreham Power Plant

29 Jun 2021

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...

The Danse Macabre

28 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Mortician Caitlin Doughty gives us a dance lesson in the two-step we were all born to do. Check out Doughty’s ‘Ask a Mortitican’ series here: ht...

Beechey Island Graves Part 2

24 Jun 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...

Beechey Island Graves Part 1

23 Jun 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...

Pics or it Didn’t Happen - Part 2

22 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A few weeks ago we dropped an episode debating whether technology has helped or hurt our modern travel experience. It sparked a lot of reaction, and w...

Ubatuba Whale(s)

21 Jun 2021

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,...

Women of the Black Panther Mural

17 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A 30-foot tall mural on the side of a house in West Oakland is teaching an often left out part of the history of the Black Panther Party-- the women w...

Cebritas de La Paz

16 Jun 2021

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: ...

Museum of Quackery and Questionable Medical Devices

15 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We visit what might be the world’s largest collection of fraudulent, nefarious, or otherwise ineffectual medical machinery -- and meet the founder w...

Historic Myrtle Beach Colored School Museum & Education Center

14 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The story of a community that came together in the 1930s to build this schoolhouse, and then came together again several decades later to build it a s...

Best Summer Ever (Tell Us About It)

11 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Calling all listeners! We want to hear about your memorable summer travel experiences: road trips, unforgettable places, summer traditions, magical me...

Moses Gates and the Chrysler Building Eagles

10 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Urban planner, Moses Gates, shares his unlikely experience with the residents of the 61st floor of one of New York City’s most iconic buildings.. H...

Booming Dunes

09 Jun 2021

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...

Bolton Strid

08 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Some say this little burbling creek is “the deadliest body of water on Earth.,” Read more in the Atlas: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/bolton...

The Heidelberg Project

07 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We take you to the east side of Detroit, where an artist transformed a largely abandoned street into an immersive, living museum -- which grew into so...

Newark Earthworks

03 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Built by indigenous people thousands of years ago, the Newark Earthworks are part cathedral, part cemetery, and part astronomical observatory. But tod...

Re-up Your Luck

02 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We explore the power luck has on us all, rational or not, through the unlikely places people go to re-up Read more in the Atlas: https://www.atlasobsc...

Clausland Mountain Tunnels

01 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Under the forests of Nyack, New York lays a series of dark and decrepit tunnels with militaristic roots but now attract graffiti artists and plenty of...

National Corvette Museum Sinkhole

31 May 2021

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....

Jatinga Bird Deaths

27 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

An Indian village is home to one of the world’s oldest and greatest ornithological mysteries Read more in the Atlas: https://www.atlasobscura.com/pl...

Library of Mistakes

26 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A carefully curated collection of miscalculations in Edinburgh, Scotland serves as a warning for our gullibility, especially when it comes to money. ...

Glaum Egg Ranch

25 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A ranch on the outskirts of Aptos, California features a magical machine that dispenses music, joy, and 18 of the freshest eggs in the land. Read more...

Spite Houses

24 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Home is where the grudge is. We survey a special kind of architecture that is both petty and personal. Read more in the Atlas: https://www.atlasobscur...

Hitler’s Toilet

20 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

It roamed the seas, served an evil dictator, survived a war, and ended up in a New Jersey auto-repair shop bathroom. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz ...

Mafra Palace Library Bats

19 May 2021

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-p...

Wonders in Your Backyard

18 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

You’ve been leaving us messages about the strange and wondrous places in your towns, like the world’s largest tin soldier, the home of the first p...

Disgusting Food Museum

17 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Open your minds and steel your stomachs as we go to a food museum in Sweden that challenges what exactly makes something delicious… or disgusting. R...

Basilica Cistern

13 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

An old friend takes us under the streets of Instanbul and into an encounter with Medusa. Read more in the Atlas: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/...

National Museum of Health and Medicine

12 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A boxy, Brutalist building in Silver Spring, Maryland contains one of the greatest collections of disease, injury, and human body bits ever assembled....

Mike the Headless Chicken

11 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The strangest, most famous resident from this Colorado town happens to be a headless fowl. Read more in the Atlas: https://www.atlasobscura.com/place...

Puffin Patrol

10 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We go to the Westman Islands off the southern coast of Iceland and meet the heroes who save young birds that have wandered from their nests every summ...

Pics or it Didn't Happen?

06 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

There was a time when we didn't walk around with computers in our pockets and exploring a new place required a paper map. In this episode, we dig into...

Sourdough Library

05 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Inside a living, breathing collection of sourdough starters in Belgium. Read more in the Atlas: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/sourdough-librar...

Brooklyn Latrine

04 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A listener tells us about a treasure buried in his literal backyard, and the two strange men who showed up on his doorstep and asked to dig it up. Hos...

The Institute of Illegal Images

03 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A mind-tripping place where the art stands out not because of what's on them but what's in them. Read more in the Atlas: https://www.atlasobscura.com...

The Belt and Berm, Part 2

29 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A special journey told in two parts, beginning with the world’s largest conveyor belt in the Western Sahara and ending on your dinner plate Read mor...

The Belt and Berm, Part 1

28 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A special journey told in two parts, beginning with the world’s largest conveyor belt in the Western Sahara and ending on your dinner plate. Read mo...

A Memory Made in Malawi

27 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Today we flip the focus from the memorable places we visit to the memorable people we meet on our adventures. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company...

The 49th Parallel

26 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A listener takes us to a town on the edge of the longest undefended border in the world. Our theme and end credit music was composed by Sam Tyndall. H...

Hachiko

22 Apr 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.atlaso...

The Thousand-Year Rose

21 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The world's oldest rose is so tough it survived being bombed in World War II. Read more in the Atlas: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-thousand...

Narcisse Snake Dens

20 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A Canadian community comes together to save its slithering neighbors... the largest single concentration of harmless garter snakes in the world Read m...

Communist Mummies

19 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Humans have a primal need to honor their dead. We take you on a tour of our favorite communist mummies. Read more in the Atlas: https://www.atlasobscu...

President Heads

15 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Giant busts of U.S. presidents are slowly crumbling in a field in Virginia. Read more in the Atlas: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/president-hea...

How I Learned to Love Las Vegas

14 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A spectacular art installation is hidden inside an all-luxury shopping mall in Las Vegas. Read more in the Atlas: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places...

Frank Lloyd Wright’s Burnham Block

13 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Six tiny houses built for working class people form the largest intentional cluster of Wright homes anywhere. Read more in the Atlas: https://www.atl...

Zone Rouge

12 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A swath of land in Northern France still bears scars of the destruction of World War I. Destruction so bad that, in some cases, humans have never been...

Grasshopper Glacier

08 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A rapidly disappearing glacier holds the key to a forgotten species, a century-old entomological mystery, and… an opera. Read more in the Atlas: htt...

Hope Cemetery

07 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A graveyard in the “Granite Capital of the World” pays tribute to stone cutters and artisans who are buried amongst the sculptures they created. R...

Pyramiden

06 Apr 2021

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 Simpl...

The Root Bridges of Cherrapunji

05 Apr 2021

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/...

Kulning

01 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

For centuries, herdswomen in Northern Sweden have lured cows home with haunting melodies. Read more in the Atlas: https://www.atlasobscura.com/article...

Gold Medal Flour

31 Mar 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. Rea...

Merrymount

30 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

How an English party animal turned 1620s-era Quincy, Massachusetts into the world’s least likely party town. Read more in the Atlas: https://www.atl...

The Gray Man

29 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A South Carolina ghost story is a harbinger of hurricanes and a window into history. Read more in the Atlas: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/sou...

The Grave of Miss Baker

25 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Visitors leave bananas on the grave of “America’s First Lady of Space,” an early astronaut whose incredible life was forgotten. Read more in th...

Minister’s Treehouse

24 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The world’s biggest treehouse was inspired by a message from God. Read more in the Atlas: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/ministers-tree-house ...

Seljavallalaug Swimming Pool

23 Mar 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.atlasobscura...