The Atlas Obscura Podcast

The Witch’s Gear

12 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

As the winter solstice and Yule are upon us, we are celebrating these Pagan holidays by talking about the iconic image of the witch, with Pam Grossman...

Palace of Depression

11 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

How one man made someone else's trash into his own treasure ... and how it became a storied part of a New Jersey town.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsW...

Circling The Great Loop on a JetSki

10 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Every year, hundreds of boats circle the waterways of the eastern United States on The Great Loop. But Mike Straub took a different approach, riding o...

Hello, Stranger

09 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Listeners share stories of memorable encounters with strangers – for better or for worse.Plus: We want to hear your stories about your first intern...

Atlas Obscura Presents Sound Influence: Andrea Cruz and Miguel Arteta

06 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This week, we’re presenting Sound Influence: The Art and Soul of Puerto Rico. Rising singer-songwriter Andrea Cruz shares how she fell in love with...

Atlas Obscura Presents Sound Influence: José Rivera

05 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This week, we’re presenting Sound Influence: The Art and Soul of Puerto Rico.   Oscar-nominated screenwriter and playwright José Rivera shares w...

When a Bitcoin Mine Moves Next Door

04 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Many people moved to Granbury, Texas for the peace and quiet. Then, a noisy neighbor moved in – and strange things began happening in town.  Read...

The Ether Dome

03 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The Ether Dome in Boston was once filled with the screams of patients undergoing painful surgeries. In 1846, everything changed with the first success...

Little Caughnawaga

02 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Mohawk ironworkers built many of New York City’s iconic skyscrapers. But simultaneously, they were also building a lesser known neighborhood of thei...

Atlas Obscura Presents Sound Influence: Los Rivera Destino and Jaquira Díaz

29 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This week and next, we’re presenting Sound Influence: The Art and Soul of Puerto Rico. The Río Piedras-based comedy band Los Rivera Destino talk a...

Atlas Obscura Presents Sound Influence: Rita Moreno and Pachyman

28 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Today and tomorrow, we’re presenting Sound Influence: The Art and Soul of Puerto Rico.  Legendary actress, singer, dancer and EGOT winner Rita Mor...

Riding with Dilla

27 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Producer Gabby Gladney sees her South Side Chicago neighborhood in a new light thanks to Mahogany Bus Tours, a local company sharing hidden histories ...

Is This America’s Ugliest Statue?

26 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In the 1880s, an eccentric California dentist gave away free public water fountains in the hopes they would encourage people to drink less alcohol. On...

The Places We’re Thankful For

25 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Listener stories about the places we’re thankful for – from a beloved neighborhood, to an odd and out-of-place house down the block, to a library ...

The Blue Whale of Catoosa (Classic)

22 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Catoosa, Oklahoma is the cite of a massive landlocked whale - and possibly the greatest anniversary gift ever.READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atla...

Bohemians, Bootleggers, and Bogus Bottles: A History of Absinthe

21 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Journalist and food writer Evan Rail considers himself a beer guy, but when a mysterious bright green spirit started shaking up the scene in the Czech...

The Integratron

20 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In August 1953, airstrip operator George van Tassel claimed he was woken up in the middle of the night by an intelligent lifeform from outer space nam...

St. Paul Island vs. the Rat

19 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

On a remote island 200 miles off the coast of Alaska, a community hunts for a single, elusive rat. Read Daniel Wu’s original reporting on the rat ...

The Internet, IRL

18 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Places editors Michelle Cassidy and Diana Hubbell tell us about two real-world places that have been shaped by the internet. Hosted by Simplecast, an ...

We want your stories of places you're grateful for!

16 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Blame it on this time of year, but we've been ruminating a lot on the places we're thankful for. And we want to hear your thoughts for a future episod...

The Wren’s Nest (Classic)

15 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The Wren’s Nest in Atlanta is both a museum and former home of journalist Joel Chandler Harris and a hub for modern storytellers.  Hosted by Simple...

Nate DiMeo’s Personal Memory Palace

14 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Nate DiMeo, host and creator of The Memory Palace podcast, walks us through some of the rooms in his own personal memory palace. We visit his grandfat...

Malaria Bat Roosts

13 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

During the early 20th century, malaria was ravaging the world. We hear the story of Dr. Charles Campbell, who had a plan to cure it. But as it turns o...

The Sul Ross Desk

12 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In the 1980s, a group of friends on the track team at Sul Ross State University hauled a discarded dorm room desk to the top of a mountain. They left ...

San Juan Sounds (Classic)

11 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

San Juan Sounds is an iconic studio where musicians, engineers, and quite possibly a music-loving ghost carry on the island’s musical traditions, wh...

Weed Week: The International Church of Cannabis

08 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Travel to Denver Colorado and meet Steve Berke who helped found the first International Church of Cannabis in 2015. Learn more about it here. Hosted ...

Weed Week: San Francisco Cannabis Buyers’ Club

07 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The San Francisco Cannabis Buyers’ Club was one of the first marijuana dispensaries in the country. Its members were people with AIDS, cancer, and o...

Weed Week: Jirzankal Cemetery

06 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

An ancient cemetery in western China may hold the answer to a question asked by many a stoner: where on Earth did humans first smoke weed to get high?...

Weed Week: Dope Lake

05 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In 1976, an airplane carrying 6,000 pounds of smuggled weed crashed into a remote lake in Yosemite. A group of climbers had a heyday. Read John Long’...

Weed Week: Get Inside the CannaVan

04 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Cannabis is now legal in more than half of U.S. states, but it remains federally illegal – which makes doing research on the plant extremely diffic...

Spooky Week: The Gray Man (Classic)

01 Nov 2024

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...

Spooky Week: The Story of the Mad Gasser with Colin Dickey

31 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In 1944, a strange spate of “gas attacks” in a small Midwestern town reveals what was really lurking in mid-century America. Read Colin Dickey’s...

Spooky Week: Places That Give Us the Creeps

30 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Listener stories about places that give off big creepy vibes – from an abandoned ice factory to a haunted university music building.If you want to ...

Spooky Week: No More Scary Stories at Camp

29 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

To avoid traumatizing kids, many summer camps are banning scary stories. But can a little fun with fear be a good thing? Check out Roxanne Hoorn’s ...

Spooky Week: Elmer McCurdy’s Nine Lives

28 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In 1976, a television crew filming an episode of the show “The Six Million Dollar Man” descended on a rundown funhouse in Long Beach, California. ...

The Smallest Mollusk Museum (Classic)

25 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The Smallest Mollusk Museum in New York City is part of a fleet of tiny museums that might just have a big impact on the world. Hosted by Simplecast, ...

Living on Mars

24 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Kelly and Zach Weinersmith walk Dylan through the practicalities of making a home on the red planet. Check out their book A City on Mars everywhere ...

The South's Hidden Confessional

23 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Outside the French Quarter lies Hidden South, an antique shop like any other. And hidden amongst the oddities is a bathroom full of secrets. Hosted by...

Aftel Archive of Curious Scents

22 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Producer Alexa Lim visits a collection of natural aromas in Berkeley, California. She gets a whiff of some of the world’s lesser known smells, and s...

Bessie Stringfield, Motorcycle Queen of Miami

21 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In the 1930s and 1940s, a young Black woman named Bessie Stringfield decided she’d strike out on her own and hit the road – and ended up crisscros...

The Divorce Colony (Classic)

18 Oct 2024

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 Hogs of Ossabaw Island

17 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Reporter Diana Hubbell brings us to an island off the coast of Georgia, and tells Dylan the story of ​​an eccentric heiress, a daring mission, and...

Skinny Houses

16 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Producer Talon Stradley takes us on a tour of three skinny houses – each with a big story inside. Do these skinny houses have you curious about spi...

A Visit to the Reptile Super Show with Jacob Wysocki

15 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Comedian, actor, and podcaster Jacob Wysocki takes Dylan on a tour of a very special expo: The Reptile Super Show! Listen to Jacob’s full experienc...

The Places We Loved and Lost

14 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We’re bringing you stories about places that you can no longer visit – this time we have stories about a hometown hangout spot, a beloved amuseme...

The Stanley Hotel (Classic)

12 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We go inside a place that some paranormal investigators call the most active haunted location in the world. Before it was known as the inspiration for...

Phone Booth on a Roof (Classic)

11 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The City Hall in Lincoln, Illinois has an unusual architectural appendage with a curious history. Read more about it here. Hosted by Simplecast, an A...

The Most (and Least) Accessible Travel Destinations with Cory Lee

10 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Traveling as a wheelchair user comes with some unique accessibility challenges, but Cory Lee has managed to visit 48 countries and all 7 continents. C...

Spruce Pine, Global Chokepoints, and the Future of Manufacturing

09 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The small mountain town of Spruce Pine provides nearly all of the ultra-pure quartz used to make the world’s semiconductors. When Hurricane Helene n...

Screeching Like Seagulls

08 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A group of seagull lovers in Belgium wants you to sympathize with these birds… by sounding just like them.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz compan...

Spacing Out in South Korea

07 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

After experiencing burn out, South Korean artist WoopsYang decides to take a rest and create an environment for others to space out… by having a com...

It's Spooky Season! We want to hear your stories

05 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We want to know about places that give you the creeps. Places that get under your skin, give you that eerie feeling. And why? Give us a call at 315-9...

Mini Golfing in Myrtle Beach (Classic)

04 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In Myrtle Beach, mini-golf is not so mini. They’re hosting the Mini-Golf Masters, where titans of the tiny game will compete to see who rises to the...

Studying the World’s Largest Parrot Colony with Juan Masello

03 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We head to the cliffs of Balneario El Condor in Argentina to visit a parrot city… and the parrot suburbs. And we meet the biologist who risks his li...

The Diefenbunker

02 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

How 78 toilets exposed a Cold War secret in Carp, Ontario. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our col...

The Goose Who Wore Nikes

01 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In the late 1980s, a goose named Andy was born without webbed feet. A local Nebraskan inventor made him a pair of customized baby shoes and grew to ca...

An Update on California’s Jurupa Oak

30 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This summer we learned about a 15,000-year-old oak tree in California that was facing a potential housing development. Today, we learn its fate. Liste...

Carhenge (Classic)

27 Sep 2024

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...

Small Town, Big Story: The Pennsic Wars of Slippery Rock, PA

26 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Every summer, more than 10,000 people flock to this Pennsylvania town for two weeks for the largest gathering of medieval arts and culture anywhere in...

Small Town, Big Story: Heating Up in Thermopolis, WY

25 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We go to a central Wyoming town, just a couple hours from Yellowstone, that's appropriately named Thermopolis. City of Heat. It’s home to one of the...

Small Town, Big Story: The Giant Omelet of Abbeville, LA

24 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We’re visiting a town 150 miles west of New Orleans in the absolute heart of Cajun country, where every year, thousands of people come from across t...

Small Town, Big Story: The Storytellers of Jonesborough, TN

23 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Every October, amateurs and professionals alike gather in this small town in the Appalachian Mountains to hone their storytelling chops and share them...

Enchanted Hart Haus (Classic)

20 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Steve and Amy Hartbauer have turned their home in residential Denver, CO into a massive mosaic and decade’s long expression of inner inspiration. R...

Our Material World with Ed Conway

19 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Dylan talks with journalist and author Ed Conway about three materials that our entire civilization depends on: salt, copper, and sand. They visit the...

Pining for the Places We Can No Longer Eat

18 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We asked you to send us stories about places you can no longer visit – and nearly everyone wrote in about a beloved closed restaurant. So today, we...

Smith Court

17 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In Boston’s Beacon Hill neighborhood, there was once a revolutionary community for African Americans willing to do whatever it took to maintain thei...

The Hidden History of Eyeliner with Zahra Hankir

16 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Zahra Hankir is the author of the book Eyeliner: A Cultural History. She brings Dylan to three places across the globe where eyeliner plays a key cult...

Roger Williams Root (Classic)

13 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The hunt to memorialize Rhode Island’s founder created one of the state’s strangest and most enduring myths. Learn more about Roger Williams relat...

A Pasta Tour of Italy with Dan Pashman

12 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Cookbook author and Sporkful host Dan Pashman sets out on a research trip across Italy in search of highly regional pasta dishes that he can’t find...

The Day the Tractors Stood Still

11 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In May 2024, tractors across the American Midwest stalled. But that was only the first piece of a much larger story. Journalist Jason Koebler takes us...

Wood Island Lighthouse

10 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Over the course of its 200 year history, the lighthouse on Wood Island in Maine has been home to a celebrity dog, a grisly murder, some mischievous gh...

The Wave Organ

09 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Producer Luz Fleming takes his son to revisit a special childhood spot that just happens to be a San Fransisco gem hiding in plain sight ... in the mi...

Wild Life Week: Rae Wynn-Grant and the Bear (Classic)

06 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant, Ph.D. is a wildlife ecologist specializing in large carnivores. And in this episode she unfolds a mystery for listeners. Hosted by...

Wild Life Week: Why Would a Researcher Pull a Lion’s Tail?

05 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Producer Abbey Perrault takes a trip into the Kenyan savanna, where she meets researchers who are studying how people share space with unlikely neighb...

Wild Life Week: Celery Makes A Nature Documentary

04 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We all love to zone out to a soothing nature documentary. But what you’ll learn about them in this episode will make you watch – and listen! – a...

Wild Life Week: The Female Alphas of Yellowstone

03 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Decades after eradicating its wolves, Yellowstone National Park decided to reintroduce them. In the 1990s, the wolves were thriving—until one wolf d...

Wild Life Week: Exploring Our Alien Planet with Cara Giaimo

02 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The natural world is weird. Dylan talks with Cara Giaimo, co-author of our forthcoming book Wild Life, about the world’s tiniest chameleon, an acrob...

Ottoman Bird Palaces (Classic)

30 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

These miniature mansions and luxurious homes were built for the feathered residents of Istanbul. READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com...

The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum

29 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum is dedicated to telling the stories of the league’s greatest players, its impact on communities, and the game-chan...

Auctioning off Roadside America

28 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Pegged as the “world’s greatest indoor miniature village,” Roadside America was a beloved roadside attraction in Shartlesville, Pennsylvania. Th...

Atlas Obscura Goes Off Assignment: Sa Cabaneta & Provincetown

27 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Saying farewell to summer with a lazy day in Mallorca, and a blustery night in Massachusetts. “3 p.m. in Sa Cabaneta” and “7:10 p.m. in Province...

The Wimbledon Queue

26 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Producer Emma Morgenstern spends nearly 6 hours waiting in a famous line. Will she get into the most exclusive tennis tournament in the world – or ...

Seven Keys Lodge (Classic)

23 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The world’s largest random, assorted key collection located outside Denver, CO, was inspired by a literary infatuation and includes keys to danger a...

Are Cemeteries…Dying?

22 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In 2023, 60% of Americans chose to be cremated instead of having a traditional burial. If that trend continues, do cemeteries need to be worried about...

District Six

21 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

District Six is a neighborhood in Cape Town South Africa that was destroyed under the apartheid regime. Today, a museum stands as a  monument to the ...

Atlas Obscura Goes Off Assignment: To the Swimmer in the Borneo Rainforest

20 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Writer Meghan Gunn meets a stranger in the jungle, and writes him a letter.This essay was edited by Aube Rey Lescure and originally appeared in Off As...

Oh, the Places We Can’t Go

19 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The Atlas Obscura Places team brings us to a dazzling aquarium and a small town in the heart of what was once eastern Pennsylvania’s coal country. T...

Tell Us Your Story: Places To Remember

17 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Maybe it was a mom and pop shop that closed down. Maybe it was a facility that you often used and shut down. Or an art space that was replaced by a ho...

The Lost Boys of Robber’s Cave (Classic)

16 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In 1954, two groups of boys thought they were going to summer camp. But they’d been recruited for a different kind of summer experience.READ MORE IN...

What’s Happening to the Benin Bronzes?

15 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

An update on the thousands of masks from the former Kingdom of Benin. These pieces of art and culture are spread in museums across the world, but a ne...

The Wizard of Wamego

14 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The story of how a former nuclear missile silo in Wamego, Kansas became the site of the largest LSD bust in US history (allegedly). Fore more informat...

Atlas Obscura Goes Off Assignment: The Selinsgrove Speedway and Muriwai

13 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

An evening visit to a racetrack, and a late night walk on the beach. “8:45 p.m. at the Selinsgrove Speedway” was edited by Aube Rey Lescure and “...

A (Store) for the Birds

12 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Mike O’Connor’s Cape Cod store provides supplies for birders, gives away thousands of pounds of free potatoes, and inspires April Fools’ Day-rel...

Travels with Steve and Datsun (Classic)

09 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Today we hear from an Atlas Obscura user who, when he isn’t aboard an icebreaking warship for the Canadian Navy, spends weeks at a time road-trippin...

On the Hunt for Government Treasure with Mitch Yockelson

08 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Investigator Mitch Yockelson, a historian and academic turned archival bounty hunter, has a job that makes for pretty interesting dinner party discuss...

The Museum That Began in One Woman’s House

07 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Mary Maschal set out to document women’s history, unintentionally becoming part of it herself. Learn more about the Women's Museum of History here. ...

Atlas Obscura Goes Off Assignment: To the Father on the Bicycle

06 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A visitor in Cajicá, Colombia sees a stranger on a bicycle, and writes him a letter. This essay was edited by Carey Baraka and originally appeared in...

The Red Book

05 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In the early 1900s, influential psychologist Carl Jung spent more than a decade documenting the strange images that popped up in his unconscious mind ...

Road Trip Week: Meramec Caverns (Classic)

02 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This giant limestone cave outside of St. Louis, MO. is home to a combination of kitsch and world-class scenery.READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atl...

Road Trip Week: Exploring the Borscht Belt with Marisa Scheinfeld

01 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Dylan is joined by Marisa Scheinfeld, a photographer who has dedicated years to exploring the lost and abandoned properties of the Borscht Belt. A str...