The Atlas Obscura Podcast

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...

Road Trip Week: Listener Stories

31 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

You bring us road trip stories from all over the globe. Along the way, we hear about encounters with wild boars, a visit to a famously large ball of ...

Road Trip Week: Alone with a Camera in the Desert

30 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Strap on your hiking boots and say goodbye to your spouse. We’re pulling off the highway and going on a trek through Dinosaur National Monument with...

Road Trip Week: Where to Go

29 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It’s Road Trip Week! Dylan hops in a (virtual) car and embarks on a Great American Road Trip. Along the way, Atlas Obscura staffers recommend their ...

The Theater of Electricity (Classic)

26 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Step inside the Theater of Electricity in Boston and learn about the World’s Largest Air-Insulated Van De Graaff Generator.READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: h...

Our Lives Through Hollywood’s Eyes

25 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Writer and journalist Walt Hickey joins Dylan for a conversation about the different ways film and television have impacted us and our real world surr...

The Arrow Stork

24 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The story of a stork, a spear and a scientific mystery that led to breakthroughs in the way we understand bird migration. Hosted by Simplecast, an Ads...

A 15,000 Year Old Tree and a Housing Development

23 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In the California’s Jurupa Valley, residents discovered a treasure in their backyard: a 15,000 year old tree. Now, it may disappear.Read Shannon Osa...

Meet the Man Who Sets America’s Living Rooms on Fire

22 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Today we visit the ATF Fire Research Laboratory where investigators recreate arson attacks and analyze burn patterns. Read more about John Allen and...

Discovery Hut (Classic)

19 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Atlas Obscura's Gemma Tarlach shares what it's like to step inside a relic from the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration, and to find traces of a famou...

Hunting for Meteorites with Steve Arnold

18 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Today we're powering up our metal detectors and keeping a very close eye on the surface of the earth as we set out in the hunt for meteorites with St...

This 80s Icon Has A Shrine In A Berlin Hostel

17 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In the basement of a Berlin hostel – in a corridor connecting their brewery to the luggage storage area – is a shrine to a pop culture icon with a...

My Life in Three Places: Dylan Thuras

16 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Dylan takes us on a tour of three places that have shaped his life.Listen to our episodes about the Corn Palace, House on the Rock, and Gold Medal Flo...

Mother Jones and the Battle of Blair Mountain

15 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

How a woman in her 70s inspired some of the biggest labor uprisings in American history. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com...

Pigeon Towers of Iran (Classic)

12 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This elaborate architecture throughout Iran served a very unique purpose - gathering pigeon guano. READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.c...

Getting Lost with Susan Orlean

11 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Travel writer Susan Orlean is an admitted terrible tourist. But she’s an expert at getting lost – with a purpose. Today, she takes us to some of ...

A Walk Through Sandwich History with Barry Enderwick

10 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Barry Enderwick has made and tasted more than 1000 sandwiches from across history. Today, he and Dylan make – and eat three sandwiches that each te...

The Mysterious Origins of Virginia’s Swimming Ponies

09 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

For one day every July, the Assateague Channel on Virginia’s marshy eastern shore is filled with the bobbing heads of swimming ponies. These feral h...

How Caribou Gave Us a Peek at Life 9,000 Years Ago

08 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In 2008, a researcher floating in a boat in Lake Huron had an idea for how to learn more about our prehistoric ancestors. It involved sonar, a lot of ...

We Want to Hear Your Unusual Road Trip Stories

06 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We're working on another listener-led episode and want to know: What is your favorite unusual road trip destination? The weirdest road trip memory hol...

House the Giants Built (Classic)

05 Jul 2024

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 A...

Double Header for the Fourth

04 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Today we have two classic episodes to share about hidden histories of America. In one, we’ll hear the story of an unconventional Revolutionary patri...

The Big Duck

03 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The story of a big idea, and a big duck – and how this duck would go on to become an important architectural landmark that would influence building...

New York City’s Black Oyster King

02 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Thomas Downing, who arguably invented fine dining in New York City, had a secret going on underneath the floor of his popular oyster house. Writer Bri...

The Gilbert Baker Mural

01 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Gilbert Baker’s pride flag design is now a worldwide symbol for LGBT freedom and liberation. Now, his former stomping grounds remember his efforts w...

Jadeite Cabbage (Classic)

28 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This tiny stone cabbage has a big backstory stretching from the rich, treasure-laden halls of Beijing’s Forbidden City...through a harrowing wartime...

Roop Kund

27 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Author Doug Preston brings us back into the world of his latest book, The Lost Tomb, with a story of a remote lake in the Himalayas where hundreds of ...

The Glove Museum

26 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This museum in New York is a recreated 19th century glove making workshop complete with sizing tools, cutting blocks, and irons. It’s also  part st...

Grizzly Adams: America’s Mythic Mountain Man

25 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In the 1850s, one anonymous Massachusetts shoemaker became a national celebrity – all by exhibiting his “family” of captured grizzly bears. Host...

In The Heart Of NYC, A Refuge For Birds

24 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A hospital and rehab center for birds in Manhattan started with a woman who just wanted to do all she could to help an injured goose. Decades later, i...

The Start of a Language

21 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Places editors Michelle Cassidy and Jonathan Carey bring us stories about two specific languages that were created by people who gave us a glimpse int...

Nerding Out on Ancient Queens with Torri Yates-Orr

20 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

History buff Torri Yates-Orr gives us the tea on Nefertiti, Cleopatra, and Amanirenas – and explains why we often don’t hear their full stories in...

For Keeps Books (Classic)

19 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In Atlanta, on this historic Auburn Avenue, sits a small bookstore and reading room that’s been called “an interactive art museum of Black Thought...

The Last Baldwin House

18 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

James Baldwin’s former home in the South of France is a site that many visit hoping to feel the essence of the great African-American writer. But sh...

America’s First Celebrity Bartender And The Book That Changed Bars Forever

17 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In the early days of drinking in America, bartenders passed down drink recipes simply via word of mouth. Then, a suit-wearing, itinerant bartender dec...

Tell us your road trip stories & get travel advice from Dylan

15 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

What is your favorite unusual road trip destination? Plus, Dylan wants your travel questions. Give us a call at 315-992-7902 and leave a message, or s...

The Noah Purifoy Desert Art Museum (Classic)

14 Jun 2024

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 off-kilter art. Noah Purifoy’s Out...