The Atlas Obscura Podcast
Episodes
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...
In the Doldrums with Bernie Harberts
13 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Ultimate slow travel adventurer (and friend of the show) Bernie Harberts returns to tell us what happened when he spent months floating alone at sea. ...
Your Stories Of Traveling With Parents
12 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Listener stories of hitting the road, parents in tow. We’ll hear about an unexpected run-in with a group of lumberjacks, a rare road trip with paren...
Black Cultural Archives
11 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We visit a London neighborhood that’s the epicenter of Caribbean culture and a place that aims to be the home for Black British history. Learn more ...
The Secret Nazi Weather Station Named Kurt
10 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
During the 1970s, archaeologists and fishermen stumbled across an abandoned military weather station on the coast of Labrador. It was labeled “Canad...
The Rotary Jail Museum (Classic)
08 Jun 2024
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...
Ruins of Le Jardin d'Agronomie Tropicale (Classic)
07 Jun 2024
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...
Controlled Cold with Nicky Twilley
06 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We get a crash course in the fascinating temperature-controlled ecosystem we’ve created to keep our food fresh – and available – all year round....
Welcome To Wall Drug
05 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In the South Dakota badlands, a small pharmacy employed an ingenious marketing gimmick, and boomed into a business that draws millions of visitors eve...
Traveling With Kids: Please Send Help
04 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We’ve got a fun collaboration with podcasters SuChin Pak and Kulap Vilaysack, hosts of Add to Cart. Hear them chat with Dylan about traveling with ...
Blue Spring State Park
03 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We head to Florida, the wintertime refuge for many, for a glimpse of a rehabilitation effort aimed at some very distinct creatures known for being gen...
The Last Sears in New York City (Classic)
31 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Producer Johanna Mayer takes a trip to the last Sears in New York City, and a Brooklyn landmark, with two people whose lives were shaped by the depart...
Looking Toward the Sky with Summer Ash
30 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Telescope tourist, rocket scientist and STEAM educator Summer Ash gives us the nitty gritty on the V.L.A. - a 22-mile telescope in New Mexico whose fo...
Canada Obscura: The Giant Orange Sphere
29 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
CANADALAND host Jesse Brown introduces Dylan to a strange and decaying Quebecois fast food institution… housed inside a giant orange sphere. Today, ...
Canada Obscura: The Feral Horses of Sable Island
28 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Host Dylan Thuras brings us to a remote island off the coast of Nova Scotia. On Sable Island, we learn how – against all odds – a group of beloved...
Canada Obscura: The Real Life Winnie-The-Pooh
27 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
CANADALAND host Jesse Brown tells Dylan the story of a Canadian man who adopted a black bear in the woods of Winnipeg – and how that bear became the...
Maillardet’s Automaton (Classic)
24 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This mechanical boy in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was a mystery - until it began to write. READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/place...
A Daring Story of Freedom with Edda Fields-Black
23 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Historian and author Edda L. Fields-Black tells us the fascinating and action-packed story of one of the most daring spy operations and raids of the e...
A Rogue Trip with Amir Siraj
22 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We catch up with Amir Siraj – friend of the show, scientist and world wanderer – who visited a new observatory in a Chilean desert that could help...
From Seed to Significance
21 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Earlier this spring we shared the story of the city of Melbourne’s program to track trees, which morphed into a love fest. In this episode, we hear ...
The Ludlow Massacre Site
20 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The Ludlow colony in southern Colorado was once a bustling tent city and haven for miners and their families. But it was also the site of one of the c...
Shipwrecked Doritos (Classic)
17 May 2024
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: ...
Gabbing Goblins with Colin Dickey
16 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Author Colin Dickey tells us the story of a Kentucky family who, in 1955, claimed to be in a wild gunfight with unidentified creatures who may or may ...
Underwater Sculpture Gardens
15 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Jason deCaires Taylor takes intentional art to another level with his sculptures that can be visited by humans and fish.READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https:...
Reppin MORE of our Weird Hometown Traditions
14 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
From a rubber duck contest to hypnotizing chickens, listeners share stories about annual customs, events and practices that set their hometowns apart ...
Bonnie and Clyde Ambush Museum
13 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We visit the Louisiana town where the infamous – but often misunderstood – couple’s story came to an end. READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www....
Tell us your stories of traveling with your parents!
11 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We're going to be bringing you more listener-led stories this year, and we need your help. Tell us about a place you went with your parents that was s...
The Livestock Living at the End of the World (Classic)
10 May 2024
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...
To the Moon and Back with Rebecca Boyle
09 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Science writer and journalist Rebecca Boyle has a new book about all about the ways in which the moon has impacted nearly every aspect of human life –...
Musée Mécanique
08 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We empty out our change purse and visit Dan Zelinsky - the owner and head mechanic of the Musée Mécanique - one of the few remaining vintage arcades...
Beauly Priory Wych Elm
07 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A gnarly looking elm tree rumored to be older than Britain itself was the anchor in a community – until beetles got to it and it was suddenly gone o...
Sans-Souci Palace
06 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We go to Haiti, and visit a royal residence once called the Versailles of the Caribbean. But though Sans-Souci Palace, once home to Haiti’s only kin...
Rhubarb Triangle (Classic)
03 May 2024
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 ...
Checking Into Hotel Imperial with Deborah Cohen
02 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On the eve of the Second World War, there was one place that was the source for all good stories — the Hotel Imperial in Vienna. It exuded luxury an...
Exotic Feline Rescue Center
01 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Long before Joe Exotic got the country talking about big cats, there was Joe Taft – regular guy – who began raising and rescuing these types of fe...
Old Cahawba
30 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The Old Cahawba Archeological Park is perhaps one of Alabama's most famous ghost towns. But it once was the center of life in this southern state. We ...
Atlas Obscura Presents: “Windsor Hum” from Twenty Thousand Hertz
29 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Today’s episode comes from Twenty Thousand Hertz, a podcast that reveals the stories behind the world's most recognizable and interesting sounds. On...
Tree Week: Forty Fruit Tree (Classic)
26 Apr 2024
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...
Tree Week: Killer Trees with Mary Roach
25 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We promise, this is not another sappy (pardon the pun) story about trees. Instead, author and science writer Mary Roach takes us deep into an ancient ...
Tree Week: Oh, the places you will go... to see these notable trees
24 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We spend some time with some celebrity trees – one in Washington, DC and one in Berlin – that have left an impact on all who visit them. Today’s...
Tree Week: Love Letters
23 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In 2012, the city of Melbourne gave every tree a barcode and email address so people could report when it needed maintenance or attention. But, a funn...
Tree Week: A Tasty Tale about Meyer Lemons
22 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Meyer lemons are so special that restaurants go out of their way to call them out on menus. Martha Stewart loves to bake with them. And yet, Meyer lem...
Musk Ox Farm (Classic)
19 Apr 2024
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 wooly mammoth.READ MORE IN THE AT...
How to make the best show about New York with John Wilson
18 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
IN THIS EPISODE OF THE ATLAS OBSCURA PODCAST, Dylan sits down with “How To” creator and narrator John Wilson about his travels, his favorite pla...
Atalaya
17 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Just outside of Myrtle Beach sits a medieval castle that would feel out of place if not for its charm. We tell the story of the eccentric couple who, ...
Showgirl Magic Museum
16 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A one-room museum located in the basement of a church-turned-community arts center is crammed with mementos from a pretty spectacular period in histor...
Reppin our Weird Hometown Traditions
15 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
From Tractor Day to an Italian style wedding to the streets of New York City to throwing water into the air in negative 20 degree weather, we take a t...
Atlas Obscura Live: Two Places And A Lie
12 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week wasn't special only because of the eclipse. We also recorded our first live show, during the Atlas Obscura Ecliptic Festival in Hot Springs,...
My Life in Three Places with Rick Steves
11 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Rick Steves has seen a lot of strange, incredible and wondrous places over his decades-long career as the leading authority on European travel. And to...
Brown Mountain Lights
10 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We’re heading to the mountains of western North Carolina, where for more than a century, people have witnessed unusual displays of shimmering and so...
Minister’s Treehouse (Classic)
09 Apr 2024
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 Ho...
Total Eclipse of Our Hearts
09 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Today, millions of people across North America donned solar glasses, and looked up. And since our show is all about wonder and curiosity and incredibl...
Stay Tuned: A special eclipse episode is coming tonight!
08 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Millions of people will be getting in their cars, breaking out the cardboard glasses and looking to the sky for today's Great North American Eclipse…...
Nevada Week: The Martin
05 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
At The Martin, family-style dining is rooted in a very specific history and cultural experience that began with Basque sheepherders in the 1800s and h...
Nevada Week: How I Learned to Love Las Vegas
04 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A spectacular art installation is hidden inside an all-luxury shopping mall in Las Vegas. As of April 2024, the exhibit appears to be closed. This ep...
Nevada Week: National Atomic Testing Museum
03 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Las Vegas was once the preferred tourist destination for watching weapons of mass destruction explode. This episode is part of Nevada Week, where we b...
Nevada Week: The Office of Collecting and Design
02 Apr 2024
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...
Nevada Week: Molossia
01 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This micronation about an hour outside of Reno draws visitors from all over the world. This episode was produced in partnership with Travel Nevada and...
A Journey Through Death with Joanna Ebenstein
29 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Friend of the show Joanna Ebenstein tells us about her enduring fascination with death, how it led her to create the Morbid Anatomy Museum and, after ...
A Journey Around the World with Sebastian Modak
28 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
For one year, this journalist had the coolest assignment – as the New York Times “52 Places” reporter. Its charms and challenges were more than ...
The Cincinnati Subway (Classic)
27 Mar 2024
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...
Ganvie Lake Village
26 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A producer sits down with Dylan and recounts his trip to a place referred to as “The Venice of Africa.”READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasob...
Vent Haven Museum
25 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This museum in Kentucky is either your dream place or your nightmare, depending on how you feel about dummies. Because there are more than 500 of them...
Tell us your plans for the Great North American Eclipse!
24 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The Great North American Eclipse will be April 8, 2024. Where will you be watching it? Who will you be with? And why is it important to you to see thi...
Arrows Across America (Classic)
22 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
An adventurous couple sets out to document and unearth the arrow’s of America’s past, once used to help pilots find their way across the skies.GET...
Marching through the galaxy with Dr. Moiya McTier
21 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Author, astrophysicist, folklorist, and science communicator Dr. Moiya McTier guides Dylan through the galaxy, and along the way reveals why she loves...
Arecibo Observatory (Classic)
20 Mar 2024
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:/...
A Mission to find a Meteor with Amir Siraj
19 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Friend of the show Amir Siraj tells us the wild tale of his search for an interstellar object – a journey that led the astrophysicist to the bottom...
Goblin Valley State Park (Classic)
18 Mar 2024
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 (Classic)
15 Mar 2024
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 nationa...
Law of the Tongue
14 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Atlas Obscura writer Roxanne Hoorn brings us the story of an extraordinary relationship between people and killer whales. And, through conversation wi...
Introducing Sound Detectives from LeVar Burton
13 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
LeVar Burton presents SOUND DETECTIVES – a funny, engaging, and thought provoking podcast that invites elementary school-aged kids to explore the ma...
The Lighthouse Keeper
12 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We go to Fayerweather Island, off the coast of Connecticut, and get the story of Kate Moore, one of the first recorded woman lighthouse keepers. Over ...
The Grave of XYZ
11 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We go to Deep River, Connecticut – where the story of a botched bank robbery more than 100 years ago has taken on a life of its own as an urban lege...
Organ Stop Pizza (Classic)
08 Mar 2024
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...
Exploring the Abandoned with Blake Pfeil
07 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Dylan sits down with guest Blake Pfeil about what inspired him to begin exploring abandoned spots, what those spaces have taught him about escapism, s...
Mr. Kaor’s Letters
06 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We visit a quaint Dutch fishing village and attempt to unravel the mystery that unfolded there… a mystery that involved strange and curious letters ...
GALS Gone Wild
05 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On our second day with Sporkful senior producer Andres O’Hara, we see what happens when invasive creatures that have made their way to the US refuse...
What Happens to the Food You Try To Sneak into the Airport?
04 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
With the help from a podcast friend (Andres O’Hara of The Sporkful), we go inside one of the busiest airports on earth. And we find out the fate of ...
Madame Tussaud (Classic)
01 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Dylan braves one of New York’s most touristy sites to bring listeners the lesser-known history of Madame Tussaud’s origins. Hosted by Simplecast, ...
Black History in Plain Sight with Places Editors Jonathan and Michelle
29 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
For years, contributions from Black Americans to public spaces like beaches and museums have been hard to detect. Places Editors Jonathan and Michelle...
Jerry’s Hat Museum
28 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We visit Jerry’s Hat Museum, where a retiree has turned to an old chapel to house a collection of thousands of hats, pens, odds, ends and other arti...
Hints of Home
27 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Listeners share their stories of places that made them feel at home, from the beaches of Australia to a ubiquitous coffee shop.WE WANT YOUR STORIES! W...
Hotel Theresa (Classic)
26 Feb 2024
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 co...
Eastern State Penitentiary (Classic)
23 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The founders of this prison in Philadelphia aimed to revolutionize incarceration for the better - and unintentionally created new horrors. READ MOR...
Buffalo Soldiers National Museum
22 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A producer revisits her hometown (Houston) and goes to the Buffalo Soldiers Museum, learning about the contributions of Black members of the armed for...
Stone of Destiny
21 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This giant rock has been used in the coronation of every English monarch since the 1300s, but is it authentic? Or could the real one be in a Scottish ...
World’s Loneliest House
20 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We visit the misnamed “world’s loneliest house” and visit the flocks of puffins who live there. Some people want to eat them, some want to prote...
Boston’s Blue Hill
19 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We take a hike up Great Blue Hill in Boston and get more than a stunning view of the city. A visit to the peak reveals the story of a weather observat...
The Goiter Belt (Classic)
16 Feb 2024
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 AdsWi...
Damanhur
15 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A mysterious religious community founded by an insurance agent-turned spiritual leader in northern Italy spent 15 years constructing an underground te...
Owamni
14 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Award-winning chef Sean Sherman, aka the Sioux Chef, has dedicated his Minneapolis restaurant to decolonized food and honoring indigenous meal traditi...
Toy Story
13 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Mexico City is known for its museum and art scene. The collection at El Museo del Juguete Antiguo – The Antique Toy Museum – encourages visitors t...
Robert Is Here
12 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We go to south Florida and hear the story of a family that took a gamble on a humble roadside stand that blossomed into a fruit emporium and community...
Library of Congress Hair Collection (Classic)
09 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This collection, preserved by the United States Library of Congress, features locks of hair from cultural icons from Beethoven to General Ulysses S. G...
Kam Wah Chung & Co. Museum
08 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This museum in John Day, Oregon, was once a Chinese general store and medicine shop that dates back to the 1800s. But these days it’s a perfectly pr...
Welcome Home
07 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Hear staff stories about places in the world that made them instantly feel at home, from the Big Easy to the Magic Kingdom. WE WANT YOUR STORIES: We’...
Moynaq
06 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A city in Uzbekistan used to be the site of one of the world’s largest seas. Now it’s a dusty reminder of one of the largest and most forgotten en...
Taquile Island
05 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This tiny island off the coast of Peru is an UNESCO World Heritage site for having the finest textile art. It’s also the place where a knitted hat r...
Père Lachaise Cemetery (Classic)
02 Feb 2024
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...