The Atlas Obscura Podcast

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...

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...