The Atlas Obscura Podcast

Places editors Jonathan Carey and Michelle Cassidy bring us two stories about two particular places whose histories intersect with real world American espionage. READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: Check out our entry on the FBI House here and on the Wertheim Study in the NY Public Library here. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

For decades, a one of a kind travel guide opened up the world for gay travelers. Today, historians are using them to create an interactive map of LGBTQ spaces in midcentury America.LEARN MORE: https://www.mappingthegayguides.org/ Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A trip to Sweden prompts former show producer Sarah Wyman to dig into a superstitious story passed through generations about the Red Stone Man Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Our show often focuses on interesting people and places. But in this episode, the team shares memorable encounters they’ve had with animals – everything from parakeets to a very special opossum. TELL US YOUR STORY: We want to hear your stories too! Give us a call at (315) 992-7902, and leave a message telling us your name, and about your own animal encounter. You can also record a voice memo and email it to us at [email protected]. Looking forward to hearing from you. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

An infamous break in the road that links North and South America has been in and out the news for more than 100 years – for good reason. This stretch of jungle has been a magnet for adventure junkies, but also is the site of a growing humanitarian and migration crisis. Learn More Info About The Gap: https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/15/americas/darien-gap-migrants-colombia-panama-whole-story-cmd-intl/index.html How to help/advocacy groups: https://www.nrc.no/feature/2023/the-jungle-may-swallow-you-surviving-the-darien-gap/ https://www.refugeesinternational.org/reports-briefs/filling-the-gap-humanitarian-support-and-alternative-pathways-for-migrants-on-colombias-edge/ Rick’s website: https://www.jungletreks.com/ Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Author Dave Eggers has an enduring affinity for Idaho. In this episode, he chats with Dylan about a unique family that undertook what is perhaps one of the strangest, slowest moves in history. The fascinating tale provided inspiration for the writer’s new children’s book, Moving the Millers’ Minnie Moore Mine Mansion. Get the book here and learn more about Eggers' work here. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A majestic building in Santos, Brazil used to be the center of the coffee trade. LEARN MORE: Go deeper with Professor Ian Read’s work here and read more in the Atlas here. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Blind Guy Travels host Matthew Shifrin discusses a formative encounter with a wolf tied to the origins of Rome. Listen to Blind Guy Travels: https://radiotopiapresents.fm/blind-guy-travels Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Jonathan Carey and Michelle Cassidy of the Atlas Places Team bring us two charming stories of some very special canines who have been (literally) preserved for the ages. READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: Learn about Sergeant Stubby here and Owney here Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Turns out, complaining about bad service really is as old as time. Hear the story of an ancient Babylonian clay tablet that has launched a slew of modern memes. Click here for more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Every year, lumberjacks and lumberjills from around the world flock to Hayward, Wisconsin – a couple hours north of Minneapolis – to compete in the Lumberjack World Championships. Join us as we get our hands dirty alongside the world’s most skilled in all-things chopping…and rolling. This episode is produced in partnership w ith GoUSA TV. If you want to see more Small Town, Big Story, watch now on GoUSA TV or on YouTube. You can learn more about visiting Hayward here: https://haywardareachamber.com/ Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

For years, students at Bennington College snuck into a locked room for a glimpse of strange and magical instruments created by professor Gunnar Schonbeck. Today, we join his orchestra.READ MORE IN THE ATLAS:https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/no-experience-required Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this final installment of summer stories we tackle a topic that transcends the seasons—the captivating magic of water during travel. If you’d like to share a story about your summer, record a voice memo and send it to [email protected] or leave a voicemail at 315-992-7902. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this installment we hear a listener’s tale of a theological dispute that became a real money-maker known to some as “Old Hoaxy.” This is the third of a series of listener-powered episodes about summer travel stories. If you’d like to share a story about your summer, record a voice memo and send it to [email protected] or leave a voicemail at 315-992-7902.READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/cardiff-giant Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This is the second of a series of listener-powered episodes about summer travel stories. If you’d like to share a story about your summer, record a voice memo and send it to [email protected] or leave a voicemail at 315-992-7902. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This is the first of a series of listener-powered episodes about summer travel stories. If you’d like to share a story about your summer, record a voice memo and send it to [email protected] or leave a voicemail at 315-992-7902. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The nights in the northern hemisphere are drawing in, which means whispering stories of witches and spirits are top of mind for many of us. Lale chats with Mexico City-based author Brenda Lozano, whose new novel Witches looks at the lives of Mexican women who inherit gifts, and draws inspiration from the true story of a Mazatec Indigenous healer, or curandera, in Oaxaca who worked with psilocybin mushrooms in the 1950s and 60s. Plus, we revisit a recent conversation with author Dorthe Nors to learn more about the burnings of witch effigies along the rugged Danish coast.For more from Women Who Travel, visit their website. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

We visit what might be the world’s largest collection of fraudulent, nefarious, or otherwise ineffectual medical machinery -- and meet the founder who brought it all together. READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/museum-quackery Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Asheville is a well-known foodie destination. In this ep we hear about a group that takes visitors into the wild – to learn all about North Carolina’s incredible biodiversity and to enjoy the foods that grow all around them. This episode is coproduced with Explore Asheville.LEARN MORE about No Taste Like Home here. And find more cool things to do when you visit Asheville here. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Host Dylan Thuras meets a teenage hero: author John Marr, who created the infamous Murder Can Be Fun zine and chronicled tales of unusual amusement park ride deaths and other odd disastersREAD MORE: You can see back issues of MCBF here. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Created by a volcanic eruption in 2015, this island in the South Pacific no longer exists… but we chat with a person who got to see it before it disappeared.LEARN MORE about Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai in this Reuters article and see it in the Atlas here Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Gastro Obscura Writer Sam Lin-Sommer tells us the story of the fascist war on pasta and its surprisingly delicious legacy.READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/italian-futurist-pasta Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

You’ve probably heard about the Gold Rush. But what about the bone rush of the 1870s? Hear the story of a bitter rivalry between two paleontologists – and how this epic feud unearthed an epic amount of fossils we still admire today. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

You can learn a lot about a person from their hands. In this episode, we hear the story of a doctor who made it possible for us to hold onto the stories of presidents, astronauts, musicians, artists and more… through bronze molds of their hands. READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/adrian-e-flatt-m-d-hand-collection Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Podcaster, TV critic and comedian Ashley Ray has more than a soft spot for her Midwest hometown. Hear why she thinks it may just be the best kept secret. HEAR MORE FROM OUR GUEST: Ashley has her own podcast all about TV and culture. Check it out here: https://www.stitcher.com/show/tv-i-say-w-ashley-ray Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Behind the Ben & Jerry's factory in Vermont sits a very peculiar graveyard... one dedicated to dearly departed ice cream flavors.READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/ben-jerry-s-flavor-graveyard Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Writer and travel educator Tracey Friley tells the story of the glamorous life of entertainer, French Resistance agent, and civil rights activist, Josephine Baker and the pilgrimages women still make to her chateau.Learn more: www.traceyfrileytravel.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A repository in Cambridge, Massachusetts holds over 2,700 pigments that’ve been quietly coloring the world around us since the beginning of human history. READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/forbes-pigment-collection Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Step inside the cutest, most cuddly museum for handmade crafts. This museum, set near Joshua Tree National Park, has been called “a vortex of love and joy and peace.”LEARN MORE about the museum and schedule your own visit by clicking here. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Students at Reed College study things like philosophy, history and English. But for the past 50 years they’ve also had access to a scientific instrument many people have never seen. We visit the World's only nuclear reactor operated by liberal arts undergraduates. LEARN MORE about the reactor here. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

You’d never guess that beneath a historic, genteel southern resort sits a massive bunker that the US government built in case of catastrophic events. Hear the story of the Greenbrier Resort that was kept secret for decades.READ MORE IN THE ATLAS https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/congressional-fallout-shelter-at-the-greenbrier-resort Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

We asked, you answered. Hear listener stories of near death travel experiences. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Travel to Penobscot, Maine, where one farmer maintains the tradition of burning his crop each year to rejuvenate it the next. READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/why-do-people-burn-blueberry-fields Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Colorado is known for being a music and performance hub. And that history goes way back – all the way to a theater that staged high dramas, tragedies, tales of star-crossed lovers, and even inspired an opera of its own. This episode was co produced with Visit Colorado.READ MORE IN THE ATLAS https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/tabor-opera-house-2 | Learn more about the shows happening at the opera house this summer by clicking here Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Atop a mountain in a picturesque Colorado town is the frozen corpse of a Norwegian grandpa. We get the tale of how this came to be, from the person who for years has trekked up and down the mountain for this unique preservation mission. READ MORE IN THE ATLAS https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/frozen-dead-guy-days Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

We visit southern Benin to hear the story of the Temple of Pythons and clear up some misconceptions about one of the world's most misunderstood spiritual systems.READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-temple-of-pythons-ouidah-benin Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A famous movie actress from the 1920s left the world a lasting piece of art — a remarkable miniature home that could be considered Chicago’s cutest piece of real estate. READ MORE IN THE ATLAS https://www.atlasobscura.com/videos/see-chicago-s-million-dollar-fairy-castle Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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 company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

We step into the shoes of the miners who once labored in the Nevada mountains, via a trip to the Tonopah Historic Mining Park. This episode was produced in partnership with Travel Nevada.READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/tonopah-mining-parkLEARN MORE about the Tonopah Historic Mining Park and Travel Nevada Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A race is on to save this world heritage site that straddles the border of Togo and Benin. It’s home to remarkable earth tower homes called Takienta, and the Batammariba people, whose existence is threatened by climate change and migration.READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/koutammakou-batammariba Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

We go to Sweden, where some people are intent on making a woman a permanent symbol of resistance, whether or not she would have wanted it. Check out some of Samuel Merrill’s research work on the photo here.READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/woman-with-the-handbag-statue Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

We go to Statesboro, Georgia to the US National Tick Collection to learn what ticks, often thought of as little monstrosities, can teach us.READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/us-national-tick-collection Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Flagg Grove School in Brownsville, Tennessee has become a museum dedicated to its most famous student. READ MORE IN THE ATLAS:https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/tina-turner-museum Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Take a trip to Micropia, the world’s only museum dedicated to microscopic organisms, and learn about our invisible life companions.READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/micropia Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The story of the unimaginable destruction of the American Chestnut tree and the group of scientists, academics and tree lovers who are desperately trying to bring them back from the edge of extinction.LEARN MORE: Visit https://acf.org/ to find out more about this massive conservation effort Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A spinning furnace tucked under the football stadium at the University of Arizona is building giant telescope mirrors. READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/richard-f-caris-mirror-laboratory Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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 MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/atvidaberg-sun-cannon Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Habaneros! Jalapenos! Green! Red! These days, an appreciation for chiles is pretty mainstream. But that wasn’t always the case. We head to New Mexico to learn how this food became such a huge part of our culture, and visit an institute dedicated to its continual improvement. READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/chile-pepper-institute Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A North Carolina town has become a draw for people who want to see the wreckage of the train wreck from the movie “The Fugitive.” But a more interesting – and true – story happened just a pistol shot away.READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-fugitive-train-wreck-sylva-north-carolina Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A once-blacklisted Hollywood star created a magical theater in Topanga Canyon, California, that still endures and inspires today.READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/theatricum-botanicum Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.