The Atlas Obscura Podcast
The Atlas Obscura Podcast
Episodes
Episodes of The Atlas Obscura Podcast
Mark All
From laundromats to Sacramento, listeners go to bat for places with bad reputations. All week, we’re collaborating with the great podcast Terrestrials to tell stories about people, places, and animals with bad reputations – and the surprising t
Niles, Illinois is home to an exact replica of Italy’s leaning tower of Pisa - only it’s half the size of the original structure.READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/leaning-tower-niles
Adventurer Elise Wortley retraces the footsteps of historic female explorers – and she does it all with no modern gear, no shortcuts, and no guarantees that it is going to work out.Learn more about Elise’s trip to the Valley of the Assassins.
Producer Alexa Lim travels in search of the Kolache Triangle. Along the way, she visits some of the state’s Czech communities, and hears how the kolache became the gem of the Texas roadside snack.
Two small stories about two cold nights in different parts of the world. 11:45 p.m. in Oulu was written by Anne Korkeakivi, and 2:30 a.m. in McMurdo Station was written by Elizabeth Endicott. Both essays were edited by Tusshara Nalakumar Srilat
Dylan and producers Amanda and Johanna answer a listener question that leaves them deeply shaken, and slightly disturbed.Have a question for Dylan? Give us a call at 315-992-7902 and leave a message. You can also record a voice memo and email i
Thousands of kitschy lawn gnomes have taken over an Australian roundabout. Read more in the Atlas here.
Today, if you venture into the basement of a certain clothing store in the Soho neighborhood of NYC, you’ll find an unusual sight: an old well. This well is tied to the first recorded murder trial in the United States – it’s a story of a 22-yea
We head to a public bathroom in Alresford, England to hear how a toilet played a key role in flushing out an infamous Cold War espionage ring.
The unusual-looking Price Tower, a 1-of-1 from starchitect Frank Lloyd Wright, has been the pride of Bartlesville, Oklahoma for more than 60 years. But the challenge of maintaining the skyscraper as a historic piece of art has made it difficult
Producer Johanna Mayer and Places editor Diana Hubbell tell us about two parts of the world where animals have invaded – and taken over. Plus: Tell us about a place that has a bad reputation – but still, you love it. Call us at 315-992-7902 and
Lake Natron in Tanzania can leave welts and burns on human skin but is a bit of a paradise for another animal. Read more in the Atlas.
Animal-human conflict expert Bethany Brookshire explains why we put cats before rats – and a lot of it has to do with where we’re encountering them. Read an interview with Bethany in our new column, AO Wants to Know. And check out her book Pest
We go on a hunt for what you might call an entomologist’s most wanted insect.
Paul Stewart’s childhood fascination with cowboys and the Wild West turned into a museum dedicated to preserving the stories of the American West’s early Black settlers.
Listeners share stories of leaving home for the first time – from a first apartment in San Francisco, to running away with a member of a famous band, to searching for a piece of Australia in the United States. Plus: Have you ever visited a plac
We want to hear about a place you love that has defied its bad reputation. Maybe there’s a drab local mall that’s full of chain stores and overpriced frozen yogurt that strangely gives you a sense of comfort. Maybe you love eating at chain rest
Travel to the world’s oldest intact pyramid in Egypt - and learn about the genius who also influenced the fields of architecture, astronomy, medicine. Read more in the Atlas here.
In September 1991, eight people moved into Biosphere 2, a nearly airtight glass and steel complex in the Arizona desert. The half-acre farm at its centre would supply all their food. Plants, algae and photosynthesizing microorganisms would supp
In the middle of the South Atlantic Ocean, on the tiny island of Saint Helena, sits the Longwood House. It was the final home of Napoleon Bonaparte. And while there – amidst the serenity Saint Helena has to offer – the former emperor of France
An urban explorer ventured deep below downtown Minneapolis in search of Schieks Cave. He discovered more than he bargained for. Read more about Schieks Cave and Greg Brick.
For a brief window in the late 1800s, America’s favorite sport was walking in circles over and over and over. The biggest sporting events in the country were “6 Day Races” – days-long tests of endurance where competitive walkers competed to see
Producer Johanna Mayer travels to Times Square in NYC, in search of particular sound that may sometimes go overlooked. READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-times-square-hum-new-york-new-york
What to do when you have 20-foot-tall busts of nearly every U.S. President and nowhere to put them?This episode was produced in partnership with Visit Williamsburg.
Dylan visits a patch of Nevada desert known at times as Paradise Ranch, Dreamland Resort, or as most people know it, Area 51. His goal? To try and find out where The X-Files end, and the truth begins. And he falls deeper down the rabbit hole wh
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