The Atlas Obscura Podcast

In 1975, a man in Seward, Nebraska dug a gigantic hole in his yard and made the world’s largest time capsule. On July 4, 2025, the capsule was opened.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Dylan and producers Johanna and Amanda answer listener questions about solo travel. 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 it to us at Hello@AtlasObscura.com , or simply email your question.     Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal dat...

A Seattle restaurant pushes diners to eat beyond their borders through its embrace of global street foods. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Pan-American Highway is considered the longest road in the world – it stretches nearly 20,000 miles, from Alaska to Argentina. In her new docuseries Pati Jinich Explores PanAmericana,  Pati talks with people along the famous route about the different ways we form our identities. And she was particularly interested in exploring this territory because of her own unique cultural background.   Hos...

Early polar explorers faced long nights and dangerous expeditions. To entertain themselves, they wrote and published niche newspapers and periodicals. Atlas Obscura’s community editor Allegra Rosenberg reads an essay exploring this unique polar tradition. Read her full essay here .   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of perso...

Chalet Cheese Cooperative in Monroe, Wisconsin is the last cheese plant left in America that makes the ultra-stinky Limburger cheese: a cheese that inspires equal parts loving and loathing, has been banned for its assaulting smell, and that once sparked a feud between two cities. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal...

A few weeks ago, the Atlas Obscura staff told us where they would spend their last days before the apocalypse. Now we’re sharing your stories – from a childhood home in a small town in Illinois, to a trip in Eastern Europe, to a pizzeria in Brooklyn and a cave in Utah.  Plus: We want to hear your stories about your neighbors! Tell us about your neighbors’ front yards, back yards, house decor – and...

The grooves cut in this road outside Lancaster, CA play the finale of the William Tell Overture.  READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/civic-musical-road Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

If you were to visit a cigar factory in Cuba, you’d hear something unexpected: the sound of the daily news report, or maybe a poem or a novel, being read aloud. The cigar “reader” is a tradition held by just a handful of people, and it came from a fundamentally revolutionary idea. Eliot Stein, author of Custodians of Wonder , joins Dylan to explain. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pc...

One of the many objects that went down with the ship during the sinking of the Titanic was a beautiful, jewel-encrusted edition of a poetry book called the “Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam.” The Rubaiyat was probably the most famous work of poetry in the English-speaking world at that time…which was somewhat unusual, as the book was written by a Persian mathematician 800 years before. For more informatio...

In Antarctica, researchers bid farewell to an iconic fixture: a big red bus named Ivan.  Want to learn more about Ivan? Read Allegra Rosenberg’s article  all about him. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

To round out Pride Month, we’re sharing one of our favorite classic episodes. 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Let’s all go to hell. Seriously. Hell, Michigan, that is :) READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/hell-michigan Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In an homage to the 1995 movie Four Rooms, Dylan talks with historian Susan Wilson about how the history of Boston – and the United States at large – was influenced by events that occurred in four different rooms of the iconic Omni Parker House Hotel.      This episode was recorded live at the WBUR Festival in Boston on May 31, 2025.  Check out Susan Wilson’s books and her other work on her websit...

A couple months ago, we asked for your stories about traveling with a significant other for the first time. We got so many responses, that we decided to make a Part II.    Plus, we want to hear your questions about travel and dating! In a few weeks, we’ll have dating expert Eden Dawn on the show to dish out answers. Give us a call at 315-992-7902 and leave a message telling us your name and questi...

In a small rural town in Colombia, one man mounts books on the backs of donkeys and takes to the hills. This is how he operates his bookmobile, aka “Biblioburro.”  For more information about where to support Luis Soriano’s Biblioburro, visit booksforchangeusa.org Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertis...

The TV show Columbo, about a loveable schlub detective, is internationally beloved. But Hungary has an extra special relationship with the show, dating all the way back to the 1970s when the communist government banned most other American shows. 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.  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.

For decades, the Ashley House in Sheffield, Massachusetts preserved and promoted the story of Col. John Ashley, a wealthy businessman who opened his home to those fighting against British rule on the eve of America’s war for independence. But in this episode we hear a new narrative, about an enslaved woman and true patriot who tested the rhetoric of the revolution. READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://...

The National Library of Sweden is home to the largest medieval manuscript still in existence: an enormous, three-foot-tall Bible with an unusual portrait of the devil inside (along with a calendar, some spells, and a lengthy confession of the writer’s sins and temptations). Legend has it that it was created by a monk under duress over the course of one evening… with some supernatural help.   Check...

Fifteen years ago, drones were considered toys. Today, there’s everywhere – both in the news and physically. But before the big splashy news stories like the recent New Jersey drone panic, a much quieter – and stranger – incident took place at a highly secure Air Force base.  Read more  of Gordon Lubold’s reporting. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information abou...

Dylan and producers Johanna and Amanda take your questions.  For our next mailbag, we’re looking for questions about solo travel. If you have a question for Dylan about traveling by yourself, give us a call at 315-992-7902 and leave a message. You can also record a voice memo and email it to us at Hello@AtlasObscura.com , or simply email your question. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See...

We want to hear about your favorite unusual local date spots. One rule: No romantic restaurants! Where are the places that you bust out when you’re really trying to impress someone with an obscure, off the beaten track spot? And, we want to hear your questions about travel and dating, cause we'll have an expert on the show soon to dish out answers. Give us a call at 315-992-7902 and leave a messag...

A midwest city has embraced what it means to be the namesake hometown of one very famous superhero. And at its center is a museum that holds the carefully cultivated collection of one superfan.  READ MORE IN THE ATLAS https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/super-museum-metropolis Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal dat...

In the 1960s, the band the Grateful Dead became consumed by a quest that would take up 10 years, cost millions of dollars, and almost break up the band. It was the quest for audio perfection – to bring crystal clear sound from the front row to the nosebleeds and back again. It’s a story that takes us from the infamous acid tests of the 1960s to standing in front of a 60-foot tall wall of 600 speak...