The Atlas Obscura Podcast

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...

The staff here at Atlas Obscura answered an unsettling question for this episode: Where would you spend the last day before the apocalypse? Some interesting truths come out.  Plus, we want to hear from you. Tell us where YOU would spend your last day before the hypothetical apocalypse. What connection do you have with this place? Why would you spend it there? What would you do if you had the whole...

An ancient book contains a controversial Greek recipe, one of the earliest examples of patent law, and answers for a perennial problem: how to make conversation at a dinner party.  Learn more about Deipnosophistae .  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Haskell Free Library and Opera House sits half in Canada, half in the United States. For over a century, it was a symbol of friendship between the two nations. Then, the library got caught in the crossfire of a much bigger struggle. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

We visit one of California’s longest-running tourist attractions: A giant stump that helped spark the movement to preserve the state’s natural places. For more unusual stories, lists, and offbeat itineraries, check out the Atlas Obscura Explorer’s Guide to the National Parks . Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal dat...

On a summer day in 1976, four friends had a strange experience in the Northwoods of Maine that would come back to haunt them decades later. Today, we’re exploring the hidden morbid side of the national parks system with our friends from National Park After Dark . Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.  For more unusual stories, lists, and offbeat itineraries, check out the Atlas Obscura Explore...

We visit a mysterious sinkhole in Arizona that has befuddled an exclusive group of divers who’ve gotten a glimpse of a strange world at its sandy bottom. For more unusual stories, lists, and offbeat itineraries, check out the Atlas Obscura Explorer’s Guide to the National Parks .  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal...

A 50-square-mile patch of Yellowstone National Park in Idaho might just be the perfect place to commit a crime. For more unusual stories, lists, and offbeat itineraries, check out the Atlas Obscura Explorer’s Guide to the National Parks .  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In March of 2024, a park ranger and volunteer were taking their regular walk together around Big Bend National Park. They came across a teeny tiny fuzzy little plant with unusual ribbon-like flowers bursting out of the center – something neither of them had ever seen before. As it turned out, they had stumbled on a rare scientific discovery.   Learn more about the woolly devil , and check out iNat...

Spring is a popular time to visit Colonial Williamsburg, not least because it’s “lambing season,” the time of year when baby lambs are born and take their first steps (which is obviously very, very cute). But small as they are, these lambs have a big baaa-ckstory (sorry) – they are part of a breed that was once guarded like a trade secret, was smuggled into the American colonies, went extinct in t...

We will always love Dolly Parton, who’s installed a “dreambox” time capsule at her amusement park. In it, there’s a secret song that no one will hear until the legendary artist turns 100.  LEARN MORE about Dolly’s songwriting prowess in Unlikely Angel, a book by Hamilton College professor Lydia Hammesley. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our colle...

Today, we’re sharing an episode from our friends at the Sporkful. Dan Pashman goes on a tour of Los Angeles, with an Atlas Obscura guide  in hand. In search of an elusive slice of coconut cake, Dan begins at the airport, takes a detour to an underground tunnel system, and pays a visit to a very unusual store: Time Travel Mart . Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for info...