The Atlas Obscura Podcast

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 restaurants while traveling. Maybe all your high school friends dunk on your hometown, but it’s the place you want to live forever.    Give us a call at 315-992...

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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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 supply all their oxygen. If things went according to plan, they would have everything they needed to survive inside for two years – but a lot of people were bet...

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 became a more reflective person. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data...

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.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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 who could log the most miles.  Check out our guest Matthew Algeo ’s book “Pedestrianism: When Watching People Walk Was America’s Favorite Sport.”   And if...

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 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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 .  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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 when he meets a man who is a German immigrant, a programmer, and possibly the premier Area 51 expert in the world: Joerg Arnu. Check out Joerg’s website, Drea...

Jeremy Bentham began planning for his death at a young age. He wrote a will in 1769, at the age of 21. But how did this philosopher’s dead body wind up on display in a university student center? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Two small stories about early morning, otherworldly encounters with animals. 7 a.m. in Kelso was written by Emma Jones, and 10:30 a.m. in Choteau, Montana was written by Annika Berry. Both essays were edited by Aube Rey Lescure and originally appeared in Off Assignment. Plus: Order the audiobook of Atlas Obscura: An Explorer's Guide to the World's Hidden Wonders  today! Hosted by Simplecast, an Ad...

Dylan and producer Johanna take your questions about exploring abandoned ruins, where they want to carve their initials, and whether they should feel guilt for going on multiple trips to the same location.   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 send your question via...

We want to hear your stories about the first time you left home to live somewhere else. Why did you make the move? How did you choose your new home… and how did you feel when you arrived?    Give us a call at 315-992-7902 and leave a message telling us your name and story. Our mailbox will cut you off after two minutes so please call in if you get disconnected. Or you can record a voice memo and e...

One of the world’s tallest waterfalls is nestled in Northwestern Peru, right where the Amazon rainforest crashes into the Andes Mountains.  READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/gocta Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Apple TV’s Severance takes a dystopian view of the middle management office space, where the sprawling corridors, overhead fluorescent lights hide the mysterious purpose of Lumen Industries. But that terrifying imagined office space is based on the real headquarters of Bell Labs – huge, incredible incubator of ideas in the 1960s with the aim of creating a corporate utopia. Hosted by Simplecast, an...

This ranch in Sanger, Texas trains people in jousting and sword-fighting with the goal of making them knights of the highest order - for the Medieval Times dinner theater chain.  READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/behind-the-scenes-at-medieval-times-where-knights-battle-and-pepsi-is-plentiful Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information a...

Off the southern coast of Jamaica, there are the underwater ruins of pirate city from the 1600s – a city that could be considered the Las Vegas of its time. But its days would come to an end when it faced three disasters in a single day. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

For this St. Patrick’s Day, author and friend of the show Colin Dickey joins Dylan to demystify leprechauns. Where do they come from? Is there a Leprechaunland? What’s with the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow? And why are they always wearing green? Are they just drunk mischievous creatures? Or is there something deeper there – perhaps leprechauns are even an immigrant story? If you want to l...

Green Bank, West Virginia is free of wifi and cell signals due to the massive telescope nearby that requires radio silence.   READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/town-for-wi-fi-refugees Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What happens when a real place becomes a reality TV set? Emily Nussbaum, New Yorker staff writer and author of “Cue The Sun: The Invention of Reality TV,” tells us about the tumultuous first season of Survivor. The island where the first season was filmed, Pulau Tiga, presented serious challenges for cast and crew alike… and then the production team added some of their own. Hosted by Simplecast, a...

The first time John Ringling and his brothers saw a circus come to town, it changed their lives forever. They’d go on to form their own circus company – which put them on top of the world. Today we trace John Ringling’s rise and fall, from his early days crisscrossing the Midwest in a wagon (dressed as a clown in wooden shoes) to his work establishing Sarasota, Florida as the circus capital of the...

A Black American living in Korea writes a letter to a restaurant worker, reckoning with race and the meaning of home. This essay was edited by Aube Rey Lescure and originally appeared in Off Assignment . Kat Lewis' debut novel, GOOD PEOPLE, is forthcoming from Simon & Schuster in 2026. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of per...

Diana Hubbell and Roxanne Hoorn from the Places team take us to two locations on opposite sides of the world that both evoke deep reverence – and an appreciation for an architectural style not usually associated with beauty. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Producer Manolo Morales – a verified Little Monster, gallivants around the Lower East Side, via an immersive, performance-art walking tour dedicated to an iconic pop star.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

James Beard award winning photographer and writer Gary He tells us about traveling to more than 50 countries across six continents, all to document and photograph one of the most popular fast food chains in the world: McDonald’s.  His book McAtlas: A Global Guide to the Golden Arches is out now. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and...