The Atlas Obscura Podcast

Producer Luz Fleming chats with the co-founders of MoF, or the Museum of Friends, about how they managed to create one of the best contemporary art museums Colorado has to offer, in one of the least likely locations you can imagine. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The roadside dinosaur has been part of the Americana cannon since the 1930s, and we’ve got theme parks and Sinclair gas station mascots as a result. Today, Places Editor Diana Hubbell and producer Johanna Mayer head to two spots on opposite ends of the United States to ask one question: Why is there a dinosaur here? Learn more about Steve’s Dinosaur House , and check out his Facebook page  for the...

It’s Memorial Day, and the unofficial start of summer! To kick off the season, we hear a sampling of listener-submitted stories of summer adventure in the wild, strange, and wonderful world in which we live. Plus: Birds!  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

It’s almost Pride Month, and we want to hear your stories about places that celebrate lesser-known queer history, or that have a deep personal connection to you. Give us a call at (315) 992-7902, and leave us a message telling us your name and story. Or, record a voice memo and email it to us at hello@atlasobscura.com . Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information...

Iconic musician Fela Kuti declared his home in Lagos, Nigeria, an independent state. He called it Kalakuta - and in 1977 it was invaded by the Nigerian Army.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In 1926, a wildly popular evangelical preacher named Aimee Semple McPherson disappeared from Venice Beach, in front of the Ocean View Hotel. When her body wasn’t found, she was presumed to have drowned. There’s just one curious thing: Over the next few weeks, people kept on seeing her. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of per...

Dystopian fiction is all the rage these days. But back in the 1800s one of the bestselling books in the United States was a work of utopian  fiction, about a guy who falls asleep in 1887 and accidentally time travels to the year 2000. The book, called “Looking Backward” launched political parties, communal living projects, and inspired a generation of architects and city planners.   Check out the...

In Guyana’s Square of the Revolution, a statue honors Cuffy, an Akan man from West Africa who became a legendary figure. Captured and enslaved by the Dutch in the colony of Berbice (present-day Guyana), Cuffy rose from house slave to revolutionary leader. But an act of civility would be the beginning of his downfall. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information abo...

Earlier this month, the Atlas Obscura staff shared the places we gained during the pandemic. Now, we hear your stories – from a university that is an unlikely home for a certain critter, to a private community, to an arboretum and a chance encounter. Plus: We want to hear from you for our next compilation episode! Pride month is coming, and we want to hear your stories about the places that celebr...

Drawbridge operators in Chicago used to live at these specific homes nestled at the base of their bridges. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

At the height of the Incan empire, a series of 200 woven suspension bridges crisscrossed the valleys of the Andes. Today, only one remains. It’s called the Q'eswachaka, and it’s rewoven every year by a continuous line of bridge builders.    Journalist Eliot Stein traveled to Peru to meet the current bridge builder, and to witness this incredible tradition. His book, Custodians of Wonder , chronicl...

You might think of The Great Gatsby as a classic New York City novel –  but the events that set off the action of the story actually take place somewhere else. In Louisville, Kentucky. It’s where Daisy and Gatsby first meet, and where Daisy marries Gatsby’s rival, Tom Buchanan (boo, hiss!) In today’s episode, we track down the footsteps of author F. Scott Fitzgerald, who spent two tumultuous month...

For 300 years, only a handful of women in Sardinia knew how to make the “threads of God,” an exceptionally intricate pasta. But then, one woman decided to share the recipe with the outside world.          Read Diana Hubbell’s article about the quest to save the world’s rarest pasta.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of perso...

Dylan and producers Johanna and Amanda take your questions. If you 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. Plus: Listen to Dylan’s episode about how he learned to love Las Vegas .  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for inf...

The history of medical clowning extends back to Ancient Greece and the time of Hippocrates and is taught in workshops throughout the world.   READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/medical-clowning-program-at-haifa-university Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In the 1870s the Midwest experienced a devastating natural disaster in the form of… an enormous cloud of extremely hungry locusts. Dylan and producer Amanda discuss what happens when a cloud of locusts twice the size of Colorado descends on your town. If you can’t get enough of Rocky Mountain Locusts check out our episode on Grasshopper Glacier!  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.a...

We get a crash course in the Chitlin' Circuit, a network of entertainment venues for Black musicians during segregation. And we take a closer look at a special stop along the way: Club Ebony. It’s a place that still thumps with the blues of the past, even as it welcomes a new generation of musicians. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection...

In 1887, Greensburg, Kansas was a small town in a relatively new state. The town needed to come up with a way to attract visitors – and they chose to think big. Very, very big. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

It’s been five years since the pandemic shutdown. So often, conversations about that time revolve around places we’ve lost. But for this episode, Atlas Obscura staffers share the places they gained during the pandemic.  Plus: We want to hear from you. Tell us about the places that you gained or discovered during the pandemic. How did you discover this place? Why is it important to you? What’s it l...

Dylan sits down with podcaster Ashley Ray, who has more than a soft spot for her Midwest hometown. Hear why she thinks it may just be the best kept secret, despite its bad reputation.    Check out Ashley’s podcast  all about TV and culture.    All week, we’re collaborating with the great podcast Terrestrials  to tell stories about people, places, and animals with bad reputations – and the surprisi...

As a child, Lulu Miller had a beloved dog. But one day, the dog disappeared – and in all likelihood, it was probably eaten by coyotes. Since then, Lulu has been strangely fascinated by these crepuscular creatures. Now, she heads to Graceland Cemetery in Chicago at the crack of dawn – to marvel at the urban coyotes that make the cemetery their home, and to grapple with their longstanding bad reputa...

Toronto is home to a massive underground mall called the PATH, a labyrinth of hallways with shops, banks, and no fewer than nine Tim Hortons. At 30 kilometers long, it’s the largest underground shopping complex in the world. It's also famously dull. What wonder can be found in a dreary, underground mall? Reporter Elah Feder takes this as a challenge and descends into the PATH to see if she can wri...

Dylan has complicated feelings about rats. On one hand, they’re amazingly resourceful creatures. On the other, they caused the bubonic plague (and other harmful situations). So when Terrestrials producer and composer Alan Goffinski went on a rat reporting spree Dylan knew just who he had to talk to in order to come to terms with his feelings about the rodents. From a subterranean rat city undernea...

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

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