The Atlas Obscura Podcast

We head to Florida, the wintertime refuge for many, for a glimpse of a rehabilitation effort aimed at some very distinct creatures known for being gentle giants – manatees. This episode was produced in partnership with VISIT FLORIDA . Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Producer Johanna Mayer takes a trip to the last Sears in New York City, and a Brooklyn landmark, with two people whose lives were shaped by the department store. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Telescope tourist, rocket scientist and STEAM educator Summer Ash gives us the nitty gritty on the V.L.A. - a 22-mile telescope in New Mexico whose formal name is literally “Very Large Array.” We talk about how this observatory works and what cosmic wonders it’s detected. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for...

CANADALAND host Jesse Brown introduces Dylan to a strange and decaying Quebecois fast food institution… housed inside a giant orange sphere. Today, the orange is a relic of a bygone era. But decades ago, this odd establishment was on track to become the McDonalds of Canada. We hear about the rise and fall of Montreal’s Orange Julep, and how its eccentric founder envisioned a Canada scattered with...

Host Dylan Thuras brings us to a remote island off the coast of Nova Scotia. On Sable Island, we learn how – against all odds – a group of beloved feral horses have not only survived, but thrived. There’s only one problem: Some people want them gone.  This week, we’re celebrating Canada’s strange, incredible, and wondrous places. This is the second story in our collaboration with CANADALAND. If yo...

CANADALAND host Jesse Brown tells Dylan the story of a Canadian man who adopted a black bear in the woods of Winnipeg – and how that bear became the inspiration for one of the most beloved children’s characters of all time. This week, we’re celebrating Canada’s strange, incredible, and wondrous places. This is the first story in our collaboration with CANADALAND. If you want to hear more stories f...

This mechanical boy in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was a mystery - until it began to write.  READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/maillardets-automaton Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Historian and author Edda L. Fields-Black tells us the fascinating and action-packed story of one of the most daring spy operations and raids of the entire Civil War – led by Harriet Tubman.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

We catch up with Amir Siraj – friend of the show, scientist and world wanderer – who visited a new observatory in a Chilean desert that could help his search for rogue planets  Check out other episodes we’ve done Amir here and here . Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Earlier this spring we shared the story of the city of Melbourne’s program to track trees, which morphed into a love fest. In this episode, we hear from YOU and your love letters to trees that play a special role in your life.  MORE:  Want to be in an upcoming Atlas Obscura episode? We’re collecting listener stories right now about traveling with your parents. Tell us about a place you went with y...

The Ludlow colony in southern Colorado was once a bustling tent city and haven for miners and their families. But it was also the site of one of the country’s most monumental –and violent – clashes of the labor movement. READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/ludlow-massacre-site Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection...

In 2006 a massive haul of Doritos was shipwrecked on Hatteras Island on the Outer Banks, leaving its mark on the town forever. READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/shipwrecked-doritos Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Author Colin Dickey tells us the story of a Kentucky family who, in 1955, claimed to be in a wild gunfight with unidentified creatures who may or may not have been aliens. And we learn how this event had a mysterious, surprising, and shockingly long legacy that eventually inspired one of Hollywood's greatest movie makers to create multiple films about aliens and monsters and family. MORE: Check ou...

Jason deCaires Taylor takes intentional art to another level with his sculptures that can be visited by humans and fish. READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/underwater-sculpture-garden Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

From a rubber duck contest to hypnotizing chickens, listeners share stories about annual customs, events and practices that set their hometowns apart from others.  MORE: We're going to be bringing you more listener-led stories this year, and we need your help. Tell us about a place you went with your parents that was special to you. Maybe it was the annual trip to Niagara Falls or a national park....

We visit the Louisiana town where the infamous – but often misunderstood – couple’s story came to an end.  READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/bonnie-and-clyde-ambush-museum Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

We're going to be bringing you more listener-led stories this year, and we need your help. Tell us about a place you went with your parents that was special to you. Maybe it was the annual trip to Niagara Falls or a national park. Or maybe it was just a one time thing but had an outsized impact. Call and tell us at 315-992-7902 or email us at Hello@AtlasObscura.com .  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsW...

The pigs once plopped on an uninhabited Auckland Island known for capturing castaways now play an important role in modern medical research.  READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/what-lives-on-auckland-islands Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Science writer and journalist Rebecca Boyle has a new book about all about the ways in which the moon has impacted nearly every aspect of human life – including our conception and invention of time. MORE IN THE ATLAS: Rebecca is a regular contributor to Atlas Obscura and you can find more about her work here  and check out her book here . Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.c...

We empty out our change purse and visit Dan Zelinsky - the owner and head mechanic of the Musée Mécanique - one of the few remaining vintage arcades in the country.  READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/musee-mecanique-san-francisco Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A gnarly looking elm tree rumored to be older than Britain itself was the anchor in a community – until beetles got to it and it was suddenly gone one day. Thanks to the magic of technology, you can see a 3D scan of the Beauly Elm here . READ IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/wych-elm-of-beauly-priory Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information abo...

We go to Haiti, and visit a royal residence once called the Versailles of the Caribbean. But though Sans-Souci Palace, once home to Haiti’s only king, is now ruins and rubble, it remains a large symbol – just as its creator intended. | Read about this 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...

Farmers in Yorkshire, England take years to coax their rhubarb plants into a world-renowned delicacy using a century-old technique.  READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/rhubarb-triangle Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On the eve of the Second World War, there was one place that was the source for all good stories — the Hotel Imperial in Vienna. It exuded luxury and power, and also was the converging spot for foreign correspondents in the 1920’s and ‘30s who were warning the world about the rise of dictatorship. Historian and author Deborah Cohen takes us back in time and into the lives of these influential jour...

Long before Joe Exotic got the country talking about big cats, there was Joe Taft – regular guy – who began raising and rescuing these types of felines in Indiana.  MORE: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/exotic-feline-rescue-center-2 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.