The Atlas Obscura Podcast

Producer Abigail Keel takes us on the most strange, wonderful and beautiful potty break. And tells us how – and where – you can do it too.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Writer Jessica Leigh Hester joins us on a deep dive into the sewer, the subject of her new book. We’ll talk about some of the interesting (and disgusting) things she found there … like fatbergs. FIND OUT MORE: https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/sewer-9781501379505/   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertisi...

As part of Women’s History Month Atlas Obscura will be sharing some episodes from the archive, including this story about the origins of a Swedish holiday tradition which evolved from sinister pagan lore to a celebration of light, warmth and music. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Here the podcast team shares stories of wonder and curiosity that lies just outside your doorstep. Stories feature a troll bridge, a cemetery, natural methane vents, and more. Tell us about a wonder in your backyard. Record a voice memo and send it to hello@atlasobscura.com or leave a voicemail at 315-992-7902. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our...

The Dedan Kimathi Post Office played a notable role in Kenya’s struggle for Independence. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Ouija Board went from a tool for communicating with the dead to a sleepover party game. This trip through the Ouija Board’s past features a pit stop at the Ouija 7-Eleven. READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/ouija-7eleven Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This restaurant in Jackson, Mississippi was a haven for Civil Rights leaders and has stood for four generations, 83 years, and a whole lotta pig ear sandwiches. READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/big-apple-inn Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

As part of Women’s History Month Atlas Obscura will be sharing some episodes from the archive including this story about a forest in Oslo, Norway that will provide the trees for paper as part of a century long art project featuring famed contemporary authors.  READ MORE IN THE ATLAS:  https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/forest-of-the-future-library Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm...

This architectural oddity in Hartford, Connecticut looks like a mansion… but is only one room deep.  READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/a-everett-austin-facade-house Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

California's longest-running tourist attraction is a stump that helped spark a conservation movement. READ MORE IN THE ATLAS:  https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-discovery-tree Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This simple brick building in Chicago, Illinois was the boyhood home of Civil Rights icon, Fred Hampton Sr. and a continued site for community organizing. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Nellie Mae Rowe decorated her home in Vinings, Georgia with homemade dolls and shiny bottle caps and placed paper streamers, pieces of colored glass and improvised sculptures throughout her yard.   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

As part of Black History Month Atlas Obscura will be sharing some episodes from the archive including Producer Baudelaire Ceus’s journey to Leimert Park, a unique neighborhood in Los Angeles characterized by its historical relationship to Black liberation. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This little house in New Haven, Kentucky is where Thomas Merton aka profit-poet aka the rebel monk tried to get away from the world. READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/thomas-mertons-hermitage Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This tiny stone cabbage has a big backstory stretching from the rich, treasure-laden halls of Beijing’s Forbidden City...through a harrowing wartime escape...to its prized place at the National palace museum in Taipei, Taiwan. READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/jade-cabbage Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection a...

One man in Brooklyn, New York - armed with a homemade boat and an artistic vision - helped transform one of the most polluted industrial waterways in the US. To listen to the Newtown Creek Audio Guide: http://www.newtowncreekfieldguide.com/ READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/newtown-creek-nature-walk Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for informa...

Chiseled out of a stone cliff, one farmer's unfinished art project in Yoshimi, Japan lies in ruins. And an architect and a photographer are working to keep his legacy alive. Email us about buying a copy of Arai-san and Karasaki-san’s photobook at hello@atlasobscura.com   READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/gankutsu-hotel Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.ads...

As part of Black History Month Atlas Obscura will be sharing some episodes from the archive including the history of this paddleboat that gave some Black children a place to learn even when they were denied formal education on land.    Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This site in Boonarga, Australia honors the cactoblastis - a humble moth that traveled across the globe, and became the hero of a continent.  READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/cactoblastis-memorial-cairn Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The story of how famous Russian author Alexander Pushkin once faced a duel by The Black River on the outskirts of St. Petersburg features high drama, society scandals, a weird foot joke, and pistols at dusk. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

For Valentine's Day, the Atlas team would like to bring you this tale of the heart….literally. The Church of the Holy Cross in Warsaw, Poland is the final resting place of famed composer Frédéric Chopin’s heart - smuggled there by Chopin’s sister after his death.  READ MORE IN THE ATLAS:  https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/chopin-s-heart Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.c...

This site is “not a Library where you can borrow books” nor “a memorial with dusty relics” but still aims to honor the spirit of American author Henry Miller.  READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/henry-miller-memorial-library Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

As part of Black History Month Atlas Obscura will be sharing some episodes from the archive including this journey to famed Jazz musician Louis Armstrong’s House in Corona, Queens in New York.   READ MORE IN THE ATLAS:  https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/louis-armstrong-house Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal dat...

The killing of a British pig on an island off the coast of Northwestern Washington almost started a war between two of the world’s greatest military powers. 100 years later, a local artist commemorated the Pig War with a one-woman show, a troupe of mannequins, and a taxidermied pig.  Learn more about Steve Lyons’ play: https://www.lyonswrites.com/plays.html# Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz compan...

This relic of roadside attractions in Creston, South Dakota is believed to be the first of its kind in North America READ MORE IN THE ATLAS:  https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/creston-dinosaur Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.