The Atlas Obscura Podcast

A listener shares a wonder from his backyard, this time in the small town of Aztec, New Mexico. Plus, we want to hear from you. Tell us about the wonders in your backyard. Is there a strange, unusual or surprising place in your city or town? What makes this place special to you? 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 th...

The José María Azael Franco Guerrero Cemetery in Tulcán, Ecuador is a topiary anomaly and a lush green paradise for the dead. This week, we’re celebrating the arrival of spring with classic and new stories about unusual gardens around the world.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Jason deCaires Taylor takes intentional art to another level with his sculptures that can be visited by humans and fish. This week, we’re celebrating the arrival of spring with new and classic stories about unusual gardens around the world.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Today we visit a hidden gem of Washington, D.C.: the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens, an oasis of ponds filled with lotuses and waterlilies. This unusual National Park – the only aquatic gardens that are a National Park – were first dug in the 1800s by a Civil War veteran.  This week, we’re celebrating the arrival of spring with new and classic stories about unusual gardens around the world.  This epis...

An orchard of metal poles sits on a hill overlooking Lake Washington. And when the wind blows, this musical sculpture "sings the world into existence" with its unique sound. This week, we’re celebrating the arrival of spring with new and classic stories about unusual gardens around the world. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use...

The Alnwick Poison Garden in England is a place where stopping and smelling the flowers could actually kill you. The garden is dedicated entirely to plants that are narcotic or deadly.  This week, we’re celebrating the arrival of spring with new and classic stories about unusual gardens around the world   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our colle...

In the Soviet Union, x-rays didn’t just give you a look inside the human body. They also gave you a glimpse of the outside world, thanks to music that was imprinted onto this unassuming medical tool.  Read more in the Atlas HERE.  Plus: We always want to hear from you! If you have a question or story for us, give us a call at 315-992-7902 and leave a message, or send an email to hello@atlasobscura...

As a young adult, Paul "Barbs" Barbato gave himself perhaps the world's biggest social studies assignment: make a profile of every single one of the 193 UN-recognized countries in the world. Ten years later, he finally finished.  Check out Paul’s project – and what he’s up to next – on YouTube @GeographyNow .  We always want to hear from you! If you have a question or story for us, give us a call...

In a storefront in Kearney, Nebraska, Morris Press Cookbooks Store houses a massive "Google of family recipes," chronicling nearly a century of American home-style cuisine. To test the archive, producer Jerome Campbell attempts to “bake his way back home” by testing an unusual make-do dessert recipe: A pinto-bean-based cake.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for inform...

We asked you to send us stories about a time you accidentally broke the rules while traveling… and some you really went there.  Plus, we want to hear stories about a place you love returning to. Where in the world is this place? What fond memories do you have about this place? Why do you return to this place? How often do you visit? Who, if anyone, have you met there? Has this place changed over t...

As a foreign correspondent, Kelly McEvers has found herself detained by the KGB, held up at ISIS checkpoints, and on the front line in Syria. But it was a much more mundane experience that left her feeling in over her head years later.  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 Plus: We always want to hear from you! If you have a question or story for us, give us a call at at 315-992-7902 and leave a message, or send an email to hello@atlasobscura.com Hoste...

In 1971, five hippies made a trek through the Amazon looking for rare psychedelic drugs. One of them was Terence McKenna, who, along with his brother Dennis, would go on to change the way Americans thought about “magic mushrooms” forever. We talk to John O’Connor, author of “A Short, Strange Trip: An Untold Story of Magic Mushrooms, Madness, and a Search for the Meaning of Life in the Amazon.” Hos...

Producer Manolo Morales shares a story with co-host Kelly McEvers, about a legendary place in the backyard of our Canadian northern neighbors.  Plus, we want to hear from you. Tell us about the wonders in your backyard. Is there a strange, unusual or surprising place in your city or town? What makes this place special to you? Give us a call at 315-992-7902 and leave a message telling us your name...

We visit Jerry’s Hat Museum, where a retiree has turned to an old chapel to house a collection of thousands of hats, pens, odds, ends and other artifacts from his Illinois hometown. READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/jerrys-hat-museum-illinois Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for adv...

Co-host Kelly McEvers and producers Johanna and Jerome answer questions about whether you should experience certain places with other people, the best movies to watch on an airplane, and the delicate etiquette of traveling to places where you know people. If you have a question for our next mailbag episode, give us a call at 315-992-7902 and leave a message. You can also record a voice memo and em...

A producer sits down with Dylan and recounts his trip to a place referred to as “The Venice of Africa.” READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/gavie-benin Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Marina Marchese is a beekeeper and trained honey sommelier. She explains how honey tastes like the place where it’s made… and guides co-host Kelly McEvers through a taste test of some of the world’s most unique and unusual honeys.  Plus, if you’re interested in learning to taste honey like a sommelier, consider one of Marina’s classes , or check out her books .   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz c...

Today, we are celebrating the spirit of April Fools’ Day with two stories about hoaxes. One is about a mythical creature in Fouke, Arkansas and the other about a giant sea serpent in a small town of New York.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

For one sixteenth century Austrian mayor, a long, luscious beard was both his claim to fame – and the cause of his downfall.  Read more about Hans Steininger and his deadly beard: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/beard-braunau-steininger-hans And how about a deep-dive into facial hair culture in 16th century central Europe?  https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1468-0424.12538 Hos...

Daren Grover was on vacation near the top of New Zealand’s South Island when he got a call: some whales needed help. Hundreds of them had stranded on a spot so notorious for whale strandings, it’s cause for celebration when a year goes by without a stranding: the Farewell Spit.  Check out Project Jonah: https://www.projectjonah.org.nz/ Giant searchable database of sustainable seafood (and seafood...

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.

  What drives a person to live in isolation? Meet Sue Aikens, who thrives in the icy expanse of the Arctic. She shares stories of survival, self-discovery, and the wild encounters that continue to shape her life. Her memoir, "North of Ordinary," was just published.     Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for ad...

Todd Lerew has spent a decade visiting every single museum in Los Angeles. He chronicled his journey in his book Also on View: Unique and Unexpected Museums of Greater Los Angeles .  Check out Todd’s map of the museums at Everymuseum.la . Plus, listen to our episode with Jane August who is undertaking a similar project in NYC.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for info...

In the 1950s, a journalist doing archival research at the Staten Island Historical Society came across a collection of images that stopped him in his tracks. These photos featured women from the 1890s smoking cigarettes, dressed in men’s clothing, showing their petticoats or legs or hair. These photos were taken by a woman named Alice Austen, and Jensen decided to track her down…a trail which led...