The Atlas Obscura Podcast
An audio guide to the world’s strange, incredible, and wondrous places. Co-founder Dylan Thuras and a neighborhood of Atlas Obscura reporters explore a new wonder every day, Monday through Thursday. In under 15 minutes, they’ll take you to an incredible place, and along the way, you’ll meet some fascinating people and hear their stories. Our theme and end credit music is composed by Sam Tyndall.
Episodes
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 wring an ounce of wonder from this god...
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 underneath NYC to a “rat hotline,” Alan and...
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.
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
Adventurer Elise Wortley retraces the footsteps of historic female explorers – and she does it all with no modern gear, no shortcuts, and no guarantees that it is going to work out.
Learn more about Elise’s trip to the Valley of the Assassins.
Producer Alexa Lim travels in search of the Kolache Triangle. Along the way, she visits some of the state’s Czech communities, and hears how the kolache became the gem of the Texas roadside snack.
Two small stories about two cold nights in different parts of the world. 11:45 p.m. in Oulu was written by Anne Korkeakivi, and 2:30 a.m. in McMurdo Station was written by Elizabeth Endicott. Both essays were edited by Tusshara Nalakumar Srilatha and originally appeared in Off Assignment. Elizabeth Endicott is a writer based in Denver, and Anne Korkeakivi is the author of the novels Shining Sea and An Unexpected Guest.
Dylan and producers Amanda and Johanna answer a listener question that leaves them deeply shaken, and slightly disturbed.
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.
Thousands of kitschy lawn gnomes have taken over an Australian roundabout.
Read more in the Atlas here.
Today, if you venture into the basement of a certain clothing store in the Soho neighborhood of NYC, you’ll find an unusual sight: an old well. This well is tied to the first recorded murder trial in the United States – it’s a story of a 22-year-old woman, her suspicious suitor, and a legal team consisting of none other than Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr.
Author Lauren Willig joins Dylan to tell him the story. The case also ...
We head to a public bathroom in Alresford, England to hear how a toilet played a key role in flushing out an infamous Cold War espionage ring.
The unusual-looking Price Tower, a 1-of-1 from starchitect Frank Lloyd Wright, has been the pride of Bartlesville, Oklahoma for more than 60 years. But the challenge of maintaining the skyscraper as a historic piece of art has made it difficult for the building’s owners to keep it open.
Producer Johanna Mayer and Places editor Diana Hubbell tell us about two parts of the world where animals have invaded – and taken over.
Plus: Tell us about a place that has a bad reputation – but still, you love it. Call us at 315-992-7902 and leave a message with your name and your story. Or you can record a voice memo of any length and email it to us at hello@atlasobscura.com.
Lake Natron in Tanzania can leave welts and burns on human skin but is a bit of a paradise for another animal.
Read more in the Atlas.
Animal-human conflict expert Bethany Brookshire explains why we put cats before rats – and a lot of it has to do with where we’re encountering them.
Read an interview with Bethany in our new column, AO Wants to Know. And check out her book Pests: How Humans Create Animal
We go on a hunt for what you might call an entomologist’s most wanted insect.
Paul Stewart’s childhood fascination with cowboys and the Wild West turned into a museum dedicated to preserving the stories of the American West’s early Black settlers.
Listeners share stories of leaving home for the first time – from a first apartment in San Francisco, to running away with a member of a famous band, to searching for a piece of Australia in the United States.
Plus: Have you ever visited a place with a bad reputation, and found that you actually really loved it? We want to hear about it! Give us a call at 315-992-7902 and leave a message telling us your name and story about a place...
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 315-992-7902 and leave a message telling us ...
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.
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