The Atlas Obscura Podcast

Stitcher Studios & Atlas Obscura

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. read less

Our Editor's Take

The title of The Atlas Obscura Podcast explains the show's mission. Some of the most amazing places in the world aren't well-known. Yet these are some of the most obscure and spellbinding places to visit. They include locales like Empress Anna's Ice Palace or The Great Stalacpipe Organ. Each podcast episode opens and closes with theme music by Sam Tyndall. It sets a mood for mystery and allure. The podcast's title alone entices one to travel to far, unknown destinations.

Each brief episode of The Atlas Obscura Podcast presents listeners with a new journey. The casual passerby might not notice the places explored as they hide in plain view. Host Dylan Thuras reveals the secrets behind the medical clowning program. He describes the caverns of Cueva de los Tayos and captivating walking tours.

Dylan is the co-founder of the Atlas Obscura website. Along with co-founder Josh Foer, he aims to bring listeners all over the world. The podcast is one way to do that without leaving one's doorstep. For Josh, trying to have an adventure every day is essential. Their book, Atlas Obscura: An Explorer's Guide to the World (2016), inspires readers to appreciate all the world offers to travelers. With this podcast, they take listeners on further journeys.

Each weekday, Dylan guides listeners to a new wonder. He also discusses the weird things one can collect along the way. Miniatures and collectibles carry their history. The people in these places also have much to share. One can imagine stepping into the Freud Museum London as the host's voice guides one through the doors. Listeners anywhere can explore the world, one fascinating stop after another. Every day, a new quest awaits the listener. Each proves as exciting as the last. Those ready to join the Atlas Obscura journey can listen to the podcast Monday to Friday.

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Society & CultureSociety & Culture

Play Trailer

Introducing: The Atlas Obscura Podcast

Introducing: The Atlas Obscura Podcast

Coming March 15: A new audio guide to the world’s strange, incredible, and wondrous places.

Episodes

Ruins of Le Jardin d'Agronomie Tropicale (Classic)

Ruins of Le Jardin d'Agronomie Tropicale (Classic)

This garden park in Paris, France contains the ruins of a colonial exhibition from 1907.READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/le-jardin-d-agronomie-tropicale

Controlled Cold with Nicky Twilley

Controlled Cold with Nicky Twilley

We get a crash course in the fascinating temperature-controlled ecosystem we’ve created to keep our food fresh – and available – all year round. Our guide is Nicky Twilley, co-host of the Gastropod podcast and author of the new book called Frostbite: How Refrigeration Changed our Food, Our Planet, and Ourselves.

Welcome To Wall Drug

Welcome To Wall Drug

In the South Dakota badlands, a small pharmacy employed an ingenious marketing gimmick, and boomed into a business that draws millions of visitors every year. It’s a story that involves giant dinosaurs, a mythological jack rabbit, and lots and lots of donuts.

Traveling With Kids: Please Send Help

Traveling With Kids: Please Send Help

We’ve got a fun collaboration with podcasters SuChin Pak and Kulap Vilaysack, hosts of Add to Cart. Hear them chat with Dylan about traveling with kids – the good, the bad, and the vomit-y times. Pick up tips if you’re about to make your first or 10th trip with young people this summer.

Blue Spring State Park

Blue Spring State Park

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.

The Last Sears in New York City (Classic)

The Last Sears in New York City (Classic)

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.

Looking Toward the Sky with Summer Ash

Looking Toward the Sky with Summer Ash

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.

Canada Obscura: The Giant Orange Sphere

Canada Obscura: The Giant Orange Sphere

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 glowing orange spheres. This week, we’re celebrating Canada’s strange, incredible, and wondrous places. This is the third story in our collaboration with CANADALAND. If you want to hear more stories from their great show, we recommend starting here: Crimes Against NatureThe True Story of SasquatchThis episode was produced by Kevin Sexton.

Canada Obscura: The Feral Horses of Sable Island

Canada Obscura: The Feral Horses of Sable Island

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 you want to hear more stories from their great show, we recommend starting here: The Truth About PolkarooWTF, Marc Maron is Moving to Canada?This episode was produced by Kevin Sexton.

Canada Obscura: The Real Life Winnie-The-Pooh

Canada Obscura: The Real Life Winnie-The-Pooh

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 from their great show, we recommend starting here: An Oral History of Just for Laughs GagsThe Newfoundlander Who's Behind a Fake Trudeau Sex ScandalThis episode was produced by Kevin Sexton.

Maillardet’s Automaton (Classic)

Maillardet’s Automaton (Classic)

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

A Daring Story of Freedom with Edda Fields-Black

A Daring Story of Freedom with Edda Fields-Black

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.

A Rogue Trip with Amir Siraj

A Rogue Trip with Amir Siraj

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.

From Seed to Significance

From Seed to Significance

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 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.

The Ludlow Massacre Site

The Ludlow Massacre Site

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

Shipwrecked Doritos (Classic)

Shipwrecked Doritos (Classic)

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

Gabbing Goblins with Colin Dickey

Gabbing Goblins with Colin Dickey

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 out Colin’s column on Atlas Obscura, or check out his website here.

Underwater Sculpture Gardens

Underwater Sculpture Gardens

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

Reppin MORE of our Weird Hometown Traditions

Reppin MORE of our Weird Hometown Traditions

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. 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.

Bonnie and Clyde Ambush Museum

Bonnie and Clyde Ambush Museum

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