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The Atlas Obscura Podcast

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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.

Location:

United States

Description:

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.

Language:

English


Episodes
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The Earth Room

8/5/2025
We remember Bill Dilworth, who took care of 280,000 pounds of dirt in an NYC loft for 35 years. Plus: Preorder your copy of The Atlas Obscura Explorer’s Guide to Inventing the World today!

Duration:00:15:14

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Unusual Date Spots with Eden Dawn

8/4/2025
Today’s show is all about unusual dating spots. And to help, Eden Dawn, co-author of The Portland Book of Dates and The Seattle Book of Dates, joins Dylan to answer some of your questions about travel and dating.

Duration:00:15:30

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Beach Week: The Gray Man (Classic)

8/1/2025
A South Carolina ghost story is a harbinger of hurricanes and a window into history. All this week, the Atlas Obscura Podcast is hitting the sand, and taking a tour of the world’s most unusual beaches.

Duration:00:13:20

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Beach Week: Sunny Jim Cave (Classic)

7/31/2025
We follow a long set of wooden stairs deep underground to a sea cave with a mysterious and colorful past, and take in a spectacular, hidden view of the Pacific Ocean in La Jolla. Learn more about The Cave Store: https://www.cavestore.com/ All this week, the Atlas Obscura Podcast is hitting the sand, and taking a tour of the world’s most unusual beaches. Plus: Pre-order your copy of our new book, The Atlas Obscura Explorer’s Guide to Inventing the World, today!

Duration:00:15:38

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Beach Week: Boulders Beach Penguin Sanctuary (Classic)

7/30/2025
Boulders Beach in Simon’s Town in South Africa is a destination where sunbathers, tourists, and penguins share both the beach and parts of the town. All this week, the Atlas Obscura Podcast is hitting the sand, and taking a tour of the world’s most unusual beaches.

Duration:00:13:35

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Beach Week: The Tanks of Flamenco Beach (Classic)

7/29/2025
This beautiful beach made of sand and worn down coral is covered in the wreckage of tanks once used by the U.S. military for target practice. All this week, the Atlas Obscura Podcast is hitting the sand, and taking a tour of the world’s most unusual beaches.

Duration:00:11:49

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Beach Week: Shipwrecked Doritos (Classic)

7/28/2025
In 2006 a massive haul of Doritos was shipwrecked on Hatteras Island on the Outer Banks, leaving its mark on the town forever. All this week, the Atlas Obscura Podcast is hitting the sand, and taking a tour of the world’s most unusual beaches.

Duration:00:14:10

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Tiny Bread Box (Classic)

7/25/2025
A couple created what is perhaps the cutest and most filling micro-store to pop up during the pandemic. But to find it, you’ll have to trek through rural Vermont and look for the phone-booth sized box filled with baked goods. READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/tiny-bread-box

Duration:00:11:13

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The Grave of Charlotte Temple

7/24/2025
In the 1800s, people flocked to a special gravestone in New York City’s Trinity Churchyard. They left flowers and cards and even wept. But there was one strange thing about this gravestone: No one was buried beneath it. Read more about Charlotte Temple in Allegra Rosenberg’s article.

Duration:00:20:06

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Love Thy Neighbor

7/23/2025
We share stories about our neighbors – from an unusual pet in Maryland, to an out-of-place front yard in Brooklyn, to a beekeeper with a secret. Plus: We want to hear YOUR neighbor stories! Tell us about your neighbors’ yards, their house decor, their habits – and what you like about them. Give us a call at 315-992-7902 and leave a message telling us your name and favorite story about your neighbors. Or you can record a voice memo and email it to us at hello@atlasobscura.com

Duration:00:10:37

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The Ravens of the Tower of London

7/22/2025
An elite group of ravens live at the Tower of London, anxiously monitored and lovingly tended to by a professional ravenmaster. Because according to legend, if these ravens were ever to leave, the crown of England would fall. But it turns out this “ancient” legend is a relatively recent invention. More on the one historian’s investigations into the legend’s origins can be found in this paper and in the book City of Ravens: The Extraordinary History of London, its Tower and Its Famous Ravens.

Duration:00:14:55

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The Atlas Obscura Podcast Presents: Charlie’s Place

7/21/2025
Today, we’re sharing an episode from our new podcast documentary series, Charlie’s Place. Beloved, notorious, defiant, folk hero – these are just a few ways to describe Charlie Fitzgerald, the entrepreneur who owned an integrated nightclub during Jim Crow in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. What happened in Myrtle Beach at Charlie’s would come to define a community and generations to come. This is the almost forgotten history of Charlie’s Place. Charlie's Place is a production of Atlas Obscura and Rococo Punch in partnership with Pushkin Industries and presented by Visit Myrtle Beach.

Duration:00:33:57

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Ol Pejeta Rhino Cemetery (Classic)

7/18/2025
A small cemetery in the grasslands of Kenya serves as a way to honor one of the most endangered animals in the world – the rhino – and elevate the plight of a species on the brink. READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/ol-pejeta-rhino-cemetery

Duration:00:10:22

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The Art Spy with Michelle Young

7/17/2025
A French curator infiltrates a Nazi army to save masterpieces from the Jeu De Paume museum. Read more in Michelle Young’s new book, The Art Spy: The Extraordinary Untold Tale of WWII Resistance Hero Rose Valland.

Duration:00:28:41

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The Portland Treasure Map (Classic)

7/16/2025
A map in the archives of the Oregon Historical Society Research Library in Portland, Oregon may be the key to finding buried treasure that has yet to be found. This episode was produced in partnership with Travel Portland.

Duration:00:14:42

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The World’s Largest Time Capsule

7/15/2025
In 1975, a man in Seward, Nebraska dug a gigantic hole in his yard and made the world’s largest time capsule. On July 4, 2025, the capsule was opened.

Duration:00:17:23

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Dylan’s Mailbag: Solo Travel

7/14/2025
Dylan and producers Johanna and Amanda answer listener questions about solo travel. 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.

Duration:00:17:00

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Nue (Classic)

7/11/2025
A Seattle restaurant pushes diners to eat beyond their borders through its embrace of global street foods.

Duration:00:15:04

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Exploring the Pan-American Highway with Pati Jinich

7/10/2025
The Pan-American Highway is considered the longest road in the world – it stretches nearly 20,000 miles, from Alaska to Argentina. In her new docuseries Pati Jinich Explores PanAmericana, Pati talks with people along the famous route about the different ways we form our identities. And she was particularly interested in exploring this territory because of her own unique cultural background.

Duration:00:24:15

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How Polar Explorers Entertained Themselves

7/9/2025
Early polar explorers faced long nights and dangerous expeditions. To entertain themselves, they wrote and published niche newspapers and periodicals. Atlas Obscura’s community editor Allegra Rosenberg reads an essay exploring this unique polar tradition. Read her full essay here.

Duration:00:11:45