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.
Edward Bellemy's Real-World Utopia
Dystopian fiction is all the rage these days. But back in the 1800s one of the bestselling books in the United States was a work of utopian fiction, about a guy who falls asleep in 1887 and accidentally time travels to the year 2000. The book, called “Looking Backward” launched political parties, communal living projects, and inspired a generation of architects and city planners.
Check out the Bellamy House in Chicopee, the Bradbury Building in Los Angeles, and read Looking Backward for free on Project Gutenberg.