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.
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SER Aventureros
Para los viajeros y los aventureros a los que les gusta el buen rollo. El podcast de Ponseti te aporta información útil, se hace eco de las últimas noticias relacionadas con la aventura y te cuenta las experiencias más apasionantes que han vivido sus colaboradores, gente que viaja más que Willy Fog: Ángel Colina, José Luis Angulo, Chema Rodríguez o Carlos Barrabés. En directo los sábados a las 06:00 y a cualquier hora si te suscribes.
Easy Italian: Learn Italian with real conversations | Imparare l'italiano con conversazioni reali
Take your Italian from learner to local with Matteo and Raffaele. Immerse yourself in authentic Italian as we share the ups and downs of daily life, interesting stories, and things that will surprise you about Italy. Plus, as a member, you’ll get interactive transcripts with a translation of your choice; bonus content; early access; and our magical vocabulary helper that shows you minute-by-minute translations while you listen. Com'è facile!
Lake Natron (Classic)
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.
What Makes a Pest?
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
On the Hunt for Murder Hornets
We go on a hunt for what you might call an entomologist’s most wanted insect.
The Black American West Museum
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.
Listener Stories of Leaving Home
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 that defies its bad rap. Or you can record a voice memo and email it to us at hello@atlasobscura.com.
We Want to Know: What’s a Place You Love That Has Defied Its Bad Reputation?
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 your name and story. Our mailbox will cut you off after two minutes so please call in if you get disconnected. Or you can record a voice memo and email it to us at hello@atlasobscura.com.
Pyramid of Djoser
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.
A Glass Palace in the Arizona Desert
In September 1991, eight people moved into Biosphere 2, a nearly airtight glass and steel complex in the Arizona desert. The half-acre farm at its centre would supply all their food. Plants, algae and photosynthesizing microorganisms would supply all their oxygen. If things went according to plan, they would have everything they needed to survive inside for two years – but a lot of people were betting against them. Mark Nelson wrote a book about his time in Biosphere 2 called Pushing Our Limits. Archival footage in this episode was provide by the Institute of Ecotechnics.
The Last Home Napoleon Would Know
In the middle of the South Atlantic Ocean, on the tiny island of Saint Helena, sits the Longwood House. It was the final home of Napoleon Bonaparte. And while there – amidst the serenity Saint Helena has to offer – the former emperor of France became a more reflective person.
The Cave Below Minneapolis
An urban explorer ventured deep below downtown Minneapolis in search of Schieks Cave. He discovered more than he bargained for. Read more about Schieks Cave and Greg Brick.
The 6-Day Race
For a brief window in the late 1800s, America’s favorite sport was walking in circles over and over and over. The biggest sporting events in the country were “6 Day Races” – days-long tests of endurance where competitive walkers competed to see who could log the most miles. Check out our guest Matthew Algeo’s book “Pedestrianism: When Watching People Walk Was America’s Favorite Sport.” And if you’re so inclined here is a selection of 6 Day Races that you can still compete in today: The Old Six Day, Six Days in the Dome, Across the Years (and a variation on the theme, the Sri Chinmoy Self-Transcendence 3100 Mile Race).
Times Square Hum (Classic)
Producer Johanna Mayer travels to Times Square in NYC, in search of particular sound that may sometimes go overlooked. READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-times-square-hum-new-york-new-york
President Heads (Classic)
What to do when you have 20-foot-tall busts of nearly every U.S. President and nowhere to put them?This episode was produced in partnership with Visit Williamsburg.
Dreamland Resort
Dylan visits a patch of Nevada desert known at times as Paradise Ranch, Dreamland Resort, or as most people know it, Area 51. His goal? To try and find out where The X-Files end, and the truth begins. And he falls deeper down the rabbit hole when he meets a man who is a German immigrant, a programmer, and possibly the premier Area 51 expert in the world: Joerg Arnu.Check out Joerg’s website, DreamlandResort.com.Special thanks to Ryan Broderick and the Panic World team. Panic World is a weekly podcast from Garbage Day about the moral panics, witch hunts, and viral freakouts that bubble up out of the weirdest corners of the internet. Subscribe now!Plus: Check out Dylan’s Panic World conversation about Area 51 and the New Jersey drone panic.
Jeremy Bentham’s Auto-Icon
Jeremy Bentham began planning for his death at a young age. He wrote a will in 1769, at the age of 21. But how did this philosopher’s dead body wind up on display in a university student center?