The Atlas Obscura Podcast

Spooky Szn: The Fear Lab

On Fridays this October, we're surfacing strange, incredible and sometimes spooky stories.. At Denmark’s largest haunted house attraction, it’s not just about the screams

10,000 Dead Bodies Beneath a NYC Park

The James J Walker Park is a local New York City park in Greenwich Village. But what people might not know is that there are 10,000 dead bodies buried underground. In tod

The Museum of Miniature Chairs

This museum in Stone Mountain, Georgia is home to thousands of chairs – not for sitting, and not dollhouse furniture, but miniature chairs “with a different purpose,” as

Traveling Back in Time

The Atlas Obscura team answers the question:  If time travel were possible, what time period would you visit and what place would you like to see most? We also want to

America’s Oldest Tattoo Shop

Today we’re diving into the illustrious history of tattooing in Long Beach, California. Once the headquarters of the US Navy’s Pacific fleet, Long Beach (and its infamous

Spooky Szn: Lily Dale

On Fridays this October, we're surfacing strange, incredible and sometimes spooky stories. In this episode, reporter Sam O’Brien takes us to Lily Dale, the world’s larges

A Lost Passport in Berlin… and Baku… and Baghdad

Co-host Kelly McEvers has lost her passport – more than once. A lot more than once, actually. And all those mistakes led to some big life moments. And if you want to hear

New York City Used to Be a Forest

A plot of old-growth forest in the Bronx is the largest surviving remnant of New York City's original woodland. This episode was produced by Nora Ritchie.    Hosted by

Pumpkin Patches and Haunted Hotels: An Autumnal Mailbag

Kelly, Jerome, and Amanda answer some questions from a very autumnal mailbag – from visiting the LA version of a classic pumpkin patch (80 degrees, full sun, in a parking

Big Shoes to Fill

We step foot into the Haines Shoe House, a famous shoemaker’s ambitious advertising experiment. Then, we trek to the World Famous Giant Shoe Museum, a giant collection fr

Spooky Szn: Witch Cakes

On Fridays this October, we're surfacing strange, incredible and sometimes spooky stories. This episode centers on cakes with a particular ingredient that some believe pr

Hunting for Meteorites with Steve Arnold (Classic)

Today we're powering up our metal detectors and keeping a very close eye on the surface of the earth as we set out in the hunt for meteorites with Steve Arnold, who’s bee

The Slowest Concert in Germany

There’s an organ in Halberstadt, Germany that began to play in 2001 and will continue to play until the year 2640. This is the John Cage Organ Project Halberstadt.   

The Lighthouse Keeper (Classic)

We go to Fayerweather Island, off the coast of Connecticut, and get the story of Kate Moore, one of the first recorded woman lighthouse keepers. Over several decades, she

Is This The World’s Most Dangerous Toy?

The Griffin Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago has a very unusual artifact in its collection: an object that’s been called “the world’s most dangerous toy.” It’s a

Spooky Szn: Elmer McCurdy’s Nine Lives

On Fridays this October, we're surfacing strange, incredible, sometimes haunted and sometimes spooky places. This episode takes us back to1976, when a television crew fil

Looking Toward the Sky with Summer Ash (Classic)

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 literal

The Mutter Museum

Today, we go to the Mütter Museum in Philadelphia, and meet the two historians who are working to better connect us to the mysteries and beauty of the human body.  Host

The 9/11 Tour Guide

Christina Staton is a tour guide of the 9/11 Memorial. And today, she guides us to tell us about the overlooked places, memorials and sculptures of the memorial.     H

The Fresh Kills Landfill of New York City

Today, with the help of Ben Naddaff-Hafrey from Revisionist History, we’re going to Fresh Kills in Staten Island: a pile of trash that grew so tall and so vast, that it i