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.
A Gaga Tour of the Town
Producer Manolo Morales – a devoted Little Monster, galivants around the Lower East Side, via an immersive, performance-art walking tour dedicated to an iconic pop star.
Martian Meteorites and Greek Columns (Classic)
Places editors Jonathan and Michelle are back again with a few new standout entries to the Atlas … including a spot in Antarctica that’s home to the oldest Martian meteorite and a column in Greece that symbolizes the fear and ritual past generations embraced when faced with their own plague.
The Lightning Field
For art nerds, the Lightning Field installation in the New Mexico desert is a bucket-list destination. It’s also a testament to the extraordinary control the artist who created it was able to exert, even after death. To reserve your spot to stay at the Lightning Field, sign up at the Dia Foundation's website.READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/lightning-field
Tiny Bread Box
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
Montezuma Well
A mysterious sinkhole in Arizona has befuddled an exclusive group of divers who’ve gotten a glimpse of a strange world underneath its sandy bottomREAD MORE IN THE ATLAS https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/montezuma-well-arizona
Café 't Mandje
We’re in Amsterdam, learning about a bad-ass woman who championed queer folx and provided a safe haven throughout World War II via her quirky bar in the red light district.MORE: Schedule a visit of Cafe Mandje with Badass Tours, which runs tours in Amsterdam focusing on women’s history, LGBTQ+ history, BIPOC history, Jewish history, or one tour tailored to your interests.
Brooklyn Latrine (Classic)
A listener tells us about a treasure buried in his literal backyard, and the two strange men who showed up on his doorstep and asked to dig it up.
Dolly Parton’s Dreambox
We will always love Dolly Parton, who’s installed a “dreambox” time capsule at her amusement park. In it, there’s a secret song that no one will hear until the legendary artist turns 100. LEARN MORE about Dolly’s songwriting prowess in Unlikely Angel, a book by Hamilton College professor, Lydia Hammesley.
A Long Walk Home
We meet back up with our pal Bernie Harberts, the beast whisperer, who trekked 19 million mule steps across the United States only to find himself, for the first time, a little homesick. MORE: To keep up with Bernie and to hear more about his travels, be sure to sign up for his newsletter – you can do that at his website: riverearth.com.
Gregynog Hall
We go to the former estate of the Davies sisters, two unusually wealthy Welsh women who traveled the world, fell in love with art, served their country, and then dedicated their home to culture and community.READ MORE IN THE ATLAS https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/gregynog-hall
The Immovable Ladder
In a place where multiple world religions intersect, this unassuming little ladder is a symbol of the very delicate balance that keeps a church in Jerusalem running.READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/immovable-ladder-church-holy-sepulchre
The Museum of Icelandic Sorcery and Witchcraft (Classic)
Reporter Eric Grundhauser recounts a memorable visit to an unusual museum in Iceland, where he explored the ancient lore of the occult, learned how to steal milk from his neighbors, and laid his eyes upon a pair of pants… made of human flesh. READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-museum-of-icelandic-sorcery-witchcraft-holmavik-iceland
Yemrehanna Kristos Church (Classic)
Photographer and author Paul Koudonaris brings listeners to this Ethiopian Church and explores ossuaries, jeweled skeletons, and death practices throughout the world. READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/yemrehana-krestos-church
Scary Stories from Real Places (Classic)
Atlas contributors bring listeners stories from spooky locations they’ve visited, and which continue to haunt them.
Spooky Sites with the Places Team (Classic)
With Halloween just around the corner Jonathan Carey and Michelle Cassidy of the Atlas Places Team bring you two spooky legends of The Mothman from Point Pleasant, West Virginia and a potentially ghoulish forest in the Transylvanian Region of Romania.READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/mothman-museum-2 and https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/hoia-baciu-forest