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.
The Complaint Tablet of Ea-Nasir (Winter Wonder Classic)
Turns out, complaining about bad service really is as old as time. Hear the story of an ancient Babylonian clay tablet that has launched a slew of modern memes. Click here for more.
Dmanisi (Winter Wonder Classic)
An archeological site in the country of Georgia, which features the oldest, human skull fossils found outside of Africa, challenges what we think we know about our deep past.READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/dmanisi-hominins-brain-shape
Monkey Island (Winter Wonder Classic)
An island off the coast of Puerto Rico is home to more than 1500 imported monkeys, which have been studied by researchers for decades.READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/cayo-santiago-monkey-island
Cranes of the DMZ (Winter Wonder Classic)
The Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between North and South Korea has become an accidental bird sanctuary for one of the world’s most endangered crane species. Learn more about the International Crane Foundation at savingcranes.org.
Mafra Palace Library Bats (Winter Wonder Classic)
A grand library in Portugal has some unexpected nighttime caretakers -- tiny bats. READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/mafra-palace-library-bats
Parrots of Green-Wood Cemetery (Winter Wonder Classic)
These Argentinian parrots have made an unlikely home in a Brooklyn, NY cemetery.
Luomus Spiders (Winter Wonder Classic)
Finnish Museum of Natural History in Helsinki has had an infestation of Chilean recluse spiders for more than 50 years.
Micropia (Winter Wonder Classic)
Take a trip to Micropia, the world’s only museum dedicated to microscopic organisms and learn about our invisible life companions.READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/micropia
Milky Seas (Winter Wonder Classic)
Join host Dylan Thuras, a satellite scientist, and a ship captain in search of gigantic swaths of bioluminescence that radiate up from the surface of the sea over thousands of square miles.
Laguna Del Diamante (Winter Wonder Classic)
A toxic lake high in the Andes mountains in Argentina is home to microbes that provide a window to our planet’s past — and a key to securing its future.READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/laguna-del-diamante
Relampago del Catatumbo (Winter Wonder Classic)
There’s an everlasting lightning storm in Northwestern Venezuela that appears in the night sky nearly every night.READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/relampago-del-catatumbo
The Various Ends of the World (Winter Wonder Classic)
Science writer Peter Brannen takes listeners on a tour of the world’s five major mass extinctions.
Spacecraft Cemetery (Winter Wonder Classic)
Where does space stuff go after it dies? To this spot deep, deep in the Pacific ocean.READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/spacecraft-cemetery
Fun and Funny Science with Mary Roach (Winter Wonder Classic)
Author Mary Roach takes us into the hidden corners of the scientific world. From training to poop in space to the surprisingly pleasant Common Cold Unit, all the way to the inside of Elvis’s colon. If you want to check out her work, we recommend starting with Packing for Mars.
The Grave of Miss Baker (Winter Wonder Classic)
Visitors leave bananas on the grave of “America’s First Lady of Space,” an early astronaut whose incredible life was forgotten. READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-grave-of-miss-baker-huntsville-alabama