The Atlas Obscura Podcast

The world’s biggest treehouse was inspired by a message from God. This week, we’re bringing you stories of places that, for one reason you another, you can’t visit. Plus: We want to hear from you! What’s a place in your life that YOU can’t visit? Give us a call at 315-992-7902 and leave a message, or send an email to hello@atlasobscura.com. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

We’re willing to bet that AO listeners didn’t go on the typical spring break trips. We want to hear your off the beaten track spring break travel stories. Where did you go? What made this trip so memorable? Did everything go as planned? Or did things go wrong? We want to hear it all. Give us a call at (315) 992-7902 and leave a message telling us your name and story. Or you can record a voice memo and give it to us. At hello@atlasobscura.com. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Old Cahawba Archeological Park is perhaps one of Alabama's most famous ghost towns. But it once was the center of life in this southern state. We unravel the surprising tale of this onetime capital city. SEE IT IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/old-cahawba-archeological-park Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Maybe when you think of Los Angeles you think of mega highways, gridlock traffic, and urban sprawl. But our guest today argues that it is actually an underrated destination for enjoying the outdoors. Rosecrans Baldwin, author of Everything Now: Lessons from the City State of Los Angeles, shares his favorite places in the city to enjoy nature, from urban parks to mountain trails…and then he’ll also take us even further out there, to a wilderness survival course and a class on talking to plants. More about today’s guest: https://www.rosecransbaldwin.com/ We always want to hear from you! If you have a question or story for us, give us a call at 315-992-7902 and leave a message, or send an email to hello@atlasobscura.com. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A giant salamander has been lurking in the rivers and streams of Appalachia for more than a hundred million years. And in just the last few years – after surviving one of the worst hurricanes in decades – they've become a local symbol of pride. This episode was produced in partnership with Visit North Carolina. We always want to hear from you! If you have a question or story for us, give us a call at 315-992-7902 and leave a message, or send an email to hello@atlasobscura.com. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

We go to Tallahassee and learn the incredible civil rights history of Florida's capitol city. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

DESCRIPTION: We asked you to send us stories about the places where you’ve stayed the night – some of you had some interesting experiences that live in your head forever. Plus, we want to hear your stories about your unforgettable spring break travel stories. Where did you go? What made this trip so memorable? Did everything go as planned? Or did things go wrong? We want to hear it all. Give us a call at (315) 992-7902 and leave a message telling us your name and story. Or you can record a voice memo and give it to us. At hello@atlasobscura.com. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This museum in Kentucky is either your dream place or your nightmare, depending on how you feel about dummies. Because there are more than 500 of them there, resting in peace. READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-worlds-only-ventriloquism-museum-in-northern-kentucky Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

As we approach Valentine’s Day, Atlas Obscura co-host Kelly McEvers shares two stories about a state that has a special place in her heart: New Mexico. The Chile Pepper Institute was produced by Baudelaire Ceus, and The Lightning Field was produced by Chris Naka and Manolo Morales. Learn more about how to book a visit to the Lightning Field: ​​https://www.diaart.org/visit/visit-our-locations-sites/walter-de-maria-the-lightning-field We always want to hear from you! If you have a question or story for us, give us a call at 315-992-7902 and leave a message, or send an email to hello@atlasobscura.com. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Centralia, Pennsylvania also attained a sort of cult favorite status -- often discussed a place you cannot and should not visit. But in this episode, writer and friend of the show Colin Dickey has a different take on this ghost town. He says Centralia is thriving and has a new lush chapter -- despite "burning" for the past 45 years. Read Colin's latest piece about Centralia on Atlas Obscura HERE. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Jane August has set a goal to visit every single one of NYC’s roughly 200 museums. She’s chronicling her journey on TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram at @JaneAugust. We want to hear from you! What is your favorite, underrated museum in your area? Tell us about it, and why you love it. Give us a call at 315-992-7902 and leave a message, or send an email to hello@atlasobscura.com. Plus, check out Atlas Obscura’s own list of unusual museums in NYC: https://www.atlasobscura.com/things-to-do/new-york/museums Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In honor of Black History Month, we are bringing you two stories about people who used nature to change their environment and communities. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Behind the Ben & Jerry's factory in Vermont sits a very peculiar graveyard... one dedicated to dearly departed ice cream flavors. READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/ben-jerry-s-flavor-graveyard Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

We visit a remarkable institution where people with Hansen's disease, or leprosy, learned to play music, had Mardi Gras parties, and published their own newspaper. Check out Wendy Chin-Tanner’s novel, King of the Armadillos, based on her father’s experience at Carville. We always want to hear from you! If you have a question or story for us, give us a call at 315-992-7902 and leave a message, or send an email to hello@atlasobscura.com. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In 1930, the King of Thailand gifted a tree to the University of Hawaii in Manoa for developing a treatment for leprosy. For decades, the tree has stood as a symbol of the groundbreaking scientific achievement. However, the woman who created the solution was missing from the story. Read Alice Ball’s Master’s Thesis on the Kava Plant, and Dr. Hollman’s JAMA article crediting Alice Ball. And check out The Ball Method Film. We always want to hear from you! If you have a question or story for us, give us a call at at 315-992-7902 and leave a message, or send an email to hello@atlasobscura.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In 1912, Piltdown, England wasn’t known for much. It was a quiet rural area with farms, winding tree-lined roads, and a pub. But then, a lawyer announced he’d made an incredible discovery in a local gravel pit: a skull that was part ape, part man. England was enthralled. Was this the missing link between humans and our ancestors? Could England be the birthplace of humanity? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This story is about a heist that took place back in 2013 – not at a museum, or a gallery, or a royal palace, but at a garden. What these thieves were after… were Venus Fly Traps. We visit the Stanley Rehder Carnivorous Plant Garden in Wilmington, North Carolina to learn about plants that eat meat, a venus fly trap lover with a vanity license plate, and the shocking $20,000 heist that’s still an unsolved mystery. Learn about visiting the Stanley Rehder Carnivorous Plant Garden… If you’re in the market for a Venus Fly Trap, check out this guide from the US Fish and Wildlife Service about how to avoid poached plants . Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

We're working on an episode about interesting places to lay your head -- and we'd love to hear YOUR story about the places you have stayed during your travels. Tell us why and how you picked that place, and what made the experience of staying there good, bad, funny, interesting, or impactful? Maybe you had a terrible experience at a five star hotel after booking it months ahead of time, or maybe you got lost finding your way to a cabin We wanna hear it all. Give us a call at 315-992-7902 and leave a message, or send an email to hello@atlasobscura.com. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A one-room museum located in the basement of a church-turned-community arts center is crammed with mementos from a pretty spectacular period in history. We hang with some retired dancers who recall the time when Chinatown in San Francisco was filled with late night cabarets famed for their showgirls. READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/showgirl-magic-museum-san-francisco-california Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Decades before New York City’s subway system opened to the public, an eccentric inventor set about building his own underground system – IN SECRET – beneath Broadway. It wasn’t powered by steam engine…or electrical engine…or even horses. It was powered by pneumatic tube (yes, like those tubes you occasionally see at the bank, or at cannabis dispensaries.) We chat with Matthew Algeo, author of “New York's Secret Subway: The Underground Genius of Alfred Beach and the Origins of Mass Transit.” Find out more about New York’s Secret Subway and Matthew’s other books at his website. (And check out our previous episode about Pedestrianism to hear more.) We always want to hear from you! If you have a question or story for us, give us a call at 315-992-7902 and leave a message, or send an email to hello@atlasobscura.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.