Podcast Episodes

The Atlas Obscura Podcast Presents: The Detour

Today, we’re sharing an episode from The Detour: a show about going places, that actually goes places. Host Sam O’Brien and geologist Becky Nesel take a trip to the Shawangunk Mountains (aka the Gunk…

Published on 1 month, 1 week ago

Italy’s Bomb Squad (Classic)

We chat with writer Alessio Perrone about what he learned from the people who hunt for Italy’s unexploded bombs, leftover from times of war. 

READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/artic…

Published on 1 month, 1 week ago

The Revolutionary Life of the Black-Owned Bookstore with Char Adams

Char Adams is the author of Black Owned: The Revolutionary Life of the Black Bookstore. She chronicles Black-owned bookstores in America – from David Ruggles, all the way to the stores that opened up…

Published on 1 month, 1 week ago

The Museum of Yogurt

In 1905, a Bulgarian named Stamen Grigorov made a discovery. Inspired by a wave of researchers studying the secret to long life, he decided to put under the microscope a food that he ate daily: yogur…

Published on 1 month, 1 week ago

The Chinampas in Xochimilco

Reporter Teresa de Miguel joins host Kelly McEvers to talk to her about these floating gardens called Chinapas in Xochimilco, Mexico City. Today, many of these chinampas are vanishing but efforts are…

Published on 1 month, 1 week ago

Snake Island (Classic)

A tiny island off the coast of Brazil is known for being a dangerous place … purely because its inhabitants are, well, snakes. But we speak to a researcher who’s seen it up close and says it’s time f…

Published on 1 month, 2 weeks ago

Mr. Kaor’s Letters (Classic)

We visit a quaint Dutch fishing village and attempt to unravel the mystery that unfolded there… a mystery that involved strange and curious letters and a voyage to the other side of the world. READ M…

Published on 1 month, 2 weeks ago

The Mythical Panda with Nathalia Holt

In the 1920s the world was small. This was an exciting time for scientists and explorers. And among these explorers were Ted and Kemit Roosevelt who traveled to China to find a rare animal back in th…

Published on 1 month, 2 weeks ago

Invasion of the Lampreys

About 100 years ago, the Great Lakes were inundated with an unwelcome visitor – the leech-like, blood-sucking, creepy-looking sea lamprey. For decades, a small governmental organization has kept the …

Published on 1 month, 2 weeks ago

Toronto’s Musical Robot

Artist and architect Danny Shaddick and the rapper Shad have known each other since high school, and they both wound up in Toronto making art together. Now, they’ve made an unusual musical robot that…

Published on 1 month, 2 weeks ago