

The Atlas Obscura Podcast
SiriusXM and Atlas Obscura
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.
Episodes
Mentioned books

May 29, 2023 • 11min
Tick Collection
We go to Statesboro, Georgia to the US National Tick Collection to learn what ticks, often thought of as little monstrosities, can teach us.READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/us-national-tick-collection

May 26, 2023 • 13min
Tina Turner Museum (Classic)
The Flagg Grove School in Brownsville, Tennessee has become a museum dedicated to its most famous student. READ MORE IN THE ATLAS:https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/tina-turner-museum

May 25, 2023 • 15min
Micropia (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

May 24, 2023 • 13min
American Chestnut Foundation (Classic)
The story of the unimaginable destruction of the American Chestnut tree and the group of scientists, academics and tree lovers who are desperately trying to bring them back from the edge of extinction.LEARN MORE: Visit https://acf.org/ to find out more about this massive conservation effort

May 23, 2023 • 16min
The Mirror Lab (Classic)
A spinning furnace tucked under the football stadium at the University of Arizona is building giant telescope mirrors. READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/richard-f-caris-mirror-laboratory

May 22, 2023 • 13min
Åtvidaberg Sun Cannon (Classic)
Sun cannons have been around since the 1600s. But as far as we know, there’s only one left that’s still up and running. We pay it a visit. READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/atvidaberg-sun-cannon

May 19, 2023 • 13min
Chile Pepper Institute
Habaneros! Jalapenos! Green! Red! These days, an appreciation for chiles is pretty mainstream. But that wasn’t always the case. We head to New Mexico to learn how this food became such a huge part of our culture, and visit an institute dedicated to its continual improvement. READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/chile-pepper-institute

May 18, 2023 • 12min
Fugitive Train Wreck
A North Carolina town has become a draw for people who want to see the wreckage of the train wreck from the movie “The Fugitive.” But a more interesting – and true – story happened just a pistol shot away.READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-fugitive-train-wreck-sylva-north-carolina

May 17, 2023 • 12min
Theatricum Botanicum
A once-blacklisted Hollywood star created a magical theater in Topanga Canyon, California, that still endures and inspires today.READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/theatricum-botanicum

May 16, 2023 • 18min
Voynich Manuscript
One of the oldest books in the world is also the most misunderstood. A medievalist tells us about the Voynich, which is in the collection of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale. READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/beinecke-rare-book-manuscript-library