

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

Jan 27, 2023 • 14min
Classic: Cueva de los Tayos
This Ecuadorian cave has captured the attention of government officials, scientists, and professional cavers and is home to a particularly rare creature.READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/cueva-de-los-tayos

Jan 26, 2023 • 17min
Rae Wynn-Grant and the Bear
Rae Wynn-Grant, Ph.D. is a wildlife ecologist specializing in large carnivores. And in this episode she unfolds a mystery for listeners. To hear more about her encounter with a lion: https://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/podcast/not-your-average-field-trip/

Jan 25, 2023 • 16min
Empress Anna’s Ice Palace
Empress Anna’s Ice Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia was the site of an incredibly strange wedding. Was it a cruel joke? A strategic power move? Or something else?READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/russia-anna-ioannovna-ice-palace-castle

Jan 24, 2023 • 11min
Lee’s Legendary Marbles and Collectables
Lee's Legendary Marbles & Collectables in York, Nebraska is a pilgrimage of sorts for serious collectors and a curiosity for the casual passerby.READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/lees-legendary-marbles-collectables

Jan 23, 2023 • 14min
Urnes Stave Church
This intricately carved church in Luster is one of Norway’s great treasures of architecture.READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/urnes-stave-church

Jan 20, 2023 • 15min
Classic: The Great Stalacpipe Organ
The Luray Caverns in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia are home to an instrument that draws out the secret sounds of millenia-old stone.READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-great-stalacpipe-organ-luray-virginia

Jan 19, 2023 • 12min
Cementerio Municipal José María Azael Franco Guerrero
The José María Azael Franco Guerrero Cemetery in Tulcán, Ecuador is a topiary anomaly and a lush green paradise for the dead.READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/tulcan-municipal-cemetery

Jan 18, 2023 • 21min
The Lion House
This abandoned lodge in Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique has been reclaimed by local lions - a story deeply enmeshed in the larger history of the country. READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-lion-house-gorongosa-mozambiqueFurther Reading: S is for Samora (book by Sarah Lefanu)Let My People Go (poem by Noémia de Sousa)Apartheid’s Contras: An Inquiry Into the Roots of War in Angola and Mozambique (pdf book by William Minter)The Mozambican Civil War (1977-1992) (article by Samuel Momodu, BlackPast.org)Mozambique History Net (Resource)A Year in Gorongosa (film by Augusto Bila, narrated by Gabriela Curtiz)In Mozambique, a Living Laboratory for Nature’s Renewal (article by Natalie Angier, The New York Times)Narrative Fortresses: Crisis Narratives and Conflict in the Conservation of Mount Gorongosa, Mozambique (article by Christy Schuetze)White Man's Game: Saving Animals, Rebuilding Eden, and Other Myths of Conservation in Africa (book by Stephanie Hanes)

Jan 17, 2023 • 17min
Songs of Ice with the Places Team
Jonathan Carey and Michelle Cassidy of the Atlas Places Team bring you stories of how sometimes giant monuments built for a specific site need to go on a journey. READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/yakhchalshttps://www.atlasobscura.com/places/snowflake-bentley

Jan 16, 2023 • 10min
Green Mill Jazz Club
This internationally recognized jazz lounge has been running for more than a century. Its guests have included Frank Sinatra, Charlie Chaplin and less reputable icons like Al Capone.