The Atlas Obscura Podcast

Barry Enderwick has made and tasted more than 1000 sandwiches from across history. Today, he and Dylan make – and eat three sandwiches that each tell us something about history, culture, and ourselves. 

Pre-order Barry’s book, Sandwiches of History: The Cookbook, today!  We also have a new book coming  Pre-order a copy of Wild Life today!

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For one day every July, the Assateague Channel on Virginia’s marshy eastern shore is filled with the bobbing heads of swimming ponies. These feral horses are celebrities in the area, but nobody actually knows exactly how they got there. Atlas Obscura senior editor Gemma Tarlach tells us the story and wrote about it here.

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In 2008, a researcher floating in a boat in Lake Huron had an idea for how to learn more about our prehistoric ancestors. It involved sonar, a lot of patience, and some very bumbling AI caribou. Listen to Morgan Springer’s original story here. For more stories about the land, water, and inhabitants of the Great Lakes, check out Points North wherever you get your podcasts.

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We're working on another listener-led episode and want to know: What is your favorite unusual road trip destination? The weirdest road trip memory holed deep in your subconscious. Where was it? What did it look like? What do you remember? Maybe there is a place you have taken a friend, or your own kids and just thought. Oh man, they are going to freak out… It can be a good memory, a bad memory, or just a weird one. Give us a call at 315-992-7902 and leave a message, or send a voice memo to Hello@AtlasObscura.com. 

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Anna Swan had an adventurous life before settling in Seville, Ohio and building a house large enough to fit her large life.

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Today we have two classic episodes to share about hidden histories of America. In one, we’ll hear the story of an unconventional Revolutionary patriot – an enslaved woman who sued her enslaver. And in the other, we’ll learn about a group of Native American veterans who developed an unbreakable secret code during World War II – and the unlikely location where their legacy is preserved.

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The story of a big idea, and a big duck – and how this duck would go on to become an important architectural landmark that would influence buildings all around the world.   

READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/big-duck

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Thomas Downing, who arguably invented fine dining in New York City, had a secret going on underneath the floor of his popular oyster house. Writer Briona Lamback tells us the story. If you want to read the full article, check out the link here. And if you’re looking for an oyster experience, Briona recommends Brooklyn-based The Real Mother Shucker, the city’s only oyster cart.

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Gilbert Baker’s pride flag design is now a worldwide symbol for LGBT freedom and liberation. Now, his former stomping grounds remember his efforts with a beautiful mural. But there’s more to this pride-filled house than meets the eye. SEE the mural for yourself here and learn more about the artist here.

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This tiny stone cabbage has a big backstory stretching from the rich, treasure-laden halls of Beijing’s Forbidden City...through a harrowing wartime escape...to its prized place at the National palace museum in Taipei, Taiwan.

READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/jade-cabbage

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Author Doug Preston brings us back into the world of his latest book, The Lost Tomb, with a story of a remote lake in the Himalayas where hundreds of human skeletons were discovered – puzzling scientists and researchers for years.

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This museum in New York is a recreated 19th century glove making workshop complete with sizing tools, cutting blocks, and irons. It’s also  part studio, part exhibition space and the brainchild of a craftsman who dedicated his life to the art of glove-making.

READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-glove-museum

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In the 1850s, one anonymous Massachusetts shoemaker became a national celebrity – all by exhibiting his “family” of captured grizzly bears.

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A hospital and rehab center for birds in Manhattan started with a woman who just wanted to do all she could to help an injured goose. Decades later, it has become an institution.

READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/wild-bird-fund

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Places editors Michelle Cassidy and Jonathan Carey bring us stories about two specific languages that were created by people who gave us a glimpse into their worlds and cultures – real and imagined.

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History buff Torri Yates-Orr gives us the tea on Nefertiti, Cleopatra, and Amanirenas – and explains why we often don’t hear their full stories in history class. 

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In Atlanta, on this historic Auburn Avenue, sits a small bookstore and reading room that’s been called “an interactive art museum of Black Thought” 

LEARN MORE: https://www.forkeepsbooks.com/

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James Baldwin’s former home in the South of France is a site that many visit hoping to feel the essence of the great African-American writer. But should it be?

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In the early days of drinking in America, bartenders passed down drink recipes simply via word of mouth. Then, a suit-wearing, itinerant bartender decked out in diamonds changed everything. 

Plus, big news! “Atlas Obscura: Wild Life” is coming soon to bookstores near you. Pre-order your copy now!   

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What is your favorite unusual road trip destination? Plus, Dylan wants your travel questions. Give us a call at 315-992-7902 and leave a message, or send a voice memo to Hello@Atlas Obscura.com.

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Noah Purifoy was a pugilistic LA artist who eventually filled a 10 acre plot of land in Joshua Tree, CA with his off-kilter art. 

Noah Purifoy’s Outdoor Museum: http://www.noahpurifoy.com/joshua-tree-outdoor-museum

Learn more about Dale Davis: https://dalebdavis.com/

Listen to our episode about Leimert Park: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/podcast-leimert-park-ii

Listen to our episode about the Watts Towers Art Center: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/podcast-watts-towers

READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/noah-purifoy-s-outdoor-desert-art-museum

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Ultimate slow travel adventurer (and friend of the show) Bernie Harberts returns to tell us what happened when he spent months floating alone at sea. Bernie is also an author and filmmaker. You can read more about Bernie's travels at his website www.riverearth.com.

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Listener stories of hitting the road, parents in tow. We’ll hear about an unexpected run-in with a group of lumberjacks, a rare road trip with parents visiting from Thailand, and a heart-pounding incident in Istanbul. If you have a suggestion about our next call out episode or a place you would like us to look into, please write us an email at hello@atlasobscura.com. Or call us and leave us a message at 315-992-7902.

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We visit a London neighborhood that’s the epicenter of Caribbean culture and a place that aims to be the home for Black British history. Learn more about the Black Cultural Archives here.

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During the 1970s, archaeologists and fishermen stumbled across an abandoned military weather station on the coast of Labrador. It was labeled “Canadian Meteor Service.” The problem was: the Canadian Meteor Service didn’t put it there. In fact, the Canadian Meteor Service didn’t even exist.

MORE: You can visit Weather Station Kurt at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa, which is only about 980 miles from its original location!

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The only remaining operational Rotary Jail, found in Crawfordsville, Indiana, shows visitors how inmates were once locked within the building’s walls. 

READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/rotary-jail-museum

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This garden park in Paris, France contains the ruins of a colonial exhibition from 1907.

READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/le-jardin-d-agronomie-tropicale

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We get a crash course in the fascinating temperature-controlled ecosystem we’ve created to keep our food fresh – and available – all year round. Our guide is Nicky Twilley, co-host of the Gastropod podcast and author of the new book called Frostbite: How Refrigeration Changed our Food, Our Planet, and Ourselves.

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In the South Dakota badlands, a small pharmacy employed an ingenious marketing gimmick, and boomed into a business that draws millions of visitors every year. It’s a story that involves giant dinosaurs, a mythological jack rabbit, and lots and lots of donuts.

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We’ve got a fun collaboration with podcasters SuChin Pak and Kulap Vilaysack, hosts of Add to Cart. Hear them chat with Dylan about traveling with kids – the good, the bad, and the vomit-y times. Pick up tips if you’re about to make your first or 10th trip with young people this summer.

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We head to Florida, the wintertime refuge for many, for a glimpse of a rehabilitation effort aimed at some very distinct creatures known for being gentle giants – manatees. This episode was produced in partnership with VISIT FLORIDA.

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Producer Johanna Mayer takes a trip to the last Sears in New York City, and a Brooklyn landmark, with two people whose lives were shaped by the department store.

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Telescope tourist, rocket scientist and STEAM educator Summer Ash gives us the nitty gritty on the V.L.A. - a 22-mile telescope in New Mexico whose formal name is literally “Very Large Array.” We talk about how this observatory works and what cosmic wonders it’s detected.

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CANADALAND host Jesse Brown introduces Dylan to a strange and decaying Quebecois fast food institution… housed inside a giant orange sphere. Today, the orange is a relic of a bygone era. But decades ago, this odd establishment was on track to become the McDonalds of Canada. We hear about the rise and fall of Montreal’s Orange Julep, and how its eccentric founder envisioned a Canada scattered with glowing orange spheres.    

This week, we’re celebrating Canada’s strange, incredible, and wondrous places. This is the third story in our collaboration with CANADALAND. If you want to hear more stories from their great show, we recommend starting here: 

• Crimes Against Nature
• The True Story of Sasquatch

This episode was produced by Kevin Sexton.

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Host Dylan Thuras brings us to a remote island off the coast of Nova Scotia. On Sable Island, we learn how – against all odds – a group of beloved feral horses have not only survived, but thrived. There’s only one problem: Some people want them gone. 

This week, we’re celebrating Canada’s strange, incredible, and wondrous places. This is the second story in our collaboration with CANADALAND. If you want to hear more stories from their great show, we recommend starting here: 

The Truth About Polkaroo

WTF, Marc Maron is Moving to Canada?

This episode was produced by Kevin Sexton.

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CANADALAND host Jesse Brown tells Dylan the story of a Canadian man who adopted a black bear in the woods of Winnipeg – and how that bear became the inspiration for one of the most beloved children’s characters of all time.

This week, we’re celebrating Canada’s strange, incredible, and wondrous places. This is the first story in our collaboration with CANADALAND. If you want to hear more stories from their great show, we recommend starting here: 

An Oral History of Just for Laughs Gags

The Newfoundlander 

Who's Behind a Fake Trudeau Sex Scandal

This episode was produced by Kevin Sexton.

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This mechanical boy in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was a mystery - until it began to write. 

READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/maillardets-automaton

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Historian and author Edda L. Fields-Black tells us the fascinating and action-packed story of one of the most daring spy operations and raids of the entire Civil War – led by Harriet Tubman. 

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We catch up with Amir Siraj – friend of the show, scientist and world wanderer – who visited a new observatory in a Chilean desert that could help his search for rogue planets 

Check out other episodes we’ve done Amir here and here.

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Earlier this spring we shared the story of the city of Melbourne’s program to track trees, which morphed into a love fest. In this episode, we hear from YOU and your love letters to trees that play a special role in your life. 

MORE: Want to be in an upcoming Atlas Obscura episode? We’re collecting listener stories right now about traveling with your parents. Tell us about a place you went with your parents that was special to you. Maybe it was the annual trip to Niagara Falls or a national park. Or maybe it was just a one time thing but had an outsized impact. Call and tell us at 315-992-7902 or email us at Hello@AtlasObscura.com.

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The Ludlow colony in southern Colorado was once a bustling tent city and haven for miners and their families. But it was also the site of one of the country’s most monumental –and violent – clashes of the labor movement.

READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/ludlow-massacre-site

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In 2006 a massive haul of Doritos was shipwrecked on Hatteras Island on the Outer Banks, leaving its mark on the town forever.

READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/shipwrecked-doritos

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Author Colin Dickey tells us the story of a Kentucky family who, in 1955, claimed to be in a wild gunfight with unidentified creatures who may or may not have been aliens. And we learn how this event had a mysterious, surprising, and shockingly long legacy that eventually inspired one of Hollywood's greatest movie makers to create multiple films about aliens and monsters and family.

MORE: Check out Colin’s column on Atlas Obscura, or check out his website here.

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Jason deCaires Taylor takes intentional art to another level with his sculptures that can be visited by humans and fish.

READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/underwater-sculpture-garden

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From a rubber duck contest to hypnotizing chickens, listeners share stories about annual customs, events and practices that set their hometowns apart from others. 

MORE: We're going to be bringing you more listener-led stories this year, and we need your help. Tell us about a place you went with your parents that was special to you. Maybe it was the annual trip to Niagara Falls or a national park. Or maybe it was just a one-time thing but had an outsized impact. Call and tell us at 315-992-7902 or email us at Hello@AtlasObscura.com.

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We visit the Louisiana town where the infamous – but often misunderstood – couple’s story came to an end. 

READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/bonnie-and-clyde-ambush-museum

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We're going to be bringing you more listener-led stories this year, and we need your help. Tell us about a place you went with your parents that was special to you. Maybe it was the annual trip to Niagara Falls or a national park. Or maybe it was just a one time thing but had an outsized impact. Call and tell us at 315-992-7902 or email us at Hello@AtlasObscura.com. 

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The pigs once plopped on an uninhabited Auckland Island known for capturing castaways now play an important role in modern medical research. 

READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/what-lives-on-auckland-islands

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Science writer and journalist Rebecca Boyle has a new book about all about the ways in which the moon has impacted nearly every aspect of human life – including our conception and invention of time.

MORE IN THE ATLAS: Rebecca is a regular contributor to Atlas Obscura and you can find more about her work here and check out her book here.

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We empty out our change purse and visit Dan Zelinsky - the owner and head mechanic of the Musée Mécanique - one of the few remaining vintage arcades in the country. 

READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/musee-mecanique-san-francisco

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