Episodes
Dylan Thuras is the cofounder of Atlas Obscura, but he’s more than a fancy title. Join Blake on this special bonus episode of abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast as he explores Dylan’s journey to becoming a part of the urbex community, from his humble beginnings as a road trip kid, to a burgeoning graffiti artist who started to find his creative POV at the abandoned Gold Medal Flour Factory in Minneapolis, MN. Learn more about Atlas Obscura: https://www.atlasobscura.com Learn more...
Published 06/22/23
On June 18, 2023, The Pines Hotel (South Fallsburg, NY), one of the many abandoned Borscht Belt hotels, burned down. The two alarm fire that ravaged the property leaves behind an impactful cultural legacy for the decades of guests who created memories inside-- and a powerful personal legacy for abandoned host Blake Pfeil, who created different kinds of memories behind its shuttered windows and locked doors, far after it was left to ruin in 1998. http://www.allamericanruins.com You can join...
Published 06/19/23
Join Blake for this special episode profiling Marisa Scheinfeld, the preeminent photographer, historian, and preservationist of America’s nearly forgotten Borscht Belt. Follow Scheinfeld’s unique and deeply personal journey as she preserves the legacy of the “Jewish Alps,” from publishing The Borscht Belt: Revisiting the Remains of America's Jewish Vacationland to spearheading the Borscht Belt Historical Marker Project. Learn more about Marisa: https://www.marisascheinfeld.com Learn more...
Published 05/03/23
Join Blake for this special conversation with Maxime Gerbe, the founder of Abandoned World, a tech platform that puts crowdsourced, mapped locations for abandoned spaces across the world at your fingertips. This conversation originally aired on The Pfeil File, a weekly program on Radio Kingston/WKNY (AM 1490/FM 107.9 in Kingston, NY). Learn more: www.itsabandoned.com www.allamericanruins.com You can join the All-American Ruins Expedition Club now:...
Published 04/20/23
Abandoned spaces can inspire artists and explorers in all sorts of ways, including through music. Join Blake for this special bonus episode where he shares a song he wrote, inspired by his quest to the abandoned “Greta Thunberg House” from season 1, episode 11. Happy Earth Month! Learn more: http://www.allamericanruins.com You can join the All-American Ruins Expedition Club now: https://plus.acast.com/s/abandoned-the-all-american-ruins-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for...
Published 04/06/23
In partnership with History Colorado, join Blake for this special bonus episode of abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast where he takes a deeper dive into the history of the original All-American Ruins location from his childhood: the abandoned dairy farm at the Modern Woodmen of America Tuberculosis Sanatorium in Colorado Springs, CO. Read the companion article "All-American Ruins" in History Colorado's The Colorado Magazine:...
Published 01/31/23
In the season one finale of abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast, follow Blake into his imagination as he recounts his experience exploring an abandoned mansion off a county highway in Ulster County, NY where he reflects on capitalism, exile, and chosen family. (Note: For the best immersive experience, we strongly suggest you wear headphones 🎧 for every episode of abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast.) Learn more: http://www.allamericanruins.com You can join the All-American Ruins...
Published 12/29/22
PANIC LiKe the houƨe iƨ on fiRe Join Blake on his expedition to an abandoned house at the foot of the Catskill Mountains that has been transformed into a makeshift artistic monument honoring climate activist Greta Thunberg--and Mother Nature herself. (Note: For the best immersive experience, we strongly suggest you wear headphones 🎧 for every episode of abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast.) Learn more: http://www.allamericanruins.com You can join the All-American Ruins Expedition Club...
Published 12/15/22
Join host Blake Pfeil for this special episode of abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast as he chats with Radio Kingston/WKNY Executive Director Jimmy Buff about his personal experiences at the notorious abandoned psychiatric hospital on Long Island, NY. (Note: For the best immersive experience, we strongly suggest you wear headphones 🎧 for every episode of abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast.) Learn more: http://www.allamericanruins.com You can join the All-American Ruins...
Published 12/08/22
Video version of this episode is available only on Spotify. It will appear as audio on all other platforms. Creator and host of the All-American Ruins multiverse Blake Pfeil teamed up HUDSY, a Hudson Valley, NY-based content platform cooperative, to produce a four-part video series, presented exclusively on the HUDSY platform. HUDSY's unique adaptation draws from both the original All-American Ruins blog as well as its companion podcast, abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast. Enjoy this...
Published 11/23/22
It's 1972, and Geraldo Rivera is on a mission to expose the horrific conditions inside psychiatric hospitals across New York. Fly back in time with Blake where he meets a curious, new imaginary friend named Carl who shows him around the abandoned, infamous psychiatric facility Letchworth Village in Thiells, NY. (Note: For the best immersive experience, we strongly suggest you wear headphones 🎧 for every episode of abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast.) This episode features Sam...
Published 10/27/22
In 1960, the world was introduced to the fictional voyeur and motel owner Norman Bates in Alfred Hitchcock's revolutionary horror film Psycho; and in 2016, the world was introduced to the nonfictional voyeur and motel owner Gerald Foos in Gay Talese’s book The Voyeur’s Motel. In this episode of abandoned, host Blake Pfeil is introduced to both (in his imagination) as he wanders the abandoned Sawyerkill Motel just off the New York State Thruway in Saugerties, NY. (Note: For the best immersive...
Published 09/29/22
Fall into part two of Blake’s Erin Brockovich fantasy thriller as he explores the second of two abandoned industrial spaces, infamous for former EPA violations: C&D Technologies in Huguenot, NY. (Listen to "Sometimes I Pretend I'm Erin Brockovich, Part I here.) (Note: For the best immersive experience, we strongly suggest you wear headphones 🎧 for every episode of abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast.) This episode features: Wilder Loving Learn more:...
Published 08/25/22
In the first of a two-part episode, fall into Blake’s Erin Brockovich fantasy thriller as he explores two abandoned industrial spaces infamous for former EPA violations. First up: the Al Tech Specialty Steel Corporation, a Superfund site just outside of Albany, NY. (Note: For the best immersive experience, we strongly suggest you wear headphones 🎧 for every episode of abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast.) This episode features: Wilder Loving Learn more:...
Published 08/11/22
The Marin Headlands is an enormous chunk of Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Hillside, cliffside, and waterside all-in-one, the unique geography is dotted by several abandoned military sites. It is also the location of this deeply personal episode of abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast, where host Blake Pfeil reflects on divorce, codependency, self-forgiveness, and a surprise encounter with a coyote. (Note: For the best immersive experience, we strongly suggest you wear headphones...
Published 07/21/22
Four days before the January 6th insurrection at the United States Capitol, Blake wanders the Penn Hills Honeymoon Resort in the Poconos, unaware of what's about to happen to the country. On this episode of abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast, time travel to a homogeneous couples resort with a history wrought with tax evasion, swingers parties, and good-ol'-fashioned heart-shaped tubs. Note: For the best immersive experience, we strongly suggest you wear headphones 🎧 for every episode...
Published 06/29/22
From a young age, Blake had an obsession with Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining and fantasized about time traveling back to 1979 to explore the film set. Since that proves to be impossible, the next best thing is an adventure to The Nevele Grande Resort, an abandoned ski resort near the Catskill Mountains. Join Blake as he wanders the halls of the Borscht Belt hotel with Shelley Duvall while the ghosts of guests past surround them both. (Note: For the best immersive experience, we strongly...
Published 06/16/22
Blake grew up next to the United States Air Force Academy, so it's fitting that his first venture to an abandoned space during the pandemic is an abandoned air force base near Saratoga Springs, NY on Memorial Day 2020. Join Blake as he time-travels to the Cold War-- when the paranoid threat of nuclear war with Russia incited the US government to produce a public awareness campaign (propaganda) starring a cartoon turtle named Bert. This episode of abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast is...
Published 05/30/22
Setting the scene for abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast, host Blake Pfeil travels back in time to his childhood in the mountains of Colorado where he reveals the genesis for his obsession with American ruins: an abandoned dairy farm. (Note: For the best immersive experience, we strongly suggest you wear headphones 🎧 for every episode of abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast.) Learn more: www.allamericanruins.com --- Send in a voice message:...
Published 05/19/22
Welcome to abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast, a bi-weekly episodic audio series. abandoned takes listeners through sonic fantasies, recreating host Blake Pfeil’s experiences exploring abandoned spaces across the United States. Along the way, abandoned asks critical questions about American history and culture, community, capitalism and economics, the environment, and mental health while encouraging folks to activate their imaginations as a tool for healing. (Note: For the best...
Published 05/04/22