Jessica Oreck has spent the last 30 years collecting odd and forgotten objects. Now, they’re all beautifully curated and on display in the Office of Collecting and Design in Las Vegas. This episode is part of Nevada Week, where we bring you stories from the Silver State. Find out more about cool things to see, do and experience in the state by visiting Travel Nevada at https://travelnevada.com/ LEARN MORE about The Office of Collecting and Design here:...

This micronation about an hour outside of Reno draws visitors from all over the world. This episode was produced in partnership with Travel Nevada and is part of Nevada Week, where we bring you stories all week from the Silver State. LEARN MORE about Molossia at: https://www.molossia.org/ and Travel Nevada here: https://travelnevada.com/

Friend of the show Joanna Ebenstein tells us about her enduring fascination with death, how it led her to create the Morbid Anatomy Museum and, after some setbacks, why she eventually settled on her new home of Mexico City. READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: If you are interested in mortality and death and medical images and anatomical presentations, check out Morbid Anatomy. Joanna is also working on a new book called Memento Mori: The Art of Contemplating Death  to Live a Better Life. Pre-order it...

For one year, this journalist had the coolest assignment – as the New York Times “52 Places” reporter. Its charms and challenges were more than he ever imagined.

There are two miles of abandoned tunnels beneath the streets of Cincinnati, OH. A relic of an attempt to establish underground transportation in the city. READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-cincinnati-subway-cincinnati-ohio

A producer sits down with Dylan and recounts his trip to a place referred to as “The Venice of Africa.” READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/gavie-benin

This museum in Kentucky is either your dream place or your nightmare, depending on how you feel about dummies. Because there are more than 500 of them there, resting in peace. READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-worlds-only-ventriloquism-museum-in-northern-kentucky

The Great North American Eclipse will be April 8, 2024. Where will you be watching it? Who will you be with? And why is it important to you to see this marvelous event? Give us a call at 315-992-7902 and leave a message, or send a voice memo to [email protected].

An adventurous couple sets out to document and unearth the arrow’s of America’s past, once used to help pilots find their way across the skies. GET MORE You can learn more about Charlotte and Brian’s journey – and see photos of the arrows they’ve documented – at their website: dreamsmithphotos.com WATCH THE ECLIPSE WITH US! The Great North American eclipse is April 8, and we're throwing a festival to celebrate. This is the last one in the U.S. for 20 years! So, we're inviting you to Hot...

Author, astrophysicist, folklorist, and science communicator Dr. Moiya McTier guides Dylan through the galaxy, and along the way reveals why she loves space so much, how folklore helps people understand things bigger than themselves, and the origins of her award-winning book, Milky Way: An Autobiography of Our Galaxy. MORE: If this conversation really got you into thinking about space and mythology, Moiya will be teaching a facts-based fictional worldbuilding course online with us starting...

This site, and the enormous telescope that sits on it, is loved and lost to both scientists and everyday Puerto Ricans. READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/arecibo-observatory

Friend of the show Amir Siraj tells us the wild tale of his search for an interstellar object – a journey that led the astrophysicist to the bottom of the ocean floor.

Today the story of how a street lamp, a tangle with municipal government, and a love of the stars led a man to Goblin Valley, Utah a “dark sky certified” place for lovers of the night sky. READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/goblin-valley-state-park

Take a trip to a hostel in Iceland to visit the country’s last Big Mac, where the burger’s existence  unfolds a story about economics and national identity. READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/iceland-mcdonalds

Atlas Obscura writer Roxanne Hoorn brings us the story of an extraordinary relationship between people and killer whales. And, through conversation with Dylan, we learn how to better cohabitate as species on this planet. READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/killer-whales-work-with-humans

LeVar Burton presents SOUND DETECTIVES – a funny, engaging, and thought provoking podcast that invites elementary school-aged kids to explore the magic and mystery of sound. Equal parts fun and informative, SOUND DETECTIVES encourages listeners to engage with the sound mysteries that surround us, while unlocking the door to people and cultures around the globe. Join the team on this semi-improvised comedy caper, and help return the mystery sounds before the world falls silent! Listen to...

We go to Fayerweather Island, off the coast of Connecticut, and get the story of Kate Moore, one of the first recorded woman lighthouse keepers. Over several decades, she poured her heart and soul into a task and defied common expectations of what a keeper should be.

We go to Deep River, Connecticut – where the story of a botched bank robbery more than 100 years ago has taken on a life of its own as an urban legend. MORE: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-grave-of-xyz-deep-river-connecticut

The largest theater pipe organ in the world lives in a restaurant in Mesa, Arizona. Phenomenal musicians play requests while diners feast on pizza. READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/organ-stop-pizza

Dylan sits down with guest Blake Pfeil about what inspired him to begin exploring abandoned spots, what those spaces have taught him about escapism, sobriety and the sometimes blurry line between real and unreal that he finds there. MORE: Blake is an artist and adventurer. He’s also the creator and host of the podcast “Abandoned: All-American Ruins.” Check it out here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/abandoned-the-all-american-ruins-podcast/id1618595497

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 MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/mr-kaors-portrait

On our second day with Sporkful senior producer Andres O’Hara, we see what happens when invasive creatures that have made their way to the US refuse to leave… even when they’re slow and slimy. MORE: If you like these episodes, and are looking for more surprising and fascinating food stories, check out The Sporkful, which just released a new series called Deep Dish, which looks at the surprising history of dishes like bagels, tacos al pastor, and tamales.

With the help from a podcast friend (Andres O’Hara of The Sporkful), we go inside one of the busiest airports on earth. And we find out the fate of all the food that gets confiscated by customs. Spoiler alert: it doesn’t get eaten. If you like these episodes, and are looking for more surprising and fascinating food stories, check out The Sporkful, which just released a new series called Deep Dish, which looks at the surprising history of dishes like bagels, tacos al pastor, and Tamales.

Dylan braves one of New York’s most touristy sites to bring listeners the lesser-known history of Madame Tussaud’s origins.

For years, contributions from Black Americans to public spaces like beaches and museums have been hard to detect. Places Editors Jonathan and Michelle Cassidy take us to New Jersey’s Chicken Bone Beach and Chicago’s Field Museum to highlight a couple of these stories.