• Happy Pride: Mapping the Gay Guides (Classic)
    Jun 30 2025

    To round out Pride Month, we’re sharing one of our favorite classic episodes. For decades, a one of a kind travel guide opened up the world for gay travelers. Today, historians are using them to create an interactive map of LGBTQ spaces in midcentury America.

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    14 mins
  • It’s Getting Hot in Here (Classic)
    Jun 27 2025

    Let’s all go to hell. Seriously. Hell, Michigan, that is :)

    READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/hell-michigan

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    9 mins
  • Four Rooms at the Omni Parker House Hotel
    Jun 26 2025

    In an homage to the 1995 movie Four Rooms, Dylan talks with historian Susan Wilson about how the history of Boston – and the United States at large – was influenced by events that occurred in four different rooms of the iconic Omni Parker House Hotel.

    This episode was recorded live at the WBUR Festival in Boston on May 31, 2025.


    Check out Susan Wilson’s books and her other work on her website.

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    33 mins
  • More First Travel Dates
    Jun 25 2025

    A couple months ago, we asked for your stories about traveling with a significant other for the first time. We got so many responses, that we decided to make a Part II.

    Plus, we want to hear your questions about travel and dating! In a few weeks, we’ll have dating expert Eden Dawn on the show to dish out answers. Give us a call at 315-992-7902 and leave a message telling us your name and question. Or record a voice memo and email it to us at hello@atlasobscura.com.

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    12 mins
  • The Biblioburro
    Jun 24 2025

    In a small rural town in Colombia, one man mounts books on the backs of donkeys and takes to the hills. This is how he operates his bookmobile, aka “Biblioburro.”

    For more information about where to support Luis Soriano’s Biblioburro, visit booksforchangeusa.org

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    12 mins
  • Why Is There a Statue of Columbo in Budapest?
    Jun 23 2025

    The TV show Columbo, about a loveable schlub detective, is internationally beloved. But Hungary has an extra special relationship with the show, dating all the way back to the 1970s when the communist government banned most other American shows.

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    17 mins
  • The Coffee Palace (Classic)
    Jun 20 2025

    A majestic building in Santos, Brazil used to be the center of the coffee trade.

    Go deeper with professor Ian Read’s work here and read more in the Atlas here.

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    12 mins
  • Ashley House (Classic)
    Jun 19 2025

    For decades, the Ashley House in Sheffield, Massachusetts preserved and promoted the story of Col. John Ashley, a wealthy businessman who opened his home to those fighting against British rule on the eve of America’s war for independence. But in this episode we hear a new narrative, about an enslaved woman and true patriot who tested the rhetoric of the revolution.

    READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/ashley-house

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    15 mins