The Atlas Obscura Podcast Daylight Saving: Donuts and Mirrors
Mar 3, 2026
Jerome Campbell, a producer and field reporter who covered Rukan, Norway, talks about inventive ways communities chase sunlight. He narrates Arizona’s tangled time 'donut' and its effects on daily life. He also describes Rukan’s gondola history and Martin Anderson’s mirror system that restores winter sun to the town square.
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Arizona's Daylight Savings Donut
- Daylight saving creates patchwork time zones that complicate daily life.
- In Arizona the Navajo Nation observes DST while surrounding Hopi and Arizona do not, forming aTime 'donut' that produces multiple time changes within hours.
Commuting Through Multiple Time Rules
- Living near the Hopi and Navajo borders means commuting can cross multiple clock rules in one drive.
- Johanna Mayer notes a drive from Sedona to the Hopi Nation can cross three time zones in about two and a half hours.
How Standardization Still Allowed Time Chaos
- U.S. standardization reduced chaos but allowed state exemptions that preserved local choices.
- Congress standardized DST in 1966 yet permitted states to opt out, leaving pockets like Arizona with unique rules.