The Atlas Obscura Podcast

Denise Kuhn, a chili researcher at New Mexico State University who helps farmers and breeds peppers. Chris Naka, a reporter who narrates his visit to Walter De Maria’s Lightning Field. Dylan Thuras, Atlas Obscura co-founder and reporter who covers place-based stories. They explore the Chili Pepper Institute’s history and breeds, then recount the secretive, meditative experience of visiting the Lightning Field.

Colin Dickey, a writer who explores haunted and abandoned places, revisits Centralia, Pennsylvania and finds it unexpectedly lush. He describes the mine fire origins, failed extinguishing attempts, and how nature has reclaimed the landscape. He compares Centralia’s rewilding to other abandoned sites and notes signs the underground blaze still persists.

Jane August, a NYC resident and museum documentarian chronicling visits to every museum in the five boroughs. She explains why she started the project and how she tracks progress. She compares definitions of what counts as a museum and highlights underrated spots like Red Hook Pinball and Poster House. She shares travel challenges, revisits for new exhibits, and plans to celebrate finishing the quest.

Manolo Morales, a producer who tells Hattie Carthen’s story — a Bed-Stuy organizer who planted trees to transform her block. Jerome Campbell, a storyteller who profiles Pearl Fryer — a self-taught gardener who turned rejected shrubs into celebrated abstract topiary. They explore how two people used plants and community action to reshape neighborhoods and create lasting local landmarks.

Sarah Fiddler, Ben & Jerry's flavor development chef who invents and tests ice cream ideas. She describes the quirky Flavor Graveyard behind the factory. Short tales cover how flavors are retired, tombstone poems and devoted fans. Hear why supply, factory limits and love shape which scoops live on.

Wendy Chin-Tanner, novelist whose King of the Armadillos draws on her father’s time at Carville. She shares the institution’s surprising community life. People made music, ran a newspaper, staged Mardi Gras parties, and organized against harsh rules. Stories cover arrival routines, secrecy and name changes, reasons some stayed after recovery, and a family’s return decades later.

Dr. Andre Isaacs, a professor of organic chemistry, guides listeners through Alice Ball’s pioneering work. He explains how her kava research prepared her to isolate shalmugra oil and invent a water-soluble injection. They trace the method’s impact, the erasure of her name, and later efforts to restore her credit.

A mysterious skull find in a sleepy English village and the frenzy it sparked across science and the public. The rise of a charismatic amateur excavator and competing theories about authenticity. Early doubts, decades of national pride, and the forensic tests that finally revealed deliberate tampering. The long shadow the fraud cast on scientific trust and how the story was unraveled.

Jessica Blake, associate director at the North Carolina Coastal Land Trust who helps manage the Stanley Reeder Carnivorous Plant Garden, guides listeners through a strange plant heist. Learn about the garden’s sea-coast habitat and why Venus flytraps evolved to eat meat. Hear vivid descriptions of the garden, the 2013 theft of over a thousand plants, and the changes that followed.

They request listener stories about unusual, funny, or memorable places people have slept while traveling. Instructions are given for calling or emailing to share three-minute voicemails. The episode highlights the search for bizarre hotels, cabins, and unexpected overnight experiences and invites personal anecdotes.