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On Fridays this October, we're surfacing strange, incredible and sometimes spooky stories. In this episode, reporter Sam O’Brien takes us to Lily Dale, the world’s largest surviving community of spiritualists, where she learns (even if you don’t believe in ghosts) there’s more than one way to connect with the dead. READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/lily-dale-spiritualist-community Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Co-host Kelly McEvers has lost her passport – more than once. A lot more than once, actually. And all those mistakes led to some big life moments. And if you want to hear more about Kelly’s encounters with Zora, check out her story from This American Life.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A plot of old-growth forest in the Bronx is the largest surviving remnant of New York City's original woodland. This episode was produced by Nora Ritchie.    Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Kelly, Jerome, and Amanda answer some questions from a very autumnal mailbag – from visiting the LA version of a classic pumpkin patch (80 degrees, full sun, in a parking lot) to the best ways to get some chills and thrills ahead of Halloween. Places mentioned in this episode: The LA Natural History Museum Spider Pavilion, Los Angeles, CAParanormal Activity on Broadway, NYC Loved To Death Oddities, San Francisco, CAThe Griswold Inn, Essex, CT If you have a question for our next one, give us a call, 315-992-7902, and leave a message. You can also record a voice memo and email it to us at [email protected] or email us your question!   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

We step foot into the Haines Shoe House, a famous shoemaker’s ambitious advertising experiment. Then, we trek to the World Famous Giant Shoe Museum, a giant collection from a man’s giant fixation.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On Fridays this October, we're surfacing strange, incredible and sometimes spooky stories. This episode centers on cakes with a particular ingredient that some believe protected them from witchery - and sparked one of the best-known witch hunts in United States history.  READ MORE IN THE ATLAS:https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/what-are-witch-cakes   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Today we're powering up our metal detectors and keeping a very close eye on the surface of the earth as we set out in the hunt for meteorites with Steve Arnold, who’s been in the game for more than three decades. If you want to learn more, check out Steve’s website, and read this profile of the meteorite hunting community. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

There’s an organ in Halberstadt, Germany that began to play in 2001 and will continue to play until the year 2640. This is the John Cage Organ Project Halberstadt.    Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Griffin Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago has a very unusual artifact in its collection: an object that’s been called “the world’s most dangerous toy.” It’s a science kit from the 1950s, designed to teach kids about the atom and atomic energy, but the twist is…it contains real samples of uranium. We explore the kit’s contents, and the context in which it was made. Check out the Atlas Obscura video of the kit, and our past episode on Atomic Las Vegas Explore the archival material mentioned in this episode: “Duck and Cover” (1951), “A is for Atom” (1953), and President Eisenhower’s “Atoms for Peace” speechDid you have one of these Atomic Energy Lab kits or other atomic toys? Or how about toys that would be considered dangerous today? We want to hear from you: Drop us a line at [email protected] or call us 315-992-7902 and leave a message.   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On Fridays this October, we're surfacing strange, incredible, sometimes haunted and sometimes spooky places. This episode takes us back to1976, when a television crew filming an episode of the show “The Six Million Dollar Man” descended on a rundown funhouse in Long Beach, California. While filming, they accidentally broke the arm off a wax dummy. Except...it wasn't a wax dummy. It was a real body. The body of a notorious train robber from the early 1900s, named Elmer McCurdy. Check out the Atlas entry for Elmer McCurdy’s grave.   For more information on Elmer, we recommend Mark Svenvold’s book “Elmer McCurdy: The Misadventures in Life and Afterlife of an American Outlaw.”  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Telescope tourist, rocket scientist and STEAM educator Summer Ash gives us the nitty gritty on the V.L.A. - a 22-mile telescope in New Mexico whose formal name is literally “Very Large Array.” We talk about how this observatory works and what cosmic wonders it’s detected. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Today, we go to the Mütter Museum in Philadelphia, and meet the two historians who are working to better connect us to the mysteries and beauty of the human body.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Christina Staton is a tour guide of the 9/11 Memorial. And today, she guides us to tell us about the overlooked places, memorials and sculptures of the memorial.     Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Today, with the help of Ben Naddaff-Hafrey from Revisionist History, we’re going to Fresh Kills in Staten Island: a pile of trash that grew so tall and so vast, that it inspired a secession movement and changed the people who grew up beside it. Emily Forman produced this episode. Be sure to check out Ben’s series The Staten Island Problem on the Revisionist History podcast.   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.