This fall marks 50 years since JRR Tolkien’s death. In honor of the writer’s life and legacy, we want to take you back to the places where it all began.

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A huge rock, teetering on the edge of a hill for thousands of years, brought tourism, fame, and what’s said to be a 100-year curse to the town of Tandil, Argentina.

READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/la-piedra-movediza

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We go to Bonaventure Cemetery in Georgia to the grave of one Charles F. Mills to learn about a distinct – but at one time widespread – phobia –  and the hope to be saved by a bell.

READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/charles-f-mills-grave-bell

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The story of Chef Hamissi Mamba, whose family sought asylum in the US and years later founded an East African restaurant that serves up a small slice of Burundi in the Motor City. Find out more here.

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We go to Wilmington, Delaware, to a 4-acre garden with characters and exhibits created using castoff materials and greenery that invites kids to drop screens and rules – and instead give in to a state of play.

READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/enchanted-woods-winterthur-gardens

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We go on a journey through the depths of the ocean, meeting a different squid deity at each stop along the way. Our guide is cephalopod expert, biologist and science educator, Dr. Sarah McAnulty.

LEARN MORE: Sarah is teaching a course this fall about the creatures that live in the deep sea. It starts October 3, 2023 and you can find more information here. If you want to sign up, you can use promo code CEPHALOPODCAST to take 15% off!

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Podcaster Ashley Ray has more than a soft spot for her Midwest hometown. Hear why she thinks it may just be the best kept secret. 

HEAR MORE FROM OUR GUEST: Ashley has her own podcast all about TV and culture. Check it out here: https://www.stitcher.com/show/tv-i-say-w-ashley-ray

GREAT NEWS: We’re up for an award - and you can help us win!  Our podcast has been named a finalist for the Signal Awards! Go to vote.signalaward.com and vote for us in the best commute podcast category through Oct 5!

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A listener takes us to a town on the edge of the longest undefended border in the world. 

Note: US-Canada border regulations have been updated since this episode first aired.

READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/uscanada-border-slash

GREAT NEWS: We’re up for an award - and you can help us win!  Our podcast has been named a finalist for the Signal Awards! Go to vote.signalaward.com and vote for us in the best commute podcast category through Oct 5!

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Lake Karachay in Ozersk, Russia is the site of a former secret Soviet Union nuclear facility - that’s inspired art despite the little that’s publicly known of the site.

READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/lake-karachay

GREAT NEWS: We’re up for an award - and you can help us win! Our podcast has been named a finalist for the Signal Awards! Go to vote.signalaward.com and vote for us in the best commute podcast category through Oct 5!

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The Dedan Kimathi Post Office played a notable role in Kenya’s struggle for Independence.

GREAT NEWS: We’re up for an award - and you can help us win!  Our podcast has been named a finalist for the Signal Awards! Go to vote.signalaward.com and vote for us in the best commute podcast category through Oct 5!

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An intentional community in rural central Virginia has been testing an interesting  premise for decades — that maybe three, or four, or more parental figures are even better than two. This episode is part of a collaboration we did with Freakonomics. You can find a larger episode on this topic here.

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Urban planner, Moses Gates, shares his unlikely experience with the residents of the 61st floor of one of New York City’s most iconic buildings..

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At Denmark’s largest haunted house attraction, it’s not just about the screams. Researchers are studying the effects – good and bad – that fear has on humans 

READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-science-of-horror-fear

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There are thousands of varieties of citrus, many more than just the navel oranges. And they’re all being preserved in a collection at the University of California Riverside. Learn more here.

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Many of us rely on digital maps and GPS to get anywhere these days. Hear what happens when Producer Amanda McGowan finds herself lost in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park for a sport you may have never heard of – orienteering – which forces participants to navigate checkpoints with old fashioned maps and compasses.

MORE: If you think you might want to try orienteering, find a local group here.

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We chat with writer Alessio Perrone about what he learned from the people who hunt for Italy’s unexploded bombs, leftover from times of war. 

READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/italy-unexploded-ordnance

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How an MIT fraternity pledge instituted a new, unique unit of measurement. 

READ MORE IN THE ATLAS:  https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/harvard-bridge-smoot-measurements

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How do we determine the time? Believe it or not, there is an official clock. It’s located in Boulder, Colorado at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and we go there to visit.

LEARN MORE: NIST doesn’t give public tours. But if you want to watch the seconds go by as precisely as humanly possible, dial (303) 499-7111.

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We go to the Allegany territory of the Onödowá'ga people to learn about "The Creator's Game” – which evolved into the sport now known as lacrosse – and their constant fight to be recognized.

READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/onohsagwe-de-cultural-center

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We explore the power of myth and folklore through the story of an Irish woman, whose husband murdered her because he believed she’d become a fairy. 

READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/bridget-cleary-changeling-murder-ireland

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One of the last remaining World War II Victory Gardens in the U.S is quietly growing across from Boston’s Fenway Park. 

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School is back in session. So for this episode, Jonathan Carey and Michelle Cassidy of the Atlas Places Team bring two stories - one from the campus of Gallaudet University and the other from Cornell University to tell us about usual traditions that take place in these universities.

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In Myrtle Beach, mini golf is not so mini. It’s over the top! This episode was produced in partnership with Visit Myrtle Beach, and to find a list of all mini golf courses, go to VisitMyrtleBeach.com.

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Our team has shared memorable encounters they’ve had with animals, and some were very unexpected. So this time we asked YOU about those experiences – and some of them are wild! 

TELL US YOUR STORY We want to hear your stories too! Give us a call at (315) 992-7902, and leave a message telling us your name, and about the places you've visited that far exceeded--or failed to meet your expectations. You can also record a voice memo and email it to us at hello@atlasobscura.com. Looking forward to hearing from you.

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Just an hour west of Philadelphia, there’s a charming town in Pennsylvania that produces about two thirds of all the mushrooms sold in the US. We visit during the town’s annual festival and check out the mycelium madness. This Small Town, Big Story episode is produced in partnership with Go USA TV. Check out our video series featuring Kennett Square here.

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A music box given to Scott Harrison while he served in Vietnam inspired him to hand-carve all the animals for the Carousel of Happiness in Nederland, Colorado.  

READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/carousel-of-happiness

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We go back in time to another era of travel and take a trip on the oldest commercial sailing vessel in the United States. Click here to learn more about windjammers and here to book a trip with Captain Becky. This episode was made in partnership with the Maine Office of Tourism.

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The story of the white deer on Mount Madonna, the two robber barons who put them there, and the last survivor of the herd.

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Back in 2020, a lot of people moved to faraway places to escape urban life amid a global pandemic. Brent Underwood bought and moved to an abandoned town. We check in, three years later. To learn more about Brent Underwood and Cerro Gordo, you can check out their instagram @brentunderwood and their youtube channel named Ghost Town Living.

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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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