The Atlas Obscura Podcast Stitcher Studios

On the eve of the Second World War, there was one place that was the source for all good stories — the Hotel Imperial in Vienna. It exuded luxury and power, and also was the converging spot for foreign correspondents in the 1920’s and ‘30s who were warning the world about the rise of dictatorship. Historian and author Deborah Cohen takes us back in time and into the lives of these influential journalists.

MORE Check out Deborah’s book here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/576473/last-call-at-the-hotel-imperial-by-deborah-cohen/

Long before Joe Exotic got the country talking about big cats, there was Joe Taft – regular guy – who began raising and rescuing these types of felines in Indiana.

MORE: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/exotic-feline-rescue-center-2

The Old Cahawba Archeological Park is perhaps one of Alabama's most famous ghost towns. But it once was the center of life in this southern state. We unravel the surprising tale of this onetime capital city.

SEE IT IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/old-cahawba-archeological-park

Today’s episode comes from Twenty Thousand Hertz, a podcast that reveals the stories behind the world's most recognizable and interesting sounds. On their show, they’ve explored topics like the sounds of other planets, the mind blowing ways that insects communicate, and secret spy messages that are broadcast on the radio.

In this episode, they take you to the US-Canadian border, where, in 2011, residents of Windsor, Ontario started experiencing a strange rumbling hum that rattled dishes and kept people awake at night. Then, after years of getting nowhere, the mystery of the Windsor Hum was finally solved... Or was it? 

The Tree of 40 Fruits in San Jose California is an horticultural marvel of 40 types of stone fruit trees grafted together to form a living work of art.

READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/tree-of-40-fruit

We promise, this is not another sappy (pardon the pun) story about trees. Instead, author and science writer Mary Roach takes us deep into an ancient forest grove on Vancouver Island, in search of the danger trees and the people who seek them out.

Learn more about danger trees in Mary’s book, Fuzz here: https://maryroach.net/fuzz.html