abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast

All-American Ruins
  • 4.7 (119)
  • PLACES & TRAVEL
  • UPDATED BIWEEKLY
abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast

abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast guides listeners through immersive audio fantasies, recreating host Blake Pfeil’s experiences exploring abandoned spaces across the United States and around the world. Along the way, the show asks critical questions about American history and culture, community, economics, the environment, and mental health while encouraging folks to activate their imaginations as a tool for healing. Winner: Ambie Award (2025 - Best DIY Podcast), Signal Awards (2024 - Best Experimental Podcast, Best Indie Podcast, Most Innovative Listening Experience, Best Writing of an Individual Episode), Melbourne WebFest (Best Nonfiction Podcast) Nominee: UK Press Gazette Future of Media Awards (2024 - Regional Podcast of the Year), Ambie Awards (2024 - Best Indie Podcast) To learn more, visit www.allamericanruins.com.

  1. The People Who Used to Live Here, Part II

    3D AGO

    The People Who Used to Live Here, Part II

    Wander through fantastical realm of a real giant beige house (at the end of a very long driveway), abandoned and hidden on the banks of a famous river in New York-- where you’ll meet the ghost of the old woman and connect the dots between this story and “The People Who Used to Live Here, Part 1” from Season 1. This episode features: Margarita Meyendorff (Note: For the best immersive experience, we strongly suggest you wear headphones 🎧 for every episode of abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast.) To read the transcript of this episode, click here: https://www.blakepfeil.com/aar-podcast.html To read the original story this episode is based on, click here: https://allamericanruins.medium.com/chapter-42-the-people-who-used-to-live-here-part-ii-39a5dc0072eb To learn more, visit: http://www.allamericanruins.com Please contact advertising@airwavemedia.com if you would like to advertise with All-American Ruins. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    29 min
  2. The People Who Used to Live Here, Part I (A Season 1 Re-Release)

    JUN 5 · BONUS

    The People Who Used to Live Here, Part I (A Season 1 Re-Release)

    In preparation for the season 3 finale, “The People Who Used to Live Here, Part II: The Giant Beige House at the End of a Very Long Driveway,” we’re diving back into the archives for this special re-release of “The People Who Used to Live Here, Part I.” You know; for context. This episode originally aired on December 29, 2022. Original episode description: In the season one finale of abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast, follow Blake into his imagination as he recounts his experience exploring an abandoned mansion off a county highway in Ulster County, NY where he reflects on capitalism, exile, and chosen family. (Note: For the best immersive experience, we strongly suggest you wear headphones 🎧 for every episode of abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast.) To read the transcript of this episode, click here: https://www.blakepfeil.com/aar-podcast.html To read the original story this episode is based on, click here: https://allamericanruins.medium.com/chapter-11-the-people-who-used-to-live-here-a20a581bae8c To learn more, visit: http://www.allamericanruins.com Please contact advertising@airwavemedia.com if you would like to advertise with All-American Ruins. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    17 min
  3. Frozen in Time (Borden Farmhouse - Wallkill, NY)

    MAY 29

    Frozen in Time (Borden Farmhouse - Wallkill, NY)

    Feeling trapped in their Covid bubble, Blake and his pandemic pod-mate Isabel explore an abandoned Hudson Valley farmhouse where Isabel discovers the Borden family’s influence on the country’s dairy industry and reconciles with childhood ghosts. In an All-American Ruins first, join Blake as he passes the storytelling reins to his sister-from-another mother who you may recognize from previous episodes in season 2, "Isabel and the Allentown Mafia" and "Sober." This episode features: Isabel Wilder Learn more about Isabel’s work at https://5thhousepottery.com/  (Note: For the best immersive experience, we strongly suggest you wear headphones 🎧 for every episode of abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast.) To read the transcript of this episode, click here: https://www.blakepfeil.com/aar-podcast.html To learn more, visit: http://www.allamericanruins.com Please contact advertising@airwavemedia.com if you would like to advertise with All-American Ruins. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    30 min
  4. The Anti-Ruin: Michael Townsend and the Secret Mall Apartment

    MAY 22 · BONUS

    The Anti-Ruin: Michael Townsend and the Secret Mall Apartment

    What does it look like to revitalize an abandoned space - that’s situated inside an active and excessively large shopping mall - in 2005? On this special bonus episode of abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast, you’ll meet Michael Townsend, one of the eight artists who, from 2005-2008, did just that: built a secret apartment inside the Providence Place Mall. Michael is one of the subjects of the smash documentary Secret Mall Apartment, from director Jeremy Workman and executive producer Jesse Eisenberg, which follows the story of a motley crew of Gen-X urbex artists who did the unthinkable and brought national attention to the intricacies and devastation of urbanization and gentrification... simply by occupying “underutilized space.” This bonus episode was repurposed from a live interview on abandoned host Blake Pfeil and his creative partner Jeremiah Wenutu’s show Cinema Kingston!, a weekly late-night program that explores the film industry in Hudson Valley, NY. The show airs every Wednesday night from 9-11 PM EST on Radio Kingston, WKNY, AM 1490 FM 107.9, in Kingston, NY. To learn more, visit RadioKingston.org. To learn more about Secret Mall Apartment, visit secretmallapartment.com To learn more about Tape Art, visit tapeart.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 14m
  5. Star Wars Dad (Mountain Drive-In - South Fallsburg, NY)

    MAY 1

    Star Wars Dad (Mountain Drive-In - South Fallsburg, NY)

    While exploring the ruins of a once-popular drive-in movie theater, Blake thinks about his complicated relationship with his father, reimagining a screening of Star Wars that they attended together the year John was diagnosed with stage IV mesothelioma. May the 4th be with you. This episode features: John Pfeil Tiernan Pfeil (Note: For the best immersive experience, we strongly suggest you wear headphones 🎧 for every episode of abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast.) To read the transcript of this episode, click here: https://www.blakepfeil.com/aar-podcast.html To read the original story this episode is based on, click here: https://medium.com/@allamericanruins/chapter-28-dad-5a8c8ebd8631 To learn more, visit: http://www.allamericanruins.com Please contact advertising@airwavemedia.com if you would like to advertise with All-American Ruins. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    23 min
  6. A Finnish Ghost Story (Unknown Cabin - Pohjola, Finland)

    APR 24

    A Finnish Ghost Story (Unknown Cabin - Pohjola, Finland)

    Deep in the woods of the Finnish countryside sits a quaint house, red, and completely abandoned. In this international episode of abandoned, follow Blake inside where he has a run-in with a ghost-- and not an imaginary one. (Note: For the best immersive experience, we strongly suggest you wear headphones 🎧 for every episode of abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast.) To read the transcript of this episode, click here: https://www.blakepfeil.com/aar-podcast.html To read the original story this episode is based on, click here: https://medium.com/@allamericanruins/chapter-32-a-finnish-ghost-story-55c76aef24f To learn more, visit: http://www.allamericanruins.com Please contact advertising@airwavemedia.com if you would like to advertise with All-American Ruins. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    19 min
  7. Someone Lives Here (Unknown Casa - Merida, Mexico)

    APR 10

    Someone Lives Here (Unknown Casa - Merida, Mexico)

    “Abandoned” doesn’t always mean “empty,” and in one particular vacant mini-mansion in Merida, Mexico, that is precisely the case. Continuing on his international circuit, join Blake as he spins an imaginary folk tale about the people who used to live in this house, while wandering its halls and reflecting on family, poetry, and gun violence. This episode features:  Perla Ayora Joseph Darnell Dorian Darnell Elsa Darnell (Note: For the best immersive experience, we strongly suggest you wear headphones 🎧 for every episode of abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast.) To read the transcript of this episode, click here: https://www.blakepfeil.com/aar-podcast.html To read the original story this episode is based on, click here: https://allamericanruins.medium.com/chapter-26-someone-lives-here-5a1762102524 To learn more, visit: http://www.allamericanruins.com Please contact advertising@airwavemedia.com if you would like to advertise with All-American Ruins. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    21 min
  8. Fear (Homemakers Custom Draperies - Niagara Falls, NY)

    MAR 27

    Fear (Homemakers Custom Draperies - Niagara Falls, NY)

    Formerly a curtain shop in Niagara Falls, NY, a strange abandoned commercial space overlooking the St. Lawrence Seaway draws Blake in as he ruminates on fear, in all of its unknowable power and mystery. (Note: For the best immersive experience, we strongly suggest you wear headphones 🎧 for every episode of abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast.) To read the transcript of this episode, click here: https://www.blakepfeil.com/aar-podcast.html To read the original story this episode is based on, click here: https://allamericanruins.medium.com/chapter-37-fear-3ee608eecbe0 To learn more, visit: http://www.allamericanruins.com Please contact advertising@airwavemedia.com if you would like to advertise with All-American Ruins. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    21 min
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4.7
out of 5
119 Ratings

About

abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast guides listeners through immersive audio fantasies, recreating host Blake Pfeil’s experiences exploring abandoned spaces across the United States and around the world. Along the way, the show asks critical questions about American history and culture, community, economics, the environment, and mental health while encouraging folks to activate their imaginations as a tool for healing. Winner: Ambie Award (2025 - Best DIY Podcast), Signal Awards (2024 - Best Experimental Podcast, Best Indie Podcast, Most Innovative Listening Experience, Best Writing of an Individual Episode), Melbourne WebFest (Best Nonfiction Podcast) Nominee: UK Press Gazette Future of Media Awards (2024 - Regional Podcast of the Year), Ambie Awards (2024 - Best Indie Podcast) To learn more, visit www.allamericanruins.com.

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