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/ 

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To read the transcript of this episode, click here: https://www.blakepfeil.com/aar-podcast.html

To learn more, visit: http://www.allamericanruins.com

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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

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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:

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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.

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“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: 

(Note: For the best immersive experience, we strongly suggest you wear headphones 🎧 for every episode of abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast.)

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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.

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An accidental pitstop at the ruins of a motorsports track becomes a silent meditation on spirits, open carry laws, and the function of fear as an explorer of the past. Walk with Blake through a history full of the distant sounds of race cars burning rubber around and around the track, surrounded on all sides by the sunny plains of Colorado in autumn.

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Join Blake in conversation with Garden State Film Festival executive director Lauren Concar Sheehy as the pair discuss the festival’s groundbreaking accessibility program “Cinema for the Ears,” which will feature season 2, episode 8 of abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast in Asbury Park, NJ on March 29, 2025. For tickets and more information, visit GSFF.org.

(Note: For the best immersive experience, we strongly suggest you wear headphones 🎧 for every episode of abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast.)

Please contact [email protected] if you would like to advertise with All-American Ruins.

You can join the All-American Ruins Expedition Club now: https://plus.acast.com/s/abandoned-the-all-american-ruins-podcast.

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All-aboard as Blake guides you to an abandoned double-decker passenger train in the middle of the California desert. While wandering the ruins of the great American railway industry, join Blake as he reflects the evolution of transportation, the unraveling of corporate greed, and his lifelong love of trains, deserts, and making music.

This episode features:

• Omen Sade

“American Train” written and performed by Macabre Americana:

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A last-minute decision to peek into the abandoned Irish Centre of Pittsburgh transforms into a daydream of a haunted heads-up penny and the assassination of JFK. Nestled among the City of Steel’s rolling hills, join Blake as he guides you through a forgotten cinder block sanctuary of the past, where he reflects on the death of his first love and how the grief from the loss helped him survive.

This episode features:

If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, you can call the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988, text 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org. You can also get support by visiting FindSupport.gov.

(Note: For the best immersive experience, we strongly suggest you wear headphones 🎧 for every episode of abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast.)

Please contact [email protected] if you would like to advertise with All-American Ruins.

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