A producer sits down with Dylan and recounts his trip to a place referred to as “The Venice of Africa.”

READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/gavie-benin

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Marina Marchese is a beekeeper and trained honey sommelier. She explains how honey tastes like the place where it’s made… and guides co-host Kelly McEvers through a taste test of some of the world’s most unique and unusual honeys. 

Plus, if you’re interested in learning to taste honey like a sommelier, consider one of Marina’s classes, or check out her books

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Today, we are celebrating the spirit of April Fools’ Day with two stories about hoaxes. One is about a mythical creature in Fouke, Arkansas and the other about a giant sea serpent in a small town of New York. 

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For one sixteenth century Austrian mayor, a long, luscious beard was both his claim to fame – and the cause of his downfall. 

Read more about Hans Steininger and his deadly beard: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/beard-braunau-steininger-hans

And how about a deep-dive into facial hair culture in 16th century central Europe? 

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1468-0424.12538

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Daren Grover was on vacation near the top of New Zealand’s South Island when he got a call: some whales needed help. Hundreds of them had stranded on a spot so notorious for whale strandings, it’s cause for celebration when a year goes by without a stranding: the Farewell Spit. 

Check out Project Jonah: https://www.projectjonah.org.nz/

Giant searchable database of sustainable seafood (and seafood to avoid) from Monterey Bay Aquarium: https://www.seafoodwatch.org/recommendations

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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

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What drives a person to live in isolation? Meet Sue Aikens, who thrives in the icy expanse of the Arctic. She shares stories of survival, self-discovery, and the wild encounters that continue to shape her life. Her memoir, "North of Ordinary," was just published.

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Todd Lerew has spent a decade visiting every single museum in Los Angeles. He chronicled his journey in his book Also on View: Unique and Unexpected Museums of Greater Los Angeles. 

Check out Todd’s map of the museums at Everymuseum.la. Plus, listen to our episode with Jane August who is undertaking a similar project in NYC. 

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In the 1950s, a journalist doing archival research at the Staten Island Historical Society came across a collection of images that stopped him in his tracks. These photos featured women from the 1890s smoking cigarettes, dressed in men’s clothing, showing their petticoats or legs or hair. These photos were taken by a woman named Alice Austen, and Jensen decided to track her down…a trail which led him to the Staten Island poor house. 

Today we learn Alice’s story, by visiting the house on Staten Island where she lived for most of her life –  before she lost nearly everything – which is today a museum dedicated to her life and work. 

Check out the Alice Austen House online: https://aliceausten.org/

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You may have heard the phrase 'third place' being used more often as the world started opening up post-pandemic. People were craving somewhere that was neither their home or work, but still a place to focus social connection. But the Barbican, in London, was WAY ahead of its time.

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