The Atlas Obscura Podcast

In 1978, a team of Soviet geologists working deep in the Siberian taiga came across something they never expected to see: a house. As it turned out, they had stumbled on a family that had lived in complete isolation for decades – they weren’t even aware of World War Two.

Sophie Pinkham, author of the new book “The Oak and the Larch: A Forest History of Russia and Its Empires,” tells us the story of the Lykov family and what drove them into the forest.

Check out Sophie’s book about how Russia’s vast forests have shaped its history and culture: https://wwnorton.com/books/9781324036685

There’s also Sophie’s longread about the Lykovs in The Guardian, adapted from her book: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jan/22/forty-years-in-the-siberian-wilderness-the-old-believers-who-time-forgot

We always want to hear from you! If you have a question or story for us, give us a call at 315-992-7902 and leave a message, or send an email to [email protected].

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Co-host Kelly McEvers and producers Jerome Campbell and Manolo Morales answer questions about places they could live permanently, how to navigate travel as a Type B person when all your friends are Type A, and appropriate airplane attire. 

If you have a question for our next mailbag episode, give us a call at 315-992-7902 and leave a message. You can also record a voice memo and email it to us at [email protected], or simply email your question.

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Marta Becket was an artist from New York City. Then in 1967, when she was on a road trip with her husband, she discovered an abandoned social hall in the California desert town of Death Valley Junction. She left New York and moved there to transform this hall into the Amargosa Opera House to live out her dream as an artist. 

To read more about Marta Becket, you can check out her autobiography To Dance On Sands, or watch the documentary that was made about her life, called Amargosa.  

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In 2007, the beloved former mayor of Suwon, Korea, demolished the home he and his wife had lived in for 30 years and built them a new house shaped like a toilet: curved walls, a toilet seat roof, and a bowl-shaped courtyard in the middle. For many spouses, this might be grounds for divorce, but the mayor had his reasons.

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We go to Deep River, Connecticut – where the story of a botched bank robbery more than 100 years ago has taken on a life of its own as an urban legend. MORE: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-grave-of-xyz-deep-river-connecticut

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