Zach Stafford found great career success at a very young age – he’s a writer, producer, and co-host of the news & culture podcast Vibe Check. His intense work schedule has taken him all over America, and each of the cities and towns he found himself in has shaped him in some way. And through it all, Zach has been searching for a very specific feeling.

In the year 1329, a woman named Christine Carpenter was enclosed in a tiny cell in the walls of a church in Shere, England. She was expected to spend the rest of her life praying in almost complete isolation. But the reason we know her name is that she did something very unusual – she broke out.

Learn more about our guest Professor Diane Watt’s work about the lives of medieval women in England, and about St. James’s Church in Shere.

Dylan and producer Gabby Gladney dive into the colorful world of art cars, from Houston’s epic parades to DIY creations in Minneapolis.

Then, Dylan talks to his own father about the multiple art cars they’ve had over the years.

Writer Joshua Rigsby takes a very strange journey into the birthplace of Cabbage Patch Kids. After he returns, he can never look at the dolls the same way again.

Read Joshua’s essay about his trip to BabyLand General Hospital, and check out his bookstore, Pretty Good Books.

We’re (almost) back! And we want to hear your New Year’s travel resolutions.

Send a voice memo to hello@atlasobscura.com. Or, give us a call at 315-992-7902 and leave a message.

For a brief period the small frontier city of Sioux Falls, South Dakota drew in socialites and celebrities who were desperate to end their marriages.

Ultimate slow travel adventurer (and friend of the show) Bernie Harberts returns to tell us what happened when he spent months floating alone at sea. Bernie is also an author and filmmaker.

You can read more about Bernie's travels at his website www.riverearth.com.

The 1980s birthed a gleaming creature that spread its wings of scrap wood and glass over the intersection of two iconic Brooklyn, NY neighborhoods for thirty years.

READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/broken-angel