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A child being led on a horse at Rocking Horse Ranch
disney

Paul Scheer’s Top 3 Embarrassing Places

Actor and comedian Paul Scheer can’t go back to these places without cringing.
The Podcast Team August 21, 2025
Hong Kong

Race Course Fire Memorial

Behind Hong Kong Stadium stands a memorial to one of the city’s most tragic disasters.
Inside Wonderwerk Caves, underground caves and excavation, Kuruman, Northern Cape
South Africa

Wonderwerk Cave

A million years ago, our ancient ancestors were cooking with fire in this cave.
No thanks.
bridges

AO Mailbag: Which Places Just Aren’t Worth Visiting?

We look for wonder everywhere we go. But today, let’s talk about the trips that aren’t worth it.
The Podcast Team June 24, 2025
Reykjavik, Iceland

Holdsveikraspítalinn í Laugarnesi

The remains of a hospital that housed over 200 leprosy patients.
As they build their underground burrows, pangolins dig deep and turn over soil, which encourages plant growth and creates shelter for dozens of other species.
animals

Say Hello to Nature’s Fire Brigade

When it comes to restoring land and preventing wildfires, animals like pangolins, beavers, and elephants have a lot to offer. Can helping them help us?
Annie Roth April 7, 2025
Effigies that don't win the vote are burned, like this one from 2022's festival.
art

These Fantastic Spanish Sculptures Were Built to Burn

Las Fallas is both a "collective exorcism" and a celebration of craft.
Vittoria Traverso March 19, 2025
The lights of Los Angeles shine behind this mountain lion, photographed with a motion sensor camera. These big cats share the scrubby landscape with wealthy suburbs.
cats

How Will California’s Wildfires Affect Wildlife?

From fleeing mountain lions to scorched soil, the aftermath of intense fires shows an ecosystem transformed.
Phoebe Weston January 21, 2025
Bagillt, Wales

Bagillt Dragon Beacon

This towering, fire-breathing dragon guards a community’s buried treasure.
Firefighters and natural resource specialists wrap the base of General Sherman, the largest tree in the world by volume, with fire-resistant material.
forests

In the National Parks, Fire Crews Do More Than Fight Fires

Protecting sensitive habitats and cultural resources from the smoke and flames is part of the job too.
Cameron Walker January 13, 2025
A satellite image shows smoke from the Palisades Fire spreading across Los Angeles and out into the Pacific Ocean on January 7, 2025.
disasters

The Unusually Strong Force Driving Apocalyptic Los Angeles Wildfires

Powerful seasonal winds combined with drought-starved vegetation have made the Palisades Fire one of the worst in California history.
Umair Irfan January 9, 2025
New Year's Eve 2011
List

13 Unusual Places to Ring in the New Year

Cold plunge, burn, or dance your way into a new year.
Roxanne Hoorn December 27, 2024
Tomar, Portugal

Molly Williams Mural

In Portugal, a larger-than-life painting of America's first Black female firefighter.
Trees and other plants can’t escape wildfire smoke.
forests

Trees Hold Their Breath to Avoid Wildfire Smoke

Researchers made the surprise discovery when wildfire smoke blanketed their test site.
Delphine Farmer and Mj Riches August 5, 2024
Battle, England

The Oldest Guy Fawkes Effigy

Every fifth of November, effigies of Guy Fawkes are thrown onto bonfires across Great Britain. But this Guy has managed to survive his fiery fate for almost 300 years.
Our ancestors may have mastered fire more than a million years ago, but not everyone inherited that know-how and it shows.
fires

How to Build a Campfire

(Without poisoning yourself or burning down the forest.)
Karuna Eberl June 17, 2024
Lisbon, Portugal

Church of St. Dominic

The scorched Lisbon church that survived two earthquakes and a massive fire.
Lullington, England

Lullington Church of the Good Shepherd

This tiny church is one of England's smallest.