Telescope tourist, rocket scientist and STEAM educator Summer Ash gives us the nitty gritty on the V.L.A. - a 22-mile telescope in New Mexico whose formal name is literally “Very Large Array.” We talk about how this observatory works and what cosmic wonders it’s detected.

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Today, we go to the Mütter Museum in Philadelphia, and meet the two historians who are working to better connect us to the mysteries and beauty of the human body. 

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Christina Staton is a tour guide of the 9/11 Memorial. And today, she guides us to tell us about the overlooked places, memorials and sculptures of the memorial.  

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Today, with the help of Ben Naddaff-Hafrey from Revisionist History, we’re going to Fresh Kills in Staten Island: a pile of trash that grew so tall and so vast, that it inspired a secession movement and changed the people who grew up beside it. Emily Forman produced this episode. Be sure to check out Ben’s series The Staten Island Problem on the Revisionist History podcast.

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All week, host Kelly McEvers surfaces some of her favorite episodes from the archive. Here's today's story: 

This episode will break your heart. And that’s a good thing.

PLUS: Do you have a favorite episode we should bring back to the top of the feed? Tell us what it was and why you picked it. 

Give us a call at 315-992-7902 and leave a message telling us your name and story. Our mailbox will cut you off after three minutes so please call in if you get disconnected. Or you can record a voice memo and email it to us at [email protected]

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All week, host Kelly McEvers surfaces some of her favorite episodes from the archive. Here's today's story: 

In August 1953, airstrip operator George van Tassel claimed he was woken up in the middle of the night by an intelligent lifeform from outer space named Solganda. George says Solganda told him to build an energy rejuvenation machine – so that’s exactly what he spent the rest of his life doing…

For more information on visiting the Integratron check out their website. Plus, take a look at some photos from one of George van Tassel’s UFO conventions. 

If you want to learn more, George tells his version of the “encounter with Solganda” in a 1964 interview.

PLUS: Do you have a favorite episode we should bring back to the top of the feed? Tell us what it was and why you picked it. 

Give us a call at 315-992-7902 and leave a message telling us your name and story. Our mailbox will cut you off after three minutes so please call in if you get disconnected. Or you can record a voice memo and email it to us at [email protected]

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All week, host Kelly McEvers surfaces some of her favorite episodes from the archive. Here's today's story: 

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.

PLUS: Do you have a favorite episode we should bring back to the top of the feed? Tell us what it was and why you picked it. 

Give us a call at 315-992-7902 and leave a message telling us your name and story. Our mailbox will cut you off after three minutes so please call in if you get disconnected. Or you can record a voice memo and email it to us at [email protected]

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All week, host Kelly McEvers surfaces some of her favorite episodes from the archive. Here's today's story: 

James Baldwin’s former home in the South of France is a site that many visit hoping to feel the essence of the great African-American writer. But should it be?

PLUS: Do you have a favorite episode we should bring back to the top of the feed? Tell us what it was and why you picked it. 

Give us a call at 315-992-7902 and leave a message telling us your name and story. Our mailbox will cut you off after three minutes so please call in if you get disconnected. Or you can record a voice memo and email it to us at [email protected]

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All week, host Kelly McEvers surfaces some of her favorite episodes from the archive. Here's today's story: 

One of the many objects that went down with the ship during the sinking of the Titanic was a beautiful, jewel-encrusted edition of a poetry book called the “Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam.” The Rubaiyat was probably the most famous work of poetry in the English-speaking world at that time…which was somewhat unusual, as the book was written by a Persian mathematician 800 years before.

For more information about Omar Khayyam and the Rubaiyat, check out the books “Persian Presence in Victorian Poetry” by Taher-Kermani Reza, “The Wine of Wisdom: The Life, Poetry and Philosophy of Omar Khayyam” by Mehdi Aminrazavi, and the BBC documentary “The Genius of Omar Khayyam.” 

PLUS: Do you have a favorite episode we should bring back to the top of the feed? Tell us what it was and why you picked it. 

Give us a call at 315-992-7902 and leave a message telling us your name and story. Our mailbox will cut you off after three minutes so please call in if you get disconnected. Or you can record a voice memo and email it to us at [email protected]

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Alton, Illinois has been called the most haunted small town in America. It’s a place where practically every building has its own ghost story, from an old penitentiary, an eroding island, and even an old 1920s resort. And bubbling underneath all this lore is the fascinating history of a town shaped by the wild and unpredictable waters of the Mississippi River. We’ll explore some places with their own ghostly lore …and we’ll learn how these stories (and the people who like to tell them) are helping to keep the town’s history alive. Visit EnjoyIllinois.com for more information on booking a hair-raising trip to America’s most haunted small town.

More links:

• Check out our guest Troy Taylor’s book “Haunted Alton” (He also leads ghost tours, hosts his own podcast, and runs the American Oddities Museum in Alton)
• For more on the history of penitentiaries in America, revisit our episode on Eastern State Penitentiary 
• …and queue up this episode too for more on the history of duels on Bloody Island!
• For additional information on the places we discussed today check out the Routes & Rivers guides to Alton Prison, Bloody Island (also called Sunflower Island and Smallpox Island) and the McPike Mansion.  

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From opera singers to strange noises emitting from air conditioners, listeners share stories about their unusual neighbors. 

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