About the Podcast
The Places of Legend podcast is for listeners who like their history with a dash of mystery. Its non-fiction, scripted stories offer a unique way of exploring out-of-the-way and overlooked places with surprising stories to tell. Our aim is to turn history inside out—to enchant forgotten places and to peel back the legends from places that we’ve all heard about.
Our background is in archaeology, history, and cultural heritage as it is usually understood. But in Places of Legend we aim to upend the normal relationship between past, present, and future: with an ever-evolving series of stories about long-lost memories, unmasked misconceptions, and unexpected twists of fate that reveal the persistence of the past.
We dig into the sensations that hint at that persistence — from the skin-prickling tingle as we turn the corner on a certain street to the faint whiff of burnt sweetness in the air on an otherwise normal winter day to the rustle we hear as we try to fall asleep in an old hotel room. We believe that such sensations — and the mysterious or spooky aura that such places often carry hint at an undercurrent of past memories and stories that are yearning to be told again. This bi-weekly podcast brings such stories back to the surface of our consciousness.
About this Website
The Places of Legend website hosts our podcast episodes (using WordpPress) along with an interactive map and archive of historic documents, images, and other media that accompany each episode for listeners to explore the places and people discussed further.
The Places of Legend map offers an ever-growing geography of highlighted sites and events—each with a web of images and resources that expand the story of each podcast episode. The map is built using Arches, an open-source, GIS-enabled cultural heritage inventory system, developed as a joint initiative of the Getty Conservation Institute and the World Monuments Fund. Originally designed as a management system for historic preservation and heritage management organizations, it has the potential for a wide variety of uses including public education, interpretation, tourism, and engaging storytelling.
We, Coherit Associates, can also provide installation, customization, and hosting services for the Arches inventory system. If you or your organization are interested in learning more about working with us to adapt Arches for your own purposes, please contact Angela or Neil at info@coherit.com.