abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Fading Transmissions from The Sumner School (Topeka, KS) - LIVE EPISODE Apr 30, 2026

Show notes

An unexpected—and ironic—detour to an infamous abandoned school in Kansas sparks the kickoff of season 4. When Blake accidentally stumbles into the legacy of Brown v. Board of Education at the Sumner School in Topeka, he finds himself confronting the moment his childhood imagination collides with historical transmissions the country once tried to erase.

Note: Episodes 1–4 of Season 4 form “Fading Transmissions from a Republic of Ruins,” a four-part series embedded within the season. This Season 4 premiere was recorded in front of a live audience at Green Box Arts in Green Mountain Falls, Colorado.

🏆 The Ambies — Winner, Best DIY Podcast (2025)

📡 The Signal Awards — Best Experimental Podcast (2024 & 2025)

📰 Press Gazette Future of Media Awards — Nominee (2024 & 2025)

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🎧 Note: For the best immersive experience, find a quiet place and wear headphones when listening to "abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast." 🎧

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Further Exploration

📜 Transcripts: https://abandonedpod.com

🗺️ Continue exploring: http://www.allamericanruins.com

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S4 - Extended Trailer | abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast Apr 16, 2026

Show notes

Welcome to season 4 of the Ambie-winning “abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast.” Through the immersive power of sonic storytelling, host Blake Pfeil guides you as he follows transmissions reverberating across forgotten spaces throughout the United States.

This season, the signal grows stronger: guest hosts step behind the microphone to lead listeners through their own encounters with ruins. Along the way, “abandoned” asks critical questions about American history, culture, community, the environment, technology, and collective mental health, inviting listeners to use imagination as a tool for healing and connection.

New episodes every other Thursday starting April 16, 2026.

🏆 The Ambies — Winner, Best DIY Podcast (2025)

📡 The Signal Awards — Best Experimental Podcast (2024 & 2025)

📰 Press Gazette Future of Media Awards — Nominee (2024 & 2025)

***

🎧 Note: For the best immersive experience, find a quiet place and wear headphones when listening to abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast. 🎧

***

Further Exploration

📜 Transcripts: https://abandonedpod.com

🗺️ Continue exploring: http://www.allamericanruins.com

✉️ Advertising inquiries: advertising@airwavemedia.com

ℹ️ Learn more about your ad choices: megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

All-American Ruins: Live at the Ulster County Historical Society Oct 23, 2025

Show notes

On October 12, 2025, Blake was joined by All-American Ruins guest host and writer Isabel Wilder at the Ulster County Historical Society in Kingston, NY for a 90-minute program. Participants explored how ruins reflect America’s past, present, and future—while doubling as playgrounds for creativity, imagination, and healing.

To learn more, visit: http://www.allamericanruins.com

Please contact advertising@airwavemedia.com if you would like to advertise with All-American Ruins.

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In Which I Let You Go at an Abandoned Security Gatehouse (Schrade Cutlery Factory - Ellenville, NY) Sep 04, 2025

Show notes

On the one-year anniversary of his best friend Julie’s death, Blake makes his way to the ruins of the Schrade Cutlery Factory in Ellenville, NY. The only remaining structure is a crumbling security gatehouse which Julie and Blake always talked about getting to but never did. Covered in vines, Blake reminisces on his friendship with Julie and asks her ghost if it’s time to let her go.

(Note: For the best immersive experience, we strongly suggest you wear headphones 🎧 for every episode of abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast.)

To read the transcript of this episode, click here: https://www.blakepfeil.com/aar-podcast.html
To read the original story this episode is based on, click here: https://allamericanruins.medium.com/chapter-48-in-which-i-let-you-go-at-an-abandoned-security-gatehouse-15ace3dac05f
To learn more, visit: http://www.allamericanruins.com

Please contact advertising@airwavemedia.com if you would like to advertise with All-American Ruins.

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The People Who Used to Live Here, Part II Jun 12, 2025

Show notes

Wander through fantastical realm of a real giant beige house (at the end of a very long driveway), abandoned and hidden on the banks of a famous river in New York-- where you’ll meet the ghost of the old woman and connect the dots between this story and “The People Who Used to Live Here, Part 1” from Season 1.

This episode features:

Margarita Meyendorff

(Note: For the best immersive experience, we strongly suggest you wear headphones 🎧 for every episode of abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast.)

To read the transcript of this episode, click here: https://www.blakepfeil.com/aar-podcast.html
To read the original story this episode is based on, click here: https://allamericanruins.medium.com/chapter-42-the-people-who-used-to-live-here-part-ii-39a5dc0072eb
To learn more, visit: http://www.allamericanruins.com

Please contact advertising@airwavemedia.com if you would like to advertise with All-American Ruins.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The People Who Used to Live Here, Part I (A Season 1 Re-Release) Jun 05, 2025

Show notes

In preparation for the season 3 finale, “The People Who Used to Live Here, Part II: The Giant Beige House at the End of a Very Long Driveway,” we’re diving back into the archives for this special re-release of “The People Who Used to Live Here, Part I.” You know; for context. This episode originally aired on December 29, 2022.

Original episode description: In the season one finale of abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast, follow Blake into his imagination as he recounts his experience exploring an abandoned mansion off a county highway in Ulster County, NY where he reflects on capitalism, exile, and chosen family.

(Note: For the best immersive experience, we strongly suggest you wear headphones 🎧 for every episode of abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast.)

To read the transcript of this episode, click here: https://www.blakepfeil.com/aar-podcast.html
To read the original story this episode is based on, click here: https://allamericanruins.medium.com/chapter-11-the-people-who-used-to-live-here-a20a581bae8c
To learn more, visit: http://www.allamericanruins.com

Please contact advertising@airwavemedia.com if you would like to advertise with All-American Ruins.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Frozen in Time (Borden Farmhouse - Wallkill, NY) May 29, 2025

Show notes

Feeling trapped in their Covid bubble, Blake and his pandemic pod-mate Isabel explore an abandoned Hudson Valley farmhouse where Isabel discovers the Borden family’s influence on the country’s dairy industry and reconciles with childhood ghosts. In an All-American Ruins first, join Blake as he passes the storytelling reins to his sister-from-another mother who you may recognize from previous episodes in season 2, "Isabel and the Allentown Mafia" and "Sober."

This episode features:

Isabel Wilder

Learn more about Isabel’s work at https://5thhousepottery.com/

(Note: For the best immersive experience, we strongly suggest you wear headphones 🎧 for every episode of abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast.)

To read the transcript of this episode, click here: https://www.blakepfeil.com/aar-podcast.html

To learn more, visit: http://www.allamericanruins.com

Please contact advertising@airwavemedia.com if you would like to advertise with All-American Ruins.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Anti-Ruin: Michael Townsend and the Secret Mall Apartment May 22, 2025

Show notes

What does it look like to revitalize an abandoned space - that’s situated inside an active and excessively large shopping mall - in 2005? On this special bonus episode of abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast, you’ll meet Michael Townsend, one of the eight artists who, from 2005-2008, did just that: built a secret apartment inside the Providence Place Mall. Michael is one of the subjects of the smash documentary Secret Mall Apartment, from director Jeremy Workman and executive producer Jesse Eisenberg, which follows the story of a motley crew of Gen-X urbex artists who did the unthinkable and brought national attention to the intricacies and devastation of urbanization and gentrification... simply by occupying “underutilized space.”

This bonus episode was repurposed from a live interview on abandoned host Blake Pfeil and his creative partner Jeremiah Wenutu’s show Cinema Kingston!, a weekly late-night program that explores the film industry in Hudson Valley, NY. The show airs every Wednesday night from 9-11 PM EST on Radio Kingston, WKNY, AM 1490 FM 107.9, in Kingston, NY. To learn more, visit RadioKingston.org.

To learn more about Secret Mall Apartment, visit secretmallapartment.com

To learn more about Tape Art, visit tapeart.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Star Wars Dad (Mountain Drive-In - South Fallsburg, NY) May 01, 2025

Show notes

While exploring the ruins of a once-popular drive-in movie theater, Blake thinks about his complicated relationship with his father, reimagining a screening of Star Wars that they attended together the year John was diagnosed with stage IV mesothelioma.

May the 4th be with you.

This episode features:

John Pfeil
Tiernan Pfeil

(Note: For the best immersive experience, we strongly suggest you wear headphones 🎧 for every episode of abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast.)

To read the transcript of this episode, click here: https://www.blakepfeil.com/aar-podcast.html
To read the original story this episode is based on, click here: https://medium.com/@allamericanruins/chapter-28-dad-5a8c8ebd8631
To learn more, visit: http://www.allamericanruins.com

Please contact advertising@airwavemedia.com if you would like to advertise with All-American Ruins.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A Finnish Ghost Story (Unknown Cabin - Pohjola, Finland) Apr 24, 2025

Show notes

Deep in the woods of the Finnish countryside sits a quaint house, red, and completely abandoned. In this international episode of abandoned, follow Blake inside where he has a run-in with a ghost-- and not an imaginary one.

(Note: For the best immersive experience, we strongly suggest you wear headphones 🎧 for every episode of abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast.)

To read the transcript of this episode, click here: https://www.blakepfeil.com/aar-podcast.html
To read the original story this episode is based on, click here: https://medium.com/@allamericanruins/chapter-32-a-finnish-ghost-story-55c76aef24f
To learn more, visit: http://www.allamericanruins.com

Please contact advertising@airwavemedia.com if you would like to advertise with All-American Ruins.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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