WEST PARK, NY — In partnership with HUDSY and Atlas Obscura, All-American Ruins will launch the second season of its podcast, abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast at a unique event at the Hudson House & Distillery in West Park, NY. The multimedia travelog is the brainchild of Hudson Valley-based artist and radio personality Blake Pfeil. The podcast arm of the project, hailed by Martha Little, Senior Director of Creative Development at Audible, as a “wonderful, rich sonic tour of Blake’s imaginings,” guides listeners through immersive audio fantasies, recreating Pfeil’s experiences exploring abandoned spaces across the United States. Along the way, abandoned asks critical questions about American history and culture, community, capitalism and economics, the environment, and mental health while encouraging folks to activate their imaginations as a tool for healing.
Whereas season one focused primarily on locations in New York, Pfeil’s adventures in season two take him out across the country to abandoned spaces in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, California, Ohio, North Carolina, Virginia, Oregon, and across the pond in Portugal, with two additional locations in the Empire State. “What started as a safe way to pass the time during the pandemic transformed into something bigger than I ever could’ve imagined,” says Pfeil. “I began to write about what was going on in my imagination as I wandered through these spaces, and it became a creative spiritual practice that offered a lot of emotional reprieve for me. I want to share these experiences with other adventurers, artists, and dreamers, and there is no better medium to create these kinds of fantastical dreamscapes than audio storytelling.”
From the brand new studios at 693 Broadway, abandoned is produced at Radio Kingston/WKNY. “Radio Kingston’s goal is to help support the many voices in our community to tell their stories,” says Radio Kingston’s Executive Director Jimmy Buff. “We have the opportunity, technical support, and resources to make studios available for people who want to tell their stories, like Blake, whose podcast is a fantastic and innovative example of storytelling.” abandoned serves as a companion piece to the HUDSY Original Series All-American Ruins, also written and co-produced by Pfeil, directed and co-produced by HUDSY co-founder Angel Gates. “When the idea presented itself to help pilot a show for abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast, it was a no-brainer,” says Gates. “After hearing Blake’s original, articulate, and creative podcast, we knew it would translate well on the screen.”
The Season 2 launch of abandoned will take place at a multimedia event on Saturday, September 23 at Hudson House Distillery in West Park, NY. The event will feature a listening circle for the pilot episode from the season (which debuts publicly on Thursday, September 28), screenings of HUDSY’s All-American Ruins TV show and two Atlas Obscura Shorts, as well as a performance from folk band Macabre Americana and panel discussion moderated by Atlas Obscura co-founder Dylan Thuras about the healing power of imagination and the deeper meaning of abandoned spaces.
David Krasnow, Executive Producer of The New Yorker Radio Hour, explains that, “With abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast, Blake Pfeil is pushing at the boundaries of form, combining documentary and audio theater in a voice distinctly his own. These are the rare kinds of stories that leave you wondering.”
All proceeds from the event will benefit HUDSY. For tickets, visit https://hudsy.com/event/all-american-ruins-live/.
About All-American Ruins
All-American Ruins is a multimedia travelogue in which artist, activist, adventurer, & loudmouth Blake Pfeil recounts his experiences exploring abandoned spaces across the United States and reimagines them through multimodal storytelling. Learn more: http://www.allamericanruins.com
About HUDSY
HUDSY strengthens, engages, and connects with the community through the power of film and storytelling with the goal of highlighting and elevating the incredibly diverse voices and spirit of the Hudson Valley in order to create positive social change and foster mutual understanding and respect. HUDSY achieves this by telling the stories of, preserving, and archiving the culture of the Hudson Valley online and in person. This is accomplished online by aggregating HUDSY Originals and works from other creatives in the region on the free streaming service HUDSY TV; in-person through a robust schedule of community screenings and events; and by training the next generation of community storytellers through their apprentice program. Find out more at www.hudsy.com.
About Atlas Obscura
Atlas Obscura is a media and travel company that publishes the best-in-class journalism about hidden places, incredible history, scientific marvels, and gastronomical wonders. AO’s first book, Atlas Obscura: An Explorer’s Guide to the World’s Hidden Wonders, was a No. 1 bestseller on Amazon and in the New York Times. AO holds extraordinary events all over the country, every week. In nine U.S. cities, Atlas Obscura Societies create intimate, wondrous experiences from back-room tours to workshops with the world’s most remarkable people.
