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DISAPPEARED: The Lost City of Atlantis

·44 min·4 clips

Rasha's father named her after a princess from Atlantis, but she's never found the book he claimed it came from.

Hosts Yvette Gentile and Rasha Pecoraro explore the enduring legend of the lost city of Atlantis, a topic Rasha has a personal connection to through her unique name. The episode traces the myth from its origins to modern-day searches for evidence. The earliest account comes from the Greek philosopher Plato around 360 BCE, who described Atlantis as an advanced, utopian civilization that sank in a catastrophic disaster around 9600 BCE. Plato wrote that Atlantis was a massive, circular empire located beyond the Strait of Gibraltar, which was destroyed by the gods due to the people's corruption and arrogance. In 1870, amateur archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann's discovery of the real city of Troy made people reconsider other myths like Atlantis. Former U.S. Congressman Ignatius Donnelly published a bestselling 1882 book arguing Atlantis was a real, technologically advanced super-culture that influenced all modern societies and religions. In the 1930s, psychic Edgar Cayce claimed to have visions of Atlantis, predicting its ruins would be discovered off Bimini in the Bahamas in 1968 or 1969 and describing Atlantean technology like silicon chips and crystal energy. In 1968, archaeologists indeed discovered the underwater "Bimini Road," but scientists later concluded it was a natural rock formation. Another theory places Atlantis in Antarctica, based on the surprisingly accurate 1513 Piri Reis map that depicts the continent ice-free. In 2018, the Merlin Burroughs firm claimed to find proof in Spain, but the "ruins" were modern man-made pools for plankton research. In 2023, researchers near Cádiz, Spain, found large, geometric underwater stone structures arranged in concentric rings, matching Plato's description, though their origin remains unconfirmed. A compelling scholarly theory suggests Plato based Atlantis on the real Minoan civilization on Santorini, which was devastated by a massive volcanic eruption around 1600 BCE. The episode frames the Atlantis story as both a moral allegory about societal collapse and a symbol of hope for human potential and learning from the past. The hosts maintain a conversational and investigative tone, blending personal anecdote with historical deep-dive. This episode is perfect for listeners fascinated by ancient mysteries, alternative history, and archaeological detective work. Those seeking strictly evidence-based, academic historical analysis might find some theories too speculative.

As heard by us

Atlantis begins with Venice sinking and expands into Donnelly's sweeping, speculative history of myth.

Atlantis opens with Venice sinking, a concrete image that makes the lost city feel less like a fable and more like a possibility. From there, Ignatius Donnelly's broad argument widens fast, tying Atlantis to religions, flood stories, and even the Garden of Eden.

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Why you'd press play

You want Atlantis unpacked through a sinking Venice warning.

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