abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast

The Wallkill Valley Rail Trail was once an abandoned train line that connected the defunct Rosendale cement industry to the rest of the world. It’s also a safe haven for runners. In the series finale of “abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast,” Blake explores the evolution of his spiritual connection to abandoned spaces -- and discovers the startling realization that he’s lost sight of why ruins -- and running -- have always served as sanctuaries to him. *** This is just a temporary sign-off. We’ll be back in a couple years. For now, thank you for everything. It has been my honor to explore these abandoned spaces with you. With love, Blake *** 🏆 The Ambies — Winner, Best DIY Podcast (2025) 📡 The Signal Awards — Best Experimental Podcast (2024 & 2025) 📰  Press Gazette Future of Media Awards — Nominee (2024, 2025, 2026) *** 🎧 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: [email protected] ℹ️ Learn more about your ad choices: megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1933, Roland Lindemann opened America’s first privately-owned zoo: the Catskill Game Farm. By 2006, it was completely abandoned, along with its charmed memory, but in 2022, Emmy-nominated filmmaker Tim Travers Hawkins accidentally stumbled upon boxes of 16mm film archives and documents buried beneath layers of rubble on the property, which began to unearth a darker, far more complicated of the Catskill Game Farm than the world ever could’ve known. Until now. American Zoo is the new documentary from Tim Travers Hawkins, which made its Catskillian debut at the Woodstock Film Festival in 2026. This episode features a truncated interview with Tim and Blake on a weekly radio program on Radio Kingston / WKNY called Cinema Kingston! (which happens to also be co-hosted by Blake). *** 🏆 The Ambies — Winner, Best DIY Podcast (2025) 📡 The Signal Awards — Best Experimental Podcast (2024 & 2025) 📰  Press Gazette Future of Media Awards — Nominee (2024, 2025, 2026) *** 🎧 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: [email protected] ℹ️ Learn more about your ad choices: megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Podcast recommendation alert! This isn’t a new episode of “abandoned”—it’s a special preview from our urbex podcast pal Courtney Autumn, host of “Echoes of Elsewhere.” Join Courtney as she welcomes “abandoned” season 4 guest host, writer, and urban explorer Stev Hull-Allen for a conversation about the strange attraction to abandoned places—and what ruins can reveal about identity, memory, mental health, and the elasticity of time. 🏆 The Ambies — Winner, Best DIY Podcast (2025) 📡 The Signal Awards — Best Experimental Podcast (2024 & 2025) 📰  Press Gazette Future of Media Awards — Nominee (2024, 2025, 2026) *** 🎧 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: [email protected] ℹ️ Learn more about your ad choices: megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

To celebrate the award-winning “All-American Ruins” short film arriving on HUDSY’s YouTube channel on Sept. 24, we’re returning to the Season 1 story that inspired it. Revisit Blake’s surreal exploration of the legendary Nevele Grand Hotel—and a version of this Hudson Valley juggernaut that, after years of devastating fires, no longer exists quite as it did then. 🏆 The Ambies — Winner, Best DIY Podcast (2025) 📡 The Signal Awards — Best Experimental Podcast (2024 & 2025) 📰  Press Gazette Future of Media Awards — Nominee (2024, 2025, 2026) *** 🎧 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: [email protected] ℹ️ Learn more about your ad choices: megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Who gets to wander freely—and who gets to decide where we belong? Blake sits down with activist, multidisciplinary artist, and social change worker callie mackenzie for a candid, exploratory conversation about race, ruins, trespassing, land ownership, and the privilege hiding inside the practice of urban exploration. callie mackenzie (she/they) is a social change worker living at the intersections of art, music, and social justice. For her complete bio, visit calliemackenzie.com. Songs by callie on today’s episode include: “roller coaster” from the album “what that heart do” (2025) “kerfuffle” from the album “what that heart do” (2025) “i can’t talk about freedom” from the album “the wreckoning” (2022) callie’s complete music library can be accessed at: https://calliemackenzie.bandcamp.com  bell hooks interview audio courtesy of Othering and Belonging Institute “Kwanzaa: A Celebration” courtesy of WXXI (Rochester, NY) “Theatre Acknowledgement” courtesy of CBC 🏆 The Ambies — Winner, Best DIY Podcast (2025) 📡 The Signal Awards — Best Experimental Podcast (2024 & 2025) 📰  Press Gazette Future of Media Awards — Nominee (2024, 2025, 2026) *** 🎧 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: [email protected] ℹ️ Learn more about your ad choices: megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices