Drawbridge operators in Chicago used to live at these specific homes nestled at the base of their bridges.

At the height of the Incan empire, a series of 200 woven suspension bridges crisscrossed the valleys of the Andes. Today, only one remains. It’s called the Q'eswachaka, and it’s rewoven every year by a continuous line of bridge builders.

Journalist Eliot Stein traveled to Peru to meet the current bridge builder, and to witness this incredible tradition. His book, Custodians of Wonder, chronicles traditions like these across the globe, and the people preserving them.

Plus: Listen to our episode all about the the world’s rarest pasta, or “threads of god.”

You might think of The Great Gatsby as a classic New York City novel – but the events that set off the action of the story actually take place somewhere else. In Louisville, Kentucky. It’s where Daisy and Gatsby first meet, and where Daisy marries Gatsby’s rival, Tom Buchanan (boo, hiss!) In today’s episode, we track down the footsteps of author F. Scott Fitzgerald, who spent two tumultuous months of his life near Louisville while stationed at an Army camp during WWI. And we’ll try to find the places that might have inspired his most famous work…

Plus: Track down Fitzgerald’s footsteps in Louisville and find events related to the 100th birthday of the Great Gatsby.

This episode was produced in partnership with Louisville Tourism.