I'm recording just about one foot away from my toilet best sounds, it's usually, yeah, I'm sure right next to it. It gives a little known audio trick. As close to the toilet as you can get is where you get the best. Yeah, that's cool.

I'm Delant Thorez and this is Atlas Obscira, a celebration of the world's strange, incredible, and wondrous TV shows.

Today, I'm talking with John Wilson. He's the host of the HBO series How To with

John Wilson and I'll explain why I was compelled to start this conversation by

talking about my toilet in a moment. But first, you should

understand the show. Each episode begins with a simple premise, how to throw out your batteries,

how to invest in real estate.

But from that premise, John goes on this journey

through New York City and sometimes far beyond,

seeking answers to his questions, answers to this sprawling

philosophical and personal exploration he's on, he and his small crew capture just hours and hours of footage of everyday real life, often in New York

city. And they stitch it together against this kind of incredible deadpan narration.

The footage that John tends to get, it's not shiny.

It doesn't look nice. It's not glamorous. It's not the New York that you generally see on TV.

It is the actual real New York.

John is interested in the mundane, the strange, the less than photogenic, the trash cans of the world, the broken sidewalks, the toilets. And yet, all of it comes together to form this really fascinating and genuinely

really tender portrait of New York City.

How To With John Wilson is the best show about New York

that I think has ever been made.

It's part documentary, part memoir, part essay, and there's just nothing else like it in the world.

Lake John, I lived in New York for over a decade.

I love the city.

...