On today’s Modern Notion Daily, our guest is Mark Adams, author of Meet Me in Atlantis: My Obsessive Quest to Find the Sunken City (Dutton, March 2015). Adams spent three years exploring the veracity of Plato’s classic tale of Atlantis. While he encountered some idiosyncratic character and wild theories, the people he found to be the most obstinate throughout his journey were the academics who dismissed his quest outright. We also talk with contributing editor Mark Hay about another obsessive quest: to lighten one’s skin.

Music this hour:

• “Elle va au Japon” by Nic Bommarito, from the album A Quiet Age
• “Soldiertype (militarised)” by Ketsa, from the album What’s Without’s Within
• “Oceanica” by Avaren, from the album For Others’ Use