TL;DR: Your road trip and travel entertainment just got an educational kick from Autio, an audio story app co-founded by Kevin Costner. See what I thought of it below in my review. Have you ever wondered how your town got its name or whether the city you’ve driven through dozens of times has a rich history, perhaps with significant events occurring in its town square centuries ago? If you enjoy discovering the “how” and “why” of things or learning about past events relevant to your surroundings, there’s an app designed to feed those curiosities. The app is called Autio, and it’s interesting, educational, and fun! While I’m not an avid road tripper or traveler, I love discovering the stories hidden in the places around me, which is whyI had to take advantage of Autio’s Unlimited Plan. It’s been price-dropped from $299 to $149.97 for a limited time, and upon purchase, I received lifetime access to Autio’s entire library of location-based stories, which are compatible with both iOS and Android devices. Anyone with a curious mind would love Autio, so don’t sleep on this deal (which beats the App Store and the Google Play Store’s deal)! How does Autio work? Autio uses your location (just be sure to enable access!) to deliver fascinating audio stories about nearby landmarks, historical events, and colorful local characters, transforming every journey you embark on into an informative and entertaining adventure. Its seamless integration with your smartphone’s location means you can receive push notifications about nearby audio stories as you travel. With each location change, a new story, typically three to five minutes long, begins to play. You can also create your own playlists, bookmark and favorite certain stories, download them for offline listening, and organize your interests by topics such as history, local insights, culture, and natural wonders. The app’s “Explore” option allows you to choose stories from any location, regardless of where you are, so if you want to take a break from local history and listen to factual tales about other states, national parks, or even other countries, you are free to do so. Helpful features and getting started Autio is fantastic for uncovering hidden gems, providing lesser-known facts and local stories that enrich your understanding of the places you visit or have on your “to-visit” list. It’s ideal for road trips, whether short or long, and can make all future car, bus, or train rides more interesting. The “Explore” option allows you to discover stories from all over the world, with over 23,000 location-based audio stories available and new additions every week. Listeners can enjoy well-spoken narrations by celebrities such as Kevin Costner (Autio’s founder), co-founder Bill Werlin, Phil Jackson, and many other notable voices, including radio hosts and voice actors. If you find yourself intrigued by a specific narrator, you can learn more about them through a clickable link that takes you to their narrator profile and website. Here’s how my first experience went After downloading the app, I first used Autio during a 25-minute drive from Morris to Union County, NJ. Although I’ve made this trip regularly for the past six months, Autio transformed it into what you can call a journey of discovery! The first story that started playing was called, “Mayor & Medal of Honoree,” narrated by Tom Glynn, centered around a town named Boonton, a place I had just visited for the first time a week prior. The next day, a lazy Sunday with no plans in sight, I decided to take a random trip and let Autio do the directing and talking. I opened the map feature and clicked on a nearby town that, while familiar, I don’t visit often. The story was “The Resting Place of Yogi Berra,” narrated by Tom Glynn again. The location was the Gates of Heaven Cemetery in East Hanover. I’ve always enjoyed the more macabre things in life and found cemeteries rather peaceful and abundant in history. I found Yogi’s grave, which was kind of hard to locate in this huge cemetery. After spending about 20 minutes at the Gates of Heaven, I utilized the map feature again and found another nearby cemetery in Rockaway. Autio turned a rather boring day into a spontaneous adventure. Location-based stories curated for every listener I found Autio’s educational content offers insights into history, sports, culture, music, and more, making every journey enriching. As someone whose main interests are culture and horror, I liked listening to intriguing stories that didn’t take place in my proximity, including “DC’s Exorcist Steps,” narrated by Chris Brinkley, and the eerie “Curse of the Petrified Forest” in Arizona, narrated by Connie Weber. I also enjoyed listening to stories about the origins of town names. For instance, in the story “The History of Newark,” narrated by Ean Leppin, I learned that Newark, NJ, was almost named Milford by the settlers. Another settler proposed the name New Ark, referencing the “New Ark of the Covenant.” Eventually, New Ark was shortened to Newark, the name we know today. In addition to the stories I hand-picked, I realized that my spontaneous Sunday excursion through East Hanover and Rockaway is an experience I want to continue. By simply selecting a nearby pin on the map and driving to that town, whether alone or with a friend, I can easily turn an ordinary day into an adventure. Autio’s got a few downsides Unfortunately, I noticed a few drawbacks while using Autio. When driving through an area with no pins (aka, no nearby stories), the stories stopped playing, requiring me to manually open the app and select another pin on the map to hear a new story. Having to toggle with your phone is incredibly unsafe while driving (keep those eyes on the road!). And though Autio is designed to continuously play stories as you drive, it becomes silent in areas without relevant content. This may not be an issue for those in metropolitan areas like NYC, Boston, or San Francisco, but it was a challenge in the more remote areas of New Jersey that I was driving through. Why Autio works for me (and could for others) As someone with a short attention span who rarely listens to podcasts or audiobooks, Autio’s concise and engaging stories are perfect. Each snippet is easy to retain, making it a great alternative to music during my drives. Plus, as a “fun fact” enthusiast, I love learning interesting tidbits about my surroundings that I can share with friends and family. Autio transforms every drive into an enriching experience, making it an essential app for those who love to learn and explore. I loved the unlimited access to its vast collection of stories, which taught me interesting facts and knowledge I wouldn’t have had without it. I’d definitely recommend it to anyone who travels or drives frequently. Whether you’re passionate about learning new things or simply curious about the history of your area, give Autio a try, especially since a lifetime subscription to the Autio Unlimited Plan is now on sale for $149.97. It might just turn an ordinary day into one filled with fun and immersive adventures! StackSocial prices subject to change.
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