Design is everywhere in our lives, perhaps most importantly in the places where we've just stopped noticing. 99% Invisible is a weekly exploration of the process and power of design and architecture. From award winning producer Roman Mars. Learn more at 99percentinvisible.org.
809 episodes transcribedIn 1925, the world saw the birth of what just might be the greatest gadget in American History: the Brannock Device. The metal contraption transformed...
A simple cardboard box helped transform Finland into one of the best places in the world to raise a child. Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen t...
In the early 1970s, Bruce Lee made nunchaku (nunchucks) cool — kids were building their own and buying them in record numbers. But the nunchucks craze...
Neil MacGregor reflects on creating the landmark series that changed how people think about history. Then, revisit the Rosetta Stone, the artifact tha...
In 1982, a twelve-year-old paperboy, Johnny Gosch, vanished from a quiet Iowa street and sparked an unlikely campaign: the faces of missing children p...
A Louisiana man born into slavery designs an airship with hopes to take flight. Those plans are interrupted, but maybe not forever. Listen to Family L...
In 1902, an American classic was born: the teddy bear. Named after President Theodore Roosevelt, the toy became a huge hit, and sparked an idea…maybe...
Before the Declaration of Independence was even a twinkle in the founding fathers' eyes, there was James Otis. Journalist Jack Hitt returns to tell th...
Before the internet went global, one undersea gamble made it possible. Jane Ruffino’s story, "Say Goodbye to the Undersea Cable That Made the Global...
In this episode, Roman and historians Heather Ann Thompson and Elliot Williams tell the story of the sharpened screwdriver: the object at the heart of...
Billions of state quarters disappeared from circulation...and that was exactly the plan. Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of...
In this episode, Roman and historian Imani Perry follow the Webster Blue Back Speller from the early days of the United States, to the heart of Black...
Love it or hate it, one buzzing horn changed the sound of the World Cup forever. Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of 99% Invi...
In 1861, one man and a “gas bag” filled with hydrogen sparked America's obsession with going higher, farther, into the unknown. In this episode, Roman...
Behind every cheesy karaoke track was a surprisingly ambitious filmmaking experiment. Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of 99%...
What do Civil War pension files reveal about one of history's most successful slave rebellions? Historian Edda Fields-Black joins Roman to trace a sto...
Canada reshaped its music industry with a quirky radio rule that changed who got heard. Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of 9...
In the early 20th century, nothing quite fit — fire hoses couldn't connect to one another, football teams played with different balls, traffic lights...
What started as a revolutionary treatment for river blindness became something far messier. Listen to Drug Story wherever you get your podcasts! Subsc...
