ArtsDesign

99% Invisible

Roman Mars

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.

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44 episodes
a few times a week
Avg 37 min
English

Episodes 44

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Friday · 34 min
100 Objects #22: AOL Disc
In the 1990s, AOL introduced millions of Americans to the internet with its ubiquitous free CDs, but how did the company that once dominated the internet nearly disappear?
#689
Tuesday · 35 min
Doktoro Esperanto
Reporter Katie Thornton tells the story of Doktoro Esperanto’s dream, and what we can all still learn from Esperanto right now.
October 23 · 37 min
100 Objects #21: Window from the House of D
How a women’s prison in Greenwich Village, and its unusual open windows, helped shape queer community and the modern gay rights movement.
October 21 · 29 min
Audio Guide of the Imperfections of a Perfect Masterpiece
A closer look at the quirks, imperfections, and clever design solutions that have helped Frank Lloyd Wright’s Guggenheim Museum evolve over the decades.
#688
October 20 · 52 min
Tony Hawk's Real-Life Willy Wonka
A desert train built for Tony Hawk leads into the strange and thoughtful world of N.D. Austin, a designer of real-life experiences.
#687
October 13 · 43 min
The Problem With Football Helmets
Football helmets can prevent devastating injuries, but they may also help make an inherently violent game feel safer than it really is.
#686
October 6 · 28 min
(Not Just) Another Brick in the Wall
A closer look at the messy, beautiful bricks hiding across Chicago.
October 2 · 52 min
100 Objects #20: AA Sobriety Chip
Imbued in the Alcoholics Anonymous sobriety chip is a hidden history of America’s relationship to gender, religion, and morality.
#685
September 29 · 32 min
Tootle of a Devilish Song
How a Swiss mountain call crossed the Atlantic and helped define the sound of country music.
September 25 · 38 min
100 Objects #19: Western Electric 500 Series
Former MythBuster Adam Savage joins Roman Mars to explore the history of the 500 Series Telephone and what we lost when we eventually decided to leave it behind.
#684
September 22 · 32 min
The Rocky Statue
How a movie prop became one of Philadelphia’s most beloved monuments, and sparked a decades-long fight over where it belonged.
September 18 · 35 min
100 Objects #18: Hair Relaxer
How a single product—the hair relaxer—became a mirror for all of America's contradictions.
#683
September 15 · 37 min
Doves Type
A legendary typeface, a spectacular friendship breakup, and one extremely committed act of revenge.
September 11 · 41 min
100 Objects #17: M43 Field Jacket
How should the military outfit its soldiers to make them as safe and effective as possible?
#682
September 8 · 38 min
Kobuk the Destroyer
Every product has to be tested somehow, and sometimes that means finding increasingly creative ways to break it.
September 4 · 46 min
100 Objects #16: Wheel of Fortune Dalmatian
How the ceramic Dalmatian became the mascot for one of America's most popular game shows.
#681
September 1 · 43 min
1-800-PODCAST
This week, two stories about the strange power of the 1-800 number.
August 28 · 37 min
100 Objects #15: Bundy Clock
How the time clock not only ignited a revolution in workplace efficiency and surveillance, but transformed our relationship to time itself.
#680
August 25 · 28 min
Spolia
Spolia, from a Liverpool neighborhood to ancient Rome.
August 21 · 41 min
100 Objects #14: Basketball Sleeve
Producer and reporter Ramtin Arablouei has a simple question: Why are so many NBA players wearing a compression sleeve on their arm?

Showing 1–20 of 44 episodes