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99% Invisible: Daily Summaries Delivered
by 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.
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- Today33 min
The Horn That Divided the World Cup
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% Invisible ad-free and a whole week early. Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
- 4 days ago38 min
100 Objects #4: Lowe's Gas Bag
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 and journalist Jack Hitt tell the story of Thaddeus Lowe — showman, scientist, and dreamer — whose balloon flight from Cincinnati went wildly off course and straight into the Civil War. Lowe pivoted to create the US military's first aerial reconnaissance unit, a precursor to the Air Force, and today his legacy spans generations— stretching all the way to the dark side of the moon. A History of the United States in 100 Objects is a production of 99% Invisible and BBC Studios. Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of 99% Invisible ad-free and a whole week early. Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
- 1 weeks agonarrative35 min7-min read
Karaoke Videos
The episode explores the forgotten golden age of 1980s and 1990s karaoke music videos — bizarre, ambitious, and artistically unrestrained short films produced for Laserdisc karaoke systems. These videos, though largely unseen by the public, became an accidental film school for a generation of aspiring filmmakers.
- 1 weeks agonarrative43 min6-min read
100 Objects #3: The Pension Files
The episode reveals the largely forgotten story of the Combahee River Raid, the largest and most successful slave rebellion in U.S. history, through the rediscovery of Civil War pension files that preserve the voices and names of formerly enslaved people who took part in or were liberated by the 1863 raid. These bureaucratic documents, long overlooked, allow historian Dr. Edda Fields-Black to reconstruct not only the dramatic narrative of the raid but also her own family’s hidden past.
- 2 weeks agonarrative40 min5-min read
The MAPL Test
Canada's music and cultural identity was once overshadowed by American dominance, but a bold government policy called CanCon forced radio stations to play Canadian music, sparking a homegrown creative revolution. What started as a controversial quota system evolved into a cultural engine that launched global stars and reshaped national pride.
- 2 weeks agonarrative35 min5-min read
100 Objects #2: 60-Degree Screw
The episode explores how the standardization of something as seemingly trivial as the screw thread became a cornerstone of American global influence, revealing how invisible technical agreements underpin modern industrial power and empire.
- 3 weeks agonarrative48 min6-min read
Drug Story: Ivermectin
Ivermectin is a Nobel Prize-winning drug that revolutionized the treatment of parasitic diseases like river blindness and hookworm, saving millions of lives — yet it became a polarizing symbol during the COVID-19 pandemic due to widespread misinformation, despite no scientific evidence supporting its use for viruses or cancer. This episode of Drug Story traces the drug’s journey from miracle cure to medical controversy, exposing how belief, anecdote, and distrust in institutions can override scientific consensus.
- 4 weeks agonarrative30 min5-min read
100 Objects #1: The Century Safe
The episode explores the story of a 19th-century time capsule—the Century Safe—sealed in 1876 and opened in 1976, revealing not national treasures but mundane artifacts that prompt a deeper reflection on what history preserves and what it forgets. It uses this narrative to launch a new series, A History of the United States in 100 Objects, challenging listeners to reconsider how we tell the story of a nation through material culture.
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