99% Invisible

A debilitating injury forces 99PI's Kurt Kohlstedt to confront new everyday challenges and seek out accessible design solutions for one-handed living.

Why is it so hard to build anything in America?

A dusty surveillance file uncovers the story of love, betrayal, and the fight for Puerto Rico’s freedom.

Shortwave radio opened a portal to the world—then became a weapon in a high-stakes war of propaganda and power.

A single 👍 emoji sent over text was meant to say “got it”—but instead, it kicked off a $62,000 legal battle and raised the question: can an emoji seal a contract?

At the January 6th Capitol insurrection, rioters waved Confederate, MAGA, and Trump-as-Rambo flags. Easy to miss without knowing the design was a bright yellow flag with three red stripes — the flag of South Vietnam.

A goofy Shakira remix, a nervy penalty kick, and 60,000 fans turning banter into legend—welcome to the world of football chants.

How did our tax system become so complicated?

John Green uncovers how the world’s deadliest curable disease still thrives—and why everything, from cowboy hats to colonial borders, traces back to tuberculosis.

Take a whirlwind tour of Memphis with the city’s most enthusiastic historian, uncovering duck parades, telecom turf wars, and a street named after a single day in 1934.

In 1991, one of the strangest buildings in America opened — a 32-storey, stainless steel pyramid in Memphis, Tennessee.

A group of artists explored the back hallways of a mall in Providence, RI, and found the perfect place to build a private hangout. Plus, mall history with Alexandra Lange.

When global trade reshapes a city, who pays the price—and who fights back?

What the 99PI team is currently reading.

A tiny, unremarkable beetle hiding in the caves of Slovenia has an infamously unfortunate name—one that has sparked heated debates in the scientific world.

A film about a struggling architect, a style the world loves to hate—The Brutalist and Brutalism itself share more than just a name. Is it bold vision or concrete failure?

One of the Third Reich’s most colossal architectural failures.

Join Roman and Elliott one last time as they reflect on their journey with you all through "The Power Broker," exploring their favorite moments and answering listener questions in this bonus episode.

How did a simple painting transform into the world's most recognized depiction of Jesus?

In the 1970s, the fight to save a tiny fish called the snail darter turned the Endangered Species Act from a minor bit of federal law into the most powerful and controversial piece of environmental legislation of the past 50 years.

What went wrong in Kingston, Tennessee, and what does it reveal about the messy legacy of public utilities turned corporate giants?

The Power Broker Breakdown may have concluded, but if you're just tuning in (or if you just want a quick refresher), this episode is a compilation of the summary portions of the The Power Broker Breakdown series.

A deadly desert crossing leaves survivors seeking refuge—and sparks a movement that defied the law and redefined the idea of sanctuary in America. This is the story of how faith, courage, and resistance collided with one of the biggest immigration battles in modern history.

The story of an 2700 year old archive, its accidental preservation, and the unprecedented—and often funny—glimpse it gives us into the daily life of an ancient king.

Happy New Year! We're starting 2025 with four more mini stories about a sleepy button, electric signs, a very important sticker, and video you can smell.

Featuring Hyperfixed by former Reply All co-host, Alex Goldman.

The story of New Year's Eve in Times Square.

Featuring our hero, Robert Caro, and covering the final section of Part 7, chapters 47-50.

Cheeky highway signs, Jane Fonda’s surprising side hustle, a dynamite twist on legacy, and the Greeks’ ideal foot obsession—expect the unexpected.

Roman Mars and the Flop House team dive into Francis Ford Coppola's intriguing and controversial film, Megalopolis, exploring its chaotic narrative, ambitious ideas, and perplexing execution.

How did the “15 Minute City,” a simple urban planning idea, spark protests, conspiracy theories, and death threats? This week, we unravel how a concept for livable cities became a global flashpoint.

After Toronto unveiled its "raccoon-resistant" compost bins in 2016, some people feared the animals would be starved but many more celebrated the innovative design. Rolling out this novel locked bin opened a new battlefront in city's ongoing "war on raccoons."

What makes The Power Broker endure 50 years on? Roman Mars and Elliott Kalan sit down with legendary author Robert Caro to explore the humanity, drama, and untold stories behind his iconic book. Recorded live from the New York Historical Society.

Featuring Brennan Lee Mulligan, a comedian and host with Dropout TV, and covering the second section of Part 7, chapters 42-46.

Roman talks with The Memory Palace creator Nate DiMeo, whose new book brings his poetic history podcast to life on the page.

As the last warmth of summer fades, Riis Beach—a hidden queer oasis behind a decaying hospital—faces a new reality.

Remember when grocery shelves went bare and cargo ships clogged the California coast? That chaos wasn’t just a pandemic hiccup—it was a symptom of a supply chain stretched to its limits.

Spirit Halloween takes over empty stores every fall—explore the eerie allure behind these spooky pop-ups and what they say about the decline of retail.

Featuring Clara Jeffery, the editor-in-chief of Mother Jones and the Center for Investigative Reporting, and covering the last section of Part 6 and the first section of Part 7, chapters 39-41.

Three stories about designs meant to fool you.

In this bonus episode, Roman unearths the surprising story behind the 99% Invisible's name and delves into the unnoticed brilliance of everyday design—from the origins of reinforced concrete to the artistry of Japan’s manhole covers.

In Copenhagen, Christiania—a commune born from rebellion—now faces mounting pressures that could force it to choose between its radical ideals and survival.

The unexpected story of how Alfred Nobel’s invention of dynamite—designed to build the world—was co-opted by anarchists to bring about its destruction.

The decades-long creation of possibly the most controversial form of entertainment: reality television. How does it shape our world and why–love it or hate it–you should probably understand it.

Featuring Majora Carter, an urban revitalization strategist and real estate developer from the South Bronx, and covering the third section of Part 6, chapters 35-38.

Zombie mortgages—decades-old debts—are suddenly coming back to life and threatening to take everything away.

Once considered the most dangerous city in the world due to drug cartel violence, by the early 2000s Medellin had reinvented itself. But gentrification is allowing criminal gangs to reap large profits from a shadow economy powered by the tourist boom.

In the final episode of Not Built for This, we reckon with the biological limits of climate adaptation.

How the residents of Hamilton City, California finally got the levee they deserved.

What’s it like for residents to fight like hell for help, but the help on offer means leaving the place they love?

As storms get more extreme and unpredictable, insurance companies are running the numbers on Florida and realizing that the math just isn’t working anymore.

How a wildfire in California exacerbated a housing crisis.

Reporter Emmett Fitzgerald was used to hearing people call his home state of Vermont a “climate haven.” But last summer, he got a wake up call in the form of a devastating flood.

Featuring writer and influencer, Shiloh Frederick, and covering the second section of Part 6, chapters 33-34.

A preview of our new mini-series Not Built For This and couple stories from the relaunched What Roman Mars Can Learn About Con Law

When you’re watching the opening credits to a movie, it’s not just a list of names. What you’re actually seeing is intense negotiations by Hollywood stars and their agents playing out in text form.

The 2024 Paris Olympics are currently under way, and we thought we’d play two stories from the 99% Invisible archives about the art of the Olympics.

Weird Sports, White Elephants, and When Doves Cry

Featuring Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, and covering the second half of Part 5 and the first section of Part 6, chapters 27-32.

Decades ago, the city of Los Angeles buried its natural river in concrete and turned it into infrastructure. And understanding why it actively disappeared is key to understanding Los Angeles, California, and our relationship to water. Reported by actor and director, Gillian Jacobs.

One intrepid reporter travels to Germany to witness a chord change for an organ concert designed to last 639 years, and to discover why such a concert is even happening in the first place.

It’s hard to overstate the vastness of the Skid Row neighborhood in Los Angeles. It spans roughly 50 blocks, which is about a fifth of the entire downtown area of Los Angeles. It’s very clear when you’ve entered Skid Row.

Nearly 10 years after the launch of the JUUL, Backfired: The Vaping Wars asks: Could e-cigarettes have been the solution to one of the world’s most pressing public health problems—or was this technology doomed to introduce a whole new generation to nicotine, and end up perpetuating an intractable addiction?

Featuring television producer, writer, director, and actor Mike Schur, and covering the first half of Part 5, chapters 25-26.

In the 55 years since the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale was created to warn us about hurricanes, hurricanes have become bigger, faster, and more devastating. There's now debate about whether it may be time for something new.

The leaf blower is one of the most hated objects in the modern world, but the reality of banning them is very complicated.

Whose job is it to fact check the Supreme Court? As it turns out, no one. So why is it like that, and what even happens when you prove them wrong?

Squirrels were purposefully introduced into our cities in the 1800s, and when their population exploded, we lost track of how many there are.

Roman talks to Jake Berman, author of "The Lost Subways of North America."

Featuring Brandy Zadrozny, senior reporter for NBC News who covers misinformation, conspiracy theories, and the internet, and covering the last section of Part 4, chapters 21-24.

Where's my jetpack?

How an ugly puppet created television as we know it.

In this bonus episode, Lasha talks about extra reporting she did for Towers of Silence on the current state of vulture conservation.

Our pal Gillian Jacobs takes us through the history of poison control and the yucky face meant to warn children about the dangers lurking in their kitchen cabinets.

How the loss of vultures in India has put an ancient burial tradition in crisis.

Featuring the U.S. representative for New York's 14th congressional district, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and covering the second section of Part 4, chapters 16-20.

Dan Pashman embarks on an epic trip across Italy in search of lesser-known pasta dishes — and to learn about the evolution of pasta more broadly.

Bright, flamboyant central African fashion

The history of the chambre de bonne, the tiny French apartment type that may be, finally, on the way out.

A 99pi guide to some of our favorite design features of Athens, Georgia.

How to accommodate autism in the built world

The garbage disposer and the dream of a garbage-free city

Featuring Blank Check co-host and The Atlantic movie critic David Sims covering the first section of Part 4, chapters 11-15.

The constant and sometimes fraught back and forth between cartoons and toys, as exemplified by Transformers and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Understanding the clunky Prop 65 warnings on products

A 99pi guide to some of our favorite design features of Santa Fe.

Since the mid-1970s, almost every jazz musician has owned a copy of the same book and originally it was a totally unlicensed publication

It’s been said that history is written by the person at the typewriter. But who did the person who made history depend on?

How much film and television shapes us as individuals and as a society, far beyond what we give it credit for

Featuring New York Times columnist Jamelle Bouie, covering Part 3, chapters 6-10.

How White Castle invented fast food

The interblock parks of Sofia, Bulgaria that are caught between old failed communism and new hyper capitalism

There are memorials to lost fishermen, lost astronauts, even lost members of Lynyrd Skynyrd. What should a COVID pandemic memorial look like?

A 99pi guide to some of our favorite design features of Chicago

The design evolution of the seemingly simple, but not all that simple, skateboard

Featuring author Robert Caro covering The Introduction, Part 1, and Part 2 (intro through chapter 5).

The fake villages and role players used to train US soldiers

Upside-down construction, the linguistics of filler, and a fire that has been burning...and will burn... for decades.

Mapping the long history of Slovenia onto the three "Santas' that visit each year