99% Invisible (Standard Length)

Series produced by Roman Mars

Series image

Trying to comprehend the 99% invisible activity that shapes the design of our world.

A tiny radio show about design, architecture & the 99% invisible activity that shapes our world. From producer Roman Mars and KALW in San Francisco.

In August 2012, 99% Invisible became the highest-funded journalism project in Kickstarter history, raising over $170,000 from 5661 backers.

With over 4 million downloads online, 99% Invisible recently peaked at #2 in iTunes ranking for all podcasts in the US, and had occupied the #1 spot in both the Arts and Design categories.

"Roman Mars lights the radio. His pieces conjure other worlds, grapple with big ideas, make sound three dimensional. They are smart and funny and original. The Kitchen Sisters would like to be Presidents of his Fan Club."
-The Kitchen Sisters, Peabody Award-winning producers for NPR

"We think what he’s doing is inspiring. It has a kind of rhythm and musicality that you don’t normally find in radio or podcast storytelling."
-Jad Abumrad, Radiolab

"I love the show. It's wonderful. [It] actually reminded me of why I love radio."
-Jonathan Goldstein, CBC's WireTap

"Mars is the Ira Glass of design."
-Allison Arieff, The New York Times Opinionator design columnist

Learn more: http://99percentinvisible.org Hide full description

A tiny radio show about design, architecture & the 99% invisible activity that shapes our world. From producer Roman Mars and KALW in San Francisco. In August 2012, 99% Invisible became the highest-funded journalism project in Kickstarter history, raising over $170,000 from 5661 backers. With over 4 million downloads online, 99% Invisible recently peaked at #2 in iTunes ranking for all podcasts in the US, and had occupied the #1 spot in both the Arts and Design categories."Roman Mars lights the radio. His pieces conjure other worlds, grapple with big ideas, make sound three dimensional. They are smart and funny and original. The Kitchen Sisters would like to be Presidents of his Fan Club."-The Kitchen Sisters, Peabody Award-winning producers for NPR"We think what he’s doing is... Show full description


69 Pieces

Order by: Newest First | Oldest First
99% Invisible #48- The Bathtubs or the Boiler Room (Standard 4:30 version)
From: Roman Mars
Series: 99% Invisible (Standard Length)
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Discovering marble bathtubs in the basement of the US Capitol.

Bought by WFYI, North Country Public Radio, KUT, and KUOW


  • Added: Apr 04, 2012
  • Length: 04:29
  • Purchases: 4
99% Invisible #47- US Postal Service Stamps (Standard 4:30 version)
From: Roman Mars
Series: 99% Invisible (Standard Length)
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They are NOT tiny paintings.

Bought by WTJU, Vermont Public Radio, New Hampshire Public Radio, The Story, North Country Public Radio and more


  • Added: Feb 15, 2012
  • Length: 04:30
  • Purchases: 7
99% Invisible #46- Vulcanite Dentures, or When Patent Violators Strike Back (Standard 4:30 version)
From: Roman Mars
Series: 99% Invisible (Standard Length)
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These false teeth were to die for. To kill for, even.

Bought by KUT, North Country Public Radio, and KUOW


  • Added: Feb 15, 2012
  • Length: 04:30
  • Purchases: 3
99% Invisible #45- Immersive Ideal (Standard 4:30 version)
From: Roman Mars
Series: 99% Invisible (Standard Length)
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The closest one could ever hope to get to dancing about architecture.

Bought by North Country Public Radio and KUT


  • Added: Feb 15, 2012
  • Length: 04:30
  • Purchases: 2
99% Invisible #44- The Pruitt-Igoe Myth (Standard 4:30 Version)
From: Roman Mars
Series: 99% Invisible (Standard Length)
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How a St. Louis public housing marvel became "hell on earth."

Bought by WFPL News, WFYI, North Country Public Radio, and KUT


  • Added: Feb 15, 2012
  • Length: 04:30
  • Purchases: 4
99% Invisible #43- The Accidental Music of Imperfect Escalators (Standard 4:30 Version)
From: Roman Mars
Series: 99% Invisible (Standard Length)
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Sometimes it's an object's imperfections that makes you fall in love with it. And sometimes that object is an escalator.

Bought by New Hampshire Public Radio, North Country Public Radio, and KUOW


  • Added: Feb 15, 2012
  • Length: 04:30
  • Purchases: 3
99% Invisible #42- Recognizably Anonymous (Standard 4:30 Version)
From: Roman Mars
Series: 99% Invisible (Standard Length)
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A group accidentally created what ad execs dream of: a unique brand identity that rapidly achieved world-wide appeal and renknown. Except this gr...

Bought by KUT, North Country Public Radio, and KUOW


  • Added: Feb 15, 2012
  • Length: 04:30
  • Purchases: 3
99% Invisible #41- The Human-Human Interface (Standard 4:30 Version Only)
From: Roman Mars
Series: 99% Invisible (Standard Length)
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We're used to interacting with objects. But we're not used to objects that teach us how to interact with each other.

Bought by North Country Public Radio and New Hampshire Public Radio


  • Added: Feb 15, 2012
  • Length: 04:30
  • Purchases: 2
99% Invisible #40- Billy Possum (Standard 4:30 Version)
From: Roman Mars
Series: 99% Invisible (Standard Length)
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The children's fad that has never swept the nation

Bought by WFYI, The Story, North Country Public Radio, KUOW, and KUT


  • Added: Dec 20, 2011
  • Length: 04:30
  • Purchases: 5
99% Invisible #39- Darth Vader Family Courthouse (Standard 4:30 Version)
From: Roman Mars
Series: 99% Invisible (Standard Length)
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Not the kind of place that makes your divorce or custody battle any easier.

Bought by KUOW, North Country Public Radio, and KUT


  • Added: Dec 20, 2011
  • Length: 04:30
  • Purchases: 3
99% Invisible #38- The Sound of Sport (Standard 4:30 Version)
From: Roman Mars
Series: 99% Invisible (Standard Length)
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Dennis Baxter and Bill Whiston are so good at doing their job, you probably don’t even know that their job exists at all.

Bought by WFYI, North Country Public Radio, and KUOW


  • Added: Dec 20, 2011
  • Length: 04:31
  • Purchases: 3
99% Invisible #37- The Steering Wheel (Standard 4:30 Version)
From: Roman Mars
Series: 99% Invisible (Standard Length)
Piece image
I bet you think could pantomime changing lanes with an imaginary steering wheel. But you'd be very, very wrong. You’d probably kill a bunch of imag...

Bought by North Country Public Radio


  • Added: Dec 20, 2011
  • Length: 04:29
  • Purchases: 1
99% Invisible #36- Super Bon Bonn (Standard 4:30 Version)
From: Roman Mars
Series: 99% Invisible (Standard Length)
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What happens to a city when its purpose is stripped away virtually overnight?

Bought by North Country Public Radio


  • Added: Dec 20, 2011
  • Length: 04:30
  • Purchases: 1
99% Invisible #35- Elegy for WTC (Standard 4:30 Version)
From: Roman Mars
Series: 99% Invisible (Standard Length)
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A building’s worth is an infinitesimal fraction of the worth a person’s life. But a building is still a living thing in a way.

Bought by North Country Public Radio


  • Added: Dec 20, 2011
  • Length: 04:30
  • Purchases: 1
99% Invisible #34- The Speed of Light for Pyramids (Standard 4:30 Version)
From: Roman Mars
Series: 99% Invisible (Standard Length)
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What we can learn from architects who lived thousands of years ago: make buildings last longer.

Bought by North Country Public Radio and HowSound


  • Added: Dec 20, 2011
  • Length: 04:30
  • Purchases: 2
99% Invisible #33- A Cheer for Samuel Plimsoll (Standard 4:30 Version)
From: Roman Mars
Series: 99% Invisible (Standard Length)
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This simple graphic design has saved thousands of lives.

Bought by North Country Public Radio and Third Coast Festival/Re:sound


  • Added: Dec 20, 2011
  • Length: 04:30
  • Purchases: 2
99% Invisible #32- Design for Airports (Standard 4:30 Version)
From: Roman Mars
Series: 99% Invisible (Standard Length)
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"Airports are ugly. Some are very ugly. Some attain a degree of ugliness that can only be the result of a special effort..."

Bought by North Country Public Radio and KUOW


  • Added: Dec 20, 2011
  • Length: 04:31
  • Purchases: 2
99% Invisible #29- Cul-de-sac (Standard 4:30 Version)
From: Roman Mars
Series: 99% Invisible (Standard Length)
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If the suburbs had a flag, it would probably have a cul-de-sac on it. But what would it stand for?

Bought by KUOW and North Country Public Radio


  • Added: Dec 20, 2011
  • Length: 04:31
  • Purchases: 2
99% Invisible #30- The Blue Yarn
From: Roman Mars
Series: 99% Invisible (Standard Length)
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Better (and less expensive) cancer treatment started with a sensei and ball of blue yarn...

Bought by KUOW and North Country Public Radio


  • Added: Dec 20, 2011
  • Length: 10:20
  • Purchases: 2
99% Invisible #28- Movie Title Sequences (Standard 4:30 Version)
From: Roman Mars
Series: 99% Invisible (Standard Length)
Piece image
There's more to the Art of the Title than meets the eye.

Bought by North Country Public Radio and KUOW


  • Added: Dec 20, 2011
  • Length: 04:30
  • Purchases: 2

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