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.

  • 37 minutes 37 seconds
    The Nazi Block

    In the heart of Berlin’s Tempelhof-Schöneberg district sits a hulking, crumbling concrete cylinder—an abandoned relic of a Nazi plan to rebuild the city as a grand imperial capital. But this eerie structure isn’t just a forgotten engineering experiment; it’s a lasting monument to one of the Third Reich’s most colossal architectural failures.

    The Nazi Block

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    18 February 2025, 11:44 pm
  • 1 hour 5 seconds
    The Power Broker Breakdown Wrap-Up

    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.

    If you finished The Power Broker with us (or know someone who did), get the 99PI Power Broker challenge coin to commemorate your achievement! Visit 99pi.org/store to get the challenge coin and other 99PI merch.

    This event took place in our 99% Invisible Discord server. Join us!

    The Power Broker Breakdown Wrap-Up

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    14 February 2025, 6:44 pm
  • 32 minutes 15 seconds
    Your Own Personal Jesus

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

    Head of Christ

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    11 February 2025, 8:53 pm
  • 1 hour 1 minute
    The Wide Open

    Last week, we delved into story of how the Tennessee Valley Authority, which started out as a public institution, ended up acting like a private for-profit company, and the lawsuit that attempted to finally bring the TVA to its heel. Today, Montana Public Radio’s podcast The Wide Open tells the story of a different lawsuit against the TVA that had even bigger consequences. 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.

    The Wide Open

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    4 February 2025, 9:25 pm
  • 33 minutes 59 seconds
    Valley So Low

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

    Valley So Low

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    28 January 2025, 11:32 pm
  • 16 minutes 55 seconds
    The Power Broker Breakdown Breakdown

    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.

    The Power Broker Breakdown Breakdown

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    24 January 2025, 6:56 pm
  • 52 minutes 20 seconds
    Sanctuary

    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.

    Note: This episode originally aired as two episodes in 2017.

    Sanctuary

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    21 January 2025, 10:01 pm
  • 34 minutes 15 seconds
    Ancient DMs

    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.

    Ancient DMs

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    14 January 2025, 7:26 pm
  • 35 minutes 1 second
    Mini-Stories: Volume 20

    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.

    Mini-Stories: Volume 20

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    7 January 2025, 6:24 pm
  • 26 minutes 20 seconds
    Hyperfixed: Dylan's Supermarket Cold Case

    We've all got problems. Sometimes your problem is a massive roadblock in your life, or maybe it's this little thing that quietly annoys you that you've learned to grudgingly put up with. But regardless of the size of your problem, it would be so great if someone would just fix it for you. Not just fix it, hyperfix it.

    Today, we're playing a great story from Alex and his new show, Hyperfixed. Alex investigates why there's no door in a place where there really should be a door. You'll never shop for sour cream or shredded mozzarella the same way again.

    Hyperfixed: Dylan's Supermarket Cold Case

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    31 December 2024, 3:58 pm
  • 33 minutes 58 seconds
    New Year, New Neighborhood

    The story of New Year's Eve in Times Square, and how a quiet group of unelected Manhattan property owners used the holiday — and their own undemocratic municipal power — to transform the neighborhood from its porn-theater-and-vice-rich past to its flashy, family-friendly present.

    New Year, New Neighborhood

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    24 December 2024, 9:00 pm
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