99% Invisible

100 Objects #18: Hair Relaxer

Somewhere between 85 to 95 percent of Black women in the United States have used a chemical hair relaxer at least once in their lifetime. It is a ubiquitous American prod

Doves Type

A legendary typeface, a spectacular friendship breakup, and one extremely committed act of revenge. Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of 99% Invi

100 Objects #17: M43 Field Jacket

Articles of Interest host Avery Trufelman joins Roman to tell the incredible story of the American military’s jacket problem: How should the military outfit its soldiers

Kobuk the Destroyer

Every product has to be tested somehow, and sometimes that means finding increasingly creative ways to break it. Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episode

100 Objects #16: Wheel of Fortune Dalmatian

This episode is sponsored by Claude. For problems worth solving, get started with Claude at Claude.ai. If you watched Wheel of Fortune in the 1980s, you probably remembe

1-800-PODCAST

This week, two stories about the strange power of the 1-800 number. Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of 99% Invisible ad-free and a whole week e

100 Objects #15: Bundy Clock

In 1888, Willard Bundy created the first employee "time clock" — essentially a souped-up grandfather clock that could, for the first time, produce an accurate record of w

Spolia

Spolia, from a Liverpool neighborhood to ancient Rome. Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of 99% Invisible ad-free and a whole week early. Start

100 Objects #14: Basketball Sleeve

Producer and reporter Ramtin Arablouei (co-creator of the NPR show, Throughline) has a simple question: why are so many NBA players wearing a compression sleeve on their

The Bone Wars

Two rival paleontologists turn a hunt for dinosaur bones into an all-out scientific war. Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of 99% Invisible ad-fr

100 Objects #13: The Sand Letters

This episode is sponsored by Claude. For problems worth solving, get started with Claude at Claude.ai. On his deathbed, President Chester Arthur ordered that all of his

Bamboo Is Innocent

A devastating fire put one of Hong Kong's oldest building traditions on trial, but the real story runs much deeper. Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new epis

100 Objects #12: "Negro Cloth"

In 1821, two Rhode Island brothers went looking for buyers for their woolen fabric, and stumbled into a lucrative, captive market: Southern slave plantations. Roman Mars

The Borrowed Nature of Biomimicry

Behind every perfect nature-inspired design is a far more complicated story. Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of 99% Invisible ad-free and a who

100 Objects #11: Brannock Device

In 1925, the world saw the birth of what just might be the greatest gadget in American History: the Brannock Device. The metal contraption transformed the way we measure

The Finnish Baby Box

A simple cardboard box helped transform Finland into one of the best places in the world to raise a child. Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of 9

100 Objects #10: Nunchaku

In the early 1970s, Bruce Lee made nunchaku (nunchucks) cool — kids were building their own and buying them in record numbers. But the nunchucks craze coincided with some

The Original 100 Objects

Neil MacGregor reflects on creating the landmark series that changed how people think about history. Then, revisit the Rosetta Stone, the artifact that unlocked ancient E

100 Objects #9: Missing Children Milk Carton

In 1982, a twelve-year-old paperboy, Johnny Gosch, vanished from a quiet Iowa street and sparked an unlikely campaign: the faces of missing children printed on milk carto

If Mosquito Hawks Can Fly

A Louisiana man born into slavery designs an airship with hopes to take flight. Those plans are interrupted, but maybe not forever. Listen to Family Lore wherever you ge