99% Invisible

We're kicking off the new year at 99pi with a fresh installment of mini-stories, including: a strange collision of mundane infrastructure...

It's that time of year again! When 99pi producers and friends of the show join Roman to tell shorter stories, many of which have been...

Slovenia is a small country in Central Europe nestled between Italy, Austria, Croatia and Hungary. It's a land of snowy white peaks, green...

For Black Americans, Collier Heights became a suburban jewel in the postwar South spanning thousands of acres and packed with nature. Just...

In much of the western world, alphabetical order is simply a default we take for granted. It’s often the one we try first -- or the one we...

The French bulldog is now the second most popular breed in America. Their cute features, portable size, and physical features make for a...

Fitness trends come and go. But the simple weight is an anchor in the shifting tides of culture. As workout equipment has become canonized...

Even if we think of the camera as a neutral technology, it is not. In the vast spectrum of human colors, photographic tools and practices...

Born in 1872, American architect and engineer Julia Morgan designed hundreds of buildings over her prolific career, famous for her work on...

At a glance, the border between the United States and Canada would seem to be at the friendlier end of the international boundary spectrum....

Margarine is yellow, like butter, but it hasn't always been. At times and in places, it has been a bland white, or even a dull pink. These...

Rioters carried many familiar flags during the January 6th insurrection at the United States Capitol -- Confederate, MAGA, as well as some...

The Sears & Roebuck Mail Order Catalog was nearly omnipresent in early 20th century American life. By 1908, one fifth of Americans were...

When it comes to English spelling and pronunciation, there is plenty of rhyme and very little reason. But what is the reason for that? Why...

Presidential libraries are tributes to greatness, "[a] self-congratulatory, almost fictional account of someone's achievements, where all...

The great Jacob Goldstein, author of Money: The True Story of a Made Up Thing, stops by to tell us two stories about the design of paper...

Axolotls are nature’s great regenerators. They are able to grow back not just their tails, but also legs, arms, even parts of vital organs,...

In 2015 the world was divided into two warring factions overnight. And at the center of this schism was a single photograph. Cecilia...

What does water mean to you? In this feature, author Bonnie Tsui (Why We Swim), actress Joy Bryant, submarine pilot Erika Bergman, figure...

When Roman Mars and Kurt Kohlstedt were promoting The 99% Invisible City in late 2020, one question came up over and over again in...