The Monster Under the Sink
In the middle of the 20th century, the small town of Jasper, Indiana did something that no other city had done before: they made garbage...
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Episodes
Latest first
The Power Broker #3: David Sims
This is the third official episode, breaking down the 1974 Pulitzer Prize winning book, The Power Broker by our hero Robert Caro. This...
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WARNING: This Podcast Contains Chemicals Known to the State of California to Cause Cancer or Other Reproductive Harm
Intimidating Proposition 65 warnings can be found on all kinds of products manufactured or distributed in the State of California. They can...
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Roman Mars Describes Santa Fe As It Is
Roman Mars is on a mission to describe the cities that shaped who he is and how he thinks about design. Next up, Santa Fe. Santa Fe wasn’t...
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The Real Book [rebroadcast]
Since the mid-1970s, almost every jazz musician has owned a copy of the same book. It has a peach-colored cover, a chunky, 1970s-style...
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Significant Others: A Sneak Peek at the Woman Behind Benedict Arnold’s Betrayal
It’s been said that history is written by the person at the typewriter. But who did the person who made history depend on? Often, it’s...
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You Are What You Watch
What we see on screen has this way of influencing our perception of the world, which makes sense because the average American spends 2...
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The Power Broker #2: Jamelle Bouie
This is the second official episode, breaking down the 1974 Pulitzer Prize winning book, The Power Broker by our hero Robert Caro.This...
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The White Castle System of Eating Houses
White Castle has its own take on fast food hamburgers. For starters, the patties are square, with five holes in each patty. And they’re...
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Between the Blocks
Seen from above, Sofia, Bulgaria, looks less like a city and more like a forest. Large "interblock park" green spaces between big apartment...
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Don't Forget to Remember
When a highway gets made, there’s a clear and consistent process for doing so. Not so, public memorials. From the Vietnam Wall to the...
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Roman Mars Describes Chicago As It Is
A few years ago, at the very start of the pandemic, Roman Mars wrote an episode of 99pi in which he simply talked about design details in...
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The Double Kick
Watch a skate video today, and you'll notice how similarly shaped the boards are. It’s called the “popsicle” design, because the deck is...
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The Power Broker #1: Robert Caro
Welcome to our first official episode, breaking down the 1974 Pulitzer Prize winning book, The Power Broker by our hero Robert Caro. Robert...
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Imitation Nation
Fake cities. Imitation nations. People role-playing as civilians, spies, or enemies, complete with costumes and props. It's all part of an...
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Mini-Stories: Volume 18
Our second and final set of mini-stories for the season: We'll be covering upside-down construction, the linguistics of filler and a fire...
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Another Visit from the Three Santas of Slovenia
We're revisiting this Christmas classic from 2021. Happy Holidays!Slovenia is a small country in Central Europe nestled between Italy,...
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Mini-Stories: Volume 17
It's the most wonderful time of the year. It's mini-stories season! Gather the kids around the fire because We have a year-end mix of short...
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Empire of the Sum
Keeping track of numbers has always been part of what makes us human. So at some point along the way, we created a tool to help us keep...
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