99% Invisible

How did millions of Americans end up living in neighborhoods where finding fresh food is harder than ever, and why is the problem by design, not accident? The answer rests in a major policy shift that fundamentally altered the American food landscape. Food Deserts If you're new to the show (thanks Apple Podcasts!) here are some favorite episodes to get you started: Freedom House Ambulance Service...

An immigration reporter’s chance encounter in the desert reveals how borders shape our actions, our beliefs, and the way we see the world around us. Open Borders If you're new to the show (thanks Apple Podcasts!) here are some favorite episodes to get you started: Freedom House Ambulance Service One-Nil to the Arsenal Guerrilla Public Service Redux Towers of Silence The House that Came in the Mail...

A century-old shipwreck, a sea of glass, and the lifeboats that were never meant to save you. The Titanic Was The Lifeboat Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of 99% Invisible ad-free and a whole week early.  Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus .  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for informat...

After Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin murdered George Floyd last year, tens of thousands of people all over the world took to the streets to protest police violence against Black people. And if you look at images from these marches, you will probably start to notice a common color scheme -- one involving a lot of red, black, and green. The flag was invented to unite Black people all over...

We heard you. The chorus of voices asking “where is Con Law ? Where is Professor Elizabeth Joh to guide us through this madness? We need it now more than ever!” Well, here it is. We’re back with a special extra-long episode about Trump’s perverted use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport people without due process and how judges are trying to hold the administration accountable to the Constitution....

A debilitating injury forces 99PI's Kurt Kohlstedt to confront new everyday challenges and seek out accessible design solutions for one-handed living. The full set of Adapt or Design articles can be found at 99pi.org/adapt . Adapt or Design Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of 99% Invisible ad-free and a whole week early.  Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts or by...

Why is it so hard to build anything in America? Ezra Klein explores how our good intentions led to a system that stifles progress, and what it would take to break free. Abundance by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson Build, Interrupted: A Conversation with Ezra Klein Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of 99% Invisible ad-free and a whole week early.  Start a free trial now o...

A dusty surveillance file uncovers the story of love, betrayal, and the fight for Puerto Rico’s freedom. Foreign in a Domestic Sense Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of 99% Invisible ad-free and a whole week early.  Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus .  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com fo...

Shortwave radio opened a portal to the world—then became a weapon in a high-stakes war of propaganda and power. The Divided Dial is a podcast series about the history of radio from WNYC's On the Media and longtime 99PI contributor, Katie Thornton . Fishing in the Night Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of 99% Invisible ad-free and a whole week early.  Start a free tria...

A single 👍 emoji sent over text was meant to say “got it”—but instead, it kicked off a $62,000 legal battle and raised the question: can an emoji seal a contract? 😅⚖️ Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of 99% Invisible ad-free and a whole week early.  Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus .  Hosted by Simplecast, an Ads...

At the January 6th Capitol insurrection, rioters waved Confederate, MAGA, and Trump-as-Rambo flags. Easy to miss without knowing the design was a bright yellow flag with three red stripes — the flag of South Vietnam. There were actually several confounding international flags present at the Capitol riot that day: the Canadian, Indian, South Korean flags, all were spotted somewhere in the mayhem. B...

A goofy Shakira remix, a nervy penalty kick, and 60,000 fans turning banter into legend—welcome to the world of football chants. One-Nil to the Arsenal Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of 99% Invisible ad-free and a whole week early.  Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus .  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See...

If you're one of the millions of Americans struggling with your tax forms today, you're not alone. Even Albert Einstein allegedly found income taxes to be "the hardest thing in the world to understand." But how did our tax system become so complicated? I've Got 1099 Problems... Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of 99% Invisible ad-free and a whole week early.  Start a...

John Green uncovers how the world’s deadliest curable disease still thrives—and why everything, from cowboy hats to colonial borders, traces back to tuberculosis. Everything Is Tuberculosis Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of 99% Invisible ad-free and a whole week early.  Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus .  Hosted...

Take a whirlwind tour of Memphis with the city’s most enthusiastic historian, uncovering duck parades, telecom turf wars, and a street named after a single day in 1934. A Walking Tour with Mr. Memphis Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of 99% Invisible ad-free and a whole week early.  Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus .&nb...

In 1991, one of the strangest buildings in America opened — a 32-storey, stainless steel pyramid in Memphis, Tennessee. The Great American Pyramid Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of 99% Invisible ad-free and a whole week early.  Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus .  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm....

A group of artists explored the back hallways of a mall in Providence, RI, and found the perfect place to build a private hangout. We interviewed the group's leader Michael Townsend a few years back, and he's now the subject of a new documentary called Secret Mall Apartment. Plus, mall history with Alexandra Lange. For showtimes and more information, visit secretmallapartment.com . The stories in...

When global trade reshapes a city, who pays the price—and who fights back? Alexis Madrigal’s new book is called The Pacific Circuit: A Globalized Account of the Battle for the Soul of an American City . Beautiful West Oakland, California Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of 99% Invisible ad-free and a whole week early.  Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts or by vi...

After we finished up The Power Broker, a bunch of people were asking us what other books we’d been reading. A group of us got together and presented some of our recent favorites, and the choices were so good and surprising and charming, we're now sharing it widely. Here are the books covered in this episode: Lasha's book: Usha's Pickle Digest by Usha R Prabakaran Chris's books: What It Takes by Ri...

A tiny, unremarkable beetle hiding in the caves of Slovenia has an infamously unfortunate name—one that has sparked heated debates in the scientific world. A Beetle By Any Other Name Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of 99% Invisible ad-free and a whole week early.  Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus .  Hosted by Simp...

A film about a struggling architect, a style the world loves to hate— The Brutalist and Brutalism itself share more than just a name. Is it bold vision or concrete failure? The Brutalists Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of 99% Invisible ad-free and a whole week early.  Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus .  Hosted by...

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 Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen...

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 99...

How did a simple painting transform into the world's most recognized depiction of Jesus? Head of Christ Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of 99% Invisible ad-free and a whole week early.  Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus .  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our colle...

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...