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.
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Sounds Like Infrastructure by Ferrovial
When working well, the infrastructure we use is all but invisible. Its seamless integration into our daily lives means we rarely stop to think "How did this get here?" Sounds Like Infrastructure reveals the secrets and stories behind some of the world’s biggest infrastructure projects. Learn more at Ferrovial.com See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Data Viz Today
Helping you become a more effective information designer.
You want to create effective data visualizations. That’s hard work. There are so many decisions to make, like chart type, annotations, and color!
Will this podcast help?
Host and fellow data viz designer Alli Torban is in the trenches with you. She shares the latest tools and methods that she’s discovered while on the job and interviewing top designers.
If you’re an analyst, journalist, or designer who wants to hone your skills with specific tactics, then this show could be just what you need.
Twenty Thousand Hertz
A lovingly crafted podcast that reveals the stories behind the world's most recognizable and interesting sounds.
Medellin, Revisited
Once considered the most dangerous city in the world due to drug cartel violence, by the early 2000s Medellin had reinvented itself. But gentrification is allowing criminal gangs to reap large profits from a shadow economy powered by the tourist boom.Medellin, Revisited Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ on Apple Podcasts to listen to ad-free new episodes and get exclusive access to bonus content.
Not Built For This #6: Maximum Temperature
The impacts of climate disasters are often measured in terms of property damage. But in places like Phoenix, Arizona, and in hot places all over the world, climate change is wreaking a very different kind of havoc – on living things. In the final episode of Not Built for This, we reckon with the biological limits of climate adaptation.Not Built For This is a 6-part mini-series from 99% Invisible, with new episodes on Tuesdays and Fridays in the 99% Invisible feed. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ on Apple Podcasts to listen to ad-free new episodes and get exclusive access to bonus content.
Not Built For This #5: The Little Levee That Could
Most of the stories in this series have been about places that are ill-prepared for the extreme weather that is coming their way. But this story is about a place that managed to get the kind of infrastructure that will actually help it survive climate change. How after more than two decades of tireless work, the residents of Hamilton City, California finally got the levee they deserved. Not Built For This is a 6-part mini-series from 99% Invisible, with new episodes on Tuesdays and Fridays in the 99% Invisible feed. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ on Apple Podcasts to listen to ad-free new episodes and get exclusive access to bonus content.
Not Built For This #4: Unbuilding the Terrace
All across the country thousands of people are living in locations that regularly flood, and many of these places will only get more flood-prone as the climate continues to change. Residents who live in these danger zones are often trapped in a demoralizing loop—flooding, rebuilding, and praying each time that the pattern doesn’t repeat. However in some neighborhoods the government is trying a different approach. They’re buying out flood-prone homes and helping residents relocate to higher ground. But what’s it like for residents to fight like hell for help, and the only help on offer means leaving the place they love?Not Built For This is a 6-part mini-series from 99% Invisible, with new episodes on Tuesdays and Fridays in the 99% Invisible feed. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ on Apple Podcasts to listen to ad-free new episodes and get exclusive access to bonus content.
Not Built For This #3: The Price is Wrong
Insurance companies are not climate activists, but they know more about climate risk than just about anyone. And as storms get more extreme and unpredictable a lot of insurers are running the numbers on Florida and realizing that the math just isn’t working anymore. For decades, low cost insurance helped mask the risks of living in some of the riskiest parts of the country. However a climate correction is now underway. Prices are skyrocketing. And on America’s riskiest peninsula, residents are beginning to feel climate change where it hurts—in their bank accounts.Not Built For This is a 6-part mini-series from 99% Invisible, with new episodes on Tuesdays and Fridays in the 99% Invisible feed. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ on Apple Podcasts to listen to ad-free new episodes and get exclusive access to bonus content.
Not Built For This #2: The Ripple Effect
In disasters where a lot of people lose their homes, the impacts are not confined to a single city or town. They ripple outward, cascading into the surrounding area, as the survivors are forced to go looking for new places to live. This is the story of what happened after the famous fire in Paradise, California, and where many of the survivors ended up. It’s a cautionary tale about a town caught in the cross hairs of both the climate crisis and the housing crisis, and what happened when thousands of displaced people showed up on its doorstep.Not Built For This is a 6-part mini-series from 99% Invisible, with new episodes on Tuesdays and Fridays in the 99% Invisible feed. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ on Apple Podcasts to listen to ad-free new episodes and get exclusive access to bonus content.
Not Built For This #1: The Bottom of the Bowl
Reporter Emmett Fitzgerald was used to hearing people call his home state of Vermont a “climate haven.” But last summer, he got a wake up call in the form of a devastating flood.All throughout the United States, people are watching the places they love change in unpredictable and scary ways. Places that once felt safe are starting to feel risky. Places that already felt risky are starting to feel downright dangerous. And as the climate continues to change, people are being forced to make impossible decisions about how to live, and where to live, in an increasingly unstable and unfamiliar world.This is a series about climate change and how we prepare for the extremely bumpy ride ahead of us. Because right now we’re all living in a world that was just Not Built for This. Not Built For This is a 6-part mini-series from 99% Invisible, with new episodes on Tuesdays and Fridays in the 99% Invisible feed. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ on Apple Podcasts to listen to ad-free new episodes and get exclusive access to bonus content.
The Power Broker #08: Shiloh Frederick
This is the eighth official episode, breaking down the 1974 Pulitzer Prize winning book, The Power Broker by our hero Robert Caro. This week, Roman and Elliott sit down with Shiloh Frederick. Born and raised in New York City, Shiloh is a writer and influencer who shares her love of the city’s history and architecture on Instagram and TikTok. Last year, she chronicled her rather ambitious plan to read The Power Broker in 30 days, and her viral videos about her endeavor ended up making some real change in the city.On today’s show, Elliott Kalan and Roman Mars will cover the second section of Part 6 (Chapter 33 through Chapter 34), discussing the major story beats and themes.The Power Broker #08: Shiloh FrederickJoin the discussion on Discord and our Subreddit. Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ on Apple Podcasts to listen to ad-free new episodes and get exclusive access to bonus content.
Side Projects
This week we're highlighting a couple of series that live inside the 99pi production tent.We’ve got a preview of a new miniseries for you called Not Built for This, created and hosted by Emmett FitzGerald. It's a show about climate change, but not in the way you might think. It's about how the complex systems that govern our lives are not designed for the tectonic changes that are coming our way. Because right now we’re all living in a world that was just Not Built for This. You can find Not Built for This in the 99% Invisible feed starting August 20th.We're also announcing the relaunch of Roman's side project What Roman Mars Can Learn About Con Law by featuring a new episode and one from two weeks ago.Side Projects Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ on Apple Podcasts to listen to ad-free new episodes and get exclusive access to bonus content.
Top Billing
When you’re watching the opening credits to a movie, it’s not just a list of names. What you’re actually seeing is intense negotiations by Hollywood stars and their agents playing out in text form. Title designers have to create something that’s entertaining to watch, while also presenting the names of all the creative people in a very particular order. It’s like a game of Tetris, to make sure everybody gets their due.Top Billing Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ on Apple Podcasts to listen to ad-free new episodes and get exclusive access to bonus content.
The Art of the Olympics
The 2024 Paris Olympics are currently under way, and we thought we’d play two stories from the 99% Invisible archives about the art of the Olympics.First up, a story about the design and iconography of the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. Then, Kurt Kohlstedt tells us about Olympic poetry.The Art of the Olympics
The 2024 Olympics Spectacular
From TV commercials and branded soda cans to Emily in Paris spon-con, the Olympics are once again everywhere. In the Olympic spirit, we’re bringing you four stories about the games in all their international, theatrical glory.In the first story, Christopher Johnson introduces the obscure, non-traditional sports from a forgotten part of Olympic history. The second story, by Chris Berube, offers a glimpse into the financial strain brought about by Montreal’s host venue for the 1976 games. In Vivian Le’s third story, the opening ceremony for Seoul’s 1988 Olympics begins on an unfortunate note. The final story, by Avery Trufelman, proposes a twist on the traditional Olympic host-country format.The 2024 Olympics Spectacular
The Power Broker #07: Sec. Pete Buttigieg
NEWS: We've got 99PI Power Broker Breakdown merch! Visit 99pi.org/store.This is the seventh official episode, breaking down the 1974 Pulitzer Prize winning book, The Power Broker by our hero Robert Caro. This week, Roman and Elliott sit down with Pete Buttigieg, the US Secretary of Transportation. One of his major responsibilities as Secretary is overseeing the implementation of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which has contributed billions of dollars to infrastructure projects around the country.Secretary Buttigieg was also responsible for several major infrastructure projects when he was mayor of South Bend, Indiana. And he’s talked about the importance of acknowledging and dismantling the racism built into transportation systems around the country — somewhat paraphrasing The Power Broker — and has gotten a lot of pushback for it.On today’s show, Elliott Kalan and Roman Mars will cover the second half of Part 5 and the first section of Part 6 (Chapters 27 through Chapter 32), discussing the major story beats and themes.The Power Broker #07: Sec. Pete ButtigiegJoin the discussion on Discord and our Subreddit.
A River Runs Through Los Angeles
When you hear the word "river," you probably picture a majestic body of water flowing through a natural habitat. Well, the LA River looks nothing like that. Most people who see it probably mistake it for a giant storm drain. It's a deep trapezoidal channel with steep concrete walls, and a flat concrete bottom. Los Angeles was founded around this river. But decades ago it was confined in concrete so that, for better or worse, the city could become the sprawling metropolis that it is today. All these years later the county is still grappling with the consequences of those actions.A River Runs Through Los Angeles
As Slow As Possible
When you go to a concert, you might try to get there right when the doors open. Or perhaps you take your time and skip the opening act. But generally, you want to be there when the show starts. In February, everyone who went to a concert in Halberstadt, Germany, showed up 23 years late. The performance is of a piece called ORGAN2/ASLSP. ASLSP stands for “as slow as possible,” which is how the composer meant for it to be played, and this particular day would involve a chord change. The last time ORGAN2/ASLSP had a chord change was in 2022, and this new chord will play until the next change, in August, 2026. There is a change the year after that, and the following year, and so on, until the year 2640. The full performance is meant to last 639 years. Reporter Gabe Bullard travels to Germany to witness the chord change and to discover why such a concert is even happening in the first place.As Slow As Possible