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.

Similar Podcasts

Sounds Like Infrastructure by Ferrovial

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

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

Twenty Thousand Hertz
A lovingly crafted podcast that reveals the stories behind the world's most recognizable and interesting sounds.

160- Perfect Security

April 14, 2015 00:14:42 14.11 MB Downloads: 0

The pursuit of lock picking is as old as the lock, which is itself as old as civilization. But in the entire history of the world, there was only one brief moment, lasting about 70 years, where you could put … Continue reading →

159- The Calendar

April 08, 2015 00:16:09 15.51 MB Downloads: 0

A month is hardly a unit of measurement. It can start on any day of the week and last anywhere from 28 to 31 days. Sometimes a month is four weeks long, sometimes five, sometimes six. You have to buy … Continue reading →

158- Sandhogs

March 31, 2015 00:24:07 23.15 MB Downloads: 0

Eighty years ago, New York City needed another tunnel under the Hudson River. The Holland Tunnel and the George Washington Bridge could no longer handle the mounting traffic between New Jersey and Manhattan. Thus began construction of the Lincoln Tunnel. But this is not a … Continue reading →

54- The Colour of Money (R)

March 25, 2015 00:21:01 20.26 MB Downloads: 0

United States paper currency is so ubiquitous that to really look at its graphic design with fresh eyes requires some deliberate and focused attention. Pull a greenback out from your wallet (or look at a picture online) and really take … Continue reading →

157- Devil’s Rope

March 18, 2015 00:20:20 19.52 MB Downloads: 0

In the mid 1800s, not many (non-native) Americans had ever been west of the Mississippi. When Frederick Law Olmstead visited the west in the 1850s, he remarked that the plains looked like a sea of grasses that moved  “in swells after … Continue reading →

156- Coin Check

March 10, 2015 00:15:34 14.94 MB Downloads: 0

The United States Military is not known for being touchy-feely. There’s not much hugging or head-patting, and superiors don’t always have the authority to offer a serviceman a raise or promotion. When a member of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, or Coast … Continue reading →

155- Palm Reading

March 03, 2015 00:13:23 12.85 MB Downloads: 0

Reports of palm theft have appeared in LA, San Diego, and Texas; palm rustling also gets a mention in Susan Orlean’s The Orchid Thief. To understand why someone would want to steal a palm tree, we need to understand their value—which has a lot to do … Continue reading →

154- PDX Carpet

February 24, 2015 00:14:23 13.81 MB Downloads: 0

Portlanders have a tradition when visiting their airport: taking a picture of their feet. It’s not to show off their shoes, but rather, what’s under them. They are documenting the famous PDX airport carpet. Julie Sabatier from Rendered has the … Continue reading →

153- Game Over (R)

February 17, 2015 00:09:39 9.26 MB Downloads: 0

A few months before the end of the world, everyone was saying their goodbyes. The world that was ending was The Sims Online, an online version of The Sims. Even though The Sims was one of the most popular computer … Continue reading →

152- Guerrilla Public Service

February 11, 2015 00:12:41 12.18 MB Downloads: 0

At some point in your life you’ve probably encountered a problem in the built world where the fix was obvious to you. Maybe a door that opened the wrong way, or poorly painted marker on the road. Mostly, when we … Continue reading →

151- La Mascotte

February 03, 2015 00:15:56 15.28 MB Downloads: 0

The idea of the mascot came to America by way of a popular French opera from the 1880s called La Mascotte. The opera is about a down-on-his luck farmer who’s visited by a girl named Bettina; as soon as she … Continue reading →

150- Under The Moonlight

January 27, 2015 00:14:48 14.2 MB Downloads: 0

In 1885, Austin, Texas was terrorized by a serial killer known as the Servant Girl Annihilator.  The murderer was never actually found, but he claimed eight victims, mostly black servant girls, all attacked in the dark of night. The very, very dark night of Austin in 1885. After … Continue reading →

149- Of Mice And Men

January 20, 2015 00:17:16 16.58 MB Downloads: 0

If you are looking at a computer screen, your right hand is probably resting on a mouse. To the left of that mouse (or above, if you’re on a laptop) is your keyboard. As you work on the computer, your right hand … Continue reading →

148- The Sizzle

January 13, 2015 00:13:05 12.55 MB Downloads: 0

The first trademark for a sound in the United States was issued in 1978 to NBC for their chimes. MGM has a sound trademark for their roaring lion, as does 20th Century Fox for their trumpet fanfare. Harley Davidson tried to trademark the sound … Continue reading →

147- Penn Station Sucks

January 06, 2015 00:16:46 16.09 MB Downloads: 0

New Yorkers are known to disagree about a lot of things. Who’s got the best pizza? What’s the fastest subway route? Yankees or Mets? But all 8.5 million New Yorkers are likely to agree on one thing: Penn Station sucks. … Continue reading →