app_store_button

google_play_button

Details page - Device banner - 894x1036

Step into an infinite world of stories

Listen and read

Roman Mars

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.

99% Invisible

One study from 2018 found that Major League Baseball umpires blow about 14 calls every game. That’s 34,000 bad calls every year. And it makes a difference. A blown strike call can decide a win or a loss, a championship or six months at home, wondering what could have been. And while umpires are about 97% accurate in calling balls and strikes, Major League Baseball has been considering something drastic. Something to take us up to 100% accuracy. They have a plan to replace human umpires with robots. Now, with an update!

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 collection and use of personal data for advertising.

RoboUmp Hits the Big Leagues

A missing car reveals the confusing rules, murky fees, and private actors behind modern towing.

What infrastructure mystery keeps you up at night? Submit your Service Request by recording a voice memo with your question and emailing it to servicerequest@99pi.org.

Service Request is a production of 99% Invisible and Campside Media.

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 collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Service Request #5: Dude, Where's My Car?

In a place where losing power can turn deadly, keeping the lights on is a high-stakes balancing act.

What infrastructure mystery keeps you up at night? Submit your Service Request by recording a voice memo with your question and emailing it to servicerequest@99pi.org.

Service Request is a production of 99% Invisible and Campside Media.

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 collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Service Request #4: How Does the Grid in Phoenix Work?

Why did it take nearly a decade to redesign a city trash can, and why haven't more bins made the streets cleaner?

What infrastructure mystery keeps you up at night? Submit your Service Request by recording a voice memo with your question and emailing it to servicerequest@99pi.org.

Service Request is a production of 99% Invisible and Campside Media.

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 collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Service Request #3: Why Is There So Much Litter in San Francisco?

This is the eighth episode of our ongoing series breaking down the U.S. Constitution.

This month, Roman and Elizabeth discuss Article V, which lays out the process to amend the Constitution.

Then, Jill Lepore lays out her thesis that the Constitution is truly meant to be amended, explains why Article V amendments have become functionally impossible, and tells some fascinating stories about the people who have championed amendments.

The 99% Invisible Breakdown of the Constitution

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 collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Constitution Breakdown #8: Jill Lepore

What the world's most advanced traffic system can—and can't—do for the city that invented gridlock.

What infrastructure mystery keeps you up at night? Submit your Service Request by recording a voice memo with your question and emailing it to servicerequest@99pi.org.

Service Request is a production of 99% Invisible and Campside Media.

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 collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Service Request #2: Why Is This Red Light So Damn Long?

The surprising power of a simple phone number to connect a community.

What infrastructure mystery keeps you up at night? Submit your Service Request by recording a voice memo with your question and emailing it to servicerequest@99pi.org.

Service Request is a production of 99% Invisible and Campside Media.

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 collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Service Request #1: What Happens When I Call 311?

How one wealthy, amateur astronomer convinced the world Martians were real.

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 collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A Man, a Plan, a Canal—Mars!

For centuries, the world's greatest minds were stumped by the deadly mystery of longitude, until an obsessive underdog entered the fray and changed navigation forever.

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 collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Where the F*** Are We?

This is the seventh episode of our ongoing series breaking down the U.S. Constitution.

This month, Roman and Elizabeth discuss Article IV, which outlines the relationship between states and between states and the federal government. They add the 10th Amendment to the conversation, because that also talks about the states.

Then, California Attorney General Rob Bonta joins to talk about how his office is using Article IV and the 10th Amendment to protect the state from federal overreach.

The 99% Invisible Breakdown of the Constitution

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 collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Constitution Breakdown #7: California AG Rob Bonta

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 ServiceOne-Nil to the ArsenalGuerrilla Public Service ReduxTowers of SilenceThe House that Came in the MailThe Real Book

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 collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Open Borders

Listen and read

Other podcasts you might like ...