Design is everywhere in our lives, perhaps most importantly in the places where we've just stopped n
There’s a little trophy shop called Aardvark Laser Engraving down the street from our office in Oak
This week on the show we’re presenting one of our favorite radio features, “Three Records from Sundo
Vexillologists—those who study flags—tend to fall into one of two schools of thought. The first is o
“A Chair is a difficult object. A skyscraper is almost easier.” — Mies van der Rohe. The chair prese
The Ouija board is so simple and iconic that it looks like it comes from another time, or maybe anot
The first print advertisement for Wonder Bread came out before the bread itself. It stated only that
When you support Radiotopia, you are making sure 99% Invisible can keep coming to you weekly and you
On July 13th, 1977, lightning struck an electricity transmission line in New York City, causing the
Everyone has tried it at some point. The authorities started turning a blind eye years ago, but it w
Straight lines form the core of our built environment. Building in straight lines makes predicting c
There’s a photograph we have tacked to our studio at 99% Invisible HQ. The photo, taken 1899, shows
On the southwest corner of Central Park West and 106th Street in New York City, there’s an enormous
In the beginning, there was design. Before any other human discipline, even before the dawn of manki
Around 2005, a Seattle neighborhood called Ballard started to see unprecedented growth. Condominiums
Cities, like living things, evolve slowly over time. Buildings and structures get added and renovate
IKEA hacking is the practice of buying things from IKEA and reengineering—or “hacking”—them to becom
Way back in October 2011 (see episode #38, true believers!), we broadcast a short excerpt of a radio
As humans have developed cities and built environments, we have also needed to develop ways to find
The best knock-offs in the world are in China. There are plenty of fake designer handbags and Rolexe
Reporter Whitney Jones argues that R.E.M.’s Out of Time is the most politically significant album in
