Stuffed possums and sunken gold coins: the podcast that explains America in 100 unlikely items

"In 2010, the audio producer Roman Mars launched 99% Invisible, a podcast about the hidden designs and inventions most of us overlook. At the time, he didn't have high hopes for it. Not only was the subject matter wilfully niche early topics included building acoustics and the ergonomics of the toothbrush but the episodes were just four minutes long. Still, listener numbers quickly grew and the episodes got longer."

"Sixteen years on, 99% Invisible is now a podcasting institution that has amassed more than 660 episodes, investigating everything from political logos to the colour of margarine. It's taking something that seems really boring and going, No, no, no, this is interesting,' and really convincing you of that, Mars says."

"There's a reason why Mars habitually talks close to the microphone rather than declaiming from a distance. The effect is to make listeners feel as if he's broadcasting from the inside of their heads. Mars, 51, is talking over video call from a small, foam-panelled studio at his home in Berkeley, northern California, where he records the show."

"Timed to coincide with the 250th anniversary of the US Declaration of Independence, Mars's series comprises 100 episodes airing across two years, each of them highlighting objects and designs that tell the broader story of the United States. When BBC producers first came up with the idea, someone would suggest an object, only to discover 99% Invisible had already made an episode on it."

In 2010, Roman Mars launched 99% Invisible, a podcast focused on overlooked designs and inventions. Early topics included building acoustics and the ergonomics of the toothbrush, and episodes initially ran only four minutes. Listener numbers grew quickly, and episode length increased over time. After sixteen years, the podcast has produced more than 660 episodes, covering subjects such as political logos and the color of margarine. Mars records from a small studio in Berkeley, using close microphone delivery to create an intimate, inside-the-head listening feel. Mars is also launching A History of the United States in 100 Objects, a BBC Studios co-production timed to the Declaration of Independence’s 250th anniversary, featuring 100 episodes across two years that connect objects and designs to broader US history.

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