Overview of A History of the United States in 100 Objects
Hosted by Roman Mars, this trailer introduces a new series from 99% Invisible and BBC Studios that tells the history of the United States through 100 objects. Rather than focusing only on famous relics and official milestones, the show highlights everyday, overlooked, and culturally loaded items that reveal the deeper, messier story of America as it reaches its 250th anniversary.
What the Series Is About
The core idea is simple: objects can tell biographies of people, places, and nations.
- The series explores how ordinary and extraordinary objects carry history, memory, labor, identity, and politics.
- It aims to uncover stories that are “hiding in plain sight,” not just the polished version of history found in museums.
- The project frames American history as sprawling, contradictory, and often shaped by things that might otherwise seem insignificant.
Key Themes and Big Ideas
Objects as historical evidence
The trailer argues that physical items can reveal as much about a society as documents or monuments.
Hidden or overlooked histories
Instead of relying only on canonical artifacts like the Declaration of Independence or Lincoln’s top hat, the show will focus on less obvious objects with major historical meaning.
America through material culture
The series uses everyday things to trace larger developments in U.S. history, including:
- industrialization
- labor and manufacturing
- culture and music
- slavery and liberation
- politics and power
Examples Mentioned in the Trailer
A few specific object-based stories are teased:
- A bootleg band T-shirt that helps tell the history of American punk rock
- A little blue book transformed by enslaved people into a tool of liberation
- A single screw that symbolizes America’s hidden industrial empire
- More iconic objects like a train safe, Billy Possum, and other artifacts tied to presidential and national history
Tone and Style
The trailer blends curiosity, humor, and ambition. Roman Mars presents the concept as both playful and serious: a wide-ranging attempt to make a national history from the things Americans use, keep, lose, and remember.
Release Information
- Series: A History of the United States in 100 Objects
- Host: Roman Mars
- Produced by: 99% Invisible and BBC Studios
- Format: New episodes released weekly
- Schedule: Every Friday in the 99% Invisible feed