99% Invisible

Jan Todd was considered by many to be the strongest woman in the world back in the 1970s. Then she became a historian, and uncovered a lost generation of strong women who came before her.

The story of the sinking of the SS Central America and the gold that sparked the first global financial panic, helped fuel the Civil War, and—over a century later—ruined one man’s life.

Across the West, there's a contentious debate playing out over how to adapt homes and neighborhoods to this era of increasingly extreme wildfire risk. In Berkeley, California, it's become a particularly emotional fight because of a very specific architectural history that began all the way back in the 1890s. Emmett Fitzgerald reports on the new rules about what plants you can grow around your house.

In the 1990s, AOL introduced millions of Americans to the internet with its ubiquitous free CDs, but how did the company that once dominated the internet nearly disappear?

Reporter Katie Thornton tells the story of Doktoro Esperanto’s dream, and what we can all still learn from Esperanto right now.

How a women’s prison in Greenwich Village, and its unusual open windows, helped shape queer community and the modern gay rights movement.

A closer look at the quirks, imperfections, and clever design solutions that have helped Frank Lloyd Wright’s Guggenheim Museum evolve over the decades.

A desert train built for Tony Hawk leads into the strange and thoughtful world of N.D. Austin, a designer of real-life experiences.

Football helmets can prevent devastating injuries, but they may also help make an inherently violent game feel safer than it really is.

A closer look at the messy, beautiful bricks hiding across Chicago.

Imbued in the Alcoholics Anonymous chip is a hidden history of America’s relationship to gender, religion, and morality.

How a Swiss mountain call crossed the Atlantic and helped define the sound of country music.

Former MythBuster Adam Savage joins Roman Mars to explore the history of the 500 Series Telephone and what we lost when we eventually decided to leave it behind.

How a movie prop became one of Philadelphia’s most beloved monuments, and sparked a decades-long fight over where it belonged.

How a single product—the hair relaxer—became a mirror for all of America's contradictions.

A legendary typeface, a spectacular friendship breakup, and one extremely committed act of revenge.

How should the military outfit its soldiers to make them as safe and effective as possible?

Every product has to be tested somehow, and sometimes that means finding increasingly creative ways to break it.

How the ceramic Dalmatian became the mascot for one of America's most popular game shows.

This week, two stories about the strange power of the 1-800 number.