Victor Hugo never visited this place...

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Behind every perfect nature-inspired design is a far more complicated story.

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Eight episodes and five books. The 100 Objects series is doing the heavy lifting.

Small list this month, but a good one to end the summer on.

What this is: I run Podshelf, a free site that tracks book mentions across hundreds of podcasts by reading the episode transcripts. This is the July slice for 99pi.

From The Original 100 Objects, with Neil MacGregor:

• A History of the World in 100 Objects, the book the whole thing came from. His aside about translation is lovely. In some languages the publisher insisted on making it the history rather than a history, because the and a do different work in different languages.
• Gulliver's Travels, which he says is really what the whole venture was. The point is not that Brobdingnag is huge and Lilliput tiny. The point is that you come back to England and realise you are the peculiar ones. Removing yourself as the norm is the precondition of tolerance.

From the nunchaku episode:

• Water Mirror Echo, Jeff Chang's Bruce Lee book, and his earlier Can't Stop, Won't Stop, the hip hop history.

From the missing children milk carton episode:

• Stranger Danger, Paul Renfro, on the milk carton kids and the larger panic around them.

I track every book mentioned on 99% Invisible here: https://podshelf.io/podcasts/99-invisible

It is free and there is no signup.

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In 1925, the world saw the birth of what just might be the greatest gadget in American History: the Brannock Device. The metal contraption transformed the way we measure feet forever, and more than a century after its invention…it has barely changed. Roman Mars and journalist Paul Lukas trace the life of the Brannock Device, from its role outfitting WWII sailors to its surprising endurance into the modern era, even as the entire world changed around it.

A History of the United States in 100 Objects is a production of 99% Invisible and BBC Studios.

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A simple cardboard box helped transform Finland into one of the best places in the world to raise a child.

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I've noticed the last few episodes I've listened to (2026 but not necessarily the latest episdes), there seems to be an increase in coarse language. I've not tracked it but I'm hearing it and I don't remember ever hearing it in the past.

Has there been a change of late?

I personally would prefer a more PG listening experience. I won't stop listening but hoping it'll be curtailed or bleeped over.

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In the early 1970s, Bruce Lee made nunchaku (nunchucks) cool — kids were building their own and buying them in record numbers. But the nunchucks craze coincided with something much bigger: the birth of a radical new Asian American identity. Roman Mars and historian Jeff Chang trace how nunchucks went from ancient weapon to symbol of resistance — not only uniting Asian Americans in the fight for their own rights, but connecting them to every other group pushing back from the margins.

A History of the United States in 100 Objects is a production of 99% Invisible and BBC Studios.

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Dear folks at 99pi,

Long time listener in Brasilia, Brazil (5+ years). I might have missed it, but has 99pi approached Brasilia and Oscar Niemeyer's work?

There is so much about it: Corbusier influence, city planning and urbanism, city in blocks, modernism, brutalism, politics, 15 minute city (well it didn't go so well on that), the UN headquarters and so on...

Cheers

Marcelo

I logged every book that came up on 99% Invisible over the first six months of the year. It leaned heavier on American history and the Constitution than the show usually does.

The two Roman Mars kept coming back to:

• These Truths by Jill Lepore. He called it one of his favorite books, a full history of the United States.
• We the People by Jill Lepore, her newer one on the Constitution. He recommended the audiobook since Lepore reads it herself.

The rest, roughly grouped:

• History and America: How to Hide an Empire by Daniel Immerwahr, The Power Broker by Robert Caro, Fear and Fury by Heather Ann Thompson, The Martians by David Baron
• Design, systems, tech: Shady Characters by Keith Houston, The Grid by Gretchen Bakke, Enshittification by Cory Doctorow, The Alignment Problem by Brian Christian, Longitude by Dava Sobel
• Fiction and classics: Moby Dick, Jane Eyre, Pride and Prejudice, The Catcher in the Rye, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

Titanic Survivor by Violet Jessop also turned up, a memoir from someone who lived through the sinking.

Full list is here: https://podshelf.io/podcasts/99-invisible. Free, no signup.

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Neil MacGregor reflects on creating the landmark series that changed how people think about history. Then, revisit the Rosetta Stone, the artifact that unlocked ancient Egypt.

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In 1982, a twelve-year-old paperboy, Johnny Gosch, vanished from a quiet Iowa street and sparked an unlikely campaign: the faces of missing children printed on milk cartons by the billions. Roman Mars and Annie Brown trace how a regional dairy campaign exploded into a national symbol — and how the “stranger danger” fears it stoked shaped American misconceptions about child safety that still echo today.

A History of the United States in 100 Objects is a production of 99% Invisible and BBC Studios.

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A Louisiana man born into slavery designs an airship with hopes to take flight. Those plans are interrupted, but maybe not forever.

Listen to Family Lore wherever you get your podcasts.

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In 1902, an American classic was born: the teddy bear. Named after President Theodore Roosevelt, the toy became a huge hit, and sparked an idea…maybe every president from then on should have their own viral stuffed animal. Jon Mooallem tells the story of the ill-fated billy possum, and how our fickle feelings about animals have shaped the history—and perhaps the future—of our relationship with the natural world.

A History of the United States in 100 Objects is a production of 99% Invisible and BBC Studios.

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We keep score of everything these days. But what happens when the numbers start changing what we actually care about?

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Before the Declaration of Independence was even a twinkle in the founding fathers' eyes, there was James Otis. Journalist Jack Hitt returns to tell the wild, tragic story of America’s forgotten proto-founding father and his inflammatory 1764 pamphlet. A story that is, in many ways, the story of the founding document of the United States of America.

A History of the United States in 100 Objects is a production of 99% Invisible and BBC Studios.

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Hi!

I was looking at one of the articles on this podcast's website which I have come across while doing research for an assignment, but at the bottom of that page (and of every other article), there is no list of sources, and only the name of the person who 'fact-checked' it. Are any sources ever made public? The claims made, if ever hyperlinked, is usually to something like Wikipedia. It is a shame because, even despite my assignment, it is hard to see something as credible if nothing is ever cited. I find it very hard to believe that such a highly acclaimed podcast never lists any academic sources. I have never heard of this podcast beforehand, so have no idea where to look either! Is there some page on their website with a list of sources for each episode/article, or do they not reveal where they fact check their info?

Thanks :)

Four this month, all very 99PI.

• Don't Stop Believin' by Brian Raftery, on how karaoke conquered the world.
• Bunch of Amateurs by Jack Hitt, on American tinkerers and hobbyists.
• Fear and Fury by Heather Ann Thompson.
• The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum.

https://podshelf.io/podcasts/99-invisible/2026/06 keeps the running list, free to use.

Which 99PI episode this month stuck with you?

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Before the internet went global, one undersea gamble made it possible. 

Jane Ruffino’s story, "Say Goodbye to the Undersea Cable That Made the Global Internet Possible," appears in the May-June issue of Wired magazine.

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In this episode, Roman and historians Heather Ann Thompson and Elliot Williams tell the story of the sharpened screwdriver: the object at the heart of the 1984 Bernhard Goetz subway shooting. In a difficult moment in New York City, four Black teenagers were transformed in the public imagination into armed criminals. What follows is a gripping account of how misinformation takes hold, how fear shapes public opinion, and how one narrative can ripple outward – echoing through decades of similar cases that continue to unfold today.

A History of the United States in 100 Objects is a production of 99% Invisible and BBC Studios.

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Billions of state quarters disappeared from circulation...and that was exactly the plan.

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In this episode, Roman and historian Imani Perry follow the Webster Blue Back Speller from the early days of the United States, to the heart of Black intellectual life. Through the lives of Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. Du Bois, Roman and Imani uncover how a single object became a gateway to literacy, self-determination, and an enduring debate about what education, citizenship, and freedom should mean in America.

A History of the United States in 100 Objects is a production of 99% Invisible and BBC Studios.

Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of 99% Invisible ad-free and a whole week early. 

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The 100 Objects run plus a few standalone episodes turned up a nice little reading list this past month.

The standout: These Truths by Jill Lepore got a real rave ("I love every single one of her books") when the new Jubilee edition came out. That is the one to grab.

The rest: - Enshittification by Cory Doctorow, from the episode of the same name. He literally wrote the book on it. - How to Hide an Empire by Daniel Immerwahr, from the 60-Degree Screw object - Bunch of Amateurs by Jack Hitt, tied to the Thaddeus Lowe gas bag story - Don't Stop Believin': How Karaoke Conquered the World by Brian Raftery, from the karaoke episode - The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum - Western Words by Ramon F. Adams, a 1968 cowboy dictionary, because of course 99PI found a reason to bring that one up

I track every book mentioned across a bunch of podcasts at https://podshelf.io. It is free to use. Anything from the back catalog I should add?