Episodes
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What makes The Power Broker endure 50 years on? Roman Mars and Elliott Kalan sit down with legendary author Robert Caro to explore the humanity, drama, and untold stories behind his iconic book. Recorded live from the New York Historical Society.
Roman, Elliott, and Robert Caro: Live in Conversation
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This is the eleventh official episode, breaking down the 1974 Pulitzer Prize winning book, The Power Broker by our hero Robert Caro.
This week, Roman Mars and Elliott Kalan sit down with Brennan Lee Mulligan, a comedian and host with Dropout TV, where heâs the creator of Dimension 20 â a Dungeons & Dragons show that features incredibly complex and campaigns, with improv actors and special effects. And as the Dungeon Master, Brennan leads these stories. Season three of Dimension 20 takes place in a magical New York City, where the main villain is a fictionalized, undead Robert Moses, who shares the real Robert Mosesâs passion for building roads and destroying lives through bureaucracy.
Elliott and Roman also cover the second section of Part 7 (Chapter 42 through Chapter 46), discussing the major story beats and themes.
The Power Broker #11: Brennan Lee Mulligan
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Episodes manquant?
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Roman talks with The Memory Palace creator Nate DiMeo, whose new book brings his poetic history podcast to life on the page. They explore how moments of wonder and empathy shape Nateâs stories, turning forgotten history into something intensely personal. Plus, Roman shares two beautifully haunting tales from The Memory Palace that remind us just how close the past really is.
The Memory Palace: True Short Stories of the Past comes out November 19th and will be available everywhere books are sold. We highly recommend you check it out!
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As the last warmth of summer fades, Riis Beachâa hidden queer oasis behind a decaying hospitalâfaces a new reality. With its shadowy protector demolished, can this haven survive in the open, or will its magic disappear with the ruins?
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Remember when grocery shelves went bare and cargo ships clogged the California coast? That chaos wasnât just a pandemic hiccupâit was a symptom of a supply chain stretched to its limits. With insights from Peter Goodmanâs new book, discover the unlikely invention that made the modern supply chain possibleâand why itâs now at risk of collapsing.
How the World Ran Out of Everything
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Every fall, a vacant Toronto storefront is possessed by Spirit Halloween, the pop-up shop haunting 1,500 empty spaces across North America. What does this seasonal invasion say about the retail apocalypse? And why are people so drawn to its eerie aisles? Explore the spooky rise of Spirit Halloweenâwhere the scares are temporary, but the obsession is real.
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This is the tenth official episode, breaking down the 1974 Pulitzer Prize winning book, The Power Broker by our hero Robert Caro.
This week, Roman Mars and Elliott Kalan sit down with Clara Jeffery, the editor-in-chief of Mother Jones and the Center for Investigative Reporting. Sheâs had a long and storied career editing works of investigative journalism that speaks truth to power and afflicts the comfortable, including so she brings that perspective to her understanding of The Power Broker. Clara hadnât read The Power Broker before and this podcast inspired her to pick it up and read along with us.
Elliott and Roman also cover the last section of Part 6 and the first section of Part 7 (Chapter 39 through Chapter 41), discussing the major story beats and themes.
The Power Broker #10: Clara Jeffery
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Today, we have three stories about designs meant to fool you. Camouflage meant to fool U-boats. Highways designed to fool your brain into going way faster than it should want to. And impeccably made fake signs meant to guide you to the right freeway. Three classic, favorite 99PI's completely updated, remixed, and rescored.
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In this bonus episode, Roman unearths the surprising story behind the 99% Invisible's name and delves into the unnoticed brilliance of everyday designâfrom the origins of reinforced concrete to the artistry of Japanâs manhole covers.
This episode is sponsored by PNC Bank, where âbrilliantly boringâ means stability that allows you to focus on what truly matters.
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In the heart of Copenhagen, a former military base transformed into Christiania, a self-proclaimed anarchist commune where residents built a new way of living, free from traditional rules. But as the years passed, external pressures and internal conflictsâespecially a growing drug tradeâput Christianiaâs radical ideals to the test, forcing the community to confront whether it can stay true to its roots or be reshaped by the forces around it.
If you want to learn more about Christiania â and hear other fascinating stories from around the world â be sure to check out Scott Gurianâs own podcast, Far From Home.
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The unexpected story of how Alfred Nobelâs invention of dynamiteâdesigned to build the worldâwas co-opted by anarchists to bring about its destruction. From revolutionizing infrastructure to arming political radicals, dynamite shaped the rise of both terrorism and modern law enforcement.
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What started as Emily Nussbaumâs âguilty pleasureâ of watching Big Brother became a deeper dive into the world of reality TV, leading to her book, Cue the Sun: The Invention of Reality TV. From its early, often morally questionable experiments with shows like Candid Microphone, to the strategy and drama of Survivor, Nussbaum traces the history of a genre thatâs shaped how we see the worldâand even influenced who gets elected. If you think reality TV is all fluff, this episode might just change your mind.
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This is the ninth official episode, breaking down the 1974 Pulitzer Prize winning book, The Power Broker by our hero Robert Caro.
This week, Roman Mars and Elliott Kalan sit down with Majora Carter, an urban revitalization strategist and real estate developer from the South Bronx. Growing up, she always viewed the neighborhood as a place she had to leave in order to find success. But as she got older, she began to undo some of Robert Mosesâ legacy, like building Huntâs Point Riverside Park along the Bronx River. She is a champion for bettering neighborhoods like the South Bronx, so that they are places where people want to remainâeven when they have been ruined by a tyrant.
Elliott and Roman also cover the third section of Part 6 (Chapter 35 through Chapter 38), discussing the major story beats and themes.
The Power Broker #09: Majora Carter
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Karen MacDonough had paid her mortgage for years, raised her family, and lived a quiet life in her Quincy, Massachusetts homeâuntil one day, a group of strangers appeared on her lawn, claiming her house was up for foreclosure. What followed was a surreal discovery of âzombie mortgages,â forgotten second loans from the housing bubble era that have come back to haunt homeowners like Karen. As real estate prices rise, debt collectors are reviving these dormant debts, threatening homes across the country.
This episode is from our friends at Planet Money, a podcast about economics...possibly the biggest thing that we all collectively try not to think about, only to have it greet us at the grocery store, at the gas station, even in our homes. This episode illustrates how massive forces pull at the economy like tides and create ripple effects in our lives, like how a decade-old loan can suddenly come back to life and take everything away.
Subscribe to Planet Money wherever you get your podcasts. They also have a digital piece with further reporting on Zombie Mortgages from NPRâs Investigations Team. You can find that at npr.org/zombie.
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Once considered the most dangerous city in the world due to drug cartel violence, by the early 2000s Medellin had reinvented itself. But gentrification is allowing criminal gangs to reap large profits from a shadow economy powered by the tourist boom.
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The impacts of climate disasters are often measured in terms of property damage. But in places like Phoenix, Arizona, and in hot places all over the world, climate change is wreaking a very different kind of havoc â on living things. In the final episode of Not Built for This, we reckon with the biological limits of climate adaptation.
Not Built For This is a 6-part mini-series from 99% Invisible, with new episodes on Tuesdays and Fridays in the 99% Invisible feed. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.
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Most of the stories in this series have been about places that are ill-prepared for the extreme weather that is coming their way. But this story is about a place that managed to get the kind of infrastructure that will actually help it survive climate change. How after more than two decades of tireless work, the residents of Hamilton City, California finally got the levee they deserved.
Not Built For This is a 6-part mini-series from 99% Invisible, with new episodes on Tuesdays and Fridays in the 99% Invisible feed. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.
Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ on Apple Podcasts to listen to ad-free new episodes and get exclusive access to bonus content.
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All across the country thousands of people are living in locations that regularly flood, and many of these places will only get more flood-prone as the climate continues to change. Residents who live in these danger zones are often trapped in a demoralizing loopâflooding, rebuilding, and praying each time that the pattern doesnât repeat. However in some neighborhoods the government is trying a different approach. Theyâre buying out flood-prone homes and helping residents relocate to higher ground. But whatâs it like for residents to fight like hell for help, and the only help on offer means leaving the place they love?
Not Built For This is a 6-part mini-series from 99% Invisible, with new episodes on Tuesdays and Fridays in the 99% Invisible feed. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.
Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ on Apple Podcasts to listen to ad-free new episodes and get exclusive access to bonus content.
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Insurance companies are not climate activists, but they know more about climate risk than just about anyone. And as storms get more extreme and unpredictable a lot of insurers are running the numbers on Florida and realizing that the math just isnât working anymore. For decades, low cost insurance helped mask the risks of living in some of the riskiest parts of the country. However a climate correction is now underway. Prices are skyrocketing. And on Americaâs riskiest peninsula, residents are beginning to feel climate change where it hurtsâin their bank accounts.
Not Built For This is a 6-part mini-series from 99% Invisible, with new episodes on Tuesdays and Fridays in the 99% Invisible feed. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.
Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ on Apple Podcasts to listen to ad-free new episodes and get exclusive access to bonus content.
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In disasters where a lot of people lose their homes, the impacts are not confined to a single city or town. They ripple outward, cascading into the surrounding area, as the survivors are forced to go looking for new places to live. This is the story of what happened after the famous fire in Paradise, California, and where many of the survivors ended up. Itâs a cautionary tale about a town caught in the cross hairs of both the climate crisis and the housing crisis, and what happened when thousands of displaced people showed up on its doorstep.
Not Built For This is a 6-part mini-series from 99% Invisible, with new episodes on Tuesdays and Fridays in the 99% Invisible feed. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.
Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ on Apple Podcasts to listen to ad-free new episodes and get exclusive access to bonus content.
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