With his show 99% Invisible, Roman Mars discovered new ways to jolt public radio out of its old paradigms, while at the same time spinning riveting tales of design.

Why you should listen

From its humble beginnings in his home, Roman Mars’ podcast and radio show 99% Invisible accumulated a massive following to become a broadcast and internet phenomenon. Its premise -- 10- to 20-minute episodes focused on a single compelling story -- subverts public radio’s reliance on long, strictly formatted shows, and has garnered national praise.

Over a series of three runaway crowdsourced fundraising campaigns, 99% Invisible generated over $1.2 million, making Mars the most successful crowdfunded journalist in Kickstarter history.

What others say

“His revelations are just the sort of thing listeners might be tempted to bring up over cocktails.” — Mother Jones, September 28, 2013

More news and ideas from Roman Mars

In Brief

Cassini’s final dive, and more news from TED speakers

September 22, 2017

As usual, the TED community has lots of news to share this week. Below, some highlights. Farewell to Cassini — and here’s to the continuing search for life beyond Earth. In mid-August, PBS released a digital short featuring Carolyn Porco, a planetary scientist and the leader of the imaging team for the Cassini mission to […]

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Arts + Design

Doing pennants: How to fix an ugly flag

July 5, 2016

A well-designed flag can be a thing of beauty, inspiring pledges of allegiance galore. But weirdly, bad flags can inspire passion and loyalty too, suggesting that democracy and design don’t always go together.

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Live from TEDSummit 2016

Go behind the scenes at TEDSummit all week, inside the Facebook Live Studio

June 26, 2016

Get exclusive, behind-the-scenes access to TEDSummit inside our Facebook Live Studio. Join some of your favorite TED speakers for conversational interviews — and you can ask them your questions in the comments. See everything on TED’s Facebook page as it happens: Here’s the schedule: Sunday, June 26 4pm Eastern: TED speaker coaches share public-speaking tips Monday, June 27 3:30pm Eastern: Celeste […]

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