--- title: '99% Invisible': 100 Best Podcasts description: Find out why "99% Invisible" is on TIME's list of the 100 best podcasts of all time. canonical: https://time.com/collections/100-best-podcasts/7303042/99-percent-invisible/ article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2025-07-23T11:07:13.000Z article:modified_time: 2025-07-23T16:42:20.000Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: '99% Invisible' Is on The 100 Best Podcasts of All Time og:description: Here's why "99% Invisible" made TIME's list og:url: https://time.com/collections/100-best-podcasts/7303042/99-percent-invisible/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2494d5331589e804/6998c86b83ec372888c7ac91/Best-Podcasts-2025-99-Invisible-003.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: '99% Invisible' Is on The 100 Best Podcasts of All Time og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: '99% Invisible' Is on The 100 Best Podcasts of All Time twitter:description: Here's why "99% Invisible" made TIME's list twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2494d5331589e804/6998c86b83ec372888c7ac91/Best-Podcasts-2025-99-Invisible-003.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Updated: Jul 23, 2025Published: Jul 23, 2025 # 99% Invisible Understanding our surroundings by [Jake Kring-Schreifels](https://time.com/author/jake-kring-schreifels/) ## Jake Kring-Schreifels Kring-Schreifels is a contributor for TIME.  **_Society_** Look around the landscape of a [major U.S. city](https://time.com/7099008/best-podcasts-2024/), small town, or palm-tree patch, and it’s very likely host Roman Mars has dedicated a narrative podcast episode to its peculiarities. Nearly 15 years since launching as a podcast and KALW radio show, _99% Invisible_ has continued to explore the hidden designs, spaces, and buildings that shape our lives and inform us about our surroundings—the way something looks, how it functions, and how it solves problems. The show was nearly canceled after two seasons, but when Mars went to Kickstarter to keep it running, it earned a website record for being the highest-funded project in journalism, going on to win the Webby Award for Best Podcast in 2016 and spawn spin-offs like [_Articles of Interest_](https://time.com/collections/100-best-podcasts/7303045/articles-of-interest/). That’s a tribute to its fun banter (Mars sometimes brings in reporter Avery Trufelman), investigative reporting, and curiosity about topics like abandoned superstores, Memphis' giant Bass Pro Shops pyramid, or the relationship between skate parks and swimming pools. After a couple of listens, it’s easy to understand why the New York _Times_ called Mars “the[ Ira Glass](https://time.com/archive/6664304/ira-glass/) of design.” (Fans can also find Mars as a contributor to two other podcasts on this list, _Radiolab_ and _Planet Money_.) **Correction, July 23** The original story misstated apodcast that spun off from 99% Invisible. It is _Articles of Interest_, not _Nice Try! Utopia._ It also misstated the location of the giant pyramid featured on the show. 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