Illegal immagrants are not citizens so they have no right to due process. Even if they got due process they would still be deported, be mad, be sad, cry about it, You have never read the constitution

It’s going to feel good to unfollow. Get a life, libtards.

No thanks for your leftist politics

Interesting content when they keep their political bias out of it but once they start talking about politics while there are valid points there are also times they wildly overlook some major things because of their left leaning bias. The right isn't the only one wrong, you can fall of the left side of the ditch as well. And these folks do too much of the time.

This is normally a very well-done podcast about design in the world. However, when a Republican is in office, it turns into more political junk talking about how terrible it is. Liberal thought is worked into every episode so they can virtue signal how much better they are than the rest of us. As much as I love the good episodes, the other nonsense is enough for me to give up and stop following the show.

i once idolized this show and recommended it to many people. i appreciated how much integrity and pride mars and the show took in being independent. the show is unlistenable now, and i’ll stick to independent podcasts and networks like maxfun after how bitterly disappointed i am in these once-beloved shows.

I've loved y'all for years, since I heard the toothbrush episode. Con law is amazing also!!!👍

I came to the podcast after reading Roman Mars book.. i usually learn something I knew nothing about.. very refreshing.

I like the concept of this podcast and some of the stories are very interesting. But many times I am enjoying the show when out of no where they throw in some anti Trump or anti conservative opinions. This just kills the entire flow of the show and my enjoyment of it. If you are going to be a political show don’t hide behind innocuous stories.

Loved this show when it was about design. Now it is just another show about politics. Go back to the old episodes as they are great.

If trumps not president, then this is a good podcast, when orange man is president, they can’t help themselves but to insult half of America every 4 minutes. Again, I’ll try again in 4 years.

As usual, Valley So Low was yet another well-written, well-produced, and utterly fascinating episode. I was disappointed, however, at the uncritical advocacy coming from both RM and his guest for nuclear power as the solution to the TVA’s, and the planet’s, energy woes. Gentlemen, please read Rebecca Solnit on the topic of the false promise of nuclear energy. It doesn’t feel to me like either one of you has really thought this all he way through. And apologies. I don’t mean to sound patronizing towards two very knowledgeable people. Great respect to you both.

this show once had an incredible premise, ethical backbone, and well produced, fascinating episodes…. now it’s just a glorified interview show for writers on their book tours and ad after ad after ad 😔sucks that they sold out so hard the backlog from years ago is life-changing though!!

Always loved this show, gosh dang did the Power Broker season have an impact on me. Hands down one of my new favorite books, absolutely changed the way I look at New York and politics at large. Now my friends are all reading it, so much gratitude for getting us into that and introducing me to Caro!

Who knew that design, in all its forms, is so central to everything we touch and everything that touches us? I’ve been listening for 10 years and am never bored with the show or tired of the host.

I like this show when I listen to it most of the time when it shows up in my feed. I think a lot of the episodes are interesting and well researched. What I don’t care for is the hosts extreme left political agenda that seems to permeate a lot of the episodes. I think this show would be a lot better if it was more objective and balanced, but it is clearly not. So if your politics are on the left side of things, and maybe even on the extreme left side of things, you will love this pod. If you’re more in the middle, or just someone who’s trying to keep an open mind this might not be the show for you.

I’m not an a—hole so I’m giving five stars for a decade of enjoyment. I’m glad Roman got a well-deserved payday for his work and love, but wow you can tell a difference once the pod got bought out. Take care of your people financially and take those advertising dollars while you can, before the advertisers figure it out.

Roman, I’ve been with you so I can remember at the end of the episode, “my boy Carver says:” And I think you were like in the shed or something and then it was beautiful downtown Oakland. Right? I don’t think I got your son’s name wrong but if I did, I apologize thank you so much for so many years of entertainment. I’ve been with you every step of the way, and you have helped me get through countless dinners by arriving, armed with some interesting story or beautiful enigma fresh off the Oakland airwaves. Sometimes I wonder how things have changed with major success. I can say it definitely doesn’t seem like it has corrupted you anyway we love you. Thank you so much and thank you Joe and everybody else who works for 99% invisible.

Love the pod but the exhaustive analysis of Power Broker is fanboy at least; obsessively overstated at worst-

This is a podcast for listeners seeking information on topics they never considered, but definitely should know about. Easy to listen to, well-researched, and always interesting. I throw these on when I’m walking, doing chores, or driving. My only suggestion is to please make even more 😭

No notes.

Feels a bit NPR-ish. Host makes needless political jabs constantly, and most are a reach. They add nothing to the show. The host is quite smug, which is off-putting.

OK, so stomaching Roman Mars’s smarminess was always part of the package. Which was fine – the storytelling really did make up for it (for the most part) However, shortly after the end of the “fiercely independent” era (he sold it to SiriusXM), it rapidly went downhill. More re-airings of past eps or airings of other podcasts – basically a lot of filler content. And as others have noted, the ad lengths have really gotten out of hand. There are still some fine eps – about 1 in every 4 are keepers – but it does feel like it’s being phoned in at this point. It’s a shame. But, hey, Roman still retains his upper-middle class smarm – so there’s that.

One of the best ‘start from the beginning’ shows. Most aren’t connected, but these stories dont get old.

Check out this podcast. You won’t regret it. My favorite episode is curb cuts. Now I see unintended benefits everywhere!

Like NPR and other shows with similar audiences, the vocal fry of the female hosts is quite difficult to listen to

I appreciate the unique perspective of this show, which presents topics from unconventional angles, enabling me to perceive the world and its elements in a fresh and different light.

This would be the best podcast if you could hear Roman Mars’ voice. Please stop whisper-talking and speak up!

I read the Power Broker about 10 years ago and it left quite an impression on me. I thoroughly enjoyed Roman and Elliott’s series. AND Robert Caro’s final appearance on the last show was excellent. Bravo and well done!!!

I’ve loved listening to the Power Broker series. I have not been reading along with the series but they made the intimidating book more approachable and appealing. Imagine my surprise when I learned an ebook version was finally available three months after it came out! I wish they had made a point of announcing that at the time.

Hi my name is Zephyr an I LOVE your show and was wondering if I could get a shoutout.

Roman is a thoughtful, funny storyteller who's passionate about exploring the built environment. I'm hooked--

Too bad the hosts giggle so much (at unfunny things). Reeks with Oakland hipster irony. Otherwise the subjects are often quite interesting.

Thanks to Roman and Elliott for this unexpected gem of a series! I had never read The Power Broker but bought and read it along with the relevant episodes. I grew up in the Bronx at the tail end of the Robert Moses era (i.e., the Fort Apache years), but I never knew the full story. Really fabulous guests, especially the interviews with Robert Caro himself. Best podcast series of the year!!

Is a masterpiece. Im unsure if I’ll ever get to read the book, but I’ve been loving the series inside the podcast and have started the audio book thanks to this podcast. Thanks for well produced and thoughtful work!

It’s great to listen along with reading this remarkable book. I will miss both when we finish. I was raised in LI near the city and probably was in the car with family on all those congested parkways, expressways and bridges. Yes, Roman’s side kick is an amusing and knowledgeable guy but a little too in love with his own comic talent, and Roman’s giggling is sycophantic and annoying. Cut to out, boys.

The content is great. The Power Broker is a classic and this podcast is a wonderful review. The only annoying aspect is all the giggling. If there were any way to filter it out, I would use that.

I only know the book from your podcast. Went to see this exhibit because of your podcast, and watched the Turn Every Page doc because of you. I feel so grateful to you both for doing what you have done.

Hellos Roman and Elliott, I am enjoying the Power Broker series however it is to my shock to hear you both say several time that there was any displacement of people for Central Park was build. Please do your research about Seneca Village and correct this omission. Truly a huge fan. Alison

I started listening to 99% Invisible because of Conan O'Brien. I'd always wanted to read The Power Broker and this podcast gave me the reason and motivation to start. It had been sitting on my shelf for years after all. After re-listening to episode one and hearing Robert Caro thank Roman and Elliot, it got me choked up. Listening to the sincerity of Caro's gratitude for what they were doing just filled my heart. Thank you so much for doing this. It means so much to me too.

I care about design, not your political opinions. Trump wins again because you still don’t understand this.

I love this show. I was disappointed, though that when discussing the global supply chain and the ascent of China in dominating manufacturing that it was not mentioned by the show how China was willing to pollute its rivers its air, had horrible labor practices all so that they could dominate world manufacturing. that should have been talked about. And also should have discussed how Clinton was willing to enter into that contract with China, full knowing their labor and environmental policies or lack there of, so as to curry favor with retail interests here in the US, who were a huge part of his campaign financing. The show’s silence on this important issue is disappointing.

There is nothing better than the sound of Roman Mars delighting in the minutia of the designed world. I’ve been listening to 99pi for years, and I have learned so much from all of the talented producers. Love the show, it’s a treasure.

Roman is an intelligent, well read, fluent and interesting podcaster. I always look forward to his shows. However, can't we be more creative than dropping F bombs in regular conversations? There's a lot of us that don't speak that way or have kids listening to it that we would prefer not speak that way. I know this guy has a much larger vocabulary than most, he certainly should be able to find some adjectives that work better than that word.

Excellent story lines and narrative. Keep up the great work!

I love 99PI and Roman Mars, but I'm writing to praise The Power Broker, a monthly series in the 99PI feed hosted by Roman Mars and Elliott Kalan. Each episode is over 2 hours long, so under normal circumstances, I would skip it. I subscribe to way too many podcasts and just aren't enough hours in a day to listen to every episode. But The Power Broker is SO worth the time. It's basically a recap and discussion of Robert Caro's 1974 Pulitzer Prize wining book of the same name, a few chapters at a time. "The Power Broker is a biography of Robert Moses, the transformative city planner of New York during the mid-1900s, who was obsessed with one thing: power" (from the description on Amazon.com). This description could make it sound boring for anyone who doesn't live in NYC, but it's actually fascinating, and the recap is frequently very funny. Each episode also features a discussion with a different guest who has some connection with the section of the book being discussed. I can't recommend this series enough.

I love 99pi but I really really really dislike when I click on a podcast and they have episodes of A DIFFERENT PODCAST. I hate it. 99pi is amongst the most guilty

They would be wise to keep their political opinions to themselves, I’m out.

Power Broker #9, his laughing throughout this sad episode is so very irritating and out of place!

SO many things to praise! First, the cleverness of the titles of the episodes, their playing with language, I find delightful and insightful—this one being no exception. Second, as always, I increased my store of knowledge—always enriching. Third, there was something new that I could connect with something else I already knew about, and thereby strengthened my understanding of a concept or a tendency or an issue. This time it was what I’ll call the cultural insensitivity of the HUD effort in the pueblo mentioned. It reminded me of a parallel instance years ago in Iraq when the U.S. government built housing for Iraqis that completely ignored their cultural context and therefore was very, as they, problematic for the Iraqis who moved into that housing. Well done, as always, 99 P I!