In Echo Park, Los Angeles, across from Echo Park Lake, stands a building that begs to be noticed—a colossal, white structure with archways and an enormous concrete dome that’s been described as “half Roman Coliseum, half Parisian opera house.” Though some might say it looks more like a concrete flying saucer landed on top of

On October 17th, 1989, the Oakland A’s were playing the San Francisco Giants in the World Series, but just as the game was kicking off—the television broadcast cut out. When the signal came back, it was no longer the baseball game. These were the early minutes of the Loma Prieta earthquake, which struck near Santa

This week, a conversation with Carl Zimmer about his new book Air-Borne: The Hidden History of the Life We Breathe. Air-Borne is an epidemiological history of how we think about the air and its relationship to disease. For centuries, fear of airborne miasmas impacted the design of buildings and cities. While the underlying science of

This is the first official episode of our ongoing series breaking down the U.S. Constitution. This month, Roman and Elizabeth discuss the Preamble, alongside Nikole Hannah-Jones. Nikole is an investigative reporter for the New York Times Magazine and the Knight Chair in Race and Journalism at Howard University. She is most known for creating the

99% Invisible Presents: A Quiet Storm Party  >> Sounds by Ayanna Heaven >> Sun July 27, 5-8pm >> Ace Hotel – Brooklyn, NY >> INFO & RSVP HERE! In the mid-1970s, the national media was reporting on the rise of a new socioeconomic group that was quickly gaining unprecedented access to jobs, education, backyard swimming