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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
a week ago

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More from 99% Invisible

Sister Aimee and the Birth of the Megachurch

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

4 days ago 2 votes
Air-Borne

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

2 weeks ago 9 votes
Constitution Breakdown #1: Nikole Hannah-Jones

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

3 weeks ago 6 votes
The Quiet Storm

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

3 weeks ago 6 votes

More in architecture

AI Wrote a Better Cover Letter Than Me; I Don't Care

As AI adoption in the job application process surges, I pit myself against four leading AI tools to craft a cover letter for a fictional architecture job. After a 'spot the human' challenge among Archinect's editors and our readers, I share my thoughts on both the experience of using AI to prepare a cover letter and where I will and will not use it in the future.

3 days ago 7 votes
How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Thanet Parkway (Thanet Parkway, Kent, UK)

Thanet Parkway station opened on 31 July 2023, and promptly broke quite a few people’s brains. I can remember my Twitter feed (as was) being awash with commentators deriding its appearance. Even now, a simple web search will quickly turn up adjectives like “ugly”, “hideous”, “bloody ugly” and “incredibly dull-looking”. Although I assume the post […]

3 days ago 7 votes
How to Accelerate Carbon Neutrality Without Federal Support? Invest in Carbonsheds

Cities are where we can make significant impacts, comparatively quickly, to help fight climate change.

3 days ago 4 votes
Sister Aimee and the Birth of the Megachurch

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

4 days ago 2 votes
My Book "The Origins of Efficiency" is Now Available for Preorder

I’m happy to announce that my book, The Origins of Efficiency, is now (officially) available for preorder, and will be released on September 23rd. You can preorder on Amazon, Stripe, Barnes and Noble, or Bookshop.com.

4 days ago 6 votes