Best Sim Carter Podcasts (2024)

1
The Power Broker #10: Clara Jeffery 2:51:43

9m ago2:51:43

2:51:43

This is the tenth official episode, breaking down the 1974 Pulitzer Prize winning book, The Power Broker by our hero Robert Caro. This week, Roman and Elliott also sit down with Clara Jeffery, the editor-in-chief of Mother Jones and the Center for Investigative Reporting. She’s had a long and storied career editing works of investigative journalism…

1
Trompe L'oeil 32:31

22m ago32:31

32:31

Today, we have three stories about designs meant to fool you. Camouflage meant to fool U-boats. Highways designed to fool your brain into going way faster than it should want to. And impeccably made fake signs meant to guide you to the right freeway. Three classic, favorite 99PI's completely updated, remixed, and rescored. Trompe L'oeil Subscribe t…

1
Brilliantly Boring 27:04

18m ago27:04

27:04

In this bonus episode, Roman unearths the surprising story behind the 99% Invisible's name and delves into the unnoticed brilliance of everyday design—from the origins of reinforced concrete to the artistry of Japan’s manhole covers. This episode is sponsored by PNC Bank, where “brilliantly boring” means stability that allows you to focus on what t…

1
Christiania 40:04

10d ago40:04

40:04

In the heart of Copenhagen, a former military base transformed into Christiania, a self-proclaimed anarchist commune where residents built a new way of living, free from traditional rules. But as the years passed, external pressures and internal conflicts—especially a growing drug trade—put Christiania’s radical ideals to the test, forcing the comm…

1
The Infernal Machine 28:58

10d ago28:58

28:58

The unexpected story of how Alfred Nobel’s invention of dynamite—designed to build the world—was co-opted by anarchists to bring about its destruction. From revolutionizing infrastructure to arming political radicals, dynamite shaped the rise of both terrorism and modern law enforcement. The Infernal Machine Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ on Apple…

1
Cue the Sun! 35:32

15d ago35:32

35:32

What started as Emily Nussbaum’s “guilty pleasure” of watching Big Brother became a deeper dive into the world of reality TV, leading to her book, Cue the Sun: The Invention of Reality TV. From its early, often morally questionable experiments with shows like Candid Microphone, to the strategy and drama of Survivor, Nussbaum traces the history of a…

1
The Power Broker #9: Majora Carter 2:32:17

19d ago2:32:17

2:32:17

This is the ninth official episode, breaking down the 1974 Pulitzer Prize winning book, The Power Broker by our hero Robert Caro. This week, Roman and Elliott also sit down with Majora Carter, an urban revitalization strategist and real estate developer from the South Bronx. Growing up, she always viewed the neighborhood as a place she had to leave…

1
Planet Money: Zombie 2nd Mortgages 33:16

22d ago33:16

33:16

Karen MacDonough had paid her mortgage for years, raised her family, and lived a quiet life in her Quincy, Massachusetts home—until one day, a group of strangers appeared on her lawn, claiming her house was up for foreclosure. What followed was a surreal discovery of “zombie mortgages,” forgotten second loans from the housing bubble era that have c…

101
252 Chantal Lalonde: How much exercise do adults need? Unpacking physical activity guidelines 41:16

25d ago41:16

41:16

Today we welcome Chantal Lalonde for a conversation about exercise in general. So many people fall into the trap of hyper specialized exercise, correcting movement patterns or setting lofty unattainable goals. In this episode we unpack the physical activity guidelines and how to focus on more consistency and less on doing things perfectly all the t…

1
Medellin, Revisited 33:44

29d ago33:44

33:44

Once considered the most dangerous city in the world due to drug cartel violence, by the early 2000s Medellin had reinvented itself. But gentrification is allowing criminal gangs to reap large profits from a shadow economy powered by the tourist boom. Medellin, Revisited Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ on Apple Podcasts to listen to ad-free new epi…

1
Not Built For This #6: Maximum Temperature 41:06

1M ago41:06

41:06

The impacts of climate disasters are often measured in terms of property damage. But in places like Phoenix, Arizona, and in hot places all over the world, climate change is wreaking a very different kind of havoc – on living things. In the final episode of Not Built for This, we reckon with the biological limits of climate adaptation. Not Built Fo…

1
Not Built For This #5: The Little Levee That Could 48:48

2M ago48:48

48:48

Most of the stories in this series have been about places that are ill-prepared for the extreme weather that is coming their way. But this story is about a place that managed to get the kind of infrastructure that will actually help it survive climate change. How after more than two decades of tireless work, the residents of Hamilton City, Californ…

1
Not Built For This #4: Unbuilding the Terrace 48:20

1M ago48:20

48:20

All across the country thousands of people are living in locations that regularly flood, and many of these places will only get more flood-prone as the climate continues to change. Residents who live in these danger zones are often trapped in a demoralizing loop—flooding, rebuilding, and praying each time that the pattern doesn’t repeat. However in…

1
Not Built For This #3: The Price is Wrong 49:36

1M ago49:36

49:36

Insurance companies are not climate activists, but they know more about climate risk than just about anyone. And as storms get more extreme and unpredictable a lot of insurers are running the numbers on Florida and realizing that the math just isn’t working anymore. For decades, low cost insurance helped mask the risks of living in some of the risk…

1
Not Built For This #2: The Ripple Effect 57:22

2M ago57:22

57:22

In disasters where a lot of people lose their homes, the impacts are not confined to a single city or town. They ripple outward, cascading into the surrounding area, as the survivors are forced to go looking for new places to live. This is the story of what happened after the famous fire in Paradise, California, and where many of the survivors ende…

1
Not Built For This #1: The Bottom of the Bowl 28:53

2M ago28:53

28:53

Reporter Emmett Fitzgerald was used to hearing people call his home state of Vermont a “climate haven.” But last summer, he got a wake up call in the form of a devastating flood. All throughout the United States, people are watching the places they love change in unpredictable and scary ways. Places that once felt safe are starting to feel risky. P…

1
The Power Broker #8: Shiloh Frederick 2:12:44

2M ago2:12:44

2:12:44

This is the eighth official episode, breaking down the 1974 Pulitzer Prize winning book, The Power Broker by our hero Robert Caro. This week, Roman and Elliott sit down with Shiloh Frederick. Born and raised in New York City, Shiloh is a writer and influencer who shares her love of the city’s history and architecture on Instagram and TikTok. Last y…

1
Side Projects 1:05:24

2M ago1:05:24

1:05:24

This week we're highlighting a couple of series that live inside the 99pi production tent. We’ve got a preview of a new miniseries for you called Not Built for This, created and hosted by Emmett FitzGerald. It's a show about climate change, but not in the way you might think. It's about how the complex systems that govern our lives are not designed…

1
Top Billing 29:27

2M ago29:27

29:27

When you’re watching the opening credits to a movie, it’s not just a list of names. What you’re actually seeing is intense negotiations by Hollywood stars and their agents playing out in text form. Title designers have to create something that’s entertaining to watch, while also presenting the names of all the creative people in a very particular o…

1
The Art of the Olympics 34:02

2M ago34:02

34:02

The 2024 Paris Olympics are currently under way, and we thought we’d play two stories from the 99% Invisible archives about the art of the Olympics. First up, a story about the design and iconography of the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. Then, Kurt Kohlstedt tells us about Olympic poetry. The Art of the Olympics Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ on Apple…

1
251 Raphael Bender: Exercise Science Fact Check 49:59

2M ago49:59

49:59

In this episode we welcome exercise physiologist Raphael Bender for a conversation about a few popular topics where we often see mixed messages and sometimes even misinformation. If you are a person who loves to learn about how muscles fire, how strength is built, and what current research is saying about certain topics, this is for you! Kathryn an…

1
The 2024 Olympics Spectacular 40:33

3M ago40:33

40:33

From TV commercials and branded soda cans to Emily in Paris spon-con, the Olympics are once again everywhere. In the Olympic spirit, we’re bringing you four stories about the games in all their international, theatrical glory. In the first story, Christopher Johnson introduces the obscure, non-traditional sports from a forgotten part of Olympic his…

1
The Power Broker #7: Sec. Pete Buttigieg 2:42:47

3M ago2:42:47

2:42:47

NEWS: We've got 99PI Power Broker Breakdown merch! Visit 99pi.org/store. This is the seventh official episode, breaking down the 1974 Pulitzer Prize winning book, The Power Broker by our hero Robert Caro. This week, Roman and Elliott sit down with Pete Buttigieg, the US Secretary of Transportation. One of his major responsibilities as Secretary is …

1
A River Runs Through Los Angeles 43:36

3M ago43:36

43:36

When you hear the word "river," you probably picture a majestic body of water flowing through a natural habitat. Well, the LA River looks nothing like that. Most people who see it probably mistake it for a giant storm drain. It's a deep trapezoidal channel with steep concrete walls, and a flat concrete bottom. Los Angeles was founded around this ri…

1
250 Christine Yu: Menstrual cycle tracking and training, what we know and where we need more research 42:18

3M ago42:18

42:18

Today we welcome award winning journalist and life long athlete Christine Yu to talk about the menstrual cycle tracking craze that we have seen in recent years. Christine will walk you through the different phases of the menstrual cycle, some of the physiological changes that happen week to week and why these fluctuations can effect our exercise. S…

1
As Slow As Possible 41:51

3M ago41:51

41:51

When you go to a concert, you might try to get there right when the doors open. Or perhaps you take your time and skip the opening act. But generally, you want to be there when the show starts. In February, everyone who went to a concert in Halberstadt, Germany, showed up 23 years late. The performance is of a piece called ORGAN2/ASLSP. ASLSP stand…

1
The Containment Plan (rebroadcast) 26:01

4M ago26:01

26:01

It’s hard to overstate the vastness of the Skid Row neighborhood in Los Angeles. It spans roughly 50 blocks, which is about a fifth of the entire downtown area of Los Angeles. It’s very clear when you’ve entered Skid Row. The sidewalks are mostly occupied by makeshift homes. A dizzying array of tarps and tents stretch out for blocks, improvised liv…

1
Backfired: The Vaping Wars 52:55

4M ago52:55

52:55

When two Stanford graduate students set out to create a new kind of cigarette that wouldn’t kill them, they didn’t foresee all the obstacles that lay ahead—or the powerful forces their invention would unleash. Nearly 10 years after the launch of the JUUL, Backfired: The Vaping Wars asks: Could e-cigarettes have been the solution to one of the world…

1
The Power Broker #6: Mike Schur 2:58:55

4M ago2:58:55

2:58:55

This is the sixth official episode, breaking down the 1974 Pulitzer Prize winning book, The Power Broker by our hero Robert Caro. This week, Roman and Elliott sit down with Mike Schur, who created the critically acclaimed NBC comedy The Good Place, and co-created Parks and Recreation, Brooklyn 99, Rutherford Falls, and Netflix’s upcoming, A Classic…

1
Category 6 39:06

4M ago39:06

39:06

After Hurricane Camille caused widespread death and destruction along the US Gulf Coast in 1969, two scientists created the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale as a way to quickly warn the public when dangerous storms were on the way. Today, we’re still using the scale and its system of ranking storms as Categories 1 to 5. But in the 55 years since…

1
The Los Angeles Leaf Blower Wars 35:46

4M ago35:46

35:46

The leaf blower is one of the most hated objects in the modern world. They’re loud, they pollute, and… how important is a leafless lawn anyway? In a lot of towns and cities, the gas-powered leaf blower has been banned. In others, there are strict guidelines on where and when they can be used. In Los Angeles, California, the leaf blower has never go…

1
249 Em Palmerton: Nutrition for Strength & Why You Need Carbohydrates 45:41

4M ago45:41

45:41

Today we welcome dietician, coach and strength athlete, Em Palmerton for a conversation about nutrition and why carbs are so important for strength. We hear so much about protein intake, but what about carbs? Em talks about fitness trends, how carbs have been demonized in many circles, and why healthy exercise is about more than just being lean. Ka…

1
Fact Checking the Supreme Court 44:13

5M ago44:13

44:13

For a long time, the Court operated under what was called Legal Formalism. Legal formalism said that the job of any judge or justice was incredibly narrow. It was to basically look at the question of the case in front of them, check that question against any existing laws, and then make a decision. Unlike today, no one was going out of their way to…

1
Uptown Squirrel [update] 30:26

5M ago30:26

30:26

In late 2018, two hundred people gathered at The Explorer’s Club in New York City. The building was once a clubhouse for famed naturalists and explorers. Now it’s an archive of ephemera and rarities from pioneering expeditions around the globe. But this latest gathering was held to celebrate the first biological census of its kind –an effort to cou…

1
The Lost Subways of North America 26:26

5M ago26:26

26:26

Los Angeles actually used to have a massive electric railway system in the early 1900s, called the Red Car. Jake Berman, the author of The Lost Subways of North America, tells us about how, time after time, when North American cities seemed just inches away from having a robust, utopian future of fast, reliable, and convenient public transportation…

1
The Power Broker #5: Brandy Zadrozny 2:11:53

5M ago2:11:53

2:11:53

This is the fifth official episode, breaking down the 1974 Pulitzer Prize winning book, The Power Broker by our hero Robert Caro. This week, Roman and Elliott also sit down with Brandy Zadrozny, a senior reporter for NBC News who covers misinformation, conspiracy theories, and the internet. Brandy recently finished The Power Broker, and she’s got a…

1
248 Greg Lehman: Does technique matter? What about spinal flexion? And other hot topics. 44:10

5M ago44:10

44:10

This week we welcome physiotherapist, educator and researcher, Greg Lehman. Kathryn and Greg tackle a few topics that require a lot of nuance, like, is technique important for preventing injury and spinal flexion across different demographics including people with osteoporosis. Greg shares insights on what we know from the research, and topics wher…

1
Rocket Man 40:20

5M ago40:20

40:20

In the twentieth century, the jetpack became synonymous with the idea of a ‘futuristic society.’ Appearing in cartoons and magazines, it felt like a matter of time before people could ride a jetpack to work. But jetpacks never became a mainstream technology, leaving many to wonder... why did they fall off the radar? Rocket Man Subscribe to SiriusXM…

1
It's Howdy Doody Time! 37:16

6M ago37:16

37:16

The Howdy Doody Show is one of those pieces of 1950s ephemera that has come to symbolize mid-century American childhood. For over a decade, every weeknight at 5pm, kids all across the country would sit down in front of their parents’ tiny televisions and take in the wild west adventures of Buffalo Bob and his puppet sidekick Howdy Doody. The show w…

1
BONUS- Towers of Silence: Vulture Conservation 32:18

6M ago32:18

32:18

Recently we published an episode called Towers of Silence. It's about how the Parsis in India are grappling with the loss of vultures and how it changed something very intimate and meaningful for the community. It was reported by our own Lasha Madan and it is epic and it is beautiful. So first of all, go listen to that story if you haven't heard it…

1
Mr. Yuk 56:15

6M ago56:15

56:15

Mr. Yuk is a neon green circular sticker with a cartoon face on it. His face is scrunched up with his eyes squeezed tight and his tongue is sticking out of its mouth. It's the face you make when you taste something disgusting. He's the pictorial embodiment of the sentiment of yuck. Aptly enough: he was designed to be the symbol for hazardous substa…

1
247 Gina Wright: Strength Training, Fuelling & HIIT for Perimenopause 50:24

6M ago50:24

50:24

In this episode Kathryn and Gina talk about perimenopause and why strength training and high intensity interval training (HIIT) are really helpful in this phase of life. Gina also shares quite a bit about pre-exercise fuelling and why starting exercise with extra energy is incredibly powerful. Perimenopause is a confusing time, there's no test to s…

1
Towers of Silence 1:11:25

6M ago1:11:25

1:11:25

Situated right in downtown Mumbai, India is an area of about 55 acres of dense, overgrown forest. In one of the most populous cities in the world, this is a place where peacocks roam freely -- a space out of time. This forest is protected by a religious community. It has survived in a relatively undeveloped state in the middle of this gargantuan ci…

1
The Power Broker #4: Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez 2:39:33

6M ago2:39:33

2:39:33

This is the fourth official episode, breaking down the 1974 Pulitzer Prize winning book, The Power Broker by our hero Robert Caro. Roman and Elliott also sit down with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the U.S. representative for New York's 14th congressional district, who describes the lasting impact Moses’ highways have made on her district, and her…

1
Anything's Pastable: Eat Sauté Love 44:43

6M ago44:43

44:43

This week we're featuring an episode from The Sporkful's series on the creation of "Anything's Pastable," Dan Pashman's new pasta cookbook. Dan talks with Roman about how this massive project came to be and all the design decisions required to put together a cookbook. And then, in part two of “Anything’s Pastable,” Dan embarks on an epic trip acros…

1
The Society of Ambiance Makers and Elegant Persons 35:18

6M ago35:18

35:18

Hailing from central African cities of Brazzaville and Kinshasa, sapeurs have become increasingly recognizable around the world. Since the 1970s, sapeurs (from: le sape, short for "Société des Ambianceurs et des Personnes Élégantes") have been known for donning technicolored three-piece suits with flamboyant accessories like golden walking sticks a…

1
246: Recapping the Dr. Stacy Sims Interview 35:54

7M ago35:54

35:54

Our interview with Dr. Stacy Sims was a banger! We got numerous emails and messages from our audience expressing how powerful the conversation was. Kathryn and Chris sat down to recap a handful of the main points that really stood out and give more practical context for those of you wanting to integrate this knowledge further. If you have not yet l…

1
Chambre de Bonne 33:22

7M ago33:22

33:22

A chambre de bonne is usually one small room, on the top floor of a five- or six-story apartment building, and it’s usually just big enough to fit a bed and a table. It’s affordable housing in a city where finding housing is nearly impossible. Reporter Jeanne Boëzec tells about the history of the chambre de bonne apartments, and how while cute, the…

1
Roman Mars Describes Athens GA As It Is 36:50

7M ago36:50

36:50

This is the third and final episode in a three-part series of Roman Mars recording on-location guides to the design features and interesting spots in cities he loves. Roman moved to Athens, Georgia, to pursue a PhD in plant genetics, but dropped out and got into the local music and art scene instead, and started making his way toward radio. Roman M…

1
Autism Pleasantville 32:46

7M ago32:46

32:46

A few years back, journalist Lauren Ober was diagnosed with autism. She then made a podcast about her experience called The Loudest Girl in the World. And she found herself imagining a fantasy world where everything is tailored to Lauren’s very specific autistic needs. And she called this magical imagined place, wonderfully devoid of overwhelming s…

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