Roman Mars Launches 100-Object US History Podcast
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- A History of the United States in 100 Objects is a co-production between BBC Studios, SiriusXM, and 99% Invisible, comprising 100 episodes airing over two years and timed to the 250th anniversary of the US Declaration of Independence.
- Roman Mars describes the 60-degree screw thread as the series' "perfect object" because it explains "what modern day US imperialism is all about" — US factories retooled the world to its standard after WWII decimated European manufacturing.
- Other featured objects include the Bundy Clock (the first employee time clock), a gold coin recovered from the SS Central America (whose 1857 sinking triggered the first global financial crisis), the Century Safe time capsule, Webster's Blue-Backed Speller, and the Billy Possum — a failed toy meant to rival the teddy bear.
- Mars was approached by BBC producers after he had already covered many of the objects they proposed on 99% Invisible; his own show, launched in 2010 with four-minute episodes, has since grown to more than 660 episodes.
- Mars left high school at 15, earned a biology degree by 19, began a PhD in plant genetics (specializing in corn), and dropped out before pivoting to public radio at stations in San Francisco and Chicago and on NPR's Snap Judgment.
- The series will release weekly from 19 May on BBC Sounds and 99% Invisible, and Mars has insisted on a strict audio-only format, dismissing video podcasts as "the shittiest television show."
Why it matters: Mars, 51, is one of the most influential voices in American podcasting, and this BBC tie-up marks a rare cross-Atlantic prestige podcast partnership timed to a major national anniversary. The 100-objects format — borrowed from a landmark 2010 BBC Radio 4 series — gives Mars a new creative vehicle after 99% Invisible's run, with the screw-episode framing alone signaling an unusually political lens on everyday design.
