A History of the United States in 100 Objects
100 objects. 100 stories. A new history of the US hiding in plain sight.
America’s 250th birthday calls for a history as sprawling and contradictory as the country itself. A History of the United States in 100 Objects — hosted by Roman Mars and produced by BBC Studios and 99% Invisible — tells that history one thing at a time. A gold coin from an 1857 shipwreck that triggered a financial panic. An antebellum schoolbook that became an instrument of Black liberation. A ceramic dalmatian from the set of Wheel of Fortune. Or a tiny screw that shows how the US created a hidden industrial empire.
Each week, an object opens the door into an extraordinary, often shocking story — about who we’ve been, what we’ve built, and what we’ve allowed ourselves to forget. Some of these objects are well-known. Many are not. But all of them carry the story of how we got to this moment. This is not one narrative. It’s a hundred of them — forming a kaleidoscope that reveals a country stranger and more fascinating than any single telling could capture.
Ways to Listen
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Series Credits
Host and Curator: Roman Mars
Producers: Priscilla Alabi, Brenna Daldorph, and Ellie Lightfoot
Associate Producer: Isaac Fisher
Engineer: Charlie Brandon-King
Music: Swan Real
Production Coordinator: Shan Pillay
Fact Checking: Amy Bracken
Executive Producers: Annie Brown, Courtney Harrell, Kathy Tu
Series Art: Stefan Lawrence
A History of the United States in 100 Objects is a production of 99% Invisible and BBC Studios.