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.

Launching May 19, 2026, wherever you listen to 99% Invisible.

Series Credits

Host: 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