This is my favorite podcast since 2016-2017. I love the care and nuance with how they approach each topic. The entire team is so thoughtful and talented. Also Roman Mars might be the only white man I trust and listen to willingly. ❤️

Not only does his laughter sound phony, it’s often inappropriate, making it impossible for me to enjoy what is otherwise a great podcast. Is it a generational thing? The greatest, Ira Glass, who seems to be Mars’ role model, doesn’t do it.

You now a lot and keep it up👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

I’ve long loved this show but have never felt compelled to write a review until I heard Nuts and bolts with Roma. The show was absolutely fantastic and Romas charm was just wonderful. Thanks so much Roman on the wonderful podcast. Highly recommend!

You all do a really good job.

Roman. Take a journey into the past. During your younger days as an avid fan of punk rock. What was the greatest sin a performer could be accused of? That’s right SELLING OUT! The host so courteous that he would refrain from reading ads until after the show now bombards us with ads BEFORE DURING AND AFTER. I guess anyone’s principles could be compromised for tens of millions dollars. However Roman you were one of last people I expected to do so. I’m unsubscribing. You broke the pact with your longtime listeners, I used to wait for the commercials. Now I can’t wait to get away from them. I understand wanting time with the fam. But there had to be some other way aside from SELLING OUT to rapaciously greedy corporate America. You did us wrong man

I’m so confused by some other reviews, are we listening to the same podcast? I just like learning about random things and I see people complaining about “woke” and politics. Anyways, great podcast very interesting, when the right topic is chosen the episodes is so good. Also awesome voice:)

As an architect, I appreciate hearing about these obscure examples of design around the urban world.

“I’m Roman Mars, this is 99% ads”

I love the show so so much please keep it up. Also the new episode of this has referenced minor league baseball teams names being related to the town or area, another example of this is the Tacoma Rainers which is a reference to the name of Mount Rainier🌲🌲🌲🪨🪨🪨🌱🌱🌱🪵🪵🪵💯💯💯💯💯💯💯 Also anyone who says that the podcast is not good is lying to themselves about it. Because it is the best thing that has been brought to this world. THANK YOU SO MUCH ROMAN!!!!!

This series was great in the beginning! Loved hearing the stories that are behind every day things in our world. BUT, the last few years have been filled with more and more commercials both by Roman and outside produced commercials. This is now at the bottom of my play lists for podcasts. I'll listen to it but only if I have played all other podcasts in my queue. It was great, but I find it harder and harder to get through an episode with so many commercials.

Painfully woke now.

99% Commercial is my go-to podcast for trendy, relevant commercial adverts ably vocalized by experienced personality Roman Mars. Each episode features insightful adverts for a plethora of products and services of interest to hip, young techno centric listeners, from furniture to job search to therapy services - 99% Commercial has it all in one convenient, easy to access podcast. Note that the commercial messages are interrupted by a thematic feature of varying subject matter, once heavily based on design but more recently of a more “woke” virtue signaling nature in keeping with modern media trends. If you’re like me and you subscribe for the adverts, there’s always the “skip ahead” soft key on the screen to get past the feature segments quickly. I highly recommend 99% Commercial with Roman Mars - try it yourself!

every time I listen, I feel like prepending my one star until he stops his idiot “laugh track” ish giggle. Roman needs to stop chuckling at everything… taking down to one star I may just stop listening if he doesn’t figure our that his chuckling is a distraction. Just listened to the Shirley Girl episode. There is often interesting stuff here, but god, stop the giggling at the end Roman. Every time you do that, it ruins the episode. The Wilderness Tool: Honestly, even when a topic interests me, or I have a deep agreement in the sentiments expressed, (no bikes in wilderness in this case) I can’t get past Roman’s annoying giggling. I don’t know why this is still in my feed.

Most of your bits of music are annoying plinky sounds. Why? What purpose does it all serve? For a show about "design" your random music inserts are less than well "designed." It's not entertaining and if anything It's distracting. Does it make the content better? More interesting? Do spoken thoughts / paragraphs require plinky noises to transition from one to another?

Love it!

Just for your information, the Akron Rubber Ducks were named because Akron is the rubber city, where Goodyear, BF Goodrich, Firestone Tire etc. so I think it fits more in the “quirky“ names that are specific to the area. Love the show.

Love all your topics & narratives. I have a question re women’s basketball before title 9. I played in the 60’s in Illinois & college In Indiana. My mine might be failing me but I was certain we played the same game with one exception. On court on each team there was a roving forward and guard that could cross the center line. Did not get that from your story so thought I’ll ask to check my memory.

The show has strayed from being about design. The focus seems to be more about social issues, which is not why I subscribed.

My other podcasts are downloading fine, with the exception of 99% invisible. I even deleted the podcast from my library, and re-subscribed. I continue to get the exclamation mark when trying to download and am even unable to play it right on my desktop. **HELP**

99PI is not left wing lol. It’s liberal. And the amount of culture industry groveling it engages in now is embarrassing. It also demonstrates such an obvious contempt for its listenership. Was informative is now didactic. The adds are also absolutely heinous. This and the recent sweaty attempts to seem “good” are so obviously connected to the corporate sellout. Classic spineless, aging gen x energy on the part of Roman

I would gladly listen to Roman Mars read the terms and conditions for every app I use

Don’t care for the sped-up voices. The pauses give you time to think and these have all been edited out.

My review echos many others posted here. Used to love this podcast but now it’s just an agenda for everything Americans have done wrong in the world.

Just unfollowed after being a fairly regular listener for like 8 years, because every new episode has some political agenda. I just want to hear about interesting design. Not how that interesting design was shaped by forgotten queer Black wxmen in some small way, or how the evil conservatives tried to co-opt the design for themselves. I’ve never considered myself conservative but cringe like this is fueling a backlash, so if only for that you should try toning it down.

This show has been around for more than 10 years now for a reason. The topics remain interesting and the content always feels fresh. Roman Mars is the quintessential voice of the podcasting side of spoken-word media. It definitely feels like a coastal elitist, Bay-Area sorta product that the 99pi crew churns out; but, sometimes that really hits the spot. The episodes do sometimes feel like the audio version of those long and winding articles from the New Yorker. And, don’t even get me started on the spin-off shows: Avery Trufelman may be Roman Mars’s best creation yet.

… and entertaining. This is the first podcast I ever recommend to anyone because it’s so high quality. Because I’ve been listening to it for a long time, I’ve experienced it from the beginning and of course, things have changed. Better sound quality and more experienced editing. It’s smart, interesting and thought-provoking. I recommend it; you will become addicted, too. Some of my all time favorite podcast episodes are from 99% invisible. (Heyoon ! And the one about the light bulb and…. Too many to name!) I actually went back to re-listen to the entire series from the beginning … it got me through the pandemic. As to the criticism about the ads… wait to listen to them until you can fast forward through them. Also, in the early years, his kids did the ads which really drove me bonkers…. But, I’m grateful that this show is supported by advertising; high quality podcasts cost money to produce. And I don’t want this one to go away!

This show is a far cry from what it used to be. It used to be so good. A ruminative look at the architecture and design all around us. I don’t know how they even claim to be about design today. Now, it’s just an accusatory exploration of oppression, suppression and depression. Just like another podcast that used to be great (not naming any names, Radiolab). We get it. White people are bad. Americans ruined the world. Inclusivity. Men are women. Blah. Blah. Blah. Just talk about design. Stay in your lane. I won’t be listening anymore. Should have unsubscribed about 3 years ago.

I love learning about random topics! Roman’s voice is so soothing. I enjoyed the recent episode on P-22 and saw in the news this week that we need an unfortunate update on him.

Interesting content but the disturbing amount of ads has killed the interest I had in this podcast.

I have loved this show for years and listen each week. Lately though, I’ve noticed something very visible . . . The ads. Cougar Town had a 6.5 minute straight section of ads at the end. If it continues, it’ll break my heart but I’ll have to stop listening. Just that break alone made the runtime of the show 18% ads.

Incredibly biased and left wing. Doesn’t represent all views equally.

Good thing twitter and meta have been such a harbinger of free and unbiased speech. If you disagree with people tell them why don’t just try to shut them up. Just a suggestion from a fly over county yokel.

The topics are widely varied: sometimes I find them incredibly interesting, sometimes more of a “huh, OK”. But Roman’s voice is great, so even when the topic doesn’t grab me as strongly as some of them do, I’m more than happy to spend 45 minutes listening. If the ad breaks were shorter I might voluntarily listen through them (at least, the ones Roman Mars reads), but they can get really long (3-5 minutes?), to the point where it’s tedious to fast-forward 30 seconds at a time with my headphones, so I often haul out my phone to do so.

I love this show and have for forever. I’m not about to pop in here and leave anything less then a five star review. But I’ve got to add an asterisk at this point: there is an unfathomable amount of ads. I get that the show got bought and it’s gotta make money. Let the show focus on the show, let the ownership focus on making money. All good, all understandable. But it’s show-breaking at this point. I don’t bother listening in the car, knowing I can’t distract myself to hit fast forward that many times. Wonderful show, worth your time. If you’re new, there’s so much to find and love. Hopefully someone at some point reassesses the ad strategy because, seriously.

This was the first podcast I ever got hooked on and I still love it! The stories stick with you for years after you first heard them. I was able to reference this podcast for several entries I wrote for a book about utopian places. Amazing research. Great team!

Interesting, well-crafted coverage of unique topics, Roman Mars’ great voice and even better laugh - and a truly stunning number of ads.

1/3 of the show is constantly bombarding you with add, come on Roman, stop being a sellout!

Love this podcast! Interesting topics, great host, unstressful listening. Thank you, Roman and crew!!

That’s what this show helps you do. Thanks :)

Favorite podcast, this is the podcast that got me listening to more podcast. so I will forever be grateful for this podcast.

So fascinating. A great way of looking at the world, looking at the little details you normally wouldn’t notice, the history you didn’t know about, and perspectives you haven’t heard before. Always a good conversation.

even when he addresses topics I don’t think I’m interested in, it turns out to be a fascinating episode.

Your episode with Clinton has motivated me to unsubscribe. Anyone willingly associating with this clown/criminal loses my respect. I’m mourning the loss of what was once my favourite podcast. Wake up Roman! Stop with the woke propaganda 🙏🏾

I’ve told you already

Unique stories, great perspectives, expertly produced. Always a good listen!

I’ve listened to this show for years and it’s one of my favorite podcasts. I always learn something new and often get a different perspective of looking at a variety of topics.

What a lovely episode. Two inspirational design and functionality gurus. Such a joy to listen to. Thanks for sharing here.

1) one of the best voices on the radio 2) insightful 3) brings childlike wonder to mundane and overlooked aspects of life & makes you care 4) very smart

I loved the episode about Japans transportation infrastructure design. I would love an episode where you talk with Chuck Marohn about his Strong Towns initiative