logo
episode-header-image
Jun 2022
31m 14s

Flag Days: Unfolding a Moment

ROMAN MARS
About this episode
Betsy Ross sewed the first American flag. At least, that's what we were taught in school. But when historians go searching…there’s no proof to be found. 
Up next
May 29
100 Objects #2: 60-Degree Screw
In the early 20th century, nothing quite fit — fire hoses couldn't connect to one another, football teams played with different balls, traffic lights meant different things in different states. Then World War II exposed the deadly cost of incompatibility, and the US quietly impos ... Show More
35m 36s
May 26
Drug Story: Ivermectin
What started as a revolutionary treatment for river blindness became something far messier. Listen to Drug Story wherever you get your podcasts! Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of 99% Invisible ad-free and a whole week early. Start a free trial now on Ap ... Show More
48m 26s
May 19
100 Objects #1: The Century Safe
In 1876, Americans filled an iron safe with objects meant to tell their story — to be opened a century later. Roman Mars and historian Jill Lepore trace its long wait, from Reconstruction to Watergate, and the surprising, unsettling contents that emerged in 1976. What do the obje ... Show More
30m 5s
Recommended Episodes
May 2023
The Birth of the American Flag
<p>13 equal horizontal stripes in red and white, with a navy blue square in the top left bearing 50 small white five pointed stars. It's recognisable the world over as the flag of the United States of America.</p><br><p>But how did this become the American flag? When did it devel ... Show More
33m 25s
Jul 2020
The Flag and the Fury
<p>How do you actually make change in the world? For 126 years, Mississippi has had the Confederate battle flag on their state flag, and they were the last state in the nation where that emblem remained “officially” flying.  A few days ago, that flag came down. A few days before  ... Show More
1h 13m
Jul 2023
Where Did the 'Don't Tread on Me' Flag Come From?
The Gadsden flag -- with its coiled rattlesnake on a bright yellow field and the words 'don't tread on me' -- has symbolic roots stretching back before the American Revolution. Learn its history in this episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://history.howstuffworks.c ... Show More
11 m
Nov 2019
The Message of the Flag
Countries and organisations all around the world use flags. These flags communicate their identity. Bruce Gulland and Liz Waid look at the history of flags and their uses today. 
15m 1s
Oct 2023
Theodosia Okoh: Designer of Ghana’s flag
In March 1957, Ghana became the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to gain independence and a new flag was unveiled marking a fresh start for the former British colony known as the Gold Coast. The woman behind the design was Theodosia Okoh, an artist and former teacher who won a ... Show More
10m 3s
Jun 2023
Just Another American Fable: Grant Wood
Grant Wood (1891-1942) is probably best known for his double portrait depicting a man and woman on a farmstead - that icon of American painting, American Gothic. But his career encompassed so much more, and was marked by an uncanny ability to weave and deconstruct "American value ... Show More
59m 47s
May 2024
The Alitos and Their Flags
<p>The discovery that an upside-down American flag — a symbol adopted by the campaign to overturn the 2020 election result — had flown at the home of Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. elicited concerns from politicians, legal scholars and others. And then came news of a second flag.</p ... Show More
24m 59s
Oct 2023
Ross Asdourian: The Reflex Blue Show #251
Ross Asdourian was the closing keynote speaker at this year’s OnBrand Conference in Omaha, Nebraska. Recorded from the event on July 13, right next to where the taco bar was now being taken down, Ross and I discuss the importance of[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Ros ... Show More
38m 10s