podcasts. 99% invisible

I recently jumped on the podcast bandwagon after the popularity of Serial.  (If you didn't listen to Serial, lucky you!  Download it RIGHT NOW, you will NOT be disappointed.  Be sure to start with the first one!  If you are like me, you will binge listen to them all.)  Once I reached the last episode of Serial, I had major withdrawals from Sarah Koenig's voice and became a certified podcast junkie.  I needed my next fix.  For those of you who do not know, a podcast is defined as "a digital audio file made available on the Internet for downloading to a computer or portable media player, typically available as a series, new installments of which can be received by subscribers automatically."  There are thousands of podcasts available for download on a host of different topics.  This genre of entertainment is just getting popular, and weeding out the good from the bad is not unlike trying to find a good TV show.  Many people have their opinion about what is good and what is bad, but it is easy to find a podcast to listen to if you have a specific topic you are interested in (i.e running, fashion) or, like me, you can just browse podcasts by their popularity.  This is how I stumbled on 99% Invisible. 

Have you ever been somewhere that you've been a thousand times before and noticed something new?  Perhaps a staircase in a building, a painting on a wall or a corner room that you didn't realize was there?  Or have you heard a sound over and over, to finally find out what is was?  Life is full of these invisible moments that become 'ah-has!' once we figure them out.  This is a bit what 99% Invisible is like for me.  For instance, who knew that the carpet at Portland International Airport (PDX) had a cult following?  Did you know that trademarking sound is really, really hard?  How about the mind blowing episode where I learned that Penn Station in NYC once looked like Grand Central Station or that there used to be a cow tunnel on the west side of the city?  99% Invisible is a fun, short podcast full of great stories that have filled me with bits of trivia, history and pop culture that make for great dinner conversation.  Roman Mars, the host of the show, has a very calming and charming voice that is a great fill in for Sarah Koenig.  These episodes are a great way to pass time in the car (if you have Bluetooth, you can listen to them right through your speakers) or, for me during these nasty winter months, a way to make the miles on the treadmill (or DREADmill as I've heard it coined recently) a lot less unpleasant.  Lucky for me, 99% Invisible has been around for a couple of years, so I'm busy catching up on past episodes and have more than 100 left before I catch up.  Although I have a few other podcasts in my queue, this one is by far my favorite.  I love all the little bits of information I'm learning about!  Give Roman Mars and his podcast a listen.  I'm certain that it will be fifteen or twenty minutes of fun!  Do you listen to any podcasts?  What are your favorites?