99% Invisible

This week we're featuring an episode from The Sporkful's series on the creation of "Anything's Pastable," Dan Pashman's new pasta cookbook. Dan talks with Roman about how this massive project came to be and all the design decisions required to put together a cookbook. And then, in part two of “Anything’s Pastable,” Dan embarks on an epic trip across Italy in search of lesser-known pasta dishes — and to learn about the evolution of pasta more broadly. He starts in Rome, where food writer Katie Parla [https://katieparla.com/] reveals a shocking truth about pasta. Then an Italian food historian [https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Discovery-of-Pasta/Luca-Cesari/9781639363162] challenges Dan’s thinking about carbonara. Finally, he heads south to meet a chef who was there when a regional specialty called spaghetti all’assassina (“assassin’s spaghetti”) was invented. All of this leads Dan to wonder: What does evolution look like in a food culture that’s so often depicted in sepia tones? And what’s his place in that process? Preorder Dan’s cookbook today [https://www.sporkful.com/anythings-pastable/] (including signed copies), and see if he’s visiting a city near you on his tour of book signings and live podcast tapings [https://www.sporkful.com/tour/] with special guests! Follow Dan on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/thesporkful] to see photos and videos from the Anything’s Pastable journey. Anything's Pastable: Eat Sauté Love [https://99percentinvisible.org/?p=42160&post_type=episode]

Hailing from central African cities of Brazzaville and Kinshasa, sapeurs have become increasingly recognizable around the world. Since the 1970s, sapeurs (from: le sape, short for "Société des Ambianceurs et des Personnes Élégantes") have been known for donning technicolored three-piece suits with flamboyant accessories like golden walking sticks and leopard-print fedoras, and then cat-walking through their city streets. In recent years, Solange, Kendrick and SZA have all featured sapeurs in their music videos. The iconic British menswear designer Paul Smith did a whole spring line of sapeur-inspired suits and bowler hats. The Society of Ambiance Makers and Elegant Persons [https://99percentinvisible.org/?p=42121&post_type=episode]

A chambre de bonne is usually one small room, on the top floor of a five- or six-story apartment building, and it’s usually just big enough to fit a bed and a table. It’s affordable housing in a city where finding housing is nearly impossible. Reporter Jeanne Boëzec [https://jeanneboezec.com/en] tells about the history of the chambre de bonne apartments, and how while cute, they are also cramped and can be unpleasant spaces for people who have to live there, a living embodiment of the gap between the rich in Paris and everyone else. Chambre de Bonne [https://99percentinvisible.org/?p=42085&post_type=episode]

This is the third and final episode in a three-part series of Roman Mars recording on-location guides to the design features and interesting spots in cities he loves.  Roman moved to Athens, Georgia, to pursue a PhD in plant genetics, but dropped out and got into the local music and art scene instead, and started making his way toward radio. Roman Mars Describes Athens GA As It Is [https://99percentinvisible.org/?p=42013] Note: This series is made possible by the all-new 2024 Lexus GX and SiriusXM.

A few years back, journalist Lauren Ober [https://www.oberandout.com/bio] was diagnosed with autism. She then made a podcast about her experience called The Loudest Girl in the World [https://www.pushkin.fm/podcasts/loudest-girl-in-the-world]. And she found herself imagining a fantasy world where everything is tailored to Lauren’s very specific autistic needs. And she called this magical imagined place, wonderfully devoid of overwhelming stimuli "Autism Pleasantville." "Obviously," Ober notes, "there’s not a one-size fits all diagnosis or even definition of autism ... as the autism adage goes: 'If you know one autistic person…you know one autistic person.' But despite our wide variety of needs, I wanted to know how design is evolving to better accommodate us" -- how were ideals being handled in the real world. Autism Pleasantville [https://99percentinvisible.org/?p=42052&post_type=episode]