Service Request #3: Why Is There So Much Litter in San Francisco?
Why did it take nearly a decade to redesign a city trash can, and why haven't more bins made the streets cleaner?
Constitution Breakdown #8: Jill Lepore
Roman and Elizabeth discuss Article V, which lays out the process to amend the Constitution. Jill Lepore is our guest.
Service Request #2: Why Is This Red Light So Damn Long?
What the world's most advanced traffic system can—and can't—do for the city that invented gridlock.
Service Request #1: What Happens When I Call 311?
The surprising power of a simple phone number to connect a community.
A Man, a Plan, a Canal—Mars!
How one wealthy, amateur astronomer convinced the world Martians were real.
Where the F*** Are We?
For centuries, the world's greatest minds were stumped by the deadly mystery of longitude, until an obsessive underdog entered the fray and changed na...
Constitution Breakdown #7: California AG Rob Bonta
Roman and Elizabeth discuss Article IV, which outlines the relationship between states and between states and the federal government. California Attor...
The Longest Fence in the World
How a fence meant to protect sheep transformed the entire Australian landscape.
Molar City
How a small Mexican border town transformed itself into the dental tourism capital of the world, where dental care costs up to 80% less than what it m...
Artistic License Redux
When Idaho put a slogan on their license plates in 1928 it started a trend across all states and this would prove surprisingly contentious.