Train Set: Track Two

Love it or hate it, one buzzing horn changed the sound of the World Cup forever. 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 Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus. Hosted by ...  Show more

In 1861, one man and a “gas bag” filled with hydrogen sparked America's obsession with going higher, farther, into the unknown. In this episode, Roman and journalist Jack Hitt tell the story of Thaddeus Lowe — showman, scientist, and dreamer — whose balloon flight from Cincinnati ...  Show more

Trains. It was an outrageous caper to end all capers: stealing millions from a train (and maybe a little of the train, too). What could go wrong? Well, a lot. But a fair bit also went right. Trains. And thanks to all that, we have a dope television theme song. Makes sense, don't ...  Show more

City of the Rails passes a million downloads! Cause for a celebration, and a chance to thank all of you who sent so much love.  To mark this big achievement, we  made a bonus episode featuring just some of the hundreds of voicemails we got from people who adored the show (and als ...  Show more

Circus trains: they were cities on wheels, integral to the sideshow circuit and home to all performers. Today, they’re a relic of a bygone time…but there’s one train that has solidified its place in the history books due to unthinkable tragedy. See omnystudio.com/listener for pri ...  Show more

In 2017, audio producer Phil Smith travelled to Ukraine to attend his friend's wedding. There, somewhere between the cities of Ivano-Frankivsk, Lviv and Odessa, he fell in love with the soundworld of the sleeper train: its steady hypnotic rhythms, the melody of hurtling through t ...  Show more