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A History Of The United States In 100 Objects

Sounds,21 episodes

Episodes

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100 Objects #21: Window from the House of D
How the windows of a women's prison helped build a mecca of gay America and a movement.
09 Oct 2026,38 mins,
100 Objects #20: AA Sobriety Chip
From Prohibition to women’s suffrage: the history of the fight over sobriety in America.
02 Oct 2026,52 mins
100 Objects #19: Western Electric 500 Series
One telephone dominated the US for over 50 years. What did we lose when we left it behind?
25 Sep 2026,36 mins,
100 Objects #18: Hair Relaxer
How one ubiquitous American product built empires and harmed Black women.
18 Sep 2026,35 mins
100 Objects #17: M43 Field Jacket
How one military jacket changed what we all wear every day, around the world.
11 Sep 2026,41 mins
100 Objects #16: Wheel of Fortune Dalmatian
How the wild history of game shows and their prizes reflect the shifting American dream.
04 Sep 2026,44 mins
100 Objects #15: The Bundy Clock
How one clock sparked a revolution and reordered America’s relationship to time itself.
28 Aug 2026,38 mins
100 Objects #14: Basketball Sleeve
The history of race, style, and respectability politics on the court.
21 Aug 2026,43 mins,
100 Objects #13: The Sand Letters
How Julia Sand's 23 letters transformed a president and American politics forever.
14 Aug 2026,46 mins,
100 Objects #12: “Slave Cloth”
A tiny scrap of cloth reveals the North's hidden stake in Southern slavery.
07 Aug 2026,38 mins,
100 Objects #11: Brannock Device
How the greatest gadget in American History has endured in a changing world.
31 Jul 2026,28 mins
100 Objects #10: Nunchaku
How Bruce Lee made nunchucks cool — and sparked a new Asian American identity.
24 Jul 2026,37 mins,
100 Objects #9: Missing Children Milk Carton
A boy's 1982 disappearance put his face on a milk carton — and changed America.
17 Jul 2026,34 mins,
100 Objects #8: Billy Possum
From teddy bears to billy possums—how our animal feelings have shaped the natural world.
10 Jul 2026,36 mins,
100 Objects #7: The Otis Pamphlet
The story of America’s forgotten proto-founding father and his inflammatory 1764 pamphlet.
03 Jul 2026,38 mins,
100 Objects #6: “Sharpened Screwdriver”
How a weapon that never existed shaped the story of a shooting in 1984 New York.
26 Jun 2026,40 mins,
100 Objects #5: Blue Back Speller
One book. A fight for literacy. A debate about what freedom means in America.
19 Jun 2026,46 mins
100 Objects #4: Lowe's Gas Bag
How one man's runaway balloon flight sparked America's obsession with going ever higher.
12 Jun 2026,39 mins
100 Objects #3: The Pension Files
Unearthing a remarkable slave rebellion through dusty Civil War paperwork.
05 Jun 2026,43 mins
100 Objects #2: 60-Degree Screw
A tiny screw. A precise angle. How America built a hidden empire, one standard at a time.
29 May 2026,36 mins
100 Objects #1: The Century Safe
A locked iron safe, sealed for 100 years. What objects did Americans choose to remember?
19 May 2026,30 mins