Roman Mars

American radio producer

This article is about the radio producer. For the Roman mythological figure, see Mars (mythology).

Roman Mars

Alma mater|

* Bard College at Simon's Rock
* Oberlin College
* University of Georgia

Occupation| Radio producer
Known for| 99% Invisible
Website| romanmars.com

Roman Mars is an American radio producer. He is the host and producer of 99% Invisible, a KALW radio show and podcast, and a founder of the podcast collective Radiotopia,[1] which he describes as efforts "to broaden the radio landscape [and] make shows that aren't bound by conventions" of public radio in the United States.[2]

He has also contributed to radio programs Radiolab and Planet Money.[3][4] Fast Company identified him as one of the hundred most creative people of 2013.[5] Mars, with Elizabeth Joh, also hosts the podcast What Roman Mars Can Learn About Con Law.[6]

## Early life

[edit]

Mars left a PhD program in genetics to undertake an unpaid internship at public radio station KALW in San Francisco.[7]

In 2004, he produced a program called Invisible Ink[8] on KALW.

## 99% Invisible

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Main article: 99% Invisible

Mars and his radio show, 99% Invisible, have been credited in the mainstream press as an innovative form of radio production, defining a new movement of independent radio and podcast creators.[9][10][11] In 2016, Mars and Justin McElroy used asynchronous podcasting, a method where each person recorded their portions separately and later combined them to create a podcast episode. This new technique was used to create the first episode of Smart Stuff, which started with My Brother, My Brother and Me episode 316[12] and was completed in 99% Invisible episode 225.[13]

99% Invisible Inc., the company that produces 99% Invisible, was sold to Sirius XM's Stitcher Radio in April 2021. Mars donated $1 million from the sale to Radiotopia.[7]

## Radiotopia

[edit]

Main article: Radiotopia

In partnership with the Knight Foundation and the Public Radio Exchange (PRX), Mars also created the podcast collective Radiotopia. The Public Radio Exchange has hired Mars to curate a radio program called Remix, which is syndicated by at least 14 public radio stations across the US.[14] In June 2017, Roman Mars began cohosting the constitutional law podcast What Trump Can Teach Us About Con Law with Elizabeth Joh, a professor of the subject at University of California, Davis, School of Law. The show later left Radiotopia and is now distributed independently as What Roman Mars Can Learn About Con Law.[6]

## Use of crowdfunding

[edit]

Mars notably used the Kickstarter crowdfunding platform to support 99% Invisible, raising over $170,000, making it the highest-funded journalism project ever, and the second highest-funded project across the platform's entire publishing category.[15] In November 2013, 99% Invisible's season four Kickstarter campaign received 11,693 backers raising over $375,000. The original goal of $150,000 was raised in 92 hours.[16] Following this success, Mars introduced another campaign to build season two of Radiotopia, a collection of seven storytelling podcasts: 99% Invisible, Fugitive Waves, Love and Radio, Radio Diaries, Strangers, Theory of Everything, and The Truth. Its original goal of $250,000 was funded within six days.[17] By the time the campaign closed on November 15, 2014, it had more than doubled its original target, achieving $620,412 from 21,808 backers, making it the most-funded Kickstarter project in the publishing and radio and podcast categories. Meeting its 'stretch goals' allowed Radiotopia to add three podcasts hosted by women (Criminal, The Heart, and The Allusionist), host a series of events, provide more content, wage increases and paid internships, and create a pilot development fund to find new, talented producers and hosts not covered by traditional radio. Ultimately, the fundraising allowed for a fourth podcast, Mortified, to be added to the collective.[18]

## Publications

[edit]

* The 99% Invisible City: A Field Guide to the Hidden World of Everyday Design. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 2020. ISBN 978-0-358-12660-7.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ KALW website. "KALW staff directory", KALW. Retrieved on October 27, 2013.
2. ^ Steuer, Eric. "Roman Mars: The Man Who's Building a Podcasting Empire". WIRED. Retrieved April 1, 2018.
3. ^ NPR website. "Planet Money Episode 471", Planet Money. Retrieved on October 27, 2013.
4. ^ Radiolab website. "RadioLab staff directory", Radiolab. Retrieved on October 27, 2013.
5. ^ Fast Company Magazine website. "List of most Fast Company's creative people of 2013", Fast Company. Retrieved on October 27, 2013.
6. ^ a b "What Roman Mars Can Learn About Con Law". Learnconlaw.com. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
7. ^ a b Ugwu, Reggie (April 26, 2021). "SiriusXM Is Buying '99% Invisible,' and Street Cred in Podcasting". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
8. ^ PRX website. In 2015, Roman was the host of the AIGA National Conference in New Orleans. "Invisible Ink show listings", Public Radio Exchange
9. ^ Mother Jones Magazine "Roman Mars on the Secret Allure of Highway Stripes and Manhole Covers", Mother Jones. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
10. ^ Wired Magazine "How 99% Invisible Will Change Public Radio", Wired. Retrieved on June 18, 2014.
11. ^ The Guardian Newspaper "Roman Mars: public radio maverick", The Guardian. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
12. ^ "MBMBaM 316: Smart Stuff". My Brother, My Brother and Me. Maximum Fun. August 16, 2016. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
13. ^ Mars, Roman (August 16, 2016). "99% invisible 225: Photo credit: Negatives of the Bauhaus". 99% invisible. 99pi. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
14. ^ About Remix Radio "How does Remix get made?", Public Radio Exchange. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
15. ^ Mediabistro website. "99% Invisible is the most successful funded Kickstarter for public radio journalism", Retrieved on October 27, 2013.
16. ^ Kickstarter page. "99% Invisible: Season 4- Weekly!", retrieved on August 15, 2014.
17. ^ "Update #2 Funded!". Kickstarter. October 21, 2014. Retrieved December 1, 2014.
18. ^ "Update #10 We did it!". Kickstarter. November 15, 2014. Retrieved December 1, 2014.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website
* Roman Mars at TED
* Roman Mars at Public Radio Exchange

* v
* t
* e

Radiotopia

Personalities|

* Jody Avirgan
* Kellie Carter Jackson
* Nate DiMeo
* Hrishikesh Hirway
* The Kitchen Sisters
* Roman Mars
* Kelsey McKinney
* Avery Trufelman

Shows|

| Current|

* Articles of Interest
* Criminal
* Ear Hustle
* The Memory Palace
* Normal Gossip
* Song Exploder
* This is Love

|

Former|

* 99% Invisible
* episodes
* The Allusionist
* The Bugle
* Love and Radio
* episodes
* Millennial
* Passenger List
* Strangers
* The Truth
* The West Wing Weekly

Category

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF
* WorldCat

National|

* Germany
* United States
* Czech Republic
* Norway
* Latvia
* Israel

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