99% Invisible
99% Invisible is a weekly exploration of the process and power of design and architecture. Hosted by Roman Mars, the podcast uncovers the hidden stories behind the objects, buildings, and systems that shape our world. From award-winning producer Roman Mars, it reveals how design influences our daily lives in ways we often overlook.
Episodes
100 Objects #18: Hair Relaxer
Somewhere between 85 to 95 percent of Black women in the United States have used a chemical hair relaxer at least once in their lifetime. It is a ubiquitous American product with a complicated legacy: it built Black wealth and opened economic doors, but also taught generations to see their hair as a problem to be solved. And now research is revealing a physical cost. Roman Mars and producer Prisci
Doves Type
A legendary typeface, a spectacular friendship breakup, and one extremely committed act of revenge.
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100 Objects #17: M43 Field Jacket
Articles of Interest host Avery Trufelman joins Roman to tell the incredible story of the American military’s jacket problem: How should the military outfit its soldiers to make them as safe and effective as possible? The answer was the M43 Field Jacket, which not only changed what it meant to be a soldier and look like a soldier, it changed what we all wear every day—in America, and around the wo
Kobuk the Destroyer
Every product has to be tested somehow, and sometimes that means finding increasingly creative ways to break it.
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100 Objects #16: Wheel of Fortune Dalmatian
This episode is sponsored by Claude. For problems worth solving, get started with Claude at Claude.ai.
If you watched Wheel of Fortune in the 1980s, you probably remember one prize more than all the others: the ceramic Dalmatian. For a brief moment, that prize—perhaps the ultimate useless object—became the mascot for one of America's most popular game shows, appearing on tens of millions of TV scr
1-800-PODCAST
This week, two stories about the strange power of the 1-800 number.
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100 Objects #15: Bundy Clock
In 1888, Willard Bundy created the first employee "time clock" — essentially a souped-up grandfather clock that could, for the first time, produce an accurate record of when workers arrived and left. Though Bundy’s aim was simple, his invention soon sparked a change in American life far broader than he intended. Roman Mars and reporter Ellie Lightfoot trace how the time clock not only ignited a re
Spolia
Spolia, from a Liverpool neighborhood to ancient Rome.
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100 Objects #14: Basketball Sleeve
Producer and reporter Ramtin Arablouei (co-creator of the NPR show, Throughline) has a simple question: why are so many NBA players wearing a compression sleeve on their arm? It seems like everyone has one. Do they all have elbow issues? The answer is really the story of Allen Iverson, an underdog player who went from a prison cell to international fame in just a few years. And through the story o
The Bone Wars
Two rival paleontologists turn a hunt for dinosaur bones into an all-out scientific war.
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100 Objects #13: The Sand Letters
This episode is sponsored by Claude. For problems worth solving, get started with Claude at Claude.ai.
On his deathbed, President Chester Arthur ordered that all of his personal and professional papers be burned. Three barrels of documents went up in flames. But 23 letters survived, initialed only "J.I.S." Comedian Elliott Kalan joins Roman Mars to tell the story of how a politician who owed so mu
Bamboo Is Innocent
A devastating fire put one of Hong Kong's oldest building traditions on trial, but the real story runs much deeper.
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100 Objects #12: "Negro Cloth"
In 1821, two Rhode Island brothers went looking for buyers for their woolen fabric, and stumbled into a lucrative, captive market: Southern slave plantations. Roman Mars and historian Seth Rockman trace the strange life of so-called "Negro cloth" — a textile category defined by nothing but who it was worn by. Along the way, they uncover how enslaved people shaped the very cloth used to control the
The Borrowed Nature of Biomimicry
Behind every perfect nature-inspired design is a far more complicated story.
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100 Objects #11: Brannock Device
In 1925, the world saw the birth of what just might be the greatest gadget in American History: the Brannock Device. The metal contraption transformed the way we measure feet forever, and more than a century after its invention…it has barely changed. Roman Mars and journalist Paul Lukas trace the life of the Brannock Device, from its role outfitting WWII sailors to its surprising endurance into th
The Finnish Baby Box
A simple cardboard box helped transform Finland into one of the best places in the world to raise a child.
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100 Objects #10: Nunchaku
In the early 1970s, Bruce Lee made nunchaku (nunchucks) cool — kids were building their own and buying them in record numbers. But the nunchucks craze coincided with something much bigger: the birth of a radical new Asian American identity. Roman Mars and historian Jeff Chang trace how nunchucks went from ancient weapon to symbol of resistance — not only uniting Asian Americans in the fight for th
The Original 100 Objects
Neil MacGregor reflects on creating the landmark series that changed how people think about history. Then, revisit the Rosetta Stone, the artifact that unlocked ancient Egypt.
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100 Objects #9: Missing Children Milk Carton
In 1982, a twelve-year-old paperboy, Johnny Gosch, vanished from a quiet Iowa street and sparked an unlikely campaign: the faces of missing children printed on milk cartons by the billions. Roman Mars and Annie Brown trace how a regional dairy campaign exploded into a national symbol — and how the “stranger danger” fears it stoked shaped American misconceptions about child safety that still echo t
If Mosquito Hawks Can Fly
A Louisiana man born into slavery designs an airship with hopes to take flight. Those plans are interrupted, but maybe not forever.
Listen to Family Lore wherever you get your podcasts.
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100 Objects #8: Billy Possum
In 1902, an American classic was born: the teddy bear. Named after President Theodore Roosevelt, the toy became a huge hit, and sparked an idea…maybe every president from then on should have their own viral stuffed animal. Jon Mooallem tells the story of the ill-fated billy possum, and how our fickle feelings about animals have shaped the history—and perhaps the future—of our relationship with the
The Score
We keep score of everything these days. But what happens when the numbers start changing what we actually care about?
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100 Objects #7: The Otis Pamphlet
Before the Declaration of Independence was even a twinkle in the founding fathers' eyes, there was James Otis. Journalist Jack Hitt returns to tell the wild, tragic story of America’s forgotten proto-founding father and his inflammatory 1764 pamphlet. A story that is, in many ways, the story of the founding document of the United States of America.
A History of the United States in 100 Objects is
Transatlantic Fiber-Optic Expialidocious
Before the internet went global, one undersea gamble made it possible.
Jane Ruffino’s story, "Say Goodbye to the Undersea Cable That Made the Global Internet Possible," appears in the May-June issue of Wired magazine.
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100 Objects #6: "Sharpened Screwdriver"
In this episode, Roman and historians Heather Ann Thompson and Elliot Williams tell the story of the sharpened screwdriver: the object at the heart of the 1984 Bernhard Goetz subway shooting. In a difficult moment in New York City, four Black teenagers were transformed in the public imagination into armed criminals. What follows is a gripping account of how misinformation takes hold, how fear shap
The Most Exciting Change America Has Ever Seen
Billions of state quarters disappeared from circulation...and that was exactly the plan.
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100 Objects #5: Blue Back Speller
In this episode, Roman and historian Imani Perry follow the Webster Blue Back Speller from the early days of the United States, to the heart of Black intellectual life. Through the lives of Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. Du Bois, Roman and Imani uncover how a single object became a gateway to literacy, self-determination, and an enduring debate about what education, citizenship, and freedom sho
The Horn That Divided the World Cup
Love it or hate it, one buzzing horn changed the sound of the World Cup forever.
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100 Objects #4: Lowe's Gas Bag
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 went wildly off course and straight into the Civil War. Lowe pivoted to create the US military's first aerial reconnais
Karaoke Videos
Behind every cheesy karaoke track was a surprisingly ambitious filmmaking experiment.
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100 Objects #3: The Pension Files
What do Civil War pension files reveal about one of history's most successful slave rebellions? Historian Edda Fields-Black joins Roman to trace a story of fire, flight, and freedom — beginning on a South Carolina rice plantation in 1863, where a Union raid liberated over 700 people in a single night. By unearthing Black soldiers' testimonies buried in military pension applications, they resurrect
The MAPL Test
Canada reshaped its music industry with a quirky radio rule that changed who got heard.
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100 Objects #2: 60-Degree Screw
In the early 20th century, nothing quite fit — fire hoses couldn't connect to one another, football teams played with different balls, traffic lights meant different things in different states. Then World War II exposed the deadly cost of incompatibility, and the US quietly imposed a single solution on production lines across the world: the 60-degree screw. Roman Mars and historian Daniel Immerwah
Drug Story: Ivermectin
What started as a revolutionary treatment for river blindness became something far messier.
Listen to Drug Story wherever you get your podcasts!
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100 Objects #1: The Century Safe
In 1876, Americans filled an iron safe with objects meant to tell their story — to be opened a century later. Roman Mars and historian Jill Lepore trace its long wait, from Reconstruction to Watergate, and the surprising, unsettling contents that emerged in 1976. What do the objects we choose to preserve — or forget — reveal about how we author our own history?
A History of the United States in 10
Ask Your Doctor About
As wild and random as they might seem, a lot of work—and even poetry—goes into coming up with today's catchiest, most unforgettable drug names.
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A History of the United States in 100 Objects Trailer
America’s 250th birthday calls for a history as sprawling and contradictory as the country itself.
A History of the United States in 100 Objects — hosted by Roman Mars and produced by BBC Studios and 99% Invisible — tells that history one thing at a time. A gold coin from an 1857 shipwreck that triggered a financial panic. An antebellum schoolbook that became an instrument of Black liberation. A
Enshittification
Why is it suddenly so hard to fix the stuff we depend on most?
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Citizen of the World
One man rejected nationality and dared the world to recognize him anyway.
Listen to Far From Home wherever you get your podcasts.
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Constitution Breakdown #9: Alondra Nelson
This is the ninth episode of our ongoing series breaking down the U.S. Constitution.
This month, Roman and Elizabeth discuss Article VI and VII, which include some odds and ends like the Debts Clause, the No Religious Test Clause, and the process for ratification. But tucked into Article VI is the all-important Supremacy Clause, which states that the Constitution is the “supreme Law of the Land,”
Co-op City
The world’s largest housing co-op—built to save New York City’s middle class—became the unlikely site of a resident revolt
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RoboUmp Hits the Big Leagues
One study from 2018 found that Major League Baseball umpires blow about 14 calls every game. That’s 34,000 bad calls every year. And it makes a difference. A blown strike call can decide a win or a loss, a championship or six months at home, wondering what could have been. And while umpires are about 97% accurate in calling balls and strikes, Major League Baseball has been considering something dr
Service Request #5: Dude, Where's My Car?
A missing car reveals the confusing rules, murky fees, and private actors behind modern towing.
What infrastructure mystery keeps you up at night? Submit your Service Request by recording a voice memo with your question and emailing it to servicerequest@99pi.org.
Service Request is a production of 99% Invisible and Campside Media.
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Service Request #4: How Does the Grid in Phoenix Work?
In a place where losing power can turn deadly, keeping the lights on is a high-stakes balancing act.
What infrastructure mystery keeps you up at night? Submit your Service Request by recording a voice memo with your question and emailing it to servicerequest@99pi.org.
Service Request is a production of 99% Invisible and Campside Media.
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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?
What infrastructure mystery keeps you up at night? Submit your Service Request by recording a voice memo with your question and emailing it to servicerequest@99pi.org.
Service Request is a production of 99% Invisible and Campside Media.
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Constitution Breakdown #8: Jill Lepore
This is the eighth episode of our ongoing series breaking down the U.S. Constitution.
This month, Roman and Elizabeth discuss Article V, which lays out the process to amend the Constitution.
Then, Jill Lepore lays out her thesis that the Constitution is truly meant to be amended, explains why Article V amendments have become functionally impossible, and tells some fascinating stories about the peo
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.
What infrastructure mystery keeps you up at night? Submit your Service Request by recording a voice memo with your question and emailing it to servicerequest@99pi.org.
Service Request is a production of 99% Invisible and Campside Media.
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Service Request #1: What Happens When I Call 311?
The surprising power of a simple phone number to connect a community.
What infrastructure mystery keeps you up at night? Submit your Service Request by recording a voice memo with your question and emailing it to servicerequest@99pi.org.
Service Request is a production of 99% Invisible and Campside Media.
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A Man, a Plan, a Canal—Mars!
How one wealthy, amateur astronomer convinced the world Martians were real.
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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 navigation forever.
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Constitution Breakdown #7: California AG Rob Bonta
This is the seventh episode of our ongoing series breaking down the U.S. Constitution.
This month, Roman and Elizabeth discuss Article IV, which outlines the relationship between states and between states and the federal government. They add the 10th Amendment to the conversation, because that also talks about the states.
Then, California Attorney General Rob Bonta joins to talk about how his offi
The Longest Fence in the World
How a fence meant to protect sheep transformed the entire Australian landscape.
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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 might cost in the United States.
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Artistic License Redux
Idaho was the first state to slap a slogan on a license plate, “Idaho Potatoes,” which may not seem like a big deal, but it turns out this idea would end up having outsized consequences, and not just for Idaho. Because what started in one state would soon spread. And when it did, the question of what should go on a license plate, and what shouldn't, would prove surprisingly contentious.
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The Em Dash
The strange history of a punctuation mark that makes writing feel human, and why people now think it proves the opposite.
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Constitution Breakdown #6: Adam Liptak
This is the sixth episode of our ongoing series breaking down the U.S. Constitution.This month, Roman and Elizabeth discuss Article III, which establishes the judicial branch, alongside New York Times chief legal affairs correspondent, Adam Liptak.
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What’s in a Name
Throughout Africa and beyond, Zimbabweans are known for choosing some of the most bold, head-turning English-language names. Zimbabwean producer Kim Chakanetsa tells the story of how her country's journey from colonial rule to independence shaped the nation's unique naming traditions.
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Audio Flux
This week we're featuring Audio Flux, a short-form audio challenge where artists squeeze surprising stories into three minutes.Find out more about Audio Flux by visiting audioflux.orgFollow Audio Flux on Instagram: @audiofluxingFeatured Audio Flux stories include:The Sound of Silence by Gregory Warner and Sana KrasikovIn Between Silence by Talia AugustidisThe Ghost on Side B by Katelyn Hale Wood w
Exit Interview With Michael Bierut
A young designer faces an impossible brief and discovers the spark that will define his legendary career.
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Mini-Stories: Volume 22
Performance changing gear, a Titanic era nurse with unbelievable resilience, and an ingenious art vending project reveal how innovation and endurance shape unexpected worlds.
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Beyond the 99% Invisible City
From rogue stop signs to rooftop mini golf, discover how chaos and creativity quietly shape the urban world.
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Constitution Breakdown #5: Dr. Tom Frieden
This is the fifth episode of our ongoing series breaking down the U.S. Constitution.This month, Roman and Elizabeth turn to the rest of Article Two with former CDC director Dr. Tom Frieden, talking about the experience of being a highly trained expert in an inherently political institution within the executive branch. Dr. Frieden was also the New York City Public Health Commissioner under Mayor Bl
Mini-Stories: Volume 21
A glowing Vegas pyramid, a famously mistyped domain, and a long-delayed miracle investigation unfold in three unexpected tales.
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Sax Appeal
From military parades to smoky clubs, one invention’s wild journey reveals how an instrument can become a symbol of rebellion and reinvention.
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The Checkerboard
A single diagonal step on a map sparks a legal war with huge consequences.
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U Is for Urbanism
How Jane Jacob's urbanism dreams came to life on the most beloved kids' TV block.
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Constitution Breakdown #4: Janet Napolitano
This is the fourth episode of our ongoing series breaking down the U.S. Constitution.This month, Roman and Elizabeth turn to Article Two, which establishes the executive branch, alongside former Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano. Elizabeth also explains why Trump administration’s attacks on Venezuelan boats defy even the broadest interpretation of the president's war powers.
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Murderland
Writer Caroline Fraser argues a chilling link between industrial poison, deadly design, and a generation of serial killers in the Pacific Northwest.
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The Moving Walkway Is Ending
People once dreamed of sidewalks that could whisk them across cities. Somehow, that dream ended up at the airport.
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How to Write a Joke
Comedy writer Elliott Kalan (The Daily Show, The Flop House, Mystery Science Theater 3000, and co-host of the 99% Invisible Breakdown of The Power Broker) spills the secrets of how he grows jokes from tiny ideas into full-blown laughs.Joke Farming: How to Write Comedy and Other Nonsense is out on Nov 12. Find it in your favorite bookstore.
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Gear (Articles of Interest)
From buckskin breeches to Patagonia vests, uncover how America’s obsession with ruggedness and war shaped the clothes we wear every day. Avery Trufelman is back with an episode from Articles of Interest's latest season.
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Constitution Breakdown #3: Sen. Elizabeth Warren
This is the third episode of our ongoing series breaking down the U.S. Constitution.This month, Roman and Elizabeth dive into Article One, Sections 8 through 10, which spells out what Congress can and cannot do. They unpack everything from the Commerce Clause to the taxing and spending powers, the Necessary and Proper Clause, and even a few long-forgotten quirks like letters of marque and reprisal
Your Call Is Important to Us
What if all those dropped calls, endless wait times and dead end hotlines every time you try to reach customer service weren’t accidents but part of the plan?
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Hidden Levels #6: Segagaga
One SEGA employee chronicles the company’s struggles the only way he knows how: by turning it into a game.Hidden Levels is a production of 99% Invisible and WBUR's Endless Thread.
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Hidden Levels #5: Press B to Touch Grass
From blocky biomes to breathtaking open worlds, video games are teaching us new ways to see, build, and even save nature.Hidden Levels is a production of 99% Invisible and WBUR's Endless Thread.
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Hidden Levels #4: Machinima
Back in the 90s, artists turned video games into movie sets, and their wildest ideas are finally hitting documentaries.Hidden Levels is a production of 99% Invisible and WBUR's Endless Thread.
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Hidden Levels #3: This Game Wants YOU
Before Fortnite and Call of Duty ruled the scene, the US Army quietly shaped the early 2000s with a wildly popular, free shooter designed to excite young people about enlisting.Hidden Levels is a production of 99% Invisible and WBUR's Endless Thread.
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 o
Hidden Levels #2: Stick It to 'Em
From airplanes to Pac-Man to the battlefield, the joystick has quietly shaped the way humans connect with machines.Hidden Levels is a production of 99% Invisible and WBUR's Endless Thread.
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 Simplecast
Hidden Levels #1: Mr. Boomshakalaka
Step back into the ’90s, when dunks broke backboards, catchphrases caught fire, and one arcade game turned every kid into an NBA superstar.Hidden Levels is a production of 99% Invisible and WBUR's Endless Thread.
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/podcastsplu
Get Played with Roman Mars and Ben Brock Johnson
In anticipation of the release of Hidden Levels, Roman and Ben join Heather Anne Campbell (Rick and Morty) and Matt Apodaca of Get Played to talk controllers, culture, and why video games might just be running the world.Hidden Levels launches on October 7th wherever you get your podcasts. Join SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to each episode early and ad-free.
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