BBC Studios is bringing a new take to its iconic original audio series A History of the World in 100 Objects to mark the United States’ semi-quincentennial, with a format that reframes US history through everyday artefacts.
Launching in May, A History of the United States in 100 Objects, hosted by Roman Mars, tells the story of America not through a single narrative, but through 100 distinct and surprising objects.
Each episode focuses on an everyday item, sometimes overlooked or discarded, to uncover the human stories and cultural forces behind it. Examples range from a gold coin recovered from an 1857 shipwreck that helped trigger a financial panic, to an antebellum schoolbook linked to Black liberation, and a small industrial screw that reveals the scale of America’s manufacturing power. Across the series, the aim is to explore what these objects can reveal that traditional history narratives often miss.
The project brings together contributors from across podcasting, journalism and academia, including Radiolab founder Jad Abumrad, investigative journalist Dan Taberski, and a whole host of Peabody Award-winning producers including Jack Hitt and The Kitchen Sisters and many others.
Speaking about the series, Roman Mars says the goal is to present a more layered understanding of the country. By examining “the things we’ve made and the things we’ve thrown away,” the podcast aims to reveal a more complex picture of American identity.
