The 99% Invisible Breakdown

Welcome to our first official episode, breaking down the 1974 Pulitzer Prize winning book, The Power Broker by our hero Robert Caro. Robert Caro happens to be our special guest for this episode and you do not get more special than that.

On today’s show, Elliott Kalan and Roman Mars will cover the Introduction, Part 1, and Part 2 of the book (the intro through the end of Chapter 5), discussing the major story beats and themes, ...

This is the second official episode, breaking down the 1974 Pulitzer Prize winning book, The Power Broker by our hero Robert Caro.

This week, Roman Mars and Elliott Kalan sit down with New York Times political columnist Jamelle Bouie as our book club guest.

Elliott and Roman cover Part 3 of the book (Chapter 6 through Chapter 10), discussing the major story beats and themes, with occasional asides from Jamelle Bouie guiding us throug...

This is the third official episode, breaking down the 1974 Pulitzer Prize winning book, The Power Broker by our hero Robert Caro. 

This week, Roman Mars and Elliott Kalan sit down with Blank Check podcast co-host and The Atlantic movie critic David Sims as our book club guest.

Elliott, Roman, and David cover the first section of Part 4 (Chapter 11 through Chapter 15), discussing the major story beats and themes.

The Power Broker ...

This is the fourth official episode, breaking down the 1974 Pulitzer Prize winning book, The Power Broker by our hero Robert Caro. 

This week, Roman Mars and Elliott Kalan sit down with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the U.S. representative for New York's 14th congressional district, who describes the lasting impact Moses’ highways have made on her district, and her own philosophy when it comes to political power and brin...

This is the fifth official episode, breaking down the 1974 Pulitzer Prize winning book, The Power Broker by our hero Robert Caro. 

This week, Roman Mars and Elliott Kalan sit down with Brandy Zadrozny, a senior reporter for NBC News who covers misinformation, conspiracy theories, and the internet. Brandy recently finished The Power Broker, and she’s got a great perspective on what the book says about the press and its rel...

This is the sixth official episode, breaking down the 1974 Pulitzer Prize winning book, The Power Broker by our hero Robert Caro. 

This week, Roman Mars and Elliott Kalan sit down with Mike Schur, who created the critically acclaimed NBC comedy The Good Place, and co-created Parks and Recreation, Brooklyn 99, Rutherford Falls, and Netflix’s upcoming, A Classic Spy. Prior to Parks, Michael spent four years as a writer-prod...

This is the seventh official episode, breaking down the 1974 Pulitzer Prize winning book, The Power Broker by our hero Robert Caro. 

This week, Roman Mars and Elliott Kalan sit down with Pete Buttigieg, the US Secretary of Transportation. One of his major responsibilities as Secretary is overseeing the implementation of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which has contributed billions of dollars to infrastructure projects aroun...

This is the eighth official episode, breaking down the 1974 Pulitzer Prize winning book, The Power Broker by our hero Robert Caro. 

This week, Roman Mars and Elliott Kalan sit down with Shiloh Frederick. Born and raised in New York City, Shiloh is a writer and influencer who shares her love of the city’s history and architecture on Instagram and TikTok. Last year, she chronicled her rather ambitious plan to read The Power...

This is the ninth official episode, breaking down the 1974 Pulitzer Prize winning book, The Power Broker by our hero Robert Caro. 

This week, Roman Mars and Elliott Kalan sit down with Majora Carter, an urban revitalization strategist and real estate developer from the South Bronx. Growing up, she always viewed the neighborhood as a place she had to leave in order to find success. But as she got older, she began to undo some of...

This is the tenth official episode, breaking down the 1974 Pulitzer Prize winning book, The Power Broker by our hero Robert Caro. 

This week, Roman Mars and Elliott Kalan sit down with Clara Jeffery, the editor-in-chief of Mother Jones and the Center for Investigative Reporting. She’s had a long and storied career editing works of investigative journalism that speaks truth to power and afflicts the comfortable, including ...

This is the eleventh official episode, breaking down the 1974 Pulitzer Prize winning book, The Power Broker by our hero Robert Caro. 

This week, Roman Mars and Elliott Kalan sit down with Brennan Lee Mulligan, a comedian and host with Dropout TV, where he’s the creator of Dimension 20 — a Dungeons & Dragons show that features incredibly complex and campaigns, with improv actors and special effects. And as the Du...

This is the twelfth and final episode breaking down the 1974 Pulitzer Prize winning book, The Power Broker by our hero Robert Caro.

We’ve waited until the evening to see how splendid the day has been, and for this final installment, there was only one guest truly worthy of the last slot: Robert Caro. This time, he discusses the book’s lasting legacy, parallels to today, and how he decided on the last line of the book.

Thi...

Join Roman and Elliott one last time as they reflect on their journey with you all through The Power Broker, exploring their favorite moments and answering listener questions in this bonus episode.

If you finished The Power Broker with us (or know someone who did), get the 99PI Power Broker challenge coin to commemorate your achievement! Visit 99pi.org/store to get the challenge coin and other 99PI merch.

This event took place in our...

Like a shadow epilogue to The Power Broker, this story plunges into the chaos of 1970s New York where debt, unions, and one brutal headline nearly broke the city.

Drop Dead City is now playing in select cities, and available on VOD on November 14. You can watch the trailer here.

The Power Broker #13: Drop Dead City

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This is the first official episode of our ongoing series breaking down the U.S. Constitution.

This month, Roman and Elizabeth discuss the Preamble, alongside Nikole Hannah-Jones. 

Elizabeth also explains that while the United States generally does not allow a standing army to be used against civilians, Trump has been exploiting an exception to keep troops in Los Angeles to protect ICE agents — with terrifying implications.

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This is the second episode of our ongoing series breaking down the U.S. Constitution.

This month, Roman and Elizabeth dive into Article One with Representative Sharice Davids, examining lawmaking, committees, and the unique responsibilities of the House of Representatives.

Elizabeth also explains how the Supreme Court’s “major questions doctrine" could decide whether Trump’s sweeping use of tariffs under emergency p...

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.

Then, Senator Elizabeth Warren joi...

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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