Blog
The Dyslexia Debate and the Reality of Reading Failure
Imagine being unable to read and write. You would struggle to complete a job application, read the instructions on a medicine bottle, or understand warning labels on household chemicals. Helping your children with homework would be difficult. Bedtime stories would be out of reach. Communication with family and friends would be limited. Emails, text messages,… Read More
100 Objects #8: Billy Possum
Episode Object #8 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… Read More
Comorbidity of Dyslexia: 5 Related Disorders
Many parents are relieved when their child finally receives a diagnosis of dyslexia. At last, there is an explanation for the reading struggles. Yet some soon discover that reading is not the only challenge. Their child may also struggle with mathematics, handwriting, attention, coordination, or retrieving words during conversation. This is not unusual. Dyslexia rarely… Read More
If Mosquito Hawks Can Fly
Family stories have a way of sticking around, even when no one can quite prove them. This week we’re sharing an episode of Family Lore, a show produced by former 99PI producer Katie Mingle. It follows the story of Charles Frederick Page, a self-taught inventor from central Louisiana whose family has long believed he designed… Read More
Landmark Studies in Dyslexia Research
Introduction Few learning difficulties have been studied as extensively as dyslexia. Over the past 125 years, researchers have proposed a variety of explanations for why some individuals struggle to learn to read despite adequate intelligence, opportunity, and instruction. At different times, dyslexia has been attributed to visual problems, language difficulties, auditory deficits, attentional weaknesses, genetic… Read More
100 Objects #9: Missing Children Milk Carton
Episode Object #9 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”… Read More
10 Conditions That Can Affect Learning
For as long as there have been schools, there have been children who struggled to learn. In the past, children who failed at school were often labeled lazy, uninterested, or unintelligent. Today, we know that a variety of learning disabilities, developmental disorders, and processing difficulties can make learning more challenging than expected. Understanding these conditions… Read More
The Original 100 Objects – 99% Invisible
In 2010, A History of the World in 100 Objects premiered on BBC Radio 4 to great acclaim: a complex and interconnected history of the world told through 100 objects in the British Museum collection, presented by the museum’s then-director, Neil MacGregor. For 2026, BBC Studios decided to revamp and reimagine that ambitious series, this… Read More
The 5 Main Types of Learning Disabilities
When a child struggles at school, parents naturally want answers. Why is reading so difficult? Why does writing take forever? Why do numbers seem impossible to understand? Why is learning easy for some children but so difficult for others? For generations, children who struggled academically were often viewed as lazy, careless, or unintelligent. Today we… Read More
100 Objects #10: Nunchaku – 99% Invisible
Episode Object #10 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… Read More