Five questions with Roman Mars

{"version":"0.3.0","atoms":[],"cards":[],"markups":[["i"],["a",["href","https:\/\/www.aiasf.org\/","target","_new"]],["a",["href","https:\/\/99percentinvisible.org","target","_new"]],["a",["href","https:\/\/www.radiotopia.fm\/","target","_new"]],["a",["href","https:\/\/www.aia.org\/articles\/6160532-at-a19-a-leading-entrepreneur-and-architec"]],["a",["href","https:\/\/www.aia.org\/articles\/6160532-at-a19-a-leading-entrepreneur-and-architec","target","_new"]],["a",["href","https:\/\/www.aia.org\/articles\/6161025-creators-and-innovators-share-leadership-s"]],["a",["href","https:\/\/conferenceonarchitecture.com","target","_new"]],["b"],["em"]],"sections":[[1,"h2",[[0,[],0,"The\ncreator and host of popular podcast "],[0,[0],1,"99%\nInvisible "],[0,[],0,"offers perspective on design, storytelling, and collaboration."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"In\n2011, "],[0,[1],1,"AIA San Francisco"],[0,[],0," and public radio station KALW launched a collaborative project\nto bring stories of architecture and design to listeners across the Bay Area. With\nthe creative mind of radio producer and design enthusiast Roman Mars at the\nhelm, the "],[0,[0,2],2,"99% Invisible"],[0,[],0," podcast was born. "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Eight\nyears later\u2014week in and week out\u2014Mars and a team of producers highlight how\ndesign happens and how it affects our daily lives. Together, they craft illuminating\nepisodes about creative processes and historical circumstances that contribute\nto the development of cities we inhabit, the objects that we use, and the spaces\nthat surround us. The success of "],[0,[0],1,"99%\nInvisible"],[0,[],0," set Mars on a path toward founding "],[0,[3],1,"Radiotopia"],[0,[],0,", a collective that supports development of innovative podcasts for listeners\nall over the world. "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"While\ntaking a break from interviewing "],[0,[4],1,"l"],[0,[5],1,"eading designers "],[0,[],0,"and "],[0,[6],1,"change makers"],[0,[],0," onstage at the "],[0,[7],1,"AIA Conference\non Architecture"],[0,[],0," 2019, Mars talked with us about his work as a storyteller and\noffered some career advice for designers who, like him, find beauty wherever\nthey are. "]]],[1,"h3",[[0,[8],0,"How did you develop "],[0,[0],1,"99% Invisible"],[0,[],1,"? What inspired you to tell\nstories about design?"]]],[1,"p",[[0,[8],1,"Mars:"],[0,[],0," I knew I wanted it to be\nbigger than just architecture; I also wanted it to be about broader design. I\nwanted to create this little gem about the story behind something [listeners] saw\nevery day. An interesting story about a boring thing\u2014that was the main premise."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"[My\napproach was to talk] to a person about a process and not the story of an\nobject. I am really interested in why things are the way they are. I always\nthought that the most successful version of the show was one that told you a\nstory about [an object or a place], but it also gave you the tools to decode\nthe world in a way. And the next time you encounter something else like it,\nyou\u2019re given this toolkit to understand why someone made the choices that were\nmade. "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"As\nI started studying design, it made me a much more optimistic person than I was\nbefore I started. Because when you begin to notice all the details of the\nworld, you begin to notice how much care was put into all the things that were\nmade for you. If you tune into all the decisions that were made that you [may\nnot normally] notice, you have a nicer view of the world."]]],[1,"h3",[[0,[8],1,"Why do you think telling design\nstories is a good way to investigate social, structural, and environmental\nissues?"]]],[1,"p",[[0,[8],1,"Mars:"],[0,[],0," Design is my lens of\nchoice. I think using design as the lens to study these problems is a fun one.\nIt abstracts it a little bit so that you can look at it as a problem to solve\nand a way to solve it that\u2019s a little free of judgment in some ways. Design is\nabout intentionality. There are intentional design choices that make a building\nthe way it is or make a space open, "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"I\nthink the audience of "],[0,[0],1,"99% Invisible "],[0,[],0,"likes\nthe problem-solving aspect of design. The show is really a moral and ethical\nshow. I just feel like there\u2019s a way that we can address a problem as a design\nproblem, that allows people to engage with it in a different way. "]]],[1,"h3",[[0,[8],0,"You\u2019re the creator and host\nof "],[0,[0],1,"99% Invisible"],[0,[],1,", but it\u2019s not a solo\nproduction. You work with a team of talented producers and writers. Why is\nworking collaboratively important to you?"]]],[1,"p",[[0,[8],1,"Mars:"],[0,[],0," You can always tell a story\nthat is not true, it\u2019s just convincing. So I have a team of people in the show,\nand [our stories are created through] the collective thought of our group. We\ndo it together. It\u2019s a grueling process, but we make sure that we get [many]\nperspectives. "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"I\nthink that I have chosen team of people who are really thoughtful, empathic, and\nkind, who recognize their privilege and recognize their place in the world. And\nso, they make sure\nthat they seek out people who will teach them what the real experience is. And\nwe just\ndo our best. "]]],[1,"h3",[[0,[8],1,"What are some personal and\nprofessional lessons you learned while building your career and launching\nRadiotopia? "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[8],1,"Mars:"],[0,[],0," I have always been\nrewarded in life by choosing a path that no one else has gone [down]. And I\nthink that what I learned in the non-profit world was how to live on very\nlittle, and how to invest in myself, my happiness, and future. And it worked\nout really well. I always find that choosing a more interesting path always\npays off. And so, I would recommend that to anybody, especially in the\nbeginning."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Do\nbusiness with people who allow you to maintain your intellectual property and\nalways own your work. [Because of the support I received when developing and\ngrowing "],[0,[0],1,"99% Invisible"],[0,[],0,"], I had created\na sustainable show that had no apparatus around it. The idea of Radiotopia was\nto teach the business plan to a group of other people, and that became the\nRadiotopia Collective. I am not the boss of Radiotopia. I guide it. I have\nnothing to do with the operation of those shows. I want them to own the work.\nThe main thing about our show and our collective is we live our values."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"So,\nI would say for every architect, everybody in every community, make friends and\ncollaborate. You don\u2019t even have to collaborate [professionally]. But\ncollaborate as humans, collaborate as fans and really support each other. It\u2019s\nso worth it. Definitely look for greatness in people that are not already\ndeemed great. Really try to be open to it."]]],[1,"h3",[[0,[8],1,"Finally, you close every\nepisode by saying that the podcast is produced in \u201cbeautiful downtown Oakland,\nCalifornia.\u201d What do you find so beautiful about Oakland?"]]],[1,"p",[[0,[8],1,"Mars:"],[0,[],0," Oakland is an extremely\nintense mix of everything about a city and set of cultures. It is a beautiful and\nstrange place with a lot of troubles, but you can see, there\u2019s something about\nthe way all these different influences and all these different cultures are\nbutting up against each other and truly aggravating each other a lot of the\ntime. But they always work it out. I find it to be a pretty inspiring place to\nbe. "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"It\u2019s\nin a real state of flux right now. It\u2019s growing like crazy and I do not know\nwhat Oakland\u2019s going to become. I\u2019m nervous for it. I mean, a funny thing about\ngentrification is you want development and you want a place to process. The\nreason why gentrification happens is because in the beginning, it\u2019s good for\neverybody in a lot of ways. Then it becomes quickly not good for everybody. So what\nyou want is this constant mindfulness and change, but change that doesn\u2019t leave\nbehind the people who created Oakland in the first place. I\u2019m just fascinated\nby Oakland."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[9],1,"Kathleen M. O\u2019Donnell is a writer\/editor at AIA,\nspecializing in practice and professional development topics and Institute\ncoverage."]]]]}