Roman Mars

California voters may have paved the way for a cleaner future when they passed Proposition 39, but they’re still famous for the gas-burning way they get around. California commuters often drive the same route, sometimes so frequently they might think they can navigate it blindfolded. 

The Bay Area is home to some of the smartest people on the planet. So, it makes sense that our brainy nature would demand the occasional brainy entertainment. That's where Brian Malow, the science comedian, comes in.  Malow spoke with Roman Mars, host of the radio design show 99 Percent Invisible. His latest CD is called Rational Comedy for an Irrational Planet.

Listen to the full story above.

Stamps design takes, on average, a year to a year and a half, from conception to execution. Unfortunately, most of the stamps we encounter on a day-to-day basis are the rather predictable flag, bell, and love stamps, but there are some really fantastic commemorative stamps, which are supremely functional and affordable tiny works of art.

Ever since the industrial revolution, when it became possible for products to be designed just once and then mass produced, it has been the slight imperfections and wear introduced by human use that has transformed a quality mass produced product into a thing we love. Your worn blue jeans, your grandmothers iron skillet, the initial design determined their quality, but it’s their imperfections that make them comfortable, that make them lovable, that make them yours.