Use BBC.com or the new BBC App to listen to BBC podcasts, Radio 4 and the World Service outside the UK.

Find out how to listen to other BBC stations

Episode details

Sounds,19 May 2026,30 mins

100 Objects #1: The Century Safe

A History of the United States in 100 Objects

Available for over a year

In 1876, Americans filled an iron safe with objects meant to tell their story — to be opened a century later. Roman Mars and historian Jill Lepore trace its long wait, from Reconstruction to Watergate, and the surprising, unsettling contents that emerged in 1976. What do the objects we choose to preserve — or forget — reveal about how we author our own history? Host: Roman Mars Producers: Priscilla Alabi, Brenna Daldorph, Isaac Fisher, Ellie Lightfoot EPs: Annie Brown, Courtney Harrell, Kathy Tu

Programme Website
More episodes