Okay, so you might not know it, but we're living right now through a golden age, an explosion

of audio storytelling, through radio, podcast, stream, TikTok and beatbox, however you want

to tell stories, then Oakland, California, this place for storytellers, for documentarians,

it sometimes feels like NYC during the birth of rap, or maybe New Orleans during the advent

of jazz, it's ground zero for people trying to uncover stories that matter.

And just like those earlier movements, it's incestuous in that everyone knows each other.

In fact, one guy, many years ago Roman Mars, he helped the Uber producer Mark Wistich and

I found Snap Judgment.

His fingerprints are still on every story we produce, if it's good at least.

He went on later to start an amazing podcast called 99% Invisible, where former Snap producer

Joe Rosenberg currently decides to, I mean, it's this Oakland web.

And today, I'm proud to feature on Snap a story where Roman and Joe, to what 99% Invisible

has become masters at, they take something we think we know and hold it up to the light.

This episode, they're calling the known unknown and you're about to find out why.

Joe Rosenberg, Roman Mars, take it away.

This is 99% Invisible.

I'm Roman Mars.

I fell of Americans.

Memorial Day is a day of ceremonies and speeches.

Throughout America today, we honor the dead of our wars.

Whatever you think about Ronald Reagan, they called him the great communicator for a reason.

The unknown soldier, who is returned to us today and whom we later rest is symbolic of

...