Tony Hawk's Real-Life Willy Wonka
99% Invisible

Tony Hawk's Real-Life Willy Wonka

B1IntermediateOctober 20, 202652 min

A desert train built for Tony Hawk leads into the strange and thoughtful world of N.D. Austin, a designer of real-life experiences. Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of 99% Invisible ad-free and a whole week early. Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Play episode

Opens the player: the full transcript, every word clickable, with translation and flashcards.

Try it: tap any word

Real sentences from the start of this episode. Every word is marked with its level.

Sentence 1 of 12 · 0:00

% . . ,

serendipity. Those little unexpected moments of magic that puncture the blas of everyday

Hear this sentence

Tap a word to see its meaning in your language.

Do you know these words?

8 harder words from this episode. Tap one to see what it means, then mark it.

  • B26:36
  • B218:51
  • B221:51
  • B228:00
  • B233:57
  • C140:54
  • B241:58
  • C146:49

Mark a few words and we'll tell you how this episode fits your level.

Is this episode right for you?

B1

B1 · Intermediate

Fine if you can follow simple news

A1 41%A2 33%B1 17%B2 8%C1 1%
  • 91% of the words are B1 or easier.
  • 160 words a minute: a natural pace.
  • 147 harder words (B2 and up) in the whole episode.

Transcript

The opening of the episode. The whole transcript is in the player.

0:00

This is 99% Invisible. I'm Roman Mars. If there's one thing we like here at 99PI, it's serendipity. Those little unexpected moments of magic that puncture the blas of everyday life. But why leave serendipity to chance? What if you could design serendipity into to someone's life or some other magical experience

0:28

to make a better world. Well, our friends at Death, Sex, and Money found someone who does just that. He calls himself an experienced designer,

0:37

but that title might undersell him a little bit. To quote the great Tony Hawk, he's fucking Willy Wonka. And the equally great Anna Sale at Death, Sex, and Money

That was the opening. The rest of the episode (51 min) is in the player: every word clickable, with translation, saved words and flashcards.

Continue in the player

Automatically generated from the audio. May contain errors. Audio belongs to its publisher and is played from their feed. Rights holders can request removal — copyright & takedown policy