99% Invisible: Don't Forget to Remember

In Episode 568, "Don't Forget to Remember," the critically acclaimed design and architecture podcast 99% Invisible explored the complex challenge of building a national memorial for COVID-19. The episode, reported by Chris Colin and produced by Delaney Hall, examined why the pandemic—devastating yet politically divisive, with no searing collective visuals—has proven so difficult to memorialize compared to events like 9/11 or the Vietnam War. Marked by COVID was featured as a central force in the movement to create a lasting, national tribute to the more than one million Americans lost.

The episode traces the broader history of how national memorials come into being, from grassroots activism to fraught conversations about design, location, and narrative, and situates Marked by COVID's work within that tradition. Listen to the full episode.