Best Aarron Walter Podcasts (2025)

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Design Better Live AMA at The New York Times 49:42

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5d ago49:42

49:42

We were recently invited to the The New York Times where we spoke with Matt Raw, the interim head of design at the Times. Eli and I are accustomed to interviewing, but this was a different experience for us as this time we were the ones telling our story. Matt and the Times design team were curious about the origin story of Design Better, what we’v…

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Video Rewind: Kamasi Washington: A jazz genius on collaborative lessons learned from Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dogg, Lauryn Hill, and more 1:04:15

12d ago1:04:15

1:04:15

This is the second installment in our series of video rewind episodes, with an interview featuring jazz legend Kamasi Washington. Watch the full episode on our Substack: ⁠https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/video-rewind-kamasi-washington-a⁠ Jazz is a constantly evolving art form, offering some of the richest lessons in creative collaboration. A melod…

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Episode 48: AI, algorithms and the battle for your mind with Simon McCarthy Jones 53:12

18d ago53:12

53:12

What if the next frontier of human rights isn’t out in the streets but inside your own head? We talk with Dr. Simon McCarthy-Jones, Associate Professor of Psychology at Trinity College Dublin, about the modern fight for freedom of thought. Simon unpacks how everything from social media algorithms to brain-reading technologies are reshaping not just…

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Josh Clark and Veronika Kindred: Sentient Design and the future of interfaces 36:51

19d ago36:51

36:51

This is a premium episode of Design Better. You'll hear a preview of the episode here, but head over to our Substack and become a premium member if you'd like to access the full episode: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/josh-clark-and-veronika-kindred As designers, we’re entering a new era. AI isn’t just a tool we use behind the scenes, but a coll…

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Bonus Episode: Shani Sandy, VP, Experience Design at IBM, live in NYC for UserTesting's THiS Connect Tour 27:47

27d ago27:47

27:47

Maybe you’ve already heard, but we’re in the midst of significant global and technological change. It will be a struggle for many businesses to adapt, but IBM is a company that’s no stranger to change. Time and again, they’ve reimagined, restructured, and refactored their business to stay relevant. Our guest today, Shani Sandy, is playing an import…

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Episode 47: The last human jobs with Allison Pugh 46:00

1M ago46:00

46:00

What happens when the work that makes us most human—caring, listening, connecting—is increasingly outsourced, automated, or pushed to the margins? As AI enters every aspect of our lives, it’s ever more imperative to answer the question, “what does it mean to be human?” Sociologist Allison Pugh has been thinking deeply about that question. In her ne…

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The Brief: Stop specializing—live a multidisciplinary creative life 13:48

1M ago13:48

13:48

by Eli Woolery If there’s one thing we’ve learned from the multitude of people we’ve interviewed for Design Better, it’s that the most innovative creators of our time share an unlikely trait: they refuse to stay in their lane. While conventional wisdom pushes specialization, these polymaths build careers by following curiosity across fields—from nu…

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Christopher Lyons: From producing music to venture capital, and why EQ beats IQ in building the future 18:25

1M ago18:25

18:25

This is a preview of a premium episode. To get access to the full episode, head to our Substack: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/christopher-lyons Some careers have clear through lines: pick a college major, get a job in that industry. Others take serendipitous turns. Christopher Lyons is the latter, but with some surprising twists. Chris started…

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Bonus Episode: Champ Bennett, co-founder of Capsule, on making motion design easy and scalable 50:15

1M ago50:15

50:15

We are living through a Cambrian explosion of new tools, powered by generative AI. It can be tough to wade through the sea of options in front of us, and find platforms that actually help us in our workflow instead of being a distraction. That’s why it was so refreshing to discover the tool Capsule a little over a year ago. We use it to create moti…

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Cassie McDaniel: How Medium eliminated its PM function and started moving faster 28:08

2M ago28:08

28:08

This is a preview of a premium episode. Visit our Substack to get access to the full episode: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/cassie-mcdaniel Cassie McDaniel, Medium’s head of design, is someone with a clear vision for how a design team should work. She believes team members should have a breadth of skills, craft should be the foundation of produ…

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Episode 46: Liz O'Donnell on caring for elderly parents 50:28

2M ago50:28

50:28

We don’t talk enough about caregiving. Especially the kind that unfolds quietly while juggling jobs, parenting, and the slow, disorienting decline of aging parents. But Liz O’Donnell is changing that. In this deeply moving episode, Liz—founder of Working Daughter and author of the book by the same name—shares her story of navigating career ambition…

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The Roundup: AI creative workflow, vibe coding, ethics, agents, and more 48:49

2M ago48:49

48:49

Find bonus content and more on our Substack: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/the-roundup-ai-creative-workflow Rarely do we get the chance to pause and reflect on the conversations we’ve been having—and to spot the red threads that run through them. But that’s exactly what we’re doing today. We’re trying out a new format—we’re calling it The Round…

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Bonus Episode: Amy Lokey, Chief Experience Officer at ServiceNow, live in SF for UserTesting's THiS Connect Tour 31:40

2M ago31:40

31:40

This interview was recorded live on May 1st for UserTesting’s ThiS Connect City Tour. Interested in joining us for our next live show? We’re joining an incredible lineup at #THiSConnect in NYC (including former Design Better guest Seth Godin), where we’ll talk about customer experience, innovation, and the real impact of AI. 📍 Catch us in New York …

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Episode 45: The art of noticing with Rob Walker 48:00

2M ago48:00

48:00

Noticing the details in life is eminently satisfying, yet surprisingly hard to do. Bird migration patterns, the moon phase, the details of a rearranged room all go unnoticed by most of us because our attention is fragmented. When the pandemic hit the pause button on life, many of us realized just how much we were missing everyday. Our attention is …

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Video Rewind: John Cleese: A cheerful guide to creativity 37:22

2M ago37:22

37:22

Hi everyone! We recently surveyed our audience and learned that many of you would like to see more video. So, we’re kicking off a new run of video episodes, beginning with our interview featuring John Cleese—actor, writer, comedian, and author of Creativity: A Short and Cheerful Guide. You can watch the interview on our Substack, or on Youtube. Enj…

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Episode 44: Rethinking cancer fears with David Ropeik 53:40

2M ago53:40

53:40

Few health risks conjure deeply held fears as effectively as cancer. Most of us have someone close to us who has been taken by the disease, but risk communications expert David Ropeik wants us to reconsider the scope of our fears. Drawing on decades of research and his new book, Curing Cancerphobia, David unpacks why cancer—now a treatable or chron…

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Marco Suarez: From designer to coffee entrepreneur ☕ 49:32

3M ago49:32

49:32

A special sponsored episode of the Design Better Podcast It’s a tough job market out there right now for designers and other creative technologists. Many of us are wondering if there are other ways we might be able to use our skills, and some of us are considering an entrepreneurial path. Our guest today has done just that. Marco Suarez has had an …

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Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross: Your Brain on Art 49:31

3M ago49:31

49:31

Visit our Substack for bonus content and more: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/susan-magsamen-and-ivy-ross In school, art is often positioned in curricula as an enrichment subject, not a core skill like math or language arts. But those of us who pursue the arts instinctually recognize that there is something in creative expression that is foundat…

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Episode 43: Family estrangement with Dr Karl Pillemer 54:03

3M ago54:03

54:03

Family estrangement is a silent epidemic affecting millions, yet it's rarely discussed openly. In this episode of Reconsidering, we sit down with Dr. Karl Pillemer, a leading sociologist and gerontologist, to explore the complexities of fractured family relationships. Drawing from his extensive research, including the Cornell Family Reconciliation …

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Rewind: OK Go: Making the impossible possible 57:35

3M ago57:35

57:35

Visit our Substack for bonus content: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/rewind-ok-go Aarron and Eli are traveling with their families for Spring Break, so we’re bringing back one of our favorite episodes from 2023 with the band OK Go. In the time since we recorded the interview, they’ve come out with a new album, and with several new music videos, …

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Jordan Mechner: Pioneering game designer on creating Prince of Persia, Karateka, and a new graphic novel memoir 25:22

3M ago25:22

25:22

Visit our Substack for bonus content and more: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/jordan-mechner As a kid in the 80’s, Eli fell in love with games on computers like the Apple II, Commodore 64, and later the Amiga and Macintosh. One of the very first games he played was called Karateka, which was inspiring for the realistic movements of its digital k…

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Brad Frost: Design systems are about human relationships 1:12:48

3M ago1:12:48

1:12:48

Visit our Substack for bonus content and more: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/brad-frost Design systems are the foundation of nearly every piece of software we use. No one has had a greater influence on the philosophy and tactics of building design systems than Brad Frost, author of Atomic Design. After helping countless companies craft design s…

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Episode 42: Matt Abrahams on mastering impromptu speaking 1:05:28

3M ago1:05:28

1:05:28

In this episode of Reconsidering, we sit down with Matt Abrahams, a leading expert in communication and a lecturer at Stanford Graduate School of Business. Matt shares insights from his latest book, Think Faster, Talk Smarter: How to Speak Successfully When You’re Put on the Spot, offering practical strategies to enhance spontaneous speaking skills…

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Heidi Trost: Human Centered Security 35:23

4M ago35:23

35:23

Visit our Substack for bonus content and more: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/heidi-trost Designing a good security experience is hard. Every time we run into one of those security captchas that requires you to “identify all the motorcycles” in the tiled images, we want to give up and surrender to our robot overlords…or throw our laptop out the …

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The Brief: Afraid of losing your job? Become irreplaceable 9:14

4M ago9:14

9:14

Becoming an irreplaceable designer By Aarron Walter The software industry is in a tough contraction phase. Teams are downsizing, and companies are prioritizing efficiency. It’s a stressful time for many. But it’s also an opportunity—to reflect on your work, your skills, and the unique value you bring as a designer. What could you do to make yoursel…

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Trenton Doyle Hancock: An artist’s process for creating order from chaos 26:58

4M ago26:58

26:58

Visit our Substack for bonus content and more: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/trenton-doyle-hancock Aarron’s friend Trenton Doyle Hancock did something remarkable when they were both in the graduate Painting and Drawing program at the Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia—he had work in the Whitney Biennial. It was a bit like winning an Oscar whil…

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Dan Harden: Form follows emotion—industrial design lessons from George Nelson to Steve Jobs 1:08:36

4M ago1:08:36

1:08:36

Visit our Substack for bonus content and more:https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/dan-harden If you were mapping out the most amazing career in industrial design, you might dream of working with George Nelson, Henry Dreyfuss, Steve Jobs, and influential companies like Frog design in the early days. It seems impossible that one person could have such …

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Kristen Berman: Behavioral economics expert on designing products that change behavior 28:16

4M ago28:16

28:16

Visit our Substack for bonus content and more: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/kristen-berman Many of the most successful products launched in Silicon Valley lean heavily on behavioral design to increase engagement. Former Design Better guest Nir Eyal talks about this in his books Hooked and Indistractable, and today we have another expert in thi…

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The Brief: What designers can learn from writers and storytellers 15:27

5M ago15:27

15:27

Words are worth a thousand pictures by Eli Woolery How does Sir Jony Ive, the famed former head of design at Apple, start every project? If, like me, you guessed by sketching, you’d be wrong. I was surprised to learn when he visited the design capstone class I co-teach at Stanford that he starts all projects by writing. But Jony gave our class a po…

Aarron Walter Podcasts

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Reconsidering

Meredith Black, Bob Baxley, Aarron Walter

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Design Better

The Curiosity Department, sponsored by Wix Studio

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Conffab Conversations

john allsopp

1
Design Better Live AMA at The New York Times 49:42

1
Video Rewind: Kamasi Washington: A jazz genius on collaborative lessons learned from Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dogg, Lauryn Hill, and more 1:04:15

1
Episode 48: AI, algorithms and the battle for your mind with Simon McCarthy Jones 53:12

1
Josh Clark and Veronika Kindred: Sentient Design and the future of interfaces 36:51

1
Bonus Episode: Shani Sandy, VP, Experience Design at IBM, live in NYC for UserTesting's THiS Connect Tour 27:47

1
Episode 47: The last human jobs with Allison Pugh 46:00

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The Brief: Stop specializing—live a multidisciplinary creative life 13:48

1
Christopher Lyons: From producing music to venture capital, and why EQ beats IQ in building the future 18:25

1
Bonus Episode: Champ Bennett, co-founder of Capsule, on making motion design easy and scalable 50:15

1
Cassie McDaniel: How Medium eliminated its PM function and started moving faster 28:08

1
Episode 46: Liz O'Donnell on caring for elderly parents 50:28

1
The Roundup: AI creative workflow, vibe coding, ethics, agents, and more 48:49

1
Bonus Episode: Amy Lokey, Chief Experience Officer at ServiceNow, live in SF for UserTesting's THiS Connect Tour 31:40

1
Episode 45: The art of noticing with Rob Walker 48:00

1
Video Rewind: John Cleese: A cheerful guide to creativity 37:22

1
Episode 44: Rethinking cancer fears with David Ropeik 53:40

1
Marco Suarez: From designer to coffee entrepreneur ☕ 49:32

1
Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross: Your Brain on Art 49:31

1
Episode 43: Family estrangement with Dr Karl Pillemer 54:03

1
Rewind: OK Go: Making the impossible possible 57:35

1
Jordan Mechner: Pioneering game designer on creating Prince of Persia, Karateka, and a new graphic novel memoir 25:22

1
Brad Frost: Design systems are about human relationships 1:12:48

1
Episode 42: Matt Abrahams on mastering impromptu speaking 1:05:28

1
Heidi Trost: Human Centered Security 35:23

1
The Brief: Afraid of losing your job? Become irreplaceable 9:14

1
Trenton Doyle Hancock: An artist’s process for creating order from chaos 26:58

1
Dan Harden: Form follows emotion—industrial design lessons from George Nelson to Steve Jobs 1:08:36

1
Kristen Berman: Behavioral economics expert on designing products that change behavior 28:16

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The Brief: What designers can learn from writers and storytellers 15:27