The Frontier Magazine Podcast
37 episodes - English - Latest episode: 7 months ago - ★★★★★ - 2 ratingsThe Frontier Magazine Podcast offers insightful conversations with writers, artists, architects, startup founders, and others about how design and creativity accelerate positive change.
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Episodes
Art collector Ken Montague on Black joy and changing institutions from the inside
December 04, 2023 17:00 - 24 minutes - 22.6 MBA tireless advocate for Black artists here in Toronto and abroad, Ken Montague runs the Wedge Collection and a related nonprofit called Wedge Curatorial Projects. We spoke about how his early life stoked his passion for art and culture, his belief in partnership and community building, focusing on expressions of Black joy, and working to change institutions from within. Read a full episode transcript and access over 100 newsletters and podcast episodes in the Frontier Magazine archives. It’...
Longform Editions on running a record label like an art gallery
November 06, 2023 17:00 - 27 minutes - 31.3 MBCofounders Andrew Khedoori and Mark Gowing on their egalitarian ethos, emotional sustainability, and the value of curatorial vision in an algorithmic world. Read a full episode transcript and access over 100 newsletters and podcast episodes in the Frontier Magazine archives. It’s all available free thanks to our patrons. Get full access to Frontier Magazine at magazine.frontier.is/subscribe
Artist, DJ, and writer Jace Clayton on optimism and the power of communal experiences
October 30, 2023 16:00 - 22 minutes - 20.2 MBThe multi-hyphenate artist on making music in clubs, seeking technologies that nourish creative endeavors, and bringing along the next generation. Read a full episode transcript and access over 100 newsletters and podcast episodes in the Frontier Magazine archives. It’s all available free thanks to our patrons. Get full access to Frontier Magazine at magazine.frontier.is/subscribe
Curator Andrea Andersson on the intelligence at the margins
October 23, 2023 16:00 - 25 minutes - 23 MBThe founding director and chief curator of the Rivers Institute for Contemporary Art & Thought on a partner-centric model, what’s possible when you take your time and build with community, and Tina Girouard, an under-appreciated artist of the 1960s-era “Louisiana mafia” in New York who has deeply informed Rivers’s work. Read a full episode transcript and access over 100 newsletters and podcast episodes in the Frontier Magazine archives. It’s all available free thanks to our patrons. Get fu...
Deb Chachra
October 16, 2023 16:00 - 27 minutes - 25.6 MBEngineering professor and author Deb Chachra discusses “care at scale,” our energy-abundant future, and her new book How Infrastructure Works: Inside the Systems That Shape Our World. Read a full episode transcript and access over 100 newsletters and podcast episodes in the Frontier Magazine archives. It’s all available free thanks to our patrons. Get full access to Frontier Magazine at magazine.frontier.is/subscribe
Sari Azout
October 09, 2023 16:00 - 25 minutes - 23.1 MBSari Azout, the founder of Sublime, discusses the challenges of today’s information environment, designing for emotions, building software as an “infinite game,” and aiming for resonance, not scale. Read a full episode transcript and access over 100 newsletters and podcast episodes in the Frontier Magazine archives. It’s all available free thanks to our paid supporters. If you enjoy this conversation, consider joining: Get full access to Frontier Magazine at magazine.frontier.is/subscribe
Drew Austin
October 02, 2023 16:00 - 27 minutes - 25.1 MBWriter Drew Austin, author of the newsletter Kneeling Bus, discusses how public spaces are increasingly shaped by digital platforms, how urban planners have struggled to keep up with the pace of change, and how giving people the power to follow through on their desires creates better cityscapes. Read a full episode transcript and access over 100 newsletters and podcast episodes in the Frontier Magazine archives. It’s all available free thanks to our paid supporters. Get full access to Fron...
Erin Kissane
September 25, 2023 16:00 - 27 minutes - 25.1 MBWriter, editor, and COVID Tracking Project co-founder Erin Kissane discusses her career trajectory, designing equitable codes of conduct, creating work cultures that prioritize care, the emergence of new social-media platforms, and why “it’s an incredible moment to be working in online design.” Host: Brian Sholis Audio production: Heather Ngo Get full access to Frontier Magazine at magazine.frontier.is/subscribe
Introducing The Frontier Magazine Podcast
September 22, 2023 16:00 - 1 minute - 2.05 MBFirst Things First is now The Frontier Magazine Podcast. Our first season of conversations with artists, writers, startup founders, and other creative people begins next week! We’ll be exploring the ideas and ideals that inform their work and the ways that design and creativity accelerate positive change. You’ll hear from Erin Kissane, Drew Austin, Deb Chachra, Sari Azout, Andrea Andersson, and more. Subscribe, tell your friends, and get ready for a season of inspiration. Get full access ...
Matthew Hickey
April 04, 2023 12:30 - 34 minutes - 23.7 MBMatthew Hickey is a young architect and a partner at the Indigenous architecture firm Two Row, which is located in the Six Nations of the Grand River. Two Row specializes in projects for community organizations and for clients in education and government. In recent years, the company has partnered with national and international firms on projects of increasing scale and civic, cultural, and social importance. In this conversation, Hickey discusses his idea of universal inclusivity, the embr...
Farida Abu-Bakare
January 24, 2023 16:15 - 27 minutes - 25 MBFarida Abu-Bakare is a young architect with a startlingly wide range of experiences. She has helped design everything from airports and major cultural centers to hospitals and university science labs. She is currently Director of Global Practice at WXY. In this episode, Abu-Bakare discusses her upbringing, working in North America and Africa, progressing through some of the world’s most prominent architecture firms, finding purpose in mentorship, and the importance of joy to designing a bett...
Bjarke Ingels
June 24, 2022 09:00 - 21 minutes - 19.8 MBFor the past two decades, Bjarke Ingels, founder of the eponymous architecture firm, has designed forward-thinking and conversation-starting objects, buildings, and master plans across the globe. In this conversation, Ingels talks about the sources of his optimism, creating a “master plan” for the planet, and how important storytelling is to design. This episode features an edited version of “My Earth” by The Sound Room. The original can be found at https://stockmusic.net/royalty-free-...
Barbara Groth
May 13, 2022 09:00 - 34 minutes - 23.7 MBBarbara Groth has a striking ability to generate positive change. Her new company, The Nomadic School of Wonder, operates at the intersection of nature, art, and community and helps people to be deeply present in the moment, in their thoughts, in their bodies. In this conversation, Groth talks about her groundbreaking early explorations of multimedia design, including work for Disney, IBM, and Apple; the importance of play in our experience of the world; and how end-of-life palliative care l...
Bruce Mau
March 31, 2022 09:00 - 24 minutes - 22 MBBruce Mau is a designer who has shaped some of the largest companies in the world, and is now working on even bigger questions, like how to reinvent higher education, the future of Guatemala, and a thousand-year vision for the holy city of Mecca. In this conversation, Mau talks about the origins and themes of his latest book, MC24, and about how inspiration is key to changing the world for the better. Host: Paddy Harrington Producer: Heather Ngo Editor: Brian Sholis This epi...
Alex Honnold
March 04, 2022 10:00 - 23 minutes - 21.9 MBAlex Honnold is a rock climber best known for his ropeless ascents of the world’s most forbidding rock walls. You might recognize him from the 2018 documentary Free Solo, which awed viewers with his forethought, tenacity, and focus. These qualities drove him to the top of his sport and now underpin the Honnold Foundation, his nonprofit devoted to promoting solar energy for a more equitable world. In this episode of First Things First, we talk about designing your life to achieve your goals, m...
Cey Adams
March 02, 2020 10:00 - 20 minutes - 9.47 MBCey Adams is a soft-spoken legend. A New York City native, he emerged from the downtown graffiti scene before becoming the creative director of Def Jam Recordings, where he designed for Run DMC, The Beastie Boys, Public Enemy, Notorious B.I.G., and Jay-Z, among others. In this episode of First Things First, we talk about the relationship between art, music, and design, what makes a good client, and the importance of passion. First Things First is produced as part of Frontier Media. Learn m...
Jeremy Leslie
February 18, 2020 10:00 - 16 minutes - 7.47 MBJeremy Leslie loves magazines. He leads magCulture: a design studio, online resource, magazine shop, and events producer. He divides his time between designing, writing, and curating. His book The Modern Magazine was published in 2013 and the online magCulture Journal is a key source of editorial-design opinion and news. In this episode, we talk about magazines as recording devices and the evolution of ideas in the space where print and digital meet. First Things First is produced as part ...
Marina Willer
December 16, 2019 10:00 - 13 minutes - 5.95 MBGraphic designer and filmmaker Marina Willer is a partner at global design firm Pentagram. Before joining Pentagram, she was head creative director at Wolff Olins in London, where she lead iconic work like the visual identity of Tate Modern. In this episode, we talk about her film, Red Trees, which tells the story of today’s refugee crisis through the lens of her own family. And we talk about the role of the designer in a world that is overrun by consumption. This interview was recorded in 2...
Tina Roth Eisenberg
December 02, 2019 10:00 - 16 minutes - 7.52 MBTina Roth Eisenberg has many preoccupations and passions, she started a Temporary Tattoo company called Tattly, a Global community meet up group called Creative Mornings, and a Digital task organizer called Teux Deux. After studying design in Switzerland and Germany, she moved to Brooklyn in 1999 and worked as a designer eventually starting the design blog swiss miss that became one of the world’s most visited design websites. In this episode of First Things First, we talk about magic and...
Robert Brunner
November 19, 2019 10:00 - 17 minutes - 7.81 MBNamed one of Fast Company’s ‘Most Creative People in Business’, Robert Brunner is the designer of such iconic products as the Apple PowerBook and Beats by Dr. Dre headphones. Former Director of Industrial Design for Apple, he laid the foundations for moving computers from the utilitarian to the desirable and helped define Apple as the most powerful brand and technology company in the world. In 2007, Robert founded San Francisco-based design studio Ammunition to communicate ideas through prod...
Paul Lavoie
October 02, 2019 16:40 - 26 minutes - 12.3 MBPaul Lavoie founded Taxi in Montreal in 1992 with his partner Jane Hope. The ad agency became widely known for its innovative work and soon grew an international reach working with a wide range of global brands. Lavoie left Taxi to devote his time to Beau Lake, a luxury paddleboard and lifestyle brand he co-owns that’s a modern interpretation and tribute to vintage wood power boats They have recently released an electric runabout boat that promises to revolutionize cottage life to be mo...
Pia Betton
July 24, 2019 09:00 - 17 minutes - 8.04 MBPia Betton links design thinking to business. Originally from Denmark, Pia’s 20 year career spans brand development, corporate design, design research, innovation and communication. Her international client portfolio covers private companies from many different industries like Lego, Bosch, Bang & Olufsen, and Carlsberg. In this episode of First Things First, we talk about the challenge of growth, the challenge of change, and the challenge of Design Thinking. First Things First is produced ...
Jessica Bellamy
June 10, 2019 09:00 - 18 minutes - 8.32 MBJessica Bellamy is an information designer. She tells visual stories using data and personal narratives. She started her design career working with nonprofits and community groups to create visuals that break down complex service and policy information. In 2015, she created a small design agency called GRIDS: The Grassroots Information Design Studio. She creates infographics for social change. In this episode, we talk about how design can be used as a tool to help fight for social justice an...
Live Episode: Laura Stein
May 01, 2019 09:00 - 11 minutes - 5.42 MBThis episode of First Things First was recorded as part of our Live Magazine project at DesignThinkers, in Toronto. The interview is with Sid Lee creative director, Laura Stein and was done by Frontier Senior Designer, Tristan Marantos. To learn more about Live Magazine, visit frontier.is and look for Live Magazine in our media section. First Things First is produced as part of Frontier Media. Learn more at www.frontier.is Host: Paddy Harrington Producer and Editor: Max Cotter This e...
Grace Hwang
April 18, 2019 09:00 - 23 minutes - 10.6 MBGrace Hwang leads Design at Carrot, a technology company that helps people quit smoking. For 12 years, she lead healthcare focused projects around the world in her role at IDEO, a global innovation consultancy. IDEO is most famous for popularizing the term design thinking. Design thinking recognizes that design school teaches how to put people at the centre of what you do. Design lead companies are the ones that put people first with the understanding that what’s good for people is good fo...
Jessica Hische
March 15, 2019 22:25 - 15 minutes - 7.17 MBJessica Hische describes herself as a "Lettering artist, author, illustrator, letterpress printer, and type designer" but also a "Mother, procrastiworker, and a million other things". She has worked with many well recognized brands, authors, and other designers on a multitude of different kinds of projects. In this episode, we talk about her new book, “Tomorrow I’ll be Brave” and the downside of labels. First Things First is produced as part of Frontier Media. Learn more at www.frontie...
Live Episode: Bonnie Siegler
February 28, 2019 10:00 - 37 minutes - 17 MBThis episode of First Things First was recorded live on stage at Design Thinkers in Toronto with Bonnie Sielger about her book, Dear Client. Siegler was voted one of the 50 most influential designers working today by GDUSA. Her career spans a wide range of influential clients and projects like the Trump parody autobiography You Can’t Spell America Without Me. Other recent clients of her design studio, Eight and a Half, include The New Yorker, Late Night with Seth Meyers, and The Frank Lloyd ...
Forest Young
February 16, 2019 15:14 - 19 minutes - 9.02 MBForest Young is a designer and educator whose ranging knowledge stretches to all points of the map, challenging the listener in unexpected ways. At Wolff Olins, he leads design initiatives for the world’s most influential companies recently competing a brand refresh for Uber. His work has been exhibited at MoMA, he is the recipient of many awards and is a graduate of the graphic design program at Yale University. In this episode, we talk about, well, just about everything. First Things...
Michael Bierut
January 15, 2019 10:00 - 24 minutes - 11.3 MBMichael Bierut is a proper gentleman. With his sharp dress punctuated by an iconic hat and scarf, he moves through a room with the gravity of one of the world’s best known designers. But his iconic status is paired with an arresting attentiveness. He’ll write you a surprising and unexpected personal note thanking you for something you should probably be thanking him for. That personable attitude comes through in conversation. In this episode of First Things First we’ll discuss how your own...
Ellen Lupton
December 17, 2018 19:38 - 14 minutes - 6.41 MBEllen Lupton believes that design tells stories that touch peoples’ minds and bodies. She asks how a song tastes and how designers engage the senses to create richer and more inclusive experiences. In this episode, Ellen talks about the tyranny of visual perception, the ultimate self serve convenience store, and why designers should be thinking about ethics in everything they do. First Things First is produced as part of Frontier Media. Learn more at www.frontier.is Host: Paddy Harri...
Paul Sahre
November 15, 2018 10:00 - 25 minutes - 11.4 MBPaul Sahre is a New York based designer who has worked with everyone from Marvel, to Google, to the New York times. He’s an expert cover designer. He’s designed album covers for bands like They Might be Giants, covers for magazines like New York Magazine, and book covers for authors like Chuck Klosterman. In this episode Paul talks about his new book, Two Dimensional Man, his love of making stuff, and the importance of once having had his design office, Office of Paul Sahre (OOPS), above a D...
Krys Blackwood
October 15, 2018 09:00 - 19 minutes - 8.85 MBKrys Blackwood fights for the user. That means she designs the way that human beings interact with software and hardware so that they have a good experience rather than the frustration many of us face with technology that doesn’t want to cooperate. She has been designing interfaces of many kinds for over 20 years working with startups and Fortune 500 companies in Silicon Valley. In this episode, Krys describes her journey from being an in-house designer and developer all the way to the Senio...
Jan Chipchase
September 15, 2018 09:00 - 21 minutes - 9.78 MBJan Chipchase is a Tokyo based researcher, designer, and strategist. He is also an author of a new book, The Field Study Handbook, considered an essential reference to running international field research as well as a guide for those who want to understand how to travel better. In this episode he discusses his current work with his Studio D Radiodurans and how a camera can be used to get out of many different tricky situations. First Things First is produced as part of Frontier Media. ...
Timothy Goodman
August 15, 2018 14:42 - 22 minutes - 10.3 MBTimothy Goodman is a New York based designer and illustrator. He is also an author and activist concerned with social issues and an unending quest for authentic experiences and human interaction. In this episode he discusses his transition from home renovations in Cleveland, Ohio to his make or break start in New York City and the power of design to connect. First Things First is produced by Frontier Media. Learn more at www.frontier.is Host: Paddy Harrington Producer and Editor: M...
Astrid Stavro
April 30, 2018 19:56 - 18 minutes - 8.42 MBAstrid Stavro designs magazines and brands from an office on a warm island in the Mediterranean. How does a person who once studied journalism get into design? And how can design help us better understand content? First Things First is produced by Frontier Media. Learn more at www.frontier.is Host: Paddy Harrington Producer and Editor: Max Cotter Show Graphic Design: Paul Kawai Frontier’s sponsor music is an edited version of “sketch (rum-portrait)” by Jahzzar from the album “Sketc...
Jeff Greenspan
April 30, 2018 19:43 - 19 minutes - 8.93 MBJeff Greenspan is a creative director and a stand-up comic based in New York City. He once quit a job after 15 minutes. This episode is about how design can be used to powerfully and emotionally convey an idea. First Things First is produced by Frontier Media. Learn more at www.frontier.is Host: Paddy Harrington Producer and Editor: Max Cotter Show Graphic Design: Paul Kawai Frontier’s sponsor music is an edited version of “sketch (rum-portrait)” by Jahzzar from the album “Sketc...
Emily Oberman
April 19, 2018 02:29 - 19 minutes - 8.88 MBEmily Oberman is a partner at international powerhouse design firm, Pentagram in New York City. She has worked with everyone from Jimmy Fallon to Lorne Michaels and believes design can change the world. First Things First is produced by Frontier Media. Learn more at www.frontier.is Host: Paddy Harrington Producer and Editor: Max Cotter Show Graphic Design: Paul Kawai Frontier’s sponsor music is an edited version of “sketch (rum-portrait)” by Jahzzar from the album “Sketc...