Scratching the Surface

Freek Lomme is a publisher, editor, curator, and writer. He is the founder of Set Margins’, a support structure, a platform for production, a network and publisher focused on impulses from the margins with a focus on communication, cooperation, and involved politics. Previously, Freek was the co-founder and director of Onomatopee, an art and design space and publisher in The Netherlands. In this conversation, Jarrett and Freek talk about the infrastructure of bookmaking, the role of the publisher, and the continued affection for print culture. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm/244-freek-lomme. 
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Nicholas de Monchaux is an architect, designer, and author. He is currently Professor and Head of Architecture at MIT. He is the author of Spacesuit: Fashioning Apollo and Local Code: 3,659 Proposals about Data, Design, and the Nature of Cities. Until 2020, he was Professor of Architecture and Urban Design and Chair in New Media at UC Berkeley. In this conversation, Jarrett and Nicholas talk about reframing our definitions of design, what a contemporary architecture education could look like, and building a multidisciplinary practice. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm/243-nicholas-de-monchaux. 
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Helen Molesworth is a writer, critic, and curator. Her new book, Open Questions: Thirty Years of Writing About Art, collects her writing on art and artists from exhibition catalogs and art publications. From 2014 to 2018, she was the chief curator at The Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles and previously served as curator at ICA Boston, the Baltimore Museum of Art, and the Harvard University Art Museums. In 2022, she hosted the six-part podcast Death of an Artist. In this conversation, Jarrett and Helen talk about blending theory and feeling in criticism, making exhibitions like essays, and the questions that still animate her work. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm/242-helen-molesworth. 
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Adrian Lahoud is an architect, urban designer, researcher, and the dean of the School of Architecture at the Royal College of Art. Previously he was director of the MA program at the Centre for Research Architecture at Goldsmiths and a research fellow at Forensic Architecture. In this conversation, Jarrett and Adrian talk about the intersection of decolonization and decarbonization, architecture as a site for posing problems, and fostering an interdisciplinary research culture. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm/241-adrian-lahoud. 
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Stephen Eskilson is professor of art and design history at Eastern Illinois University and the author of the new book Digital Design: A History, a history of digital design from the nineteenth century to today. He previously wrote Graphic Design: A New History, which is now in its third edition. In this conversation, Stephen and Jarrett talk about the challenges in writing a history of digital design, the increasingly complexity of design tools, and the usefulness of the term graphic design. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm/240-stephen-eskilson. 
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Erin Pellegrino and Jake Rudin are the founders of Out of Architecture, a career consulting firm and resource network, where they are exploring the value of architectural skills both in and out of the profession. Through career consulting, career tools, and their recent book, Erin and Jake help architects leave architecture. In this conversation, we talk about the shape their consulting takes, what's missing from architecture and design education, and why so many designers want to leave the profession. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm/239-erin-pellegrino-jake-rudin. 
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Deb Chachra is a professor at Olin College of Engineering and the author of the new book, How Infrastructure Works: Inside the Systems That Shape Our World. In this conversation, Jarrett and Deb talk about why we don't want to think about infrastructure and how it encourages and discourages particular ways of living, overlap of design and engineering education, and value of teaching principles of care and maintenance. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm/238-deb-chachra. 
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René Boer is a critic, curator, and organizer in and beyond the fields of architecture, design, heritage, and the arts. His new book, Smooth City, focuses on the obsession with perfection in cities around the world. He is the co-founder of Loom, a practice for cultural transformation, and is one of the driving forces behind Failed Architecture. In this conversation, Jarrett and René talk about the idea of smoothness, the intersection of criticism and activism, and finding new forms to fund design writing. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm/237-rene-boer.
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Florencia Rodriguez is an editor, writer, and educator. In 2022, she was appointed director of the School of Architecture at the University of Illinois at Chicago. From 2010 to 2017, she published PLOT, and since 2017, co-founded NESS, a publishing platform for alternative forms of design criticism. In this conversation, Jarrett and Florencia talk about the role of design criticism in contemporary practice, practicing design from the margins, finding new formats for design discourse.. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm/236-florencia-rodriguez. — If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting us on Patreon and get bonus content, transcripts, and our monthly newsletter! www.patreon.com/surfacepodcast

Llisa Demetrios is the chief curator of the Eames Institute of Infinite Curiosity and the youngest granddaughter of Ray and Charles Eames. Situated on a ranch in Petaluma, CA, the Eames Institute is more than just a collection of the designer-duo's work but rather seeks to bring the lessons from their approach to tackle the problems of today. In this conversation, Jarrett and Llisa talk about what contemporary designers can learn from the Eames's process, how the Institute's property is a new type of Case Study Program, and the value of interdisciplinary thinking. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm/235-llisa-demetrios. — If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting us on Patreon and get bonus content, transcripts, and our monthly newsletter! www.patreon.com/surfacepodcast