Scratching the Surface

Katherine McCoy is a graphic designer and educator. From 1971 to 1995, she was the co-artist-in-residence with Michael McCoy of the pioneering design department at the Cranbook Academy of Art. With Mike, she is the co-author of Cranbrook Design: The New Discourse and continued to teach at a variety of schools around the world. In this conversation, Katherine and Jarrett talk about the state of graphic design in seventies, learning how to teach design, and the influence of Dutch design on Cranbrook's curriculum. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm/226-katherine-mccoy. — If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting us on Patreon and get bonus content, transcripts, and our monthly newsletter! www.patreon.com/surfacepodcast

Michael McCoy is an industrial designer and educator. From 1971 to 1995, he was the co-artist-in-residence with Katherine McCoy of the pioneering design department at the Cranbook Academy of Art. With Katherine, he is the co-author of Cranbrook Design: The New Discourse and continued to teach at a variety of schools around the world. In this conversation, Michael and Jarrett talk about his early industrial design education, how he and Kathy joined Cranbrook, and how they fostered a space of experimentation in the department. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm/225-michael-mccoy. — If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting us on Patreon and get bonus content, transcripts, and our monthly newsletter! www.patreon.com/surfacepodcast

Carson Chan is an architecture writer, curator, and educator. He is the inaugural director of the Emilio Ambasz Institute for the Joint Study of the Built and Natural Environment at MoMA and a curator in the department of architecture and design. He previously co-founded the Current Collective for Architecture History and Environment and the Berlin-based project space PROGRAM. In this conversation, Jarrett and Carson talk about the ambition of the Ambasz Institute, the process of redefining architecture, and why aquariums are a lens to view the intersections of the natural and built worlds. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm/224-carson-chan. — If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting us on Patreon and get bonus content, transcripts, and our monthly newsletter! www.patreon.com/surfacepodcast

James Bridle is a writer, artist, and technologist. They are the author, most recently, of Ways of Being and previously wrote New Dark Age. They've exhibited art in galleries and institutions around the world and have written for publications like Wired, The Atlantic, and the Guardian. In this wide-ranging conversation, Jarrett and James talk about the limited ways we talk about artificial intelligence, why human-centered design might just be corporation-centered design, and the value of working across mediums. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm/223-james-bridle. — If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting us on Patreon and get bonus content, transcripts, and our monthly newsletter! www.patreon.com/surfacepodcast

Iker Gil is an architect and director of MAS Studio, the editor-in-chief of MAS Context, and the Executive Director of the SOM Foundation. He was the co-curator of Exhibit Columbus 2020-2021 and associate curator of the US Pavilion at the 16th Venice Architecture Biennale in 2016. In this conversation, Jarrett and Iker talk about the relationship between architecture and editing, sustaining a publication, and the value of organizing and administration in creative work. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm/222-iker-gil. — If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting us on Patreon and get bonus content, transcripts, and our monthly newsletter! www.patreon.com/surfacepodcast

Sam Grawe is the Chief Brand & Marketing Officer at The Eames Institute of Infinite Curiosity. He previously was the Global Brand and Editorial Director at Herman Miller and the editor-in-chief at Dwell. In this conversation, Jarrett and Sam talk about the intersection of branding and editorial, the early years at Dwell, and the enduring influence of the Eames's philosophies. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm/221-sam-grawe. — If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting us on Patreon and get bonus content, transcripts, and our monthly newsletter! www.patreon.com/surfacepodcast

Elvia Wilk is the author of the novel, Oval, and the essay collection, Death by Landscape. She's contributed to publications like Frieze, Artforum, 4Columns, Rhizome, and e-flux and was a founding editor of the design and architecture publication uncube. In this wide-ranging conversation, Jarrett and Elvia talk about the intersection of criticism and fiction, how writing essays is a type of design, and the tensions between complicity and critique. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm/220-elvia-wilk. — If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting us on Patreon and get bonus content, transcripts, and our monthly newsletter! www.patreon.com/surfacepodcast

Matthew Wizinsky is a designer, researcher, educator, and author of the new book Design After Capitalism. He is an Associate Professor & Graduate Program Director in the Ullman School of Design at the University of Cincinnati, PhD researcher in Transition Design at Carnegie Mellon University, and Associate Editor for Visible Language. In this conversation, Jarrett and Matthew talk about the relationship between design and capitalism, what post-capitalist design might look like, and why design is a hyperobject. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm/219-matthew-wizinsky. — If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting us on Patreon and get bonus content, transcripts, and our monthly newsletter! www.patreon.com/surfacepodcast

Tripp Mickle is a tech reporter for The New York Times and the author of After Steve: How Apple Became a Trillion-Dollar Company and Lost Its Soul, a book about the tension between design and commerce in a post-Steve Jobs Apple. In this conversation, Jarrett and Tripp talk about how design is viewed inside Apple, what happens when design gets a seat at the table, and learning to write about design for a general audience. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm/219-tripp-mickle. — If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting us on Patreon and get bonus content, transcripts, and our monthly newsletter! www.patreon.com/surfacepodcast

Eva Hagberg is an author, architecture writer, and editorial and publication strategist. Her new book, When Eero Met His Match, is a hybrid biography of Aline Louchheim Saarinen and an account of her time working as an architectural publicist. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, Dwell, The Architect’s Newspaper, Wallpaper, and more. In this conversation, Jarrett and Eva talk about writing memoirs, the role of publications in design media, and how we’re all living in the world Aline Saarinen created. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm/217-eva-hagberg. — If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting us on Patreon and get bonus content, transcripts, and our monthly newsletter! www.patreon.com/surfacepodcast