Finding Our Way

Jesse James Garrett and Peter Merholz
  • 4.9 (9)
  • DESIGN

UX design pioneers and Adaptive Path co-founders Peter Merholz and Jesse James Garrett discuss the evolving challenges and opportunities for design leaders.

  1. 5D AGO

    65: Design—Stuck in the Middle with AI (ft. Christina Wodtke)

    Stanford professor Christina Wodtke joins Peter and Jesse in exploring the real contradictions of AI in design and product work: revolutionary prototyping speed versus the need for critical thinking, efficiency gains versus cognitive loss, and loving the technology while hating the exploitative companies building it. She shares exactly what designers and PMs must vigilantly protect.

    54 min

  2. JAN 24

    64: The State of Design Orgs—Growth Paths, Quality Standards, and Empowerment Gaps

    Peter and Jesse discuss findings from Peter's survey of 750 UX pracitioners on organizational health. Designers feel good about their work but struggle with quality standards, staffing, and career growth. Senior practitioners are the unhealthiest group. Reporting structure predicts team health. Consulting teams outperform in-house teams, where visionary design capabilities have atrophied and empowerment remains elusive.

    48 min

  3. 2025-11-01

    63: AI Means Product Needs UX More than Ever (ft. Christian Crumlish)

    Product leader, author, and civic tech veteran Christian Crumlish joins Peter and Jesse to discuss his transition from UX to product management and his experimental AI product manager, Piper Morgan. The conversation explores how product and design roles can be natural allies rather than adversaries, where AI truly adds value versus hype, and how practitioners can thoughtfully adopt new tools while staying grounded in fundamental UX principles and maintaining agency over their practice.

    1 hr

  4. 2025-09-14

    62: Design as Differentiator in a World of AI (ft. Andrew Hogan)

    Figma's Head of Insights Andrew Hogan joins Peter and Jesse to explore emerging trends in design practice as AI transforms creative workflows. The conversation examines how role boundaries are blurring across product teams, where AI delivers real value versus hype, and design's growing opportunity to lead strategic orchestration in increasingly complex digital experiences.

    48 min

  5. 2025-08-09

    61: The Paradoxes of Product Discovery (ft. Teresa Torres)

    Product Discovery coach, teacher, and author Teresa Torres joins Peter and Jesse to explore the messy reality of organizational change and cross-functional collaboration. She discusses why external coaching has limits, how individual contributors can drive change within resistant systems, and what the rise of AI means for blurring roles between product, design, and engineering teams.

    48 min

  6. 2025-06-29

    60: Making the World– Design Education and Social Change (ft. Lesley-Ann Noel, PhD)

    Dr. Lesley-Ann Noel, Dean of Design at OCAD, joins Jesse and Peter to discuss her global journey from Trinidad to Toronto, leading design education through relationships over craft, preparing students for social change, and her vision for decolonizing design while navigating the tension between academic values and industry demands.

    54 min

  7. 2025-06-06

    59: Design Isn’t Dead, But It’s Seen Better Days (ft. John Gleason)

    Peter and Jesse are joined by design and business consultant John Gleason. Coming up through P&G's famous design initiative, we get his perspective on design beyond digital products, such as consumer packaged goods, we explore some significant parallels across industries and design domains with important lessons on the pitfalls that lead to diminishing influence for design leaders, and share what they should advocate in order to break the downward spiral.

    53 min

  8. 2025-05-02

    58: AI is a Stress Test for Your UX: What Cracks Will It Show?

    Jesse and Peter explore how AI is revealing the true value proposition of design teams. They discuss why "whoever controls the prompt controls the product" and why design leaders must understand their organization's expectations before embracing AI. The more things change, the more they stay the same—AI may be new, but the fundamentals of design leadership remain critical.

    52 min
See All (65)

Ratings & Reviews

4.9
out of 5
9 Ratings

About

UX design pioneers and Adaptive Path co-founders Peter Merholz and Jesse James Garrett discuss the evolving challenges and opportunities for design leaders.

Information

  • Creator
    Jesse James Garrett and Peter Merholz
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    65
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2020-2025 Peter Merholz and Jesse James Garrett
  • Show Website
    Finding Our Way

You Might Also Like