Scratching the Surface

Jarrett Fuller
  • 4.8 (53)
  • ARTS
  • UPDATED SEMIMONTHLY
Scratching the Surface

Scratching the Surface is a podcast about design, theory, and creative practice. Hosted by Jarrett Fuller, each episode features wide-ranging conversations with designers, architects, writers, academics, artists, and theorists about how design shapes culture. Previous guests include architecture critic Paul Goldberger, MoMA design curator Paola Antonelli, architect and OMA partner Reinier de Graaf, Pentagram partner Michael Bierut, RISD President Rosanne Somerson, writer Kurt Andersen, and designer Jessica Helfand. Featured in Architectural Digest, Dezeen, Curbed, and Eye. New episodes every other Wednesday.

  1. 258. Petra Blaisse

    2 DAYS AGO

    258. Petra Blaisse

    Petra Blaisse is the founder of Inside Outside, an Amsterdam-based design studio that focuses on textiles, interior design, gardens, and landscapes. Known for her long-running collaborations with OMA, Petra began her career in 1978 at the Stedelijk Museum in the department of Applied Arts. A new book on the studio’s work, Art Applied, was released earlier this year. In this conversation, Jarrett and Petra talk about the differences between design and applied arts, the role of collaboration in her practice, and what she learned about herself in helping to put this new book together. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm/258-petra-blaise. 
— 
If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting us on Substack and get bonus content, transcripts, and our monthly newsletter! www.patreon.com/surfacepodcast

    1 hr
  2. 257. Lesley-Ann Noel

    OCT 23

    257. Lesley-Ann Noel

    Lesley-Ann Noel is a designer, researcher, and educator. She’s the author of Design Social Change and a co-editor of The Black Experience in Design. Earlier this year, Lesley-Ann was appointed the dean of design at OCAD University and she previously taught at North Carolina State University, Tulane University, Stanford University, and the University of the West Indies. In this conversation, Jarrett and Lesley-Ann talk about the role of design in social change, the value of utopian and abolitionist thinking, and the relationship between designed objects and cultural transformation. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm/257-lesley-ann-noel. 
— Sign up for our monthly newsletter for design news, updates from past guests, and book roundups. Paid subscribers get bonus interviews each month: surfacepodcast.substack.com

    1 hr
  3. 256. Taylor Levy & Che-Wei Wang

    OCT 9

    256. Taylor Levy & Che-Wei Wang

    Taylor Levy and Che-Wei Wang are the founders of the art and design studio CW&T. Founded in 2009, CW&T has produced human-scaled objects like pens, clocks, and tape dispensers engineered to last multiple generations as well interactive software, art installations, and more. In 2022, they were the recipients of the 2022 National Design Award for product design from Cooper Hewitt. In this conversation, Jarrett talks with Taylor and Che-Wei about the role of experimentation in their design process, the overlap of physical and digital design, and the challenges with staying independent. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm/256-taylor-levy-che-wei-wang. 
— 
If you enjoy the show, please consider joining our Substack for bonus content and a free monthly newsletter: surfacepodcast.substack.com

    58 min
  4. 255. John Ochsendorf

    SEP 25

    255. John Ochsendorf

    John Ochsendorf is an engineer, educator, and designer. He’s the founding director of the MIT Morningside Academy for Design and has faculty appointments in the departments of architecture and civil engineering at MIT. From 2017-2020, he served as the director of the American Academy in Rome. In this conversation, Jarrett and John talk about Morningside’s goals and how they are spreading design across MIT’s campus, the relationship between design and engineering, and why it’s a good thing that it is so hard to define design.Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm/255-john-ochsendorf.
 — Sign up for our monthly newsletter at surfacepodcast.substack.com — 
If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/surfacepodcast

    52 min
  5. 254. Christoph Lindner

    SEP 11

    254. Christoph Lindner

    Christoph Lindner is the President and Vice-Chancellor of the Royal College of Art. An interdisciplinary scholar of cities and visual culture, he’s authored or edited over fifteen books across art, architecture, media, cultural studies, and urban geography. Prior to this role at the RCA, he served as Dean of the Bartlett Faculty of the Built Environment at University College London and Dean of the College of Design at University of Oregon. In this conversation, Jarrett and Christoph talk about the changing nature of art and design education, the role of higher education in this current moment, and why the RCA blends artistic practice with scholarly research. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm/254-christoph-lindner.
 — Sign up for our monthly newsletter at surfacepodcast.substack.com — 
If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/surfacepodcast

    1 hr
  6. 212. Robert A.M. Stern (Originally aired 4/13/22)

    AUG 28

    212. Robert A.M. Stern (Originally aired 4/13/22)

    We're taking the summer off and will be republishing some of our favorite episodes from the archives through August. This episode originally aired April 13, 2022. — Robert A.M. Stern is an architect, teacher, and writer. He is the founder of Robert A.M. Stern Architects, served as dean of the Yale School of Architecture from 1998 to 2016, hosted the PBS series Pride of Place in 1986, and served on the board of directors for the Walt Disney Corporation from 1992 to 2003. He’s the author, most recently, of Between Memory and Invention: My Life in Architecture. In this conversation, Mr. Stern talks about his early interest in architecture history and the possibilities of an alternate career as a historian or curator, how leading Yale changed how he thought about architecture, and why the architecture discourse isn’t as interesting to him anymore. (Oh, and we also talk about martinis!) — Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm/212-robert-a-m-stern. 
— 
If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting us on Patreon and get bonus content, transcripts, and our monthly newsletter! www.patreon.com/surfacepodcast

    57 min
  7. 199. Esther Choi (Originally aired 10/13/21)

    AUG 14

    199. Esther Choi (Originally aired 10/13/21)

    We're taking the summer off and will be republishing some of our favorite episodes from the archives through August. This episode originally aired October 13, 2021. — Esther Choi is a multidisciplinary artist and architectural historian. In 2019, she published Le Corbuffet, a Fluxus-inspired artist's book that adopts the form of a cookbook and in 2020, she started Office Hours, a socially-engaged initiative that cultivates the sharing of knowledge among practitioners who identify as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. In this episode, Esther and Jarrett talk about working between photography and architectural theory, genres of writing, and building a body of work that’s hard to define. — Links from this episode can be found at https://scratchingthesurface.fm/199-esther-choi. 
— 
If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting us on Patreon and get bonus content, transcripts, and our monthly newsletter! www.patreon.com/surfacepodcast

    59 min
  8. 210. Chris Rudd (Originally aired 3/16/22)

    JUL 31

    210. Chris Rudd (Originally aired 3/16/22)

    We're taking the summer off and will be republishing some of our favorite episodes from the archives through August. This episode originally aired March 16, 2022. — Chris Rudd is a designer, community organizer, and youth worker. He’s currently a professor of community-driven design at IIT Institute of Design and founder of ChiByDesign, a black-owned and people-of-color led human-centered design firm. In this conversation, Jarrett and Chris talk about the intersection of community organizing and design, the limits of co-design, and what anti-racist and post-capitalist design looks like in practice. — Since this conversation, Chris left his position at IIT and is focusing on building ChiByDesign. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm/210-chris-rudd. 
— 
If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting us on Patreon and get bonus content, transcripts, and our monthly newsletter! www.patreon.com/surfacepodcast

    46 min
See All (280)

4.8
out of 5
53 Ratings

About

Scratching the Surface is a podcast about design, theory, and creative practice. Hosted by Jarrett Fuller, each episode features wide-ranging conversations with designers, architects, writers, academics, artists, and theorists about how design shapes culture. Previous guests include architecture critic Paul Goldberger, MoMA design curator Paola Antonelli, architect and OMA partner Reinier de Graaf, Pentagram partner Michael Bierut, RISD President Rosanne Somerson, writer Kurt Andersen, and designer Jessica Helfand. Featured in Architectural Digest, Dezeen, Curbed, and Eye. New episodes every other Wednesday.

Information

  • Creator
    Jarrett Fuller
  • Years Active
    2016 - 2024
  • Episodes
    280
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © All rights reserved
  • Show Website
    Scratching the Surface

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