Technical Difficulties

Liz Gerber

Technical Difficulties centers the stories of female leaders in tech and design. In each episode, these women share career-defining moments, unexpected pivots, values they live and design by, and advice for students and new grads. Join Liz Gerber, Northwestern Professor and founder of Design for America, as we learn alongside the leaders designing a human-centered digital future. Season 1's lineup explores design leadership, research, storytelling, identity, social impact and ethical innovation, creativity, and curiosity. If you’re a student, designer, technologist, researcher, or creative, Technical Difficulties is the podcast for you!

  1. 3D AGO · BONUS

    Rerelease: From Mechanical Engineer to Managing Director of Play with Michelle Lee

    Welcome to our special rerelease season of our favorite episodes this fall. Join Michelle Lee, Partner and Managing Director at IDEO, as she delves into the twists and turns of her design career, starting out as an undergrad unsure how to blend engineering and art, to eventually leading Design for Play at IDEO's Play Lab. She believes the most unconventional paths are the ones that will make you most equipped. At the Play Lab, she applies principles of play to tackle challenges like responsible digital design and sustainable circular economies, building towards better, optimistic futures. Michelle's most recent project is the Designing for Digital Thriving Open Innovation Challenge to reimagine healthy online spaces.

    24 min

  2. SEP 22 · BONUS

    Rerelease: Creating Space for Yourself in Design with Lesley-Ann Noel

    We're launching a special rerelease season of our favorite episodes this fall. Join Lesley-Ann Noel, an Assistant Professor in the Dept. of Design Studies at North Carolina State University, as she brings us along her entire design journey—from her first encounters with design education, creating the Designer's Critical Alphabet, and recently, The Little Book of Designer's Existential Crises in 2022. Lesley brings an expansive lens to practice design through emancipatory, critical, and anti-hegemonic lenses to center those who are often excluded from research. She advocates for critical awareness in design, and sits as co-Chair of the Pluriversal Design Special Interest Group within the Design Research Society.

    24 min

  3. TRAILER

    FEED DROP - Design As Season 3 Trailer

    Technical Difficulties is back, with a special rerelease season of your favorite episodes dropping this September, and season four coming in spring 2026. Our host, Liz Gerber, had the privilege of joining Lee Moreau on the Design As podcast to discuss the future of AI and design. Stay tuned for Liz's episode with the release of Design As season three.

    4 min

  4. MAY 19

    Empowering Today's Leaders to Transform Tomorrow's Industry: Elizabeth Churchill

    Join Elizabeth Churchill, Professor and Department Chair at Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI), as she shares her perspectives on artificial intelligence and teaching the next generation of HCI leaders - tune in to hear more! Visit technicaldifficultiespodcast.com for a full transcript and to hear more episodes. Hear Elizabeth's perspectives on: Developing tools to support learningEmotion, identity, and cognitionThe importance of teachers and educatorsFollow Elizabeth! LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabethfchurchill/ This episode was produced by Liz Gerber and Madison Deyo, and edited by Troy Cruz.

    46 min

  5. MAY 12

    Designing Your Path: Tech, Design, and Bold Career Moves: Christina Janzer

    Join Christina Janzer, former Senior Vice President of research and analytics at Slack, as she inspires us to make big career moves that fit your future goals- tune in to hear more! Prefer audio? Find the episode on your platform of choice: technicaldifficultiespodcast.com Hear Christina's perspectives on: Staying open to new opportunities during collegeStarting the user research team at FacebookLearning through mistakesAI and the future of work-life balanceFollow Christina! LinkedIn: / christina-janzer This episode was produced by Liz Gerber and Madison Deyo, and edited by Troy Cruz.

    44 min

  6. MAY 5

    The Power of Staying Curious: Irene Au

    Join us as we talk with Irene Au, Design Partner at Kholsa Ventures, as she shares her career path across Yahoo and Google, and her insights on the design industry - tune in to hear more! Prefer video? Find the episode on your platform of choice: technicaldifficultiespodcast.com Hear Irene's rspectives on: AI documentaries Life long learning The internet's evolution Building from the ground up Follow Irene! LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ireneau/ This episode was produced by Liz Gerber and Madison Deyo, and edited by Troy Cruz.

    50 min

  7. MAY 5

    The Future of Thriving Communities Starts with Design: Sara Cantor

    Join Sara cantor, co-founder of Greater Good Studio, as she shares her goals of working with design for social change. Sara is a human-centered designer dedicated to equity, inclusion, and social impact - tune in to hear more! Prefer audio? Find the episode on your platform of choice: technicaldifficultiespodcast.com Hear Sara's perspectives on: The influence of the movie "Big" Operating is the system of love Designing for equity The gut check test Follow Sara! LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/saracantor/ Website: https://greatergoodstudio.com/ This episode was produced by Liz Gerber and Madison Deyo, and edited by Troy Cruz.

    42 min

  8. APR 21

    Cracking the Code: Passion Meets Purpose

    Join Mira Dontcheva, Senior Principal Scientist at Adobe research, as she shares her perspectives on artificial intelligence uses in creativity, video, audio, and image creation - tune in to hear more! Prefer video? Find the episode on your platform of choice: technicaldifficultiespodcast.com Hear Mira's perspectives on: Wordle strategiesFamily influences on art and technologyCreating tech for everyoneBuilding strong and realiable teamsFollow Mira! LinkedIn: / mira-dontcheva-165761 Website: https://research.adobe.com/person/mir... This episode was produced by Liz Gerber and Madison Deyo, and edited by Troy Cruz.

    33 min
See All (22)

Trailer

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
4 Ratings

About

Technical Difficulties centers the stories of female leaders in tech and design. In each episode, these women share career-defining moments, unexpected pivots, values they live and design by, and advice for students and new grads. Join Liz Gerber, Northwestern Professor and founder of Design for America, as we learn alongside the leaders designing a human-centered digital future. Season 1's lineup explores design leadership, research, storytelling, identity, social impact and ethical innovation, creativity, and curiosity. If you’re a student, designer, technologist, researcher, or creative, Technical Difficulties is the podcast for you!

Information

  • Creator
    Liz Gerber
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2025
  • Episodes
    22
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Liz Gerber & Lauren Lin, 2023
  • Show Website
    Technical Difficulties