The Informed Life Jorge Arango

Lorenzo Bernaschina is the developer of Gems Notes, a note-taking tool that uses artificial intelligence to find relationships between ideas. In this conversation, we talk about smart note-taking and how technology might be used to extend rather than replace human intelligence.

Show notes
Lorenzo’s personal websiteLorenzo Bernaschina (LinkedIn)@ittaboba on TwitterGems NotesRoam ResearchObsidianmy mindZettelkastenNiklas LuhmannAlan KayDouglas EngelbartSteve JobsShow notes include Amazon affiliate links. I get a small commission for purchases made through these links.

Steve Portigal is a consultant who helps organizations build more mature user research practices. He’s the author of Interviewing Users: How to Uncover Compelling Insights and Doorbells, Danger, and Dead Batteries: User Research War Stories. He’s also the host of the Dollar to Donuts podcast about research leadership. In this conversation, we discuss the skills required for conducting successful interviews with users.
Show notes
Steve Portigal (portigal.com)Steve Portigal (linkedin.com)Portigal ConsultingInterviewing Users: How to Uncover Compelling Insights by Steve PortigalDoorbells, Danger, and Dead Batteries: User Research War Stories by Steve PortigalDollars to Donuts podcastDale CarnegieDunning-Kruger effectShow notes include Amazon affiliate links. I get a small commission for purchases made through these links.

Daniel Stillman is a conversation designer and coach. He’s the host of The Conversation Factory podcast and author of Good Talk: How to Design Conversations That Matter.


This is a special episode of The Informed Life: it’s the first recorded in person, while Daniel and I attended and taught at UX Lisbon in May of 2022. Fittingly, it’s an experiment: a freeform, less produced conversation about how we converse. In some cases, this results in less context than you may expect. In particular, you’ll hear references to the names of other speakers at the conference. I’ve included links to their profiles in the show notes.

Show notes


Daniel StillmanThe Conversation Factory podcastGood Talk: How to Design Conversations That Matter by Daniel StillmanThe Nine Elements of Transformative Facilitation by Daniel Stillman (includes a diagram of Daniel’s conversation operating system)UX Lisbon conferenceBernadette Irizarry (UX Lisbon)Matt LeMay (UX Lisbon)Natalie Nixon (UX Lisbon)Katie Swindler (UX Lisbon)Scott Kubie (UX Lisbon)One Page/One HourNickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America by Barbara EhrenreichAbby CovertDave GrayPhilip McKenzieLeland MaschmeyerWhat is the Negotiation Institute? (harvard.edu)Ladies Get PaidBrave New Work: Are You Ready to Reinvent Your Organization? by Aaron DignanCarl CollinsSwissmiss (Tina Roth Eisenberg)Daniel MezickRichard Saul WurmanAndy PolaineHow to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale CarnegieViktor FranklJoe RoganShow notes include Amazon affiliate links. I get a small commission for purchases made through these links.

Mike Rohde is a designer, teacher, and illustrator — but you’re more likely familiar with his work in sketchnoting. Mike is the author of The Sketchnote Handbook, which popularized the practice, and the founder of the Sketchnote Army, a showcase of sketchnoters and their work. He’s been described as “one of the leaders of the visual thinking revolution.” In this conversation, we discuss how Mike’s approach to visual note-taking has influenced his work.
Show notes
Mike Rohderohdesign.comThe Rohdesign Dispatch (Mike’s newsletter)Mike Rohde on LinkedIn@rohdesign on Instagram@rohdesign on TwitterThe Sketchnote Handbook: The Illustrated Guide to Visual Note Taking by Mike RohdeThe Sketchnote Workbook: Advanced Techniques for Taking Visual Notes You Can Use Anywhere by Mike RohdeThe Sketchnote ArmyThe Sketchnote Army podcastAdobe PageMillLiminal Thinking: Create the Change You Want by Changing the Way You Think by Dave GrayBullet JournalRyder CarrollUlyssesMarkdownZettelkastenThe Pen Is Mightier Than the Keyboard: Advantages of Longhand Over Laptop Note Taking by Pam A. Mueller and Daniel M. Oppenheimer (PDF)Show notes include Amazon affiliate links. I get a small commission for purchases made through these links.

Kat King is an information architect who’s “interested in information and how we figure things out.” She replied to one of my Twitter threads about note-taking, and I was intrigued by her approach. I recently saw Kat give a thoughtful presentation at the IA Conference and wanted to find out how she uses notes to learn and teach. So, this conversation focuses on note-taking as a means of learning.
Show notes
Kat King@katalogofchaos on TwitterUniversity of MichiganThe Information Architecture ConferenceCornell NotesMoleskineLEUCHTTURM1917The Extended Mind: The Power of Thinking Outside the Brain by Annie Murphy PaulThe Informed Life episode 74: Annie Murphy Paul on The Extended MindThe Informed Life episode 69: Karl Fast on Interactionism, part 1The Informed Life episode 70: Karl Fast on Interactionism, part 2Show notes include Amazon affiliate links. I get a small commission for purchases made through these links.

Sam Ladner is a sociologist, UX researcher, and student of productivity and the nature of work. She’s been a researcher at Amazon and Microsoft, and is currently Senior Principal Researcher at Workday. Sam is the author of two books on research, Practical Ethnography and Mixed Methods. In this conversation, we discuss sociology and ethnography in the context of organizations and how to manage the knowledge generated by research.
Show notes
Sam LadnerSam Ladner on LinkedInWorkdayThe Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner City Neighborhood by David Simon and Edward BurnsMixed Methods: A short guide to applied mixed methods research by Sam LadnerPractical Ethnography: A Guide to Doing Ethnography in the Private Sector by Sam LadnerEthnographic Practice and Industry Conference (EPIC)Pierre BourdieuClifford GeertzMise en placeAmazon KindleOverdriveLibbyNotionMendeleyPocketReadwiseSatisficingHerbert SimonThick descriptionShow notes include Amazon affiliate links. I get a small commission for purchases made through these links.