Best ArtCenter College of Design Podcasts (2025)

1
Why AxS Podcast from ArtCenter: Indigenous Futurism 27:21

5M ago27:21

27:21

In the fourth episode of the Why AxS podcast—where brilliant scientific and artistic minds ponder the important whys—we explore the rise of Futurism in Indigenous art as a means of enduring colonial trauma and envisioning a more inclusive and sustainable future. We're joined by Virgil Ortiz, a Pueblo artist known for his traditional Cochiti figurat…

1
Why AxS Podcast from ArtCenter: Dark Matter 32:17

6M ago32:17

32:17

Ready to go dark and get deep? In the third episode of the Why AxS podcast—where brilliant scientific and artistic minds ponder the important whys—we explore the infinite possibilities of the origins and nature of our universe. Our guests couldn't be more disparate in their paths, yet conjoined in their pursuits. Lita Albuquerque, an internationall…

1
Why AxS Podcast from ArtCenter: Art and Science 44:09

7M ago44:09

44:09

Did you know the intersection of art + science has been rooted in the DNA of Los Angeles from the very beginning? In this episode of our Why AxS podcast, alum + former ArtCenter Exhibitions director Stephen Nowlin unravels the rich intertwining origins of the artists and experimenters who landed in L.A. and pioneered new industries, from aeronautic…

1
Why AxS Podcast from ArtCenter: Rosetta Mission 35:53

8M ago35:53

35:53

Welcome to the Why AxS, ArtCenter’s podcast featuring brilliant scientific and artistic minds ponder the big why's that come with being a tiny part of this universe. Our first episode, How to Land on a Comet, takes you aboard JPL’s Rosetta Mission, as we’re joined by mission planner Art Chmielewski + alum/illustrator Liz de la Torre (BFA 13), who m…

1
Why AxS Podcast from ArtCenter 1:23

8M ago1:23

1:23

Join us for ArtCenter’s new mini-series investigating the powers of art and science–and the extraordinary, unexpected outcomes when the two fields intersect. The four-part series, launching September 12, features prominent artists–often with connections to ArtCenter–and scientists tackling big ideas about dark matter and transcendence from right- a…

1
Karen Hofmann on building an accessible, affordable and inclusive education 49:17

3y ago49:17

49:17

To many of our listeners, this guest needs no introduction. She is someone who has burst through seemingly impenetrable ceilings – glass and otherwise – to claim leadership roles historically held by men. She rose through the ranks as a strategic industrial designer before returning to ArtCenter, her alma mater, for a transformative stint as Chair …

1
Jackie Amezquita on migration, memory and making art 40:49

3y ago40:49

40:49

When we first heard from Jackie Amezquita four years ago, she was an ArtCenter Fine Art student on the cusp of graduating. In a raw and revealing interview, she traced the arduous path she’d walked to find the stability she needed to risk everything for her art. Her remarkable journey (captured in E14 of Change Lab) began in her native Guatemala, w…

1
Aimee Mullins on Finding a World of Possibilities in Every Problem 50:23

3y ago50:23

50:23

Aimee Mullins is a true polymath. Her passions and professional pursuits are as varied and boundless as the awards and groundbreaking strides she’s achieved within her many chosen fields. She broke new ground in athletics as the first amputee in history to compete against able-bodied athletes in the NCAA’s Division 1 track and field events. She wen…

1
Artist Lita Albuquerque on Regeneration After the Fire 43:46

3y ago43:46

43:46

We’re lucky as artists that we can recover much faster because we can express. Nature recovers and we recover. Lita Albuquerque is an artist whose body of work has often defied the strictures of convention and, ultimately, canvas. Over the course of her celebrated career, her paintings and sculptures outgrew the traditional materials contained with…

1
Artist Kim Schoenstadt on finding redemption through creativity and kinship 44:07

3y ago44:07

44:07

Client hypothetical. This is the term pioneering architect and designer Eileen Gray used to classify the many Modernist masterpieces she designed in the absence of actual paid commissions. She was simply making things because that was what she was made to do. Gray now stands alongside other towering talents whose under-recognized body of work were …

1
James Meraz on creating a path through unimaginable loss 42:08

3y ago42:08

42:08

James Meraz joined the faculty of ArtCenter’s Environmental Design department in September of 2001, shortly before 9/11. In the wake of that tragedy he wavered about how to proceed with his planned curriculum. How would it all be relevant? In the end, he resolved to lean into the uncertainty of that “cataclysmic moment,” realizing that the only way…

1
Change Lab Season 10: Forged in Fire, Make to Heal 2:18

3y ago2:18

2:18

The next season of Change Lab debuts on March 23. We’re calling it Forged in Fire: Make to Heal and we’re looking at the ways in which adversity can be a conduit for creativity and, more importantly, how creativity can offer solace during the hardest of times. You’re not going to want to miss a single episode of a season that explores the connectio…

1
53 Google's Ivy Ross on Reimagining the Life You're Meant to Live 56:02

3+ y ago56:02

56:02

As Google’s vice president of hardware design, Ivy Ross is breaking new ground in the physical world for a trillion-dollar company synonymous with building tools for navigating the virtual one. Since assuming the role in 2014, she’s been tasked with translating a corporate identity consisting of a primary colored logo and blinking cursor into three…

1
52 Tisha Johnson on design as a growth mindset 51:06

3+ y ago51:06

51:06

In the two decades since she graduated from ArtCenter with a degree in Transportation Design, Tisha Johnson has blazed trails for female design leaders in industries dominated by men. Her success has been propelled by her genuine passion for each phase of the design process, from research to experimenting with materials to aligning aesthetic beauty…

1
51 Aimee Bender on writing into uncertainty 52:21

3+ y ago52:21

52:21

For novelist Aimee Bender, magic is not a limited resource. Nor is it something to be feared, coveted, mistrusted or monetized. In her view, rather, magic is an everyday occurrence woven into the fabric of our lives captured in fleeting moments of transcendence all too often overlooked. No wonderment, however small, seems to escape Aimee’s notice. …

1
50 Ann Hamilton on the Power of I-Don’t-Know 47:36

3+ y ago47:36

47:36

To experience one of Ann Hamilton’s installations is to be transported into a world of invention unlike any other. Recognized for her large-scale public projects and performance collaborations, Ann uses space as her canvas and fills it with a sense of mystery and drama that is as inviting as it is provocative. Though much of her work is, by nature,…

1
49 Mike Shinoda on the Alchemy of Making Music and Art 42:06

3+ y ago42:06

42:06

To call Mike Shinoda a rock star would be technically accurate and yet incomplete. He is the lead singer and driving force behind Linkin Park (one of the best selling bands of the 21st century), Fort Minor (his hip hop project) and a thriving career as a solo artist. But that list of headlining achievements doesn’t even begin to capture the scope o…

1
48 Artist Diana Thater is determined to reveal a world worth saving 48:30

3+ y ago48:30

48:30

For Diana Thater making art is like oxygen. It sustains and nourishes her. And when her access to it is suddenly limited -- as it was in the spring of 2020-- she figures out a way to create her art. By any means necessary. Her latest exhibition, Yes, There Will Be Singing, is the captivating result of one such extraordinary pandemic pivot. She conc…

1
Change Lab Season 9: Make to Know 2:08

3+ y ago2:08

2:08

Pop quiz: Do artists and designers create to express what you know? Or do we make things to get to know ourselves and the world we inhabit? Those are a few of the questions we’ll be grappling with throughout the next season of Change Lab, launching on September 29th, with Lorne’s revelatory interview with Mike Shinoda, artist, musician, ArtCenter a…

1
47 Pasadena City College President Erika Endrijonas on leveling the playing field 52:39

4y ago52:39

52:39

Erika Endrijonas isn’t just an advocate for the pivotal role community colleges play in providing equal access to the American Dream. She is also an alum of Cal State Northridge and direct beneficiary of California’s longstanding commitment to affordable higher education for all. As such, she has an intrinsic understanding of the system’s value to …

1
46 UC Berkeley Chancellor Carol Christ on creating institutional change from within 41:41

4y ago41:41

41:41

There are many apt metaphors for Carol Christ’s achievements. Most of them have to do with breaking things like glass ceilings or barriers or new ground in Victorian literary scholarship. But none of those do justice to the sheer scope of the professional arc Carol has traversed en route to her current role as the first female Chancellor of UC Berk…

1
45 Fuller Seminary President Mark Labberton on the theology of making 52:18

4y ago52:18

52:18

As President of Fuller Theological Seminary (with more than three decades of pastoral experience behind him), Mark Labberton is more than comfortable dwelling in uncertainty. For him, the space of the unknown is at least one way to access the kind of epiphany familiar to those of us on the creative path. Mark is far more than just a big picture thi…

1
44 Dan Brodnitz on democratizing education at LinkedIn Learning 51:59

4y ago51:59

51:59

Dan Brodnitz didn’t set out to join a revolution in online education. He saw himself changing hearts and minds through his novels and poetry. Fate, however, had a different plan for Dan’s talents — but one no less transformative. It placed him at the helm of global content strategy at LinkedIn Learning at a time when the entire world migrated into …

1
43 Occidental College President Harry Elam on finding a roadmap for systemic change in revolutionary theater movements 52:02

4y ago52:02

52:02

Harry Elam and Lorne had only met casually before we sat down to record this episode of Change Lab. Interestingly, they had spent much of their early careers as two ships passing in the San Francisco Bay. Harry pursued his PhD in theater at U.C. Berkeley while Lorne earned the same degree at Stanford. They then traded places and Harry became a thea…

1
42 D’Wayne Edwards on building a pipeline for diversity in sneaker design 52:31

4y ago52:31

52:31

D’Wayne has a lot in common with Michael Jordan, his former boss. His appetite for excellence has propelled him to superlative success. D’Wayne turned his childhood passion for drawing sneakers into a high-flying design career, moving from L.A. Gear to Sketchers and then eventually landing his dream job at Nike’s Jordan Brand. D’Wayne’s designs hav…

1
Change Lab Season 8: Reinventing Education 2:31

4y ago2:31

2:31

As we begin a new year and a new season of change lab, I think most of us are torn between looking forward with hope and looking back with a kind of weary amazement we've prevailed over enormous obstacles in the last year. But as educators and designers, we know all too well that every challenge we meet offers an opportunity for learning and progre…

1
41 Elle Hearns on Leading a Movement for Black Trans Lives 51:41

4+ y ago51:41

51:41

Elle Hearns did not set out to lead movements for social justice. Nor was it her lifelong dream to make the world a better and safer place for Black transgender communities. Growing up in Ohio, she imagined herself as an iconic singer, a chart-topping diva with a voice powerful enough to crack your soul wide open. In the end, she did end up using t…

1
40 Grace Lynne Haynes on painting to redefine darkness and light 47:08

4+ y ago47:08

47:08

Grace Lynne Haynes’ creative calling didn’t announce itself until she set foot in her first college painting class. But from that moment forward, Grace’s artistic destiny came through loud and clear, as unmistakable as a spiritual epiphany. Here’s how she describes it: “It almost reactivated my physical senses. I felt as if colors were brighter, se…

1
Change Lab Presents: Micheaux Mission 1:05:04

4+ y ago1:05:04

1:05:04

Throughout this season, on alternating weeks, we’ll feature a handpicked episode from podcasts by, for or about the Black community. This week we’re excited to share an episode from the Micheaux Mission. Since 2016, Len Webb and Vincent Williams have been challenging themselves to watch and review every Black feature film ever made and released to …

1
39 Cedric Johnson on thinking historically about racial justice and the policing crisis 53:47

4+ y ago53:47

53:47

Last year, Cedric Johnson embedded himself at ArtCenter for a week-long residency. Included in that visit was a talk about the policing crisis as well as a workshop with students exploring what it means to “do good” in the world through art and design. These issues have only become more timely in the intervening year. But as any good historian will…

1
Change Lab Presents: Scene On Radio 41:59

4+ y ago41:59

41:59

Welcome to our third episode of Change Lab Presents Throughout this season, on alternating weeks, we’ll feature a handpicked episode from podcasts by, for or about the Black community. This week we’re excited to share an episode from Scene On Radio, produced by host John Biewen, in conversation with series collaborator Chenjerai Kumanyika. Scene on…

1
38 Kevin Bethune on realizing dreams through design 52:44

4+ y ago52:44

52:44

Like the consummate designer he is -- Kevin Bethune has iterated his own job description. Kevin’s strikingly diverse career-path includes stints as a nuclear engineer at Westinghouse Electric, a financial manager at Nike and strategic design innovator at Boston Consulting group -- all achievements that would stand alone as a high-point on most resu…

1
Change Lab Presents: The Brown Girls Guide to Politics 33:33

4+ y ago33:33

33:33

Welcome to our second episode of Change Lab Presents Throughout this season, on alternating weeks, we’ll feature a series of bonus episodes we’ve handpicked from some of our favorite podcasts by, for or about the Black community. This week, we’re excited to share an episode from The Brown Girl's Guide to Politics from the Wonder Media Network. Host…

1
37 Photographer Barbara DuMetz on bringing diversity to both sides of the camera 51:32

4+ y ago51:32

51:32

Throughout her long and distinguished career as a commercial and fine art photographer, Barbara DuMetz has produced images that feel familiar even if you’re viewing them for the first time. Through her lens, even the most ordinary subject matter has a mythic quality. She has a story to tell that reaches far beyond the frame. That’s her unique creat…

1
Change Lab Presents: The Institute of Black Imagination 1:13:18

4+ y ago1:13:18

1:13:18

Welcome to our first episode of Change Lab Presents Throughout this season, on alternating weeks, we’ll feature a handpicked episode from podcasts by, for or about the Black community. This week we’re excited to share an episode from The Institute of Black Imagination. Hosted by artist, writer, and brand consultant Dario Calmese, the show features …

1
36 Bob Davidson on Rising Above Segregation through Persistence and Resistance 47:31

4+ y ago47:31

47:31

There is something almost poetic about beginning this season, dedicated to amplifying Black voices, with today’s interview with Bob Davidson, who recently stepped down from his post as Chairman of ArtCenter’s Board of Trustees. Bob was instrumental in my decision to assume my current role as President of ArtCenter. And over the past eleven years, o…

1
Change Lab Season 07 Trailer 2:14

5y ago2:14

2:14

On September 23rd, Change Lab will kick off its seventh season, which is dedicated to amplifying Black voices in art, design and activism. Much has changed since our last episode – everything really. So in response to these radically shifting times, this next set of interviews will lean into the special relationship between uncertainty and creativi…

1
35 Graffiti artist Chaz Bojorquez on straddling the street and the Smithsonian 44:48

5y ago44:48

44:48

This episode of Change Lab happens to be the last one of this season and we’ll resume again, as usual, in the fall. And though it wasn’t planned this way, it’s hard to think of an interview more timely or better suited to demonstrating the strength of the creative spirit to transcend expectations, assumptions and challenges than this one with Chaz …

1
34 Get Lit Words Ignite founder Diane Luby Lane on empowering teens through spoken word poetry 52:57

5y ago52:57

52:57

Diane Luby Lane is the founder and executive director of Get Lit-Words Ignite, a leading arts education nonprofit dedicated to increasing literacy and stemming dropout rates among at-risk youth. Her groundbreaking curriculum, fusing classic literature with spoken word performance techniques, has been adopted by schools around the country. In this i…

1
33 Dennis Gassner on the ‘method’ behind his Oscar-winning production design 50:47

5y ago50:47

50:47

Storytelling is Dennis Gassner’s mother tongue. It’s the language – and the context -- through which the ArtCenter alum and legendary production designer processes the ideas of a script, and it fundamentally shapes the worlds his characters inhabit on screen. The six-time Oscar nominee is best known for the technically ambitious and artfully realiz…

1
32 Jessica Helfand on Redefining Design Ethics for the Digital Age 53:21

5y ago53:21

53:21

It’s not an overstatement to say that Jessica Helfand is a renaissance woman of the design world. She co-founded Design Observer, an authoritative digital publication on the state of visual culture and an oracle of wise and thoughtful discourse on design for many of us. She also co-hosts two podcasts: The Observatory and The Design of Business/ The…

1
31 Ini Archibong on Designing Things that Spark Wonder 42:51

5+ y ago42:51

42:51

Ini Archibong is a luxury goods designer. He is also a furniture and immersive experience designer and an ArtCenter alum. This is all accurate and incomplete. So we’ll leave it to Ini to describe his creative practice: “Any of the objects I’m making -- all they are is a potential entry point to wonder.” Ini has been accumulating accolades and prest…

1
30 Documentary Filmmaker Ivy Meeropol on the Active Pursuit of Empathy 51:53

5+ y ago51:53

51:53

Ivy Meeropol is a documentary filmmaker whose emotionally and politically charged films explore social and cultural injustice from the inside out. Her work in TV and film ranges from an exploration of the threat posed by the nuclear power industry to the good, bad and ugly of the American political system, particularly as it relates to her family (…

1
29 Saki Mafundikwa and Sadie Red Wing on Decolonializing Design 49:43

5+ y ago49:43

49:43

Sadie Red Wing and Saki Mafundikwa grew up a world and two generations apart. Sadie was born into the Lakota tribe and also considers herself a citizen of the Spirt Lake Nation of Fort Totten, South Dakota—two longstanding American indigenous communities. Saki, on the other hand, didn’t set foot in the United States until he left his native Zimbabw…

1
28 Recent Alum Vicente Magaña on Solving the Riddle of Mass Transit in California 48:12

5+ y ago48:12

48:12

ArtCenter’s Transportation Design program has a type and, at first glance, Vicente Magaña seems to fit it perfectly. A lifelong obsession with cars? Check. A childhood spent sketching every type of vehicle his imagination could conjure? Check. An insatiable desire to land a job designing supercars and road testing them at top speed? Well…that’s whe…

1
27 IBM Design Chief Phil Gilbert on Leadership as Love 56:47

5+ y ago56:47

56:47

Though Phil Gilbert’s official job title is General Manager of Design at IBM, he’s more often referred to as IBM’s very own design evangelist. But ask him to describe his earliest creative impulses and he’ll tell you without hesitation that he was an entrepreneur from “day one.” It quickly became clear that Phil is all these things and more after s…

1
Encore Episode: Wendy MacNaughton on Road Testing Inspiration 49:59

5+ y ago49:59

49:59

In the lead up to the launch of Change Lab Season 5 on September 25, we’re releasing a series of “Encore” episodes. For this final installment, we caught up with graphic journalist Wendy MacNaughton to discuss her latest creative endeavor: A Honda Element she’s tricked out to function as a mobile studio. The car features a custom-made drafting tabl…

1
Encore Episode: Reconnecting with Jesse Genet on the Growth of Lumi and the Future of E-Commerce 49:44

5+ y ago49:44

49:44

In the lead up to the launch of Change Lab Season 5 on September 25, we’re releasing a series of “Encore” episodes. For this installment, we caught up with designer and entrepreneur Jesse Genet for an update on the big changes she’s undergone in the short time since we last spoke. As the home-shopping revolution continues to redefine the way we sho…

1
Encore Episode: Reconnecting with Jackie Amézquita on Crossing Borders into Parts Known and Unknown 51:31

5+ y ago51:31

51:31

In the lead up to the launch of Change Lab Season 5 on September 25, we’re releasing a series of “Encore” episodes. For this debut installment, we caught up with artist Jackie Amezquita before she embarked on a three-week journey from Southern California through Mexico, primarily on foot, all the way to her native Guatemala. Amezquita refers to thi…

1
26 Father Greg Boyle on Reducing Gang Violence through Radical Kinship at Homeboy Industries 52:21

6y ago52:21

52:21

For thirty years, Father Greg Boyle has made it his mission to heal those afflicted by the epidemic of gang violence. As the founder of Homeboy Industries, Father Greg has been instrumental in turning the tide on violent crime in Los Angeles and beyond. The secret to his success begins with reframing a question. Instead of asking “how can we serve …

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