Labor Day Weekend Listening

Whether you’ll be spending Labor Day weekend on the beach, road tripping, or just laying on your couch, the long weekend is the perfect opportunity to dive into new podcasts that you may not have time to fit in during the average work week. Design Thinking is becoming a more popular topic in the podcast realm; different episodes and even full channels are dedicated to human-centered methodologies, DesignOps, and dozens of UX and CX design trends. Below are three podcasts that I recommend to anyone looking for some interesting Labor Day weekend listening!

Design Thinking 101: Learning, Leading, and Applying Design

Design Thinking 101 published its first podcast episode in May 2018. As an early source of advocacy for design thinking methodology, this podcast has served as a strong platform for sharing ideas and knowledge that help solve challenges and achieve goals. Each month, host Dawan Stanford interviews guests from various industries who share their insights, lessons, and stories from teaching, practicing, and leading in design thinking. The episodes generally span 40 minutes to an hour and a half, making this a lengthier podcast series compared to the other two mentioned. Overall, Design Thinking 101 is great for anyone wanting a foundation for understanding of the best practices, methods, and challenges within human-centered design and how the industry’s most experienced people innovate their spaces. 

Favorite episode: “Innovation Culture + Future of Work + Designing Value with Marc Bolick - DT101 E93” 

Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or anywhere you get your podcasts.

Technically Speaking with Harrison Wheeler

Technically Speaking is a podcast hosted by Harrison Wheeler that highlights the experiences and stories of BIPOC designers, entrepreneurs, and technologists. Wheeler, a UX Design Manager at LinkedIn, engages with his peers in the design industry through insightful conversations that shed light on more than just technical design components and methods. The episodes, each being less than an hour long, cover a wide range of topics that correlate to UX and design thinking, such as activism, leadership, and career advancement. This podcast is perfect for anyone looking to hear from diverse voices from different design spaces.

Favorite episode: “Chaotic good with Timothy Bardlavens”

Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and the Technically Speaking website.

Design Mind frogcast

Design Mind frogcast is produced by the global design and strategy consultancy, frog. This podcast gives a glimpse into the processes and methods of designers creating up and coming services, products, and experiences around the world. Covering UX culture, design, and best practices, frogcast is part of a larger collection of articles and resources about the latest trends in global design industries. With each interview being an average of about 25 minutes, Design Mind is ideal for quick listening or if you’re looking to get through an entire series on a road trip (or while stuck in traffic driving to the beach this weekend). 

Favorite episode: “Transformation Never Really Ends” 

Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and the frog website.