Finding Our Way
A podcast about navigating the
opportunities and challenges of design leadership
with Jesse James Garrett and Peter Merholz
Recent Episodes
68: AI and Design: Fundamentals and The Future (ft. Dan Saffer)
Show Notes About the episode: Dan Saffer—designer, author, and CMU professor—joins Peter and Jesse to take stock of design education at a moment when everything is in flux. What’s worth teaching when the tools change weekly? How do you define…
LIMINAL—2: Liminal Mindset, Skillset, and Leadership
When the ground is shifting and the destination isn’t clear, how do you lead? Peter and Jesse explore the mindset and skills required to navigate the liminal moment—when old ways have dissolved but new ones haven’t taken shape. From core…
LIMINAL—1: The Liminal Moment
When the old ways no longer hold and the new hasn’t taken shape, you’re in a liminal moment. Peter and Jesse explore what it means to lead through that in-between space—navigating uncertainty without retreating to the past, letting go of…
65: Design—Stuck in the Middle with AI (ft. Christina Wodtke)
Stanford professor Christina Wodtke joins Peter and Jesse in exploring the real contradictions of AI in design and product work: revolutionary prototyping speed versus the need for critical thinking, efficiency gains versus cognitive loss, and loving the technology while hating…
64: The State of Design Orgs—Growth Paths, Quality Standards, and Empowerment Gaps
Peter and Jesse discuss findings from Peter’s survey of 750 UX pracitioners on organizational health. Designers feel good about their work but struggle with quality standards, staffing, and career growth. Senior practitioners are the unhealthiest group. Reporting structure predicts team…
63: AI Means Product Needs UX More than Ever (ft. Christian Crumlish)
Product leader, author, and civic tech veteran Christian Crumlish joins Peter and Jesse to discuss his transition from UX to product management and his experimental AI product manager, Piper Morgan. The conversation explores how product and design roles can be…
62: Design as Differentiator in a World of AI (ft. Andrew Hogan)
Figma’s Head of Insights Andrew Hogan joins Peter and Jesse to explore emerging trends in design practice as AI transforms creative workflows. The conversation examines how role boundaries are blurring across product teams, where AI delivers real value versus hype,…
61: The Paradoxes of Product Discovery (ft. Teresa Torres)
Product Discovery coach, teacher, and author Teresa Torres joins Peter and Jesse to explore the messy reality of organizational change and cross-functional collaboration. She discusses why external coaching has limits, how individual contributors can drive change within resistant systems, and…
60: Making the World– Design Education and Social Change (ft. Lesley-Ann Noel, PhD)
Dr. Lesley-Ann Noel, Dean of Design at OCAD, joins Jesse and Peter to discuss her global journey from Trinidad to Toronto, leading design education through relationships over craft, preparing students for social change, and her vision for decolonizing design while…