Podcasts
Feature Creep: Built-in Microwave; The Podcast
With a loose focus on design, and a heavy dose of absurdity, we discuss a variety of topics that we hope you will find relevant to your own life. Or, at least you might find them entertaining. Please enjoy.1
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With your consent, of course. ↩︎
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Liminality
Meg and Ned discuss one of Meg’s favorite concepts - that of liminality and existing happily in liminal spaces. Sometimes they knock you sideways and sometimes you can make them happen on purpose, but either way they’re inevitable and you can learn to enjoy navigating them with us!
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Jon Hamm Can't Mime
Ned and Meg recount several vivid, hilarious, and unlikely dreams for your entertainment. We discuss the qualities and properties of our dreams, including recurring nightmares, whether we dream in color, dreams that make us laugh, and making your own fun when you arrive, no matter how you get there. Thanks for listening!
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Embedding Failure
Ned and Meg discuss the concept of embedding failure, which we read about in one of our favorite books, Pragmatic Thinking and Learning by Andy Hunt (2008, The Pragmatic Bookshelf). In section 7.3, the author discusses approaches to failure. We talk about adding failure deliberately into our own work process/life process to ensure that we continue to learn and grow. Failure is great, come enjoy it with us!
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Mittie Era And Other Family Stories
Our guest Damon tells stories about his family, including several about his beloved Great Grandmother, Mittie Era Blevins. She was a tough lady, and that’s usually a virtue, but sometimes not so great. Take a walk down memory lane, back to when people didn't whine about shit.
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If Meg Were Here
Ned and Chris chat about design and walk a winding path through their own thoughts! Meg wasn’t here for this one but you’ll enjoy it nonetheless. Thanks for listening!
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Consider The Context
Hey! Don’t you tear down my fence, you clueless jerk! In this episode Ned and Meg discuss GK Chesterton’s Fence, the importance of context when making strategic decisions, John Muir, the critical shortage of wigs on Mars, tomato enzymes, nano-bio-bots, Trent Reznor and open source phones. It’s a real hoot! Join us.
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Somebody’s Going To Die
The one where we discuss making a game about ethics, or something. We discuss the possibility of creating an ethics game where the classic conundrums in moral philosophy become the mechanics of the game itself. You have to make choices about trollies, organ transplants, whatever -- either way in this game, somebody’s gonna die!
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Design Volume 4
... And the discussion from Design Volume 3 continues! Listen as we round out our conversation about design principles and challenges. We reach stunning final conclusions and settle the following matters once and for all, no need to ever think about them again: adapting to technology, being well rounded, keeping a holistic perspective, being multidisciplinary, understanding how much you don’t know, uniqueness, Tesla trucks, and butts. Thanks for listening!
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Design Volume 3
Wherein Ned, Meg, and Chris discuss design challenges and guiding principles. Thrilling topics include the necessity for specificity—say that a few times fast—tight deadlines, moral and financial expediency, balancing thinking and doing, imposing and thriving within limits, and staying relevant. We had so much to talk about we had to split it into two episodes, so be sure to listen to Design Volume 4 next. Super Great!
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Lifetime Supply Of Things You Don’t Need
Wherein we discuss having to deal with the unique nightmare of owning a lifetime supply of stuff you probably never even need once.
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Design Volume 2
We have four folks crammed into this podcast about design, including three people who work in design and one who is just real opinionated about things! We talk about the evolving process of design, spaceships, profit motives in design, decision fatigue, and the Oregon Trail. Guests who are becoming regulars include Damon and Chris, plus Ned and Meg keep showing up cause they’re supposed to be steering this thing.
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How to Support the Troops in the War on Xmas
For once, it actually starts with a real live anticommunist conspiracy. Yeah, for real! And then Bill O’Reilly barges in. We have so many questions like, how do we reconcile this insanity, who do we support in the war, when are they excommunicating Starfucks? How do people who love Christmas and obsessively support troops of any kind reconcile this worldview? Happy Whatever, audience!
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Absurdism: Video Game Edition
Classic games are mostly absurd! We talk about video games and how fun and weird they are. It’s insane, for example, how popular Pac Man became. Then there’s this Italian plumber, but wait, he doesn’t fix a thing, he just travels through pipes, and is super athletic and kills weird shit? Got it so far, plus Mario's got something about mushrooms and that reminds us of Psychonauts, the best game ever, probably.
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Words That Have Been Ruined for Me, Forever
The intrepid Ned and Meg explore words that we have to hate now. Highlights include the perennially creepy but formerly benign word ‘moist’, the recent torture inflicted upon the word ‘literally’, plus regional variations on architecture and what we call our houses.
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Inaugural Space Health Conference 2019
BONUS EPISODE! Ned and Meg go to the Inaugural Space Health Conference (yay!) in San Francisco (boo!) and we have a great but exhausting time. This episode was recorded after we got home from a road trip over three days and back so forgive us if we sound a little subdued. We learned so much! Space is great!
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Design Volume 1
For our first podcast, Ned and Meg talk shit about design and why we like (and hate) it. We talk about our favorite designers and what we’ve learned, plus feedback loop on product design, economies of scale, and cell phones! Ned and Meg are super interested in design that gets used in space, including revising existing design to be more conscious of human interactivity and the experience of using the object or process.
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The Trailer
It's here! The summer blockbuster you've been waiting for! Just kidding, it's Feature Creep: Built-in Microwave and it's an absurdist foray into design, storytelling, and science stuff. Give us a listen and share us with your weird friend.