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Scratching the Surface

Scratching the Surface

Jarrett Fuller 318 episodes Latest May 27, 2026

Scratching the Surface is a podcast about design, theory, and creative practice. Hosted by Jarrett Fuller, each episode features wide-ranging conversations with designers, architects, writers, academics, artists, and theorists about how design shapes culture. Previous guests include architecture critic Paul Goldberger, MoMA design curator Paola Antonelli, architect and OMA partner Reinier de Graaf, Pentagram partner Michael Bierut, RISD President Rosanne Somerson, writer Kurt Andersen, and designer Jessica Helfand. Featured in Architectural Digest, Dezeen, Curbed, and Eye. New episodes every other Wednesday.

Episodes

30. Abbott Miller (Originally aired 5/31/17) Jun 10, 2026 00:58:31 We're taking the summer off and rebroadcasting some of our favorite episodes in the archives over the next few months. First up is our 2017 conversation with Pentagram partner Abbott Miller! We'll be back with new episodes in September! — Abbott Miller is a designer, writer, and a partner at Pentagram where he leads a team designing identities, exhibitions, and books. Before Pentagram, Abbott ran
290. Giorgia Lupi May 27, 2026 01:00:26 Giorgia Lupi is an information designer and partner at Pentagram. Her work synthesizes data and storytelling for clients such as Google, IBM, Gates Foundation, and the New York Times. She’s the author of Speak Data with Phillip Cox, and previously published Dear Data, Observer, Collect, Draw, and the picture book This is Me and Only Me. In this conversation, Jarrett and Giorgia talk about the evol
289. Marco Ferrari May 12, 2026 01:04:23 Marco Ferrari is the co-founder of Studio Folder, an agency for visual design and spatial research based in Milan, and the head of the Information Design program at Design Academy Eindhoven. His work focuses on information design and data visualization, the politics of data collection, and visualizing borders and climate. In this conversation, Jarrett and Marco talk about Studio Folder’s setup tha
288. Alan Ricks & Sierra Bainbridge Apr 29, 2026 01:01:19 Alan Ricks and Sierra Bainbridge are founding members of Model of Architecture Serving Society (MASS). Alan, an architect and co-executive director, and Sierra, director of the Landscape Studio and Abundant Futures Lab, are co-authors of the new book, Seeking Abundance: Design, Ecology, and a Flourishing Planet, that looks at MASS’s work across three projects as examples of multidisciplinary colla
287. Jeremy Till & Tatjana Schneider Apr 15, 2026 00:57:23 Jeremy Till and Tatjana Schneider are architects, educators, writers, and researchers. With their research collective Mould, they are co-authors of the new book, Architecture is Climate that re-examines architecture as a practice deeply connected to climate, politics, economics, and social justice. Jeremy was previously the head of Central Saint Martins and Tatjana is head of the Institute for His
286. Heidi Korsavong & Benjamin Critton Apr 1, 2026 01:11:15 Heidi Korsavong and Benjamin Critton are the founders of Marta, a Los Angeles-based, globally engaged art gallery. Founded in 2019, Marta makes space for “artists to experiment with the utility of design and for designers to explore the abandonment of function.” In this conversation, Jarrett talks with Heidi and Benjamin about art that lives between disciplines, the curatorial ideas that anchor th
285. Giovanna Borasi Mar 18, 2026 01:01:44 Giovanna Borasi is an architect, writer, and curator. She’s currently the director of the Canadian Centre for Architecture, where’s she previous held the positions of Chief Curator, Curator of Contemporary Architecture, and Associate Director of Programs. In all these roles, her work often seeks to challenge the conventional definition of the architect. In this conversation, Jarrett and Giovanna t
284. Walter Hood Mar 4, 2026 01:01:12 Walter Hood is a landscape architect, architect, artist, and urbanist. He’s the creative director and founder of Hood Design Studio in Oakland, CA and the former chair of the department of landscape architecture at University of California, Berkeley. He’s the author of Blues & Jazz Landscapes, Urban Diaries, and the co-editor of Black Landscapes Matter. In this conversation, Jarrett and Walter tal
283. Oliver Munday Feb 18, 2026 01:03:25 Oliver Munday is a graphic designer and writer. His new book, Head of Household, is a collection of short stories that explore the conditions of modern fatherhood. Perhaps best known for his book cover designs, Oliver is currently the executive director of art and design at Doubleday, previously designed covers for Knopf and Farrar, Straus & Giroux, and served as associate art director of The Atla
282. Sonja Stummerer & Martin Hablesreiter Feb 4, 2026 01:02:04 Sonja Stummerer and Martin Hablesreiter operate under the name Honey & Bunny. Their work moves between art, photography, performance, video, and writing to explore our relationship to food. With backgrounds in architecture, they are the authors of the books Food Design and Eat Design and the directors of the film Food Design: The Film. In this episode, Jarrett talks with Sonja and Martin about the
281. Otto von Busch Jan 21, 2026 00:59:43 Otto von Busch is a designer and professor of Integrated Design at Parsons School of Design. He has a background in arts, craft, design, and theory and his work focuses on how making practices can mobilize community and social activism. His new book, The Design Comedy, repackages Dante’s to explore the broken promises of design, the problems in academia, and the role of design theory. In this conv
280. Sam Valenti Jan 7, 2026 00:54:04 Sam Valenti IV is the founder of Ghostly International, a music label and art company he founded in 1999 and known for experimental electronic artists like Matthew Dear, Tycho, and Galcher Lustwerk. On the occasion of Ghostly’s 25th anniversary, they just released We’ll Never Stop Living This Way: A Ghostly International Catalogue, a large coffee-table book celebrating the label’s artists, designe

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