Meet the some of the storytellers behind shows on the SURROUND Podcast Network.
Amy Devers
Host of Clever
What’s the first podcast you fell in love with?
Love and Radio – this episode about a college student who robbed banks with a getaway bicycle is the one that changed my life. It was 2014 and I was driving from LA to San Francisco. The story and cinematic production quality completely overtook me. There in the car, driving around the same area as the crime, the experience was both immersive and transcendent.
Who is a dream guest for your show?
To be honest, almost all of my guests so far have been a dream, but if we’re putting requests out to the universe… I would love to talk to Es Devlin, Questlove, Roman Mars, Emory Douglas, Neri Oxman… I could go on…
What’s the last podcast episode you listened to?
It was either Bodies or Articles of Interest – both amazing shows! Missed Fortune is another one that really got me, and before that Wild Boys.
What’s a piece of design or architecture that inspires you?
Oh man, that’s like asking “Which wildflower in the field was your favorite?” It’s too many to list, and yet it changes every day. I do know that I have a stronger connection to the work if I know the story & human behind it (hence, Clever.) And I am ceaselessly inspired by my students at RISD – I feel so lucky to be in the greenhouse of creativity!
Would you rather travel 50 years forward or back in time?
Hmm… I’m going to say back, that way I can plan my vacation. In 1973, I can see myself driving around in a Plymouth Fury, going to see live shows by Marvin Gaye, Iggy and the Stooges, Big Star…
Josh Rubin & Evan Orensten
Hosts of Design Tangents
What’s the first podcast you fell in love with?
We’re rarely focused on ourselves, but our first podcast launched in 2005 – it was a video podcast – and it ran for 12 years. We are very proud of it. Most of the content is evergreen, and you can watch it on our site. We’re also huge fans of Twenty Thousand Hertz.
Who is a dream guest for your show?
RM, the lead singer for BTS, is top of our list because he’s a passionate collector of Korean modern art and really creating awareness for it with a new generation. More dream guests: Honey Dijon. Neri Oxman. Douglas Friedman. Theaster Gates. Laurie Anderson.
What’s the last podcast episode you listened to?
We listen to NPR’s Up First every day. NPR’s All Songs Considered, Barriers to Entry and Twenty Thousand Hertz are all weekly listens.
What’s a piece of design or architecture that inspires you?
We’re not good at naming one thing, as you can see! Saarinen’s Terminal 5 holds a special place in our hearts. Museu de Arte Contemporânea de Niterói in Rio de Janeiro by Oscar Neimeyer makes us swoon. We found a pair of Paul Kjaerholm PK 31 chairs in Stockholm twenty four years ago and we’re in love with the materials, form and patina. They’re probably the one thing we (and our dog) can’t live without.
Would you rather travel 50 years forward or back in time?
Our tagline at COOL HUNTING has always been “Informing the Future” so this is an easy answer for us. History is important but we’re consistently focused on what’s next.
Erika Eitland and Eunice Wong
Hosts of Inhabit
What’s the first podcast you fell in love with?
Erika: Serial, like everybody else in the world. I literally listened to it as I was walking to and from my PhD buildings every day.
Eunice: Same, duh. It was the first podcast where I was like, Oh podcasts can be interesting.
Who is a dream guest for your show?
Erika: Quinta Brunson. I would love to talk healthy schools in Philly with her.
Eunice: ^^^^ That will happen one day. For me, it’s Domee Shi. She made the Pixar short Bao and Turning Red, which is set in Toronto. I mean, Bao could be my grandma’s kitchen. The way she creates cities and worlds is like the way we design. If we do that with our designs, we are doing it right.
What’s the last podcast episode you listened to?
Erika: Lovett or Leave It, “The Age of Gwynnocence.” I love Rant Wheel and just the mix of political and pop culture. It inspires me to mix science and joy. You can mix both and deliver a potent message.
Eunice: Mine is silly: “A Ghost with a Goatee” on The Bald and the Beautiful. They’re my two favorite drag queens, and they have the funniest relationship and it’s so authentic. It cracks me up. It feels like I’m their third best friend.
What’s a piece of design or architecture that inspires you?
Erika: The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. It was before its time and it’s just one of these places where there is history and a sense of community in every space. I’ve probably been in that space 50 times—it’s where I would go for refuge in a peaceful, biophilic space.
Eunice: Anything by Virgil Abloh. I feel so lucky I got to see the exhibit in Chicago before he passed in 2019. The way he talks about class, social media, music—he touches every facet of what good and important design is.
Would you rather travel 50 years forward or back in time?
Erika: I feel optimistic. I have faith in the younger generation. I would be terrified to go into the future, because AI terrifies me, but I like to think that as we keep fighting, the world will still be here and maybe be even better.
Eunice: Will there be a world 50 years from now? Actually, I love my gizmos and gadgets—the future.
