"Lately, I've been thinking about..." Thu, 05 Mar 2026 10:52:44 -0500 https://www.buzzsprout.com/1910401 en-us © 2026 "Lately, I've been thinking about..." yes f49c4dd0-c0b0-5540-ac26-b619f563db05 David Dylan Thomas episodic true Buzzsprout (https://www.buzzsprout.com) David Dylan Thomas https://storage.buzzsprout.com/gx97lalmbf9a4zids9vhdamzzi5k?.jpg "Lately, I've been thinking about..." pauli reese - Painting pauli reese - Painting In the Season Two finale I talk to (un)common good media founder and podcast host pauli reese about painting and in particular how it invites us to experience the divine. We get into our checkered evangelical upbringings and our complicated journeys out of them. We also talk about what it means to have private versus public experiences of engaging with the spiritual and much, much more.

Content from this episode:

More info about Black Bottom tribe
Balikbayan box episode of 99% Invisible

Our intro and outro music is "Humbug" by Crowander

]]> In the Season Two finale I talk to (un)common good media founder and podcast host pauli reese about painting and in particular how it invites us to experience the divine. We get into our checkered evangelical upbringings and our complicated journeys out of them. We also talk about what it means to have private versus public experiences of engaging with the spiritual and much, much more.

Content from this episode:

More info about Black Bottom tribe
Balikbayan box episode of 99% Invisible

Our intro and outro music is "Humbug" by Crowander

]]> David Dylan Thomas Buzzsprout-12631979 Wed, 10 May 2023 08:00:00 -0400 4706 full false Torrey Podmajersky - Existential Dread Torrey Podmajersky - Existential Dread In this episode we talk to ux writer and Strategic Writing for UX author Torrey Podmajersky about existential dread and, in particular, the dread that comes from having the same conversation over and over and over and over...

We get into how sometimes these conversations are practice and how sometimes they're ways to avoid the *real* conversation we have to have if we ever stop having this conversation over and over, the ways we try to define progress, why do some people prefer authoritarianism, and much, much, more.

Recommended content from this episode

Website
Real Rent Duwamish

Movies
RRR
Everything Everywhere All at Once

Books
The Dawn of Everything by David Graeber and David Wengrow

Podcast
Content Strategy Insights

Our intro and outro music is "Humbug" by Crowander

]]> In this episode we talk to ux writer and Strategic Writing for UX author Torrey Podmajersky about existential dread and, in particular, the dread that comes from having the same conversation over and over and over and over...

We get into how sometimes these conversations are practice and how sometimes they're ways to avoid the *real* conversation we have to have if we ever stop having this conversation over and over, the ways we try to define progress, why do some people prefer authoritarianism, and much, much, more.

Recommended content from this episode

Website
Real Rent Duwamish

Movies
RRR
Everything Everywhere All at Once

Books
The Dawn of Everything by David Graeber and David Wengrow

Podcast
Content Strategy Insights

Our intro and outro music is "Humbug" by Crowander

]]> David Dylan Thomas Buzzsprout-12127659 Wed, 03 May 2023 10:00:00 -0400 3547 full false Sheryl Cababa - Ube Sheryl Cababa - Ube In this episode we speak to Sheryl Cababa, Chief Design Officer at Substantial and author of the new book, Closing the Loop: Systems Thinking for Designers, about ube, the Filipino flavor that has been appropriated by American dining and all that entails. We get into how responsibility for change gets pushed down to individuals and away from corporations, how identity gets mixed up in the diaspora experience, the difficulty of framing major systemic change in a way that actually gets shit done, and much, much more.

Recommended content from this episode:

A Down Home Meal for These Difficult Times - book by Meron Hadero

Our intro and outro music is "Humbug" by Crowander

]]> In this episode we speak to Sheryl Cababa, Chief Design Officer at Substantial and author of the new book, Closing the Loop: Systems Thinking for Designers, about ube, the Filipino flavor that has been appropriated by American dining and all that entails. We get into how responsibility for change gets pushed down to individuals and away from corporations, how identity gets mixed up in the diaspora experience, the difficulty of framing major systemic change in a way that actually gets shit done, and much, much more.

Recommended content from this episode:

A Down Home Meal for These Difficult Times - book by Meron Hadero

Our intro and outro music is "Humbug" by Crowander

]]> David Dylan Thomas Buzzsprout-12104874 Wed, 26 Apr 2023 10:00:00 -0400 3735 full false Saskia Videler - Globalization Saskia Videler - Globalization In this episode we speak to Saskia Videler, Content Architect at City of Antwerp, about globalization. We discuss what it means to look at things from other cultures' points of view, how we treat refugees, the cost of the English language taking over the world, and much, much, more.

Referenced in this episode

Workshop
Stopping the Cycle of Oppression

Book
Closing the Loop by Sheryl Cababa

Twitter
Saskia Videler

Our intro and outro music is "Humbug" by Crowander

]]> In this episode we speak to Saskia Videler, Content Architect at City of Antwerp, about globalization. We discuss what it means to look at things from other cultures' points of view, how we treat refugees, the cost of the English language taking over the world, and much, much, more.

Referenced in this episode

Workshop
Stopping the Cycle of Oppression

Book
Closing the Loop by Sheryl Cababa

Twitter
Saskia Videler

Our intro and outro music is "Humbug" by Crowander

]]> David Dylan Thomas Buzzsprout-12033858 Wed, 19 Apr 2023 10:00:00 -0400 3385 full false Dayana Kibilds - Barriers to Education Dayana Kibilds - Barriers to Education In this episode we speak to Dayana Kibilds, Strategy Director at Ologie, about different barriers to higher education beyond sheer cost and into areas of communication. How hard is it to even know how to apply if you don't read at a graduate level already? We get into the very assumptions baked into higher ed, why it isn't always a great idea to emulate the big players in a space, and how major demographic shifts should also be shifting our approach to recruiting students yet somehow...aren't.

Resource from this episode: Rating colleges by economic mobility

Our intro and outro music is "Humbug" by Crowander

]]> In this episode we speak to Dayana Kibilds, Strategy Director at Ologie, about different barriers to higher education beyond sheer cost and into areas of communication. How hard is it to even know how to apply if you don't read at a graduate level already? We get into the very assumptions baked into higher ed, why it isn't always a great idea to emulate the big players in a space, and how major demographic shifts should also be shifting our approach to recruiting students yet somehow...aren't.

Resource from this episode: Rating colleges by economic mobility

Our intro and outro music is "Humbug" by Crowander

]]> David Dylan Thomas Buzzsprout-12011387 Wed, 12 Apr 2023 10:00:00 -0400 3190 full false Dana Rock - Awe Dana Rock - Awe In this episode we speak to Dana Rock, director of experience design at Pickle Jar Communications about awe; what experiences induce it and what it means for us going forward. We get into the notion of building a web that highlights sharing experiences over sharing opinions, how WEIRD our notions of self are, and the very nature of consciousness itself.

Recommended content from this episode:

Books
How to Change Your Mind by Michael Pollan
Social: Why Our Brains Are Wired to Connect by Matthew D. Lieberman
Why Buddhism Is True by Robert Wright
The User Illusion by Tor Nørretranders
Rebel Ideas by Matthew Syed
The WEIRDist People in the World by Joseph Henrich
Speaking and Being by Kübra Gümüsay

Our intro and outro music is "Humbug" by Crowander



]]> In this episode we speak to Dana Rock, director of experience design at Pickle Jar Communications about awe; what experiences induce it and what it means for us going forward. We get into the notion of building a web that highlights sharing experiences over sharing opinions, how WEIRD our notions of self are, and the very nature of consciousness itself.

Recommended content from this episode:

Books
How to Change Your Mind by Michael Pollan
Social: Why Our Brains Are Wired to Connect by Matthew D. Lieberman
Why Buddhism Is True by Robert Wright
The User Illusion by Tor Nørretranders
Rebel Ideas by Matthew Syed
The WEIRDist People in the World by Joseph Henrich
Speaking and Being by Kübra Gümüsay

Our intro and outro music is "Humbug" by Crowander



]]> David Dylan Thomas Buzzsprout-11994739 Wed, 05 Apr 2023 10:00:00 -0400 3070 full false Amy Grace Wells - Expectations Amy Grace Wells - Expectations In this episode we speak to content designer Amy Grace Wells about expectations. Diagnosed only a few years ago with ADHD, Amy is reconsidering the expectations she and others have of herself. We get into how our expectations form, how identity and power influence expectations, and when "should" is and isn't a useful concept.

Our intro and outro music is "Humbug" by Crowander


]]> In this episode we speak to content designer Amy Grace Wells about expectations. Diagnosed only a few years ago with ADHD, Amy is reconsidering the expectations she and others have of herself. We get into how our expectations form, how identity and power influence expectations, and when "should" is and isn't a useful concept.

Our intro and outro music is "Humbug" by Crowander


]]> David Dylan Thomas Buzzsprout-11935120 Wed, 29 Mar 2023 10:00:00 -0400 2905 full false Malaika Carpenter - Leadership Malaika Carpenter - Leadership On the first episode of our second season, we speak live in front of a studio audience to writer, artist, speaker, and content strategist Malaika Carpenter about leadership and all the different ways we can define it. We also get into Indigenous values, who gets to be defined as a leader, and...you know...slavery.

Recommended content from this episode:

Movies/TV
Homicide: Life on the Street

Our intro and outro music is "Humbug" by Crowander

]]> On the first episode of our second season, we speak live in front of a studio audience to writer, artist, speaker, and content strategist Malaika Carpenter about leadership and all the different ways we can define it. We also get into Indigenous values, who gets to be defined as a leader, and...you know...slavery.

Recommended content from this episode:

Movies/TV
Homicide: Life on the Street

Our intro and outro music is "Humbug" by Crowander

]]> David Dylan Thomas Buzzsprout-11920707 Thu, 22 Dec 2022 10:00:00 -0500 2562 full false Marta Rusek - Sex Marta Rusek - Sex Content warning: This episode deals explicitly with sexual violence, especially from the 23 minute mark to the 28 minute mark and from the 54 minute mark to the end.

We talk about sex with Marta Rusek, who identifies as autistic, bisexual, and passionate about ending domestic violence. How do we learn about sex? Why are we so afraid of it? What does a sex-positive world look like? And much, much more.

Referenced in this episode

Twitter
Dr. Timaree Schmit

Movies
The Fifth Element
Auntie Mame
Silence of the Lambs
Basic Instinct
Out of Sight
The Last Duel
13th
To Kill a Mockingbird

TV
Euphoria
Bridgerton
When They See Us

Video
Transfigurations - Gender Outlaws in the Bible

Theater
To Kill a Mockingbird

Our intro and outro music is "Humbug" by Crowander

]]> Content warning: This episode deals explicitly with sexual violence, especially from the 23 minute mark to the 28 minute mark and from the 54 minute mark to the end.

We talk about sex with Marta Rusek, who identifies as autistic, bisexual, and passionate about ending domestic violence. How do we learn about sex? Why are we so afraid of it? What does a sex-positive world look like? And much, much more.

Referenced in this episode

Twitter
Dr. Timaree Schmit

Movies
The Fifth Element
Auntie Mame
Silence of the Lambs
Basic Instinct
Out of Sight
The Last Duel
13th
To Kill a Mockingbird

TV
Euphoria
Bridgerton
When They See Us

Video
Transfigurations - Gender Outlaws in the Bible

Theater
To Kill a Mockingbird

Our intro and outro music is "Humbug" by Crowander

]]> David Dylan Thomas Buzzsprout-10720498 Fri, 17 Jun 2022 08:00:00 -0400 4532 full false Melissa Eggleston - Trauma Melissa Eggleston - Trauma Content warning: This episode contains discussions of trauma and suicidality. Listener discretion is advised. If you or someone you know has concerns about suicide, one resource is the National Suicide Hotline which you can learn more about here: https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/

In this episode we talk to designer, researcher, business owner, and mom Melissa Eggleston about trauma. How should it inform design? What is a B-Corp and how can they make it easier to for companies to behave in a way that is more trauma-informed? How do we need to attend to our own trauma before we can help others? And much, much more.

Recommended content from this episode:

Books
Deep Work  by Cal Newport
The Empathetic Workplace  by Katharine Manning

Websites
Solutions Journalism Network story tracker
Good News Network
BBC News
Al Jazeera
Resources for Trauma-Informed UX Design
AO3 (Archive of Our Own)
B Lab Global Site

Podcasts
Brené Brown with Dr. Shawn Ginwright on The Four Pivots: Reimagining Justice, Reimagining Ourselves

Movies
The Breakfast Club

Our intro and outro music is "Humbug" by Crowander

]]> Content warning: This episode contains discussions of trauma and suicidality. Listener discretion is advised. If you or someone you know has concerns about suicide, one resource is the National Suicide Hotline which you can learn more about here: https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/

In this episode we talk to designer, researcher, business owner, and mom Melissa Eggleston about trauma. How should it inform design? What is a B-Corp and how can they make it easier to for companies to behave in a way that is more trauma-informed? How do we need to attend to our own trauma before we can help others? And much, much more.

Recommended content from this episode:

Books
Deep Work  by Cal Newport
The Empathetic Workplace  by Katharine Manning

Websites
Solutions Journalism Network story tracker
Good News Network
BBC News
Al Jazeera
Resources for Trauma-Informed UX Design
AO3 (Archive of Our Own)
B Lab Global Site

Podcasts
Brené Brown with Dr. Shawn Ginwright on The Four Pivots: Reimagining Justice, Reimagining Ourselves

Movies
The Breakfast Club

Our intro and outro music is "Humbug" by Crowander

]]> David Dylan Thomas Buzzsprout-10748552 Fri, 10 Jun 2022 08:00:00 -0400 3874 full false Maurice Gaston - Mentorship Maurice Gaston - Mentorship On this episode we speak to software developer and my own creative partner (and inspiration for this podcast) Maurice Gaston about mentorship. How do we do it? How does it differ from leadership or management or coaching? When do we feel comfortable in the role? And much, much more.

Recommended content from this episode

Web series
Developing Philly

Events
BarCamp Philly

TV
Ted Lasso

Video
The Anti-Disney Messages of… Disney Movies

Our intro and outro music is "Humbug" by Crowander

]]> On this episode we speak to software developer and my own creative partner (and inspiration for this podcast) Maurice Gaston about mentorship. How do we do it? How does it differ from leadership or management or coaching? When do we feel comfortable in the role? And much, much more.

Recommended content from this episode

Web series
Developing Philly

Events
BarCamp Philly

TV
Ted Lasso

Video
The Anti-Disney Messages of… Disney Movies

Our intro and outro music is "Humbug" by Crowander

]]> David Dylan Thomas Buzzsprout-10727783 Fri, 03 Jun 2022 08:00:00 -0400 4976 full false Amy Santee - Capitalism Amy Santee - Capitalism In this episode we talk to UX career coach Amy Santee about capitalism. How we define it as an exploitative, extractive system. The lack of a good word for making money without screwing people over. The propaganda supporting capitalism. And what we can do to fight it.

Recommended content from this episode

People
Kim Cerna - the designer I talked about

Organizations
Tech Workers Coalition
Collective Action in Tech (list of tech unions)

Articles
"NY Times tech workers win largest tech union in United States" - Liberation

Books
Goliath by Matt Stoller
Emergent Strategy by adrienne maree brown

Our intro and outro music is "Humbug" by Crowander

]]> In this episode we talk to UX career coach Amy Santee about capitalism. How we define it as an exploitative, extractive system. The lack of a good word for making money without screwing people over. The propaganda supporting capitalism. And what we can do to fight it.

Recommended content from this episode

People
Kim Cerna - the designer I talked about

Organizations
Tech Workers Coalition
Collective Action in Tech (list of tech unions)

Articles
"NY Times tech workers win largest tech union in United States" - Liberation

Books
Goliath by Matt Stoller
Emergent Strategy by adrienne maree brown

Our intro and outro music is "Humbug" by Crowander

]]> David Dylan Thomas Buzzsprout-10606959 Fri, 27 May 2022 08:00:00 -0400 2987 full false Cassini Nazir - Curiosity Cassini Nazir - Curiosity In this episode we talk to University of North Texas  interaction design professor Cassini Nazir about curiosity. It's (literal) roots in care, how it affects how we think about the war in Ukraine, the defiant ingenuity of the targets of oppression, the pros and cons of empathy, and much, much, more.

Recommended content from this episode 

Articles
Articles about our poor memory of weather (shifting baseline syndrome)
Another article about shifting baseline syndrome
Don Norman - Why I Don’t Believe in Empathic Design  

TV
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier

Our intro and outro music is "Humbug" by Crowander



]]> In this episode we talk to University of North Texas  interaction design professor Cassini Nazir about curiosity. It's (literal) roots in care, how it affects how we think about the war in Ukraine, the defiant ingenuity of the targets of oppression, the pros and cons of empathy, and much, much, more.

Recommended content from this episode 

Articles
Articles about our poor memory of weather (shifting baseline syndrome)
Another article about shifting baseline syndrome
Don Norman - Why I Don’t Believe in Empathic Design  

TV
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier

Our intro and outro music is "Humbug" by Crowander



]]> David Dylan Thomas Buzzsprout-10562690 Fri, 20 May 2022 08:00:00 -0400 3244 full false Erika Wohlstadter - Strangeness Erika Wohlstadter - Strangeness In this episode we talk to Erika Wohlstadter, Principal Researcher at Think Company,, psychobilly upright bassist, sewist, costumer, queer spec fic writer, and so much more about strangeness. What attracts us to it? How do we hide or leverage the strangeness in ourselves? How is normality a political tool? What are the consequences of strangeness? And how is anarchy not what you probably think it is?

Recommended content from this episode:

Movie
Passing

Video
Glamrou on queer identity and quantum physics

Book
Design Justice by Sasha Constanza-Chock



]]> In this episode we talk to Erika Wohlstadter, Principal Researcher at Think Company,, psychobilly upright bassist, sewist, costumer, queer spec fic writer, and so much more about strangeness. What attracts us to it? How do we hide or leverage the strangeness in ourselves? How is normality a political tool? What are the consequences of strangeness? And how is anarchy not what you probably think it is?

Recommended content from this episode:

Movie
Passing

Video
Glamrou on queer identity and quantum physics

Book
Design Justice by Sasha Constanza-Chock



]]> David Dylan Thomas Buzzsprout-10608649 Fri, 13 May 2022 08:00:00 -0400 3722 full false Erika Wohlstadter - Strangeness Erika Wohlstadter - Strangeness Psychobilly bassist, UX researcher, and all around brilliant thinker Erika Wohlstadter and I talk about strangeness in all its forms: how and when we choose to be strange and when or if to hide it and the political and personal implications of those choices.  How this can play out for folks living with autism, how it affects our willingness to perform onstage, and questioning even the concept of "normal". Oh, and also I get an education into what "anarchy" really means.

Recommended content from this episode:

Movies/Video
Passing
Gender identity: 'What quantum physics taught me about my queer identity' - Amrou Al-Kadhi (AKA Glamrou)

Book
Design Justice: Community-Led Practices to Build the Worlds We Need

]]> Psychobilly bassist, UX researcher, and all around brilliant thinker Erika Wohlstadter and I talk about strangeness in all its forms: how and when we choose to be strange and when or if to hide it and the political and personal implications of those choices.  How this can play out for folks living with autism, how it affects our willingness to perform onstage, and questioning even the concept of "normal". Oh, and also I get an education into what "anarchy" really means.

Recommended content from this episode:

Movies/Video
Passing
Gender identity: 'What quantum physics taught me about my queer identity' - Amrou Al-Kadhi (AKA Glamrou)

Book
Design Justice: Community-Led Practices to Build the Worlds We Need

]]> David Dylan Thomas Buzzsprout-10518822 Fri, 13 May 2022 08:00:00 -0400 3722 full false Neil Bardhan - How Do I Work? Neil Bardhan - How Do I Work? In this episode I talk to storyteller, connector, and comedian Neil Bardhan about how we work from scheduling to values to measuring productivity to reducing anxiety and all of the things that a COVID-induced work from home environment forces us to think about. How do we manage ourselves when we have a fair amount of freedom? What does it mean for our jobs to be, to some extent, being ourselves? And why are salary negotiations a terrible way to begin a working relationship? All this and more.

Books mentioned:

Make Time by Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky
Deep Work by Cal Newport

]]> In this episode I talk to storyteller, connector, and comedian Neil Bardhan about how we work from scheduling to values to measuring productivity to reducing anxiety and all of the things that a COVID-induced work from home environment forces us to think about. How do we manage ourselves when we have a fair amount of freedom? What does it mean for our jobs to be, to some extent, being ourselves? And why are salary negotiations a terrible way to begin a working relationship? All this and more.

Books mentioned:

Make Time by Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky
Deep Work by Cal Newport

]]> David Dylan Thomas Buzzsprout-10400641 Fri, 06 May 2022 08:00:00 -0400 3079 full false Erika Hall - The Business of Design Erika Hall - The Business of Design Mule Design co-founder and Just Enough Research and Conversational Design author Erika Hall and I chat about how a lack of understanding about the business aspects of their design works can lead designers to become the tools of extractive, unethical practices. We get into how this has played out in her own work and how Mule makes decisions about what work they will and will not do (and also why they're called "Mule"), why some companies choose not to have a sales team, the value of constraints in design, and lots, lots more.

Recommended books from this episode:

Designing Business by Clement Mok
How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie
Nicomachean Ethics, Book VIII by Aristotle (where he talks about friendship)
Putting the Rabbit in the Hat audiobook by Brian Cox

Our intro and outro music is "Humbug" by Crowander

]]> Mule Design co-founder and Just Enough Research and Conversational Design author Erika Hall and I chat about how a lack of understanding about the business aspects of their design works can lead designers to become the tools of extractive, unethical practices. We get into how this has played out in her own work and how Mule makes decisions about what work they will and will not do (and also why they're called "Mule"), why some companies choose not to have a sales team, the value of constraints in design, and lots, lots more.

Recommended books from this episode:

Designing Business by Clement Mok
How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie
Nicomachean Ethics, Book VIII by Aristotle (where he talks about friendship)
Putting the Rabbit in the Hat audiobook by Brian Cox

Our intro and outro music is "Humbug" by Crowander

]]> David Dylan Thomas Buzzsprout-10386485 Tue, 05 Apr 2022 21:00:00 -0400 4310 full false Kevin Smokler - Consequences Kevin Smokler - Consequences On our pilot episode, author and documentarian Kevin Smokler and I talk about consequences. We also get into owning versus sharing, being ourselves, and how to think about restorative justice in a punishment-oriented world.

Recommended content from this episode:

Books
The Sum of Us by Heather McGhee
The Half Has Never Been Told by Edward E. Baptist

Movies/TV
Exterminate All the Brutes
The Work

Video
"Restorative Welcome and Reentry Circle"

Our intro and outro music is "Humbug" by Crowander

]]> On our pilot episode, author and documentarian Kevin Smokler and I talk about consequences. We also get into owning versus sharing, being ourselves, and how to think about restorative justice in a punishment-oriented world.

Recommended content from this episode:

Books
The Sum of Us by Heather McGhee
The Half Has Never Been Told by Edward E. Baptist

Movies/TV
Exterminate All the Brutes
The Work

Video
"Restorative Welcome and Reentry Circle"

Our intro and outro music is "Humbug" by Crowander

]]> David Buzzsprout-9805473 Wed, 29 Dec 2021 22:00:00 -0500 3898 full false