Critical Thinking & the Art of Deconstruction with Amit Patel

Featuring Amit Patel, founder of Experience Haus, we explore why critical thinking and the art of deconstruction matter in a speed-obsessed, vibe-coding economy, how newcomers in tech can survive a brutal job market disrupted by AI, and what human accountability means as companies deploy autonomous, agentic systems.

Changing the Narrative on Solar Energy with Marjan van Aubel

Featuring Marjan van Aubel, solar designer, co-founder of The Solar Movement, and author of, “Solar Futures: How to Design a Post-Fossil World with the Sun.” We ask a central question: what if the thing holding solar back isn’t cost, but design? This interview explores how a technocratic perspective—centered on efficiency and payback time—limits solar energy’s full potential, and how beauty and design can make solar energy accessible and woven into daily life.

Body/Technology: Grace Boyle and Lauren Celenza

Featuring Grace Boyle, artist and founder of The Feelies, this interview explores our understanding of sensory experience and the future of human interaction with robotic technology.

Filmed at UNFINISHED Festival.

Loneliness and AI, with Monika Jiang

Featuring Monika Jiang, community builder, writer, and founder of Sharing Our Loneliness, this interview explores loneliness and how it fuels autocratic systems, AI companions, and what it means to strengthen the human-to-human relationships in our lives and in the workplace.

Fast Meets Slow: Shaping Work and Life with Barbara Soalheiro, Peter Conrads, and Lauren Celenza

In this conversation with Barbara Soalheiro, founder of MESA, and Peter Conrads, co-founder of Slow Capital, we explore the interplay between rapid problem-solving and mindful, sustainable practices. Barbara’s Mesa method highlights efficient, collaborative approaches, while Peter’s Slow collective focuses on deeper, intentional design.

Filmed at UNFINISHED Festival.

Breaking Technological Boundaries: Daniel Hirschmann, Lauren Celenza, and Timmy Ghiurau

Multidisciplinary designers and founders Daniel Hirschmann, Lauren Celenza, and Timmy Ghiurău respond to each others’ work, delving into the intersections of immersive technology, human experience, and creative innovation. We explore how XR, AI, and cutting-edge design are reshaping industries, breaking boundaries, and imagining new realities.

Filmed at UNFINISHED Festival.

Love-Hate: The Digital Age, with Daniel Jones and Lauren Celenza

In this interview, I sit down with Daniel Jones, editor of Modern Love, the New York Times weekly column, book, podcast, and television show, on what it means to find love and connection in a time of polarization, the pitfalls of self-curation in dating apps, and trying to find intimacy and authenticity in the age of AI.

Filmed at UNFINISHED Festival.

The Power Dynamics of AI, with Dr. Aekta Shah

Featuring AI Researcher, Dr. Aekta Shah, this interview explores the power dynamics behind the creation of artificial intelligence, the struggles and moral dilemmas of the modern tech worker, and what it means to participate and “opt in” to a more responsible way of creating and engaging with AI tools.

Reimagining Design with Dario Calmese

Known for making history as the first-ever Black photographer to shoot a Vanity Fair cover in 2020, featuring Viola Davis, Dario Calmese’s work dissects the interplay of cultural production across photography, design, fashion, and performance. At the end of his presentation, we discuss his work and vision for the future.

LC: “When starting a new project, what is the first step you take?”

DC: “I listen. I just listen. And listen and listen and listen.”

Filmed at UNFINISHED Festival.

How the Experience of Design Impacts Scalability

In this conversation, I speak with founder and experiential designer, Daniel Hirschmann, on my past design work with Google Maps and Code for America, and the process for mapping out millions of previously excluded routes and several languages for the first time in Google Maps history, and creating free, accessible tax filing tools. We also discuss the challenges faced by tech workers, the importance of storytelling in design, and the future of technology and AI in enhancing human connections.

Recorded with Experiential Destinations podcast.

Imbalances in Tech, Industry and AI with Lauren Celenza

What does it mean to build for humans when the systems around us keep failing us? In this conversation with author and founder Topaz Adizes, we discuss dissatisfaction as a compass, interdependence as survival, and what we stand to lose in a world shaped by algorithms.

Recorded with GUTS podcast.

Quiet Bias, Silent Places, with João Paulo Barbosa, Roni Levit, and Lauren Celenza

In this interview, I sit down with award-winning Brazilian photographer-historian João Paulo Barbosa, who explores the Anthropocene’s and technology’s influence on the coldest regions of the world. I also interview Israeli visual communications artist Roni Levit. Discover their unique perspectives on navigating the world, blending insights on climate, data, technology, and design.

Filmed at UNFINISHED Festival.

Vulnerability as a Creative Channel, with Ramona Todoca and Lauren Celenza

In this interview, I speak with award-winning creative director Ramona Todoca about the power of being a multidisciplinary creative, the subtle art of fostering creativity within teams, and how vulnerability can serve as a channel for innovation.

Filmed at UNFINISHED Festival.

12 Questions for Love, with Sonya Renee Taylor, Topaz Adizes, Lauren Celenza, and more

In celebration of the Emmy award-winning documentary series, {THE AND}, and the launch of the book, 12 Questions for Love, I hosted a series of interviews with author and founder Topaz Adizes, best-selling author Sonya Renee Taylor, Bosco from poetry duo GRIOT, and participants of {THE AND.} We explore how to find and deepen our emotional connection with one another amid a tech-infused, solutions-focused culture.

The Role of Artists in the Age of AI, with Capucine Gros

Featuring Romanian-based artist Capucine Gros, this interview explores how media influences our perspective on memory and death, the persisting bias in maps, and the role of artists in the age of AI.

A Conversation with Sharon

A short film highlighting a visit with Sharon, a retiree living with low vision in Seattle. We discuss what her daily life is like with technology, the ways in which access and agency is expanded or diminished, and what it means to design for greater accessibility.

Made with Flo Truong.