As an interview journalist and moderator for remote and IRL events, I seek to illuminate how human emotion, agency, relationships, and creativity evolves as technology advances.
To work with me on moderator or interview assignments, email me.
FEATURED INTERVIEWS
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.
Breaking Technological Boundaries: Daniel Hirschmann, Lauren Celenza, and Timmy Ghiurau
In this conversation, 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. Together, we explore how XR, AI, and cutting-edge design are reshaping industries, breaking boundaries, and imagining new realities.
Filmed at UNFINISHED Festival.
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.
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.
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. This conversation delves into how merging these philosophies can shape meaningful working and living environments.
Filmed at UNFINISHED Festival.
Reimagining Design with Dario Calmese
Step into the world of Dario Calmese, an American visual artist and design theorist. Known for making history as the first-ever Black photographer to shoot a Vanity Fair cover in 2020, featuring Viola Davis, Dario's work dissects the interplay of cultural production across photography, design, fashion, and performance. At the end of his presentation, I interview him about 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 Daniel Hirschmann, CEO of Hirsch & Mann, on my past design work with Google Maps and Code for America, and the process for mapping out millions of previously excluded addresses, routes, businesses, 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 technologyand AI in enhancing human connections.
Recorded with Experiential Destinations podcast.
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.
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.
LC: “When you are experiencing the cold and silent regions of the Earth, what is it that you feel?”
JPB: “I feel alive.”
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 Live, 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.} In this event, 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.