I’m really, really excited for you to hear today’s conversation with author, Kate Robson, about the magic of using metaphor. This is episode 301, and as I’ve been inching closer towards the 300 episode mark, I’ve been thinking a lot about how this podcast has evolved and how I might describe it using metaphor. Here’s my best try… This podcast has become a space not unlike a community garden . I collect the necessary components, tend to space, plant seeds that allow for great

From the middle ages to the Middle East, From Futura to Freight, join us on a journey across the type universe and go where no designer has gone before...Welcome to An Incomplete History of Type . Name: Clarendon Release Date: 1845 Designer: Robert Besley Classification: Slab Serif (Egyptian) Owned By: Today its multiple versions are owned by multiple foundries. Claim to Fame: This is the first first-ever registered and patented typeface. About Our Guest: Jordan Grey is a th

From the middle ages to the Middle East, From Futura to Freight, join us on a journey across the type universe and go where no designer has gone before...Welcome to An Incomplete History of Type . Name: San Francisco Release Date: 2014 Designer: Apple’s Team (based on Helvetica and FF DIN) Classification: Neo-Grotesque Sans Serif Owned By: Apple Claim to Fame: This is the first new typeface designed by Apple in nearly 20 years, it’s the UI font for Apple’s software. In this e

From the middle ages to the Middle East, From Futura to Freight, join us on a journey across the type universe and go where no designer has gone before...Welcome to An Incomplete History of Type . Name: Verdana Release Date: 1996 Designer: Matthew Carter and Thomas Rickner Classification: Humanist Sans Serif Owned By: Microsoft Claim to Fame: A typeface that was designed not for print, but for the screen, changing the way digital text looked and felt. In this episode of An In

From the middle ages to the Middle East, From Futura to Freight, join us on a journey across the type universe and go where no designer has gone before...Welcome to An Incomplete History of Type . Name: Garamond Release Date: Mid 16th Century Designer: Claude Garamond Classification: Old Style Serif Typeface Owned By: Not owned by one single person, but digital variations are owned by multiple different companies: Adobe Garamond, Monotype Garamond, Stempel Garamond, and E

From the middle ages to the Middle East, From Futura to Freight, join us on a journey across the type universe and go where no designer has gone before...Welcome to An Incomplete History of Type . Name: Calibri Release Date: 2007 Designer: Lucas de Groot Classification: Sans Serif Owned By: Microsoft Corporation Claim to Fame: Calibri made history by dethroning Times New Roman as the default font of the MS Office Suite. Microsoft’s favourite typographic child is taking the

I’ve spent a lot of time in libraries so far this year, both personally, with my kids, as well as professionally, with a variety of guests for my upcoming and ongoing Library Loiterers series. (More on that soon!) I’ve also been thinking a lot about the rapid decline of social trust in the age of digital misinformation and disinformation, never quite  knowing if what you’re reading (and now seeing) is real. In this lonely and scary tsunami of information overwhelm, libraries

"This is the conclusion of a successful semester, where concept, creation, and distribution plans came together. Professor Diana welcomes the class for a final reflection and listening party, handing hosting duties over to Shana and Alex. This episode is a celebration of the creative energy poured into the course, covering everything from the development of a central concept to planning final distribution strategies. The discussion explores the powerful concept of "class citi

"On this episode of Lights Microphone Podcast, we sit down with Winnie Liao, a multilingual creator navigating the world of podcasting outside the default English-speaking bubble. Winnie brings us inside the reality of building content in a different language, carving out space for cultural identity, and pushing back against the idea that creativity only counts when it fits the dominant market. She shares the story of starting her show in Mandarin in Taiwan, the unexpected de

“If you want to grow your podcast, you need to stop thinking like a social media star and start thinking like a librarian. This week, we are honoured to have Jordan Blair, Podcast Producer for Buzzsprout and host of the Buzzcast, joining us to talk about the core mechanics of making your show grow. Jordan brings us inside the world of podcast distribution, breaking down why platforms are search engines, not recommendation feeds. You will learn the single most useful metric fo

"If you're stuck in the planning phase, you're losing the game. The secret to success in any venture, especially podcasting, is fast feedback and radical adaptation. This is 100 Ways to Make 100K, and this week, host Javon Martin is going behind the scenes of his own show. For over 70 episodes, Javon has been on a relentless hunt to find 100 different paths to generating $100,000 per month. In this special session, Javon reveals the brutal, yet necessary, truth about what it

Quick Summary - Show Notes Nick Thorburn (the musician behind The Unicorns and Islands ) talks with host Shana about creating one of the most recognizable pieces of podcast music ever: the theme song for Serial. The whole thing happened almost by accident. A friend made a connection, and Nick treated it like any other freelance gig. He listened to the pilot episode, got inspired by the dark, true-crime vibe, and cranked out a library of music in one weekend. He had zero clue

“ Welcome to Ctrl+Alt+Narrate , the show that explores the diverse journeys behind digital media creation. But what happens when the creators become the story? In this episode, host Alex flips the camera around to interview the brilliant team that brings the show to life: Sneesha, Alisha, and Victoria. Together, they dive deep into the production process of " Ctrl+Alt+Narrate ," covering everything from managing a massive post-production backlog to the learning curve of hosti

This episode has been three conversations in the making. It started in episode #273, when I spoke with Amanda Breeze of TRIPPER Magazine, who mentioned being inspired by George Wylesol’s grown-up choose-your-own-adventure book, 2120 . In episode #276, George joined me to talk about the book and how Internet culture and GeoCities websites shape his work. Then, in episode #280, I spoke with Jill Blackmore Evans, creator of GeoCities Memory , a personal and scholarly project arc

Happy Winter Olympic Games in Milano Cortina 2026! I’m here with Paul Twa, four years after he and I originally spoke about the games in Beijing in Episode 095: Olympic Design Systems with Paul Twa . He’s back, he’s full of insights, and just a wonderful, passionate resource about Olympic design joy! Paul Twa  is a graphic designer and illustrator based in Toronto. Born and raised in Edmonton, Paul graduated from the University of Alberta’s Bachelor of Design program. After t

Welcome back - I’m so glad you’re here. This is the third episode in a 3-part guest lecture series, speaking with a diverse range of design and typography pros from across North America!  This episode features the owner of foundry Type Du Nord , Libbie Bischoff.  Libbie Bischoff is a Minneapolis-based type designer and educator. She completed the Letterform Archive’s postgraduate program, Type West, in 2020. After graduating, she opened her own type foundry, Type Du Nord. Whi

Welcome back - I’m so glad you’re here. This is the second episode in a 3-part guest lecture series, speaking with a diverse range of design and typography pros from across North America!  This episode features a Creative Director dedicated to social change and inclusive city building, Jay Wall.  With over 15 years of experience at the intersection of graphic design and social change, Jay was the founder of design studio RallyRally. Now at O2 Planning and Design , Jay leads t

Welcome back - I’m so glad you’re here. This is the first episode in a 3-part guest lecture series, speaking with a diverse range of design and typography pros from across North America!  This episode features type designer and educator, Leo Vicenti . Leo is an Assistant Professor of Communication Design at Emily Carr University of Art + Design in Vancouver whose research approaches indigenous language preservation, revitalization, and the return of these languages to everyda

It’s a big book day! Today I sit down with two authors with two new books on two interrelated topics. David Berry (H ow Artists Make Money & How Money Makes Artists ) and Raymond Biesinger ( 9 Times My Work Has Been Ripped Off: An Informal Self-Defence Guide for Independent Creatives ) are here with me today. David Berry  profiled and critiqued the book, film, music and theatre scenes for a local alt-weekly, and then nationally for the National Post, and has contributed essay

Weeeeeeeee! In today’s episode we’re heading further down the rabbit hole—where one episode leads to the next, and new ideas lie around every corner.  In the two previous episodes in this series, I spoke with Amanda Breeze of TRIPPER Magazine ( #273 ) where she mentioned George Wylesol’s incredible grown-up choose-your-own-adventure book, taking inspiration for her own magazine’s navigational features.  So I reached out to George to learn more about his publishing and illust