The Observatory

Michael Bierut|Audio

Episode 94: Women of the Year

Elena Ferrante’s My Beautiful Friend on HBO, Olivia Jaimes’ Nancy, Esperanza Spalding, Tierra Whack, Aretha Franklin’s Amazing Grace, Max Richter, Henry Cobb: Words and Works, Oddityviz, The True Size, Dunkin’, …

Michael Bierut|Audio

Episode 93: I Spy, You Spy

Sergei Skripal, Jamal Khashoggi, Bellingcat, Malachy Brown, visual investigations, Pablo Ferro, Ricky Jay, William Goldman, Boy Erased, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, Glenn Gould’s manuscript for the Goldberg variations

Michael Bierut|Audio

Episode 92: Polite Sociopaths

The Design of Business | The Business of Design conference, Apple CarPlay and talking cars, HAL from 2001: A Space Odyssey, Justin Timberlake, dogs watching TV, Visual Capitalist

Michael Bierut|Audio

Episode 91: Voter Experience

Voter suppression by Republicans, The McKinsey Design Index, Lovevery, Photogrammar

Michael Bierut|Audio

Episode 90: The Container for the Story

The Cleveland Justice Center and Season 3 of Serial, adaptive reuse, the Secret History of the Future, Articles of Interest, The Romanoffs

Michael Bierut|Audio

Episode 88: Anonymous™

Bob Woodward’s Fear, the Quiet Resistance, representing anonymity, Face Values at the London Design Biennale, QAnon infographics, Todd Alcott’s faux vintage book covers

Michael Bierut|Audio

Episode 87: Mortadella and Mortality

Eataly World, HBO’s Succession, Betsy DeVos in McMansion Hell, Little Fires Everywhere, the Coltrane Circle

Michael Bierut|Audio

Episode 86: Home and Away

Wes Anderson in Italy; 3D printed Mars habitat competition; from Hilton to boutique hotels to Airbnb; designer baby names; the Vignelli townhouse

Michael Bierut|Audio

Episode 85: Midsummer Music

Musical theater, soundtracks, Bach’s Goldberg Variations, Rachmaninoff’s Cello Sonata in D Minor, and more.

Michael Bierut|Audio

Episode 84: The Politician’s Gaze

Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, a White House without culture, John Carreyrou’s Bad Blood, early Ivan Chermayeff book covers

Michael Bierut|Audio

Episode 83: Post-Its and Blocks

Design Thinking Wars: Lee Vinsel vs. d.school; Alexandra Lange’s The Design of Childhood; The Incredibles 2; Flash: The Making of Weegee the Famous

Michael Bierut|Audio

Episode 82: Constitutional Sans

The president’s lawyer uses Comic Sans, speculative design, Let the Sun Shine In, crazy walls.