High Maintenance

More than a decade after Michael wrote Innovation Is the New Black, innovation is still the new black, from design studios to classrooms to President Obama celebrating innovators at the White House.

But what about the people who keep things going?

On this episode, Michael and Jessica talk about why we need to value maintainers, inspired by a conference that celebrated Maintainers from engineers who kept the Erie Canal open to Mary Poppins.

Also mentioned:

• Maintainers manifesto essay by conference organizers Lee Vinsel and Andrew Russell;
• Parag Khanna, A New Map for America
• Kashmir Hill, How an internet mapping glitch turned a random Kansas farm into a digital hell
• The Next Rembrandt
• Tim’s Vermeer
• Algorithmic Mondrian and Hans Hofmann

Thanks to the Porto Design Summer School for sponsoring this episode.

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