Wake Up Excited!

Nostalgia, Legacy, and Finding What’s Next with Andy Clarke

Andy Clarke shares what excites him lately, sparking memories of his early photography career and frequent trips to Schaffhausen. His pivot from art school and darkroom work into technical sales, and lessons about good selling as an art of solving real problems. The discussion moves to creative storytelling on the web, focus and distraction habits, challenges with open-plan offices, and how he’s built a work life around late-night rhythms and self-managed attention. Clarke also reflects on family history, his father’s suicide and trauma, changing views on mental health and heredity, and a desire to do more consequential political or social work while relearning how to create for pleasure. Topics: (00:00) - Introduction (01:17) - Rebuilding The Sinar Camera (08:28) - Pre Digital Car Shoots (14:28) - Sales Lessons That Stick (27:15) - Storytelling On The Web (37:10) - Writing Needs Silence (48:45) - Designing Your Rhythm with ADHD (01:08:01) - Turning 60 Reflections (01:12:36) - Mr Rogers Envy (01:17:49) - Providing vs Purpose (01:25:30) - Objects as Memory Anchors (01:40:43) - Music Picks and Billy Bragg (01:45:42) - Where to Follow Links: Up (2009 film) Love Story (1970 film) Philadelphia (1993 film) Mister Rogers' Neighborhood Mister Rogers biography Billy Bragg Motörhead Meat Loaf Led Zeppelin Miranda Lambert Megan Moroney The Rolling Stones Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Wilco Woody Guthrie Bat Out of Hell Between the Wars Power in a Union Unfinished Business stuffandnonsense.co.uk Sinar P2 Schneider Super-Angulon IWC Schaffhausen Rolex Hermès Rickenbacker Gibson Les Paul iPod Classic Game Boy Tiffany & Co. Amazon David Hockney Jeremy Keith Preston North End F.C.

• Transcript
• Chapters

Accessible and Sustainable AI with Hidde

We’re finding renewed excitement for discovering music through going to gigs and reflecting on how live shows offer an irreplaceable shared experience. The discussion shifts to the indie web, hyperlink culture, and how social platforms and chatbots reduce discoverability, while AI could lower barriers to building websites but raises concerns about credit, control, hosting complexity, and accessibility. Topics: (00:00) - What has you waking up excited? (01:03) - Music and Travel (07:16) - Owning Music Again (10:59) - Re-discovering the Indie Web (15:19) - AI for Personal Websites (23:47) - Accessible Defaults and Standards (39:02) - Web Trends Come Full Circle (43:02) - Smaller Models Better Choices (53:38) - Accessibility Positivity vs Policing (01:10:10) - Assistive Tech vs Novelty Use (01:12:42) - Music Picks Links: ◉ Songkick ◉ Bandcamp ◉ Open UI ◉ W3C ◉ How People with Disabilities Use the Web (W3C) ◉ WCAG / WCAG 3 ◉ CSS Day ◉ Green Web Foundation ◉ Green Software Foundation ◉ hidde.blog ◉ State of the Browser ◉ Massive Attack ◉ IJsland — Dutch punk/hip-hop ◉ James Blake — Trying Times ◉ React ◉ Tailwind CSS ◉ Bootstrap

• Transcript
• Chapters

Pottery, Theater, CSS Collaboration, and the Ethics of AI with Miriam Suzanne

Brad chats with Miriam Suzanne about pottery, theater, CSS, and why we shouldn’t just accept AI as the way. Miriam describes their through-line as collaborative creativity across pottery, theater, client work, and CSS standards, arguing process shapes results and that CSS is inherently collaborative with users, browsers, and devices. She critiques rigid notions of originality and authenticity, emphasizing growth and multiplicity. Miriam rejects “results over process” arguments, challenges claims of democratization amid surveillance, environmental costs, and corporate control, and calls for collective agency to imagine and build better tools and systems. Topics: (00:00) - Waking Up Excited (02:26) - Returning to Pottery (04:51) - Theater as Hybrid Art (07:00) - Inviting the Audience In (11:14) - Questioning Authenticity (17:20) - Theater in Prisons (28:36) - Facilitating Collaboration Everywhere (38:06) - Why CSS Feels Fuzzy (53:01) - AI for Early Prototypes (01:01:05) - Fix Orgs Not Tools (01:08:10) - Using AI Without Hype (01:17:40) - Uneasy Benefits Tradeoff (01:26:10) - AI's Original Sin And Accountability (01:36:28) - Vision And Agency (01:45:22) - Music Recommendation (01:48:09) - Where To Follow And CSS Courses Links: oddbird.net grapefruitlab.com miriamsuzanne.com courses.oddbird.net Balsamiq Harvest Claude ChatGPT Discord The Rolling Stones Velvet Underground Lou Reed Parliament-Funkadelic (P-Funk) Maggot Brain by Funkadelic Teacup Gorilla Emily Rogers "Franchise" by Isaac Asimov Walt Whitman John Allsopp — "Dao of Web Design" Busch Gardens Riverdance "12 Angry Men" Timnit Gebru Emily Bender

• Transcript
• Chapters

UX, AI Hype Cycles, and Rebuilding the Web with Scott Jenson

Scott Jenson joins Brad to chat about how UX designers thrive in ambiguity and why wrestling with confusing, failing experiments, especially around AI, can signal real progress. The conversation covers open source’s multiplier effect, the need for sustainable funding, and Scott’s work with Mastodon. Jenson also describes practical AI value for prototyping and coding, while emphasizing nuance, trust, and asking questions over online pile-ons. Topics: (00:00) - Why Ambiguity Excites (06:33) - Designers and the Messy Unknown (10:45) - Tech vs Capitalism (14:23) - Compromise and Stability (18:29) - Fixing Social Media Conversations (28:50) - Persistence and Craft Over Time (36:29) - Open Source as a Model (39:48) - Mastodon and Lowering Costs (46:54) - Consulting and Client Trust (52:38) - Designers vs Programmers (01:08:02) - Open Web vs AI Incentives (01:15:51) - Music Picks (01:19:22) - Where to Find Scott Jenson Links: ◉ Your Money or Your Life by Vicki Robin ◉ The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion by Jonathan Haidt ◉ Finding Nemo (Pixar, 2003) ◉ Jurassic Park (1993) ◉ Die Hard (1988) ◉ Pluribus (Apple TV+) ◉ Take Five – Dave Brubeck (Time Out album) ◉ Fleeting Future by Aksumi ◉ Sax Pax for a Sax by Moondog

• Chapters

Paul Boag on AI, UX Democratization, and Building a Life-First Career

Paul and Brad discuss how AI has reintroduced “Wild West” chaos to the web, which Paul finds energizing after years of predictable maturity in the industry. Drawing parallels to past disruptions like desktop publishing, CSS/web standards, and the dot-com bust, Paul argues that panic about AI replacing specialists will settle as organizations realize quality still matters. They emphasize learning through sharing, rejecting performative content marketing, and valuing humility over guru certainty. The conversation explores consulting as amplifying in-house teams’ knowledge, the need to adapt rigid UX processes, and how AI can help democratize UX by empowering non-specialists through playbooks, design systems, and easier access to research. Paul shares how he intentionally built a lifestyle business enabling RV travel, and closes on resilience, change, and optimism. Topics: (00:00) - Hello Chaos (04:10) - Tech Cycles And Jobs (07:27) - Letting Go To Grow (11:01) - Learning By Sharing (25:07) - Process Myths In UX (35:42) - Democratizing UX With AI (43:47) - AI As Meeting Facilitator (59:19) - Kill Handoff With AI (01:04:40) - Is Paul Retiring? (01:13:46) - Business Serves Life (01:33:16) - What Music Does Paul Want You to Know About? Links: ◉ Jeffrey Zeldman ◉ Ethan Marcotte ◉ Steve Krug ◉ Jakob Nielsen ◉ boagworld.com ◉ Atomic Design ◉ Starlink ◉ Perplexity ◉ Material Design ◉ Double Diamond design process ◉ Desktop publishing history ◉ Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band ◉ Against the Wind (Spotify) ◉ Against the Wind (YouTube)

• Transcript
• Chapters

Nathan Curtis on AI, Design Systems Architecture, and Staying Aligned Beyond Figma

Nathan Curtis discusses how his work has shifted over the past two years from leading design system teams to focusing on strict architecture and building tools that communicate design intent to engineering, energized by faster iteration enabled by AI. He reflects on his long history in design systems, including his 2009 book “Modular Web Design”. Curtis addresses why teams may feel threatened by AI amid layoffs and rapid tool adoption, arguing that system thinking, governance, and coordination remain essential even as non-deterministic workflows grow. He explains building an evolved Specs tool that extracts structured data from Figma via plugin and CLI for repeatable, cross-platform specifications, while cautioning against using agents where deterministic processes are more precise. They explore flexibility vs lockdown culture, Figma’s role as a typed database, ecosystem interoperability, and advice on writing, consulting, and choosing work that sustains energy. Links: Modular Web Design: Creating Reusable Components for User Experience Design and Documentation [Book] Directed Edges / Nathan Curtis Wake Up Excited! | Ben Callahan on Building Community, Your Values, and the Power of Connection Center Centre FROSTAPALOOZA Max Richter - On the Nature of Daylight - YouTube Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness (Remastered 2012) - YouTube Specs DirectedEdges/specs: Schema, types, and command line tools to record and manage UI component specifications. nathanacurtis on GitHub Topics: (00:00) - Introduction (04:56) - Motion Meets AI (07:06) - Threats and Layoffs (14:44) - Flexibility vs Governance (20:21) - Determinism vs Prediction (25:21) - Agentic UX Ergonomics (35:46) - Building the Specs Toolchain (49:52) - Sharing Versus Capitalism (56:05) - Finding Your Voice (01:00:23) - What's the Future Of Design Systems? (01:14:10) - Advice For New Consultants (01:23:23) - Breadth Versus Depth (01:27:26) - Wrap Up And Gratitude

• Transcript
• Chapters

I Feel Like I Have Lightning in My Fingertips with Ridd

Ridd feels like he’s having more fun than ever as a designer because he can now code and close the gap using Claude to build features with full control over pixels, animations, and interactions. Brad and Ridd discuss how AI shrinks learning barriers, helps translate vague intentions into technical language, and enables individuals to realize ideas with less reliance on others, while complicating collaboration and threatening specialized roles. They explore problem-finding, local/community applications, hybrid service-plus-software models, anxiety about oversupply and discoverability, and Ridd’s deliberate optimism and early-adopter mindset. Links: ◉ Jitter · A fast and simple motion design tool on the web ◉ Dive Club 🤿 ◉ Ridd 🤿 (@ridd_design) / X ◉ Emancipator ◉ Layup Chapters: (00:00) - Introduction (01:38) - Coding Unlocks Control (13:16) - AI's Original Sin (26:48) - Oversupply And Taste (29:36) - Rebuilding Local Culture (35:37) - Software As A Gift (42:41) - Designers As Problem Finders (51:46) - Design Identity Shift (01:01:53) - Teaching The First Step (01:10:36) - Flattened Hierarchies Opportunity (01:15:18) - Optimism As Strategy (01:21:44) - Music Picks And Playlists

• Transcript
• Chapters

Docs First, AI-Ready Design Systems with Afyia Smith

Afyia Smith talks about her separation from Epic Games and choosing optimism by exploring the city and visiting new coffee shops, even amid anxiety and uncertainty. Afyia explains her work as a design systems documentation specialist, arguing that documentation is becoming foundational, especially with AI and agentic workflows, because it captures rationale, behaviors, edge cases, and shared truth across teams. Topics: (00:00) - Meet Afyia Smith (00:55) - Coffee Shop Reset (01:56) - Epic Departure Fallout (03:39) - Choosing Optimism Daily (07:27) - Docs Finally Matter (22:21) - Docs as Team Alignment (28:41) - Facilitating with Neutrality (33:24) - From Solo to Collaborative (36:02) - Docs First Humanity (46:58) - Career Reinvention Mindset (54:18) - Music Picks and Memories (01:00:55) - Where to Connect with Afyia Smith Links: ◉ Michael Jackson — Off the Wall ◉ Michael Jackson — Bad ◉ Michael Jackson — Thriller ◉ Xscape — Who Can I Run To ◉ Lauryn Hill — The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill ◉ Michael Jackson biopic (Michael) ◉ afyiasmith.co ◉ LinkedIn — Afyia Smith ◉ ChatGPT ◉ Figma ◉ Storybook ◉ Jira ◉ Google Docs ◉ Epic Games ◉ Tower Records ◉ AI and Design Systems course

• Transcript
• Chapters

Mountain Biking, Parenting, and AI’s Breakneck Evolution with Luke Wroblewski

Luke Wroblewski talks about what’s waking him up excited these days and draws an analogy between trail building and product building, emphasizing prototyping and especially maintenance. The conversation shifts to parenting teens and Luke’s view that people should find their own path, criticizing cookie-cutter career thinking and overly mechanical approaches to life and design. They discuss AI’s rapid, compounding evolution, the widening gap between those keeping up and those not, and how automation should free humans to focus on purpose. Luke shares concerns about awareness and control in agentic systems, shows examples of interfaces for visibility, and argues for collaboration-focused workspaces. Chapters: (00:00) - Intro (03:41) - Trails are a lot like products (10:28) - Purpose over process (15:57) - AI moving at warp speed (23:15) - What interfaces look like next (27:53) - Keeping the web open (32:34) - Writing with AI (44:47) - Can you trust what agents do (53:13) - Did AI steal the training data? (57:52) - Building an ethics harness for AI tooling (01:13:30) - Luke's work on a shared AI tool workspace for teams (01:22:47) - Grit, incentives, and the mess left behind (01:28:16) - Music picks from Luke (01:32:12) - Where to find Luke online Links: Codex Gmail Outlook Slack Figma Notion Claude Code Rev (rev.art) lukew.com maggieappleton.com theatlantic.com Homage Big Ears Festival billfrisell.com julianlage.com Claude's Constitution

• Transcript
• Chapters

Creative Unblock, Ethical Tensions, and Pragmatism with Luke Murphy

Luke and Brad discuss feeling newly unblocked by today’s tools which enable rapid experimentation, which must be done at a human level. Exploring nuance over binary positions, comparing reactions to AI to stages of grief, and exploring baking harm reduction and accessibility into systems. Links: Try This At Home by Frank Turner THE 17 GOALS | Sustainable Development Future Teens Ace of Cups - Luke Murphy's personal website Luke Murphy (@lurkmoophy.bsky.social) Luke Murphy (@lurkmoophy) • Instagram (00:00) - Introduction (03:25) - ADHD And Unfinished Ideas (12:06) - Using Suno to unlock ideas (23:46) - Nuance In Roles (33:19) - Living With Contradictions (39:28) - Systems Over Symptoms (44:22) - An idea: AI Through Grief Stages (56:11) - Techno Pragmatism And Activism (59:49) - Luddites And Worker Rights (01:02:02) - Baking Ethics Into Workflows (01:08:40) - UN Goals As Software Lint (01:18:02) - Luke's Music Pick And Where To Follow

• Transcript
• Chapters

Incubating Ideas, Human Memory, and Designing for Humanity with Don Norman

Don Norman discusses how his best ideas arrive through “incubation,” often waking him at 1–2 AM to write, and explains how he starts books by finding a guiding title and compelling theme rather than dull “history and basics.” He compares the subconscious to AI: it creatively assembles plausible outputs that may be wrong, requiring conscious evaluation—unlike today’s AI, which can “hallucinate.” The conversation explores reconstructive memory and the unreliability of eyewitness testimony, the power of framing and placebo effects, and how emotions chemically change how the brain operates. Norman describes managing creativity with playful, noncritical collaboration followed by focused stress, and shares optimism rooted in action via the Don Norman Design Award and an “Alliance for Humanity” aligned with UN Sustainable Development Goals. They address AI’s impact on designers, artists, and musicians, arguing for attribution, licensing, collaboration, and the need for all of us to start getting weird. Links: Henri Poincaré Elizabeth Loftus Wassily Kandinsky Snarky Puppy 4′33″ by John Cage Marcel Duchamp | Fountain Peter Singer | The Expanding Circle Anthropic | OpenAI Design for Good Commit Global Infosys UN Sustainable Development Goals Don Norman Design Award / Alliance for Humanity The Design of Everyday Things — Don Norman Design for a Better World — Don Norman Topics: (00:00) - Welcome (01:55) - Finding the Book (03:26) - Incubation and Breakthroughs (09:24) - Eyewitness and Word Framing (11:52) - Placebos and Double Blind (14:34) - Emotions Change the Brain (16:08) - Creativity Needs Stress (23:35) - Optimism as a Choice (25:35) - AI and the Future of Music and Art (37:21) - Rethinking Cheating With AI (40:45) - Cooperation Beats Competition (47:01) - Alliance for Humanity (51:33) - LLMs as Collaboration Hub (59:10) - Humanity Centered Design (01:08:03) - Disagreeing Without Conflict

• Transcript
• Chapters

Homeschooling, Community Confidence, and Being Human at Work with Abby Covert

Abby Covert shares what excites her now, leaving corporate life, reclaiming creativity through recovery work, sobriety, journaling, and disciplined writing, and how community builds confidence beyond capability. They explore being willing to be bad at things, the pressure to “pick a specialty” online, and bringing fun and psychological safety into work by modeling humanity. They also talk about knowledge decay on the web, AI’s mixed effects, and Abby recommends listening to live Grateful Dead recordings. Links: ◉ How to Make Sense of Any Mess — Abby Covert's first book (mentioned via the "coffee filter" metaphor) ◉ Stuck — Abby Covert's second book, written during her early recovery ◉ Silent Spring — Rachel Carson's landmark book, discussed in the context of posthumous recognition ◉ Grateful Dead — Abby's music recommendation; suggests listening to live recordings ◉ Dick's Picks — Grateful Dead live album series, recommended for newcomers ◉ Live at the Mars Hotel — Brad's Grateful Dead recommendation ◉ Furthur — Post-Dead touring band ◉ Dead & Company — Current continuation of the Grateful Dead legacy ◉ Otis Redding — "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" — Discussed as an example of posthumous impact ◉ abbycovert.com — Abby's personal site ◉ thesensemakersclub.com — Abby's membership community (weekly discussion meetings) ◉ Be Internet Awesome — Google's internet safety curriculum for grades 2–9 ◉ Wayback Machine — Internet Archive, mentioned in discussion of digital decay/link rot ◉ The Pastry Box Project — Defunct web publication both Brad and Abby contributed to ◉ YouTube — Discussed in context of parental controls and kids' online safety ◉ ChatGPT — Referenced in discussion of AI democratization and vibe coding ◉ Wix — Website builder mentioned in the "mouth coding" story ◉ LinkedIn — Discussed critically re: pressure to specialize publicly ◉ Ikigai — Japanese concept of life purpose, referenced via Alfie Lowe's Venn diagram renovation ◉ The Artist's Way (Morning Pages) — Julia Cameron's journaling practice Abby used in recovery ◉ Indie Web movement — Brad references the ethos of personal websites and decentralized publishing ◉ Information Architecture Institute — Abby was president; discussed in context of community and link rot ◉ Etsy — Abby's last corporate employer before going independent ◉ Stax Records — Memphis label, discussed in context of Otis Redding and posthumous work ◉ Epic Universe — New Universal theme park in Florida; Abby's family visited to celebrate her son's reading milestone Topics Covered: (00:00) - Homeschool Wins (01:05) - SenseMaker Salon Plans (01:51) - Leaving Corporate Comfort (04:51) - Learning While Being Bad (06:30) - Public Failure Online (08:37) - Make It Up (11:53) - Information Is Sketchy (14:38) - Reclaiming Creativity (18:12) - Recovery Journaling Rituals (21:32) - Community Builds Confidence (24:47) - Mentors And Role Models (29:28) - Bringing Fun To Work (32:15) - Authenticity In Meetings (37:09) - Cracking Tough Nuts (43:27) - Teaching Internet Safety (45:04) - Kids Online Boundaries (46:23) - YouTube Parental Controls Fail (47:56) - Internet Safety Curriculum (48:43) - Schools Lag Behind Tech (51:01) - AI Adoption Timelines (54:35) - Digital Decay and Link Rot (56:27) - Indie Web and Collective Memory (01:00:08) - AI Democratization Limits (01:01:45) - Mouth Coding for Nonprofits (01:06:08) - When Vibe Coding Breaks (01:11:36) - Human Culture and Agency (01:15:20) - Privilege Diversity and Consulting (01:24:37) - Coffee Filter Discernment (01:27:54) - Grateful Dead Community (01:30:42) - Where to Find Abby (01:31:28) - Closing Thanks (01:31:50) - Morning Excitement Check

• Transcript
• Chapters

Design, Teaching, and Staying Human in the Age of AI with Dan Saffer

Dan and Brad explore AI as a creative partner for drafting and ideation while requiring strong human direction, and compare today’s shift to the desktop-to-web and mobile transitions, including recurring backlash to new tech. They address risks: metacognitive laziness, erosion of expertise, stolen training data, environmental and geopolitical harms, and weak regulation, alongside benefits like empowering small nonprofits and accelerating creative and product work. Chapters: 00:00 Welcome 01:06 Claude Update Frustrations 04:50 AI as Writing Partner 07:23 Teaching During Shifts 11:29 Backlash and Nuance with AI 27:48 Design Process Upended 38:22 AI As Creative Accelerant 41:07 Andy Warhol Tech And Art 44:28 Music Gets Weird 54:30 Expertise In The Push a Button AI Era 01:02:34 Music Pick 01:05:03 Where To Follow Dan Saffer Links World Party The Waterboys Snarky Puppy Andy Warhol Museum AI in Design Pod Claude Claude Code Figma Suno Wix Adbusters Sturgeon's Law — "90% of everything is crap" Double Diamond design model

More Queue, Less Feed with Sacha Judd

Sacha Judd discusses what excites her now: founding Lume Music, which aims to fix broken subscription-era music economics by launching a digital album format bundled with behind-the-scenes content in a beautiful app for dedicated music lovers. She argues the core problem online isn’t digital vs analog but feed vs queue—algorithmic, engagement-driven firehoses versus intentional, chosen experiences—and critiques venture-capital incentives, dark patterns, and how everything breaks at scale. With search and discovery degraded by AI slop, she advocates for human curation (newsletters, blogs, Reddit) and rebuilding “small shops” and healthy neighborhood-like communities, including optimism about AT Protocol apps. She’s writing a book on internet history through online fan communities, highlighting women and queer power users who pioneered governance, tagging, and moderation, and warns against conspiracy thinking and blunt teen social-media bans. Chapters: (00:00) - Lume Music Vision (02:12) - Albums as Artifacts (04:17) - Feed Versus Queue (07:48) - How Platforms Broke (11:45) - Human Curation Returns (14:08) - Finding Real Recommendations (18:06) - Small Networks Not Mega (22:35) - Everything Breaks at Scale (25:56) - Small Shops Web Future (32:58) - Lume Focused Audience (35:08) - Fandom Conspiracies (39:24) - Deepfakes and Literacy (41:55) - Don't Turn It Off (44:24) - Gen Z and Web Memory (47:25) - Unsung Fan Builders (49:56) - Fandom Journey Origins (55:39) - Community Creativity Loop (01:02:25) - Teens Need Safe Spaces (01:04:38) - Wrap Up and Motto (01:06:23) - Music Recommendation (01:07:42) - Where to Find Sasha (01:08:22) - Closing Thanks (01:08:35) - Morning Excitement Check Links Lume Music Spotify Apple Music YouTube Substack Reddit Bluesky Blacksky Mastodon LiveJournal Tumblr Archive of Our Own (AO3) Uber Eats Google Google Maps Lovable Sachajudd.com Shit You Should Care About Molly White's Blog Rachel Andrew Dark Forest Theory of the Internet Bowling Alone The X-Files Formula 1 Marvel Taylor Swift Harry Styles Beyoncé Waiata / Anthems

• Transcript
• Chapters

The Revenge of the Real with Amber Case

Amber Case reflects on where you live and how returning to a familiar place can help think clearer. Case discusses seeking authentic, small-scale community, work nights, recess-like breaks, welcoming rituals, and mutual support. She contrasts these with expensive, scalable “community” models and argues effective communities rely on kindness, simplicity, history, and durable governance patterns. She connects this to “revenge of the real,” emphasizing tactile cognition, constraints, long-term thinking, and calm technology principles. Topics discussed: (00:00) - Morning Excitement Check (00:42) - Hot Wheels New York (01:46) - Secret Summer Chateau (03:01) - Dopamine Defragging (04:09) - Why Denver Feels Right (07:37) - Growth And Change (10:43) - Finding Real Community (12:23) - The Company Work Nights (15:44) - Against Scaled Clubs (19:23) - Designing Durable Groups (32:10) - Why People Dont Join (40:31) - History Analog Wisdom (46:00) - Unmoored Digital Life (48:13) - AI Effort Paradox (49:11) - Tactile Work Matters (50:16) - Constraints Create Meaning (51:17) - Handwriting And Cognition (52:42) - Farm Fantasy Reality (57:27) - Arts Therapy Embodiment (59:33) - Multisensory Education (01:00:57) - Long Term Craft Economy (01:07:06) - Local Repair Culture (01:10:37) - Universals Of Design (01:12:42) - Collaboration Conference Idea (01:14:33) - Against Main Character Metrics (01:16:48) - Buzzwords Get Commodified (01:19:24) - Calm Tech Certification (01:22:55) - Human Breaks And Texture (01:25:09) - Wrap Up And Music Pick (01:28:00) - Final Thanks And Goodbye (01:28:43) - Morning Excitement Check Links & Resources The Place You Love Is Gone The Road to Science Fiction The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe Chuck Palahniuk Marshall McLuhan Cory Doctorow Fight Club Crystal Quartez

• Transcript
• Chapters

Adaptability, Curiosity, & Creative Breadth with Brendan Dawes

Brendan Dawes is a multi-disciplinary artist, designer, and technologist. joins me to talk about creativity, curiosity, and what it actually means to thrive as a maker right now — when everything feels like it's being disrupted overnight. Brendan has been combining different inputs with creative outputs for his vast career, so I've been thinking about him a lot as we enter this new creative age. When I saw his name in the credits of the incredible Eno documentary, I screamed and reached out to him immediately. In our conversation, we get into Brendan's "event horizon" theory of creativity (staying at the edge of what you know and don't know), why judgment matters more than skill in a world of generative systems, and what Brian Eno figured out about technology that most designers are still catching up to. (00:00) - Morning Excitement Check (00:11) - What Drives You (02:48) - Living On The Edge Of Your Knowledge (06:12) - Adapting To Change (10:42) - Tools And Modular Thinking (19:12) - AI And Human Judgment (22:44) - From One To Many (29:15) - Humanities And Work (35:27) - The Eno Documentary Story (40:54) - The Collaboration-Community Magic of the Web (43:28) - Say Yes To Opportunities (44:30) - Craft + Time + Judgement + People (45:40) - Designing Successful Collaborations (48:55) - Creative Tension Stories (52:36) - Creative continuity vs "Great Artists Steal" (56:49) - Looking Backwards, Capturing, and Archiving For Future Inspiration (59:24) - A Nonlinear Journey Into a Broad Creative Career (01:04:49) - Leaving The Factory (01:06:30) - Full-Self Creativity (01:08:33) - Vinyl Recommendations (01:12:22) - Where To Follow Brendan Follow Brendan: ◉ Website: https://brendandawes.com ◉ Instagram: https://instagram.com/@brendandawes ◉ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/brendandawes.xyz Follow Brad: ◉ Website: https://bradfrost.com ◉ Newsletter: https://bradfrost.com/newsletter ◉ LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/bradfrost ◉ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/bradfrost.com

• Transcript
• Chapters

Design, Creativity, Systems, and Potential in the Agentic Age with Jem Gold

As we put our course together, I want to have conversations with people who are thinking about things deeply, creatively, and responsibly. That's why it was an absolute pleasure to chat with my long-time internet friend, Jem Gold, technology as a creative medium, the soul of the early web, and the new era of AI-assisted making. 💥 Want to learn how to use AI & Design Systems together to make great digital products? Preorder our AI & Design Systems online course and join our vibrant community here: https://aianddesign.systems/ Topics Covered: ◉The counterculture lineage of the web and why reclaiming it matters now ◉ Technology as artistic expression — Jem's concept of the "technology artist" ◉ The flow state in music and how it translates to building with technology ◉ Should designers code? Why the answer is changing fast ◉ Skill-driven development and teaching LLMs how to design (not just what to build) ◉ One-shotting beautiful, branded interfaces with minimal input ◉ Jem shows off some wonderful one-shotted demos ◉ Generative UI as superposition: interfaces that adapt to the person observing them ◉ Design systems, Web Components, and building durable foundations for a non-deterministic future ◉ AI as a creative process tool — not replacing the music, but clearing the way for it ◉ ADHD as a superpower in the agentic era Links & Resources: ◉ Jem's newsletter: https://superposition.jem.computer - Support Jem and her work for $8/month; and use code JEMANDBRAD for an annual discount ◉ Jenny Wen's interview on Lenny's Podcast: • The design process is dead. Here's what's ... ◉ The Grid (Jem's AI design startup, ca. 2015) https://thegrid.io/ ◉ Everything Just Gets Built: https://superposition.jem.computer/ev... ◉ I Don't Miss Code https://superposition.jem.computer/i-... ◉ Real-Time UI https://bradfrost.com/blog/post/real-... ◉ "Ghostwriter" by RJD2 drum/synth cover • Ghostwriter by RJD2 - (00:00) - Chapter 1

• Chapters

Georgia Lupi on Brain Retraining, and Visual Storytelling with Data

Georgia Lupi shares what she’s excited to wake up for with us. She recounts getting COVID in 2020, developing worsening long COVID symptoms with reinfections, becoming house- and sometimes bed-bound, and stopping work in 2023 before beginning recovery in early 2024. Lupi and Brad discuss the anxiety and trauma that can persist during physical recovery, the scientific mind-body connection, and how nervous system regulation, brain retraining, and visualization became central to her healing. She describes publishing a New York Times visual op-ed using her symptom data, the messages it sparked, and how a conversation prompted her to commit to brain retraining, leading to slow but meaningful functional return and recent confidence saying she’s fully recovered, alongside an ongoing reintegration into work, creativity, and life. Links: Giorgia Lupi "1,374 Days: My Life With Long Covid" — NYT Visual Op-Ed Dear Data Caravan Palace Parov Stelar Kormac DNRS (Dynamic Neural Retraining System) Gupta Program Post-Exertional Malaise (PEM) Limbic System / Vagus Nerve / Nervous System Regulation Psychedelic Therapy & Neural Rewiring Subway Map as Information Design Music Notation Chapters: (00:00) - Morning Excitement Check (00:25) - Yoga Team Gratitude (01:18) - Long COVID Journey (02:46) - Trauma And Body Trust (05:38) - Brain Retraining Turning Point (06:18) - NYT Visual Op Ed (08:41) - Feeling Fully Recovered (15:02) - Reintegration After Recovery (17:11) - Returning To Creative Work (19:29) - Presence Priorities And Limits (23:21) - From Darkness To Acceptance (25:57) - Art Data And Experience (28:56) - Art Beyond Words (30:22) - Branding as Narrative (32:28) - Sketching to Think (33:25) - Designing Shared Languages (35:42) - Healing and Tracking (38:16) - Vulnerability and Sharing (39:27) - Dear Data Origins (43:36) - Learning Through Speaking (48:23) - Finding Your Style (52:31) - Obsessions as Projects (56:31) - Electro Swing Picks (57:40) - Where to Follow (58:03) - Closing Reflections

• Chapters

Ben Callahan on Building Community, Your Values, and the Power of Connection

Ben Callahan joins Brad to discuss what’s currently motivating him, from enjoying homemade ham and bean soup in Ohio to a deeper focus on connecting people through curiosity-led facilitation. Ben reflects on a transitional season of life, the importance of personal and organizational values, and how communities work best when they’re allowed to form organically. He describes his annual values exercise, the role of sharing and teaching in web culture, and the need to reintroduce humanity after COVID. The conversation also explores music’s ability to create presence and unity, with recommendations including Chanticleer, Jacob Collier, and Radiohead. Books Get Together — Building Community Music / Artists Chanticleer Jacob Collier Bobby McFerrin Radiohead Websites / Communities / Projects ben callahan.com — Ben's home base for everything The Question — Weekly open community design systems research project Redwoods — Ben's new paid community for design systems practitioners Sparkbox — Ben's consultancy Design Downtime — Podcast by Guy Siegall (Ben was a season 1 guest) Chapters: (00:00) - Introduction (00:26) - What has Ben waking up excited? (09:37) - Community as Resistance (13:55) - Values and Learning Mode (35:08) - Hardship Resets Trajectory (37:52) - Sharing Culture Of The Web (42:46) - Music Presence And Connection (50:39) - Consciousness Curiosity And Openness (57:02) - Music Recommendations (01:01:00) - Where To Find Ben

• Transcript
• Chapters

Gemma O’Brien on Neuroaesthetics, Flow States, and Trusting Creative Intuition

Brad Frost welcomes Sydney-based artist and designer Gemma O’Brien to Wake Up Excited to discuss her work in murals, lettering, and calligraphy and her recent move to London to study at the intersection of art and neuroscience. Gemma shares what she learned shifting from “thinking like an artist” to “thinking like a scientist,” including the rigor of statistics and research, and describes her flow-state study with artists, where self-reported intuition in the creative process significantly predicted flow even after controlling for expertise. They explore how to foster flow through attention, intrinsic motivation, goals, and challenge-skill balance, plus the healing power of the arts, stepping outside comfort zones, collaboration, and optimism as a learned superpower. Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 02:20 Neuroaesthetics Leap 03:31 Thesis Crunch Time 05:47 Artist Workflow Reset 09:09 Science Learning Curve 12:37 Studying Flow And Intuition 20:40 Why Art Moves Us 25:37 Arts Therapy And Healing 34:38 Optimism As Superpower 38:32 Helping Without Burning Out 42:04 Strengths Gratitude Daily Practice 45:56 Beginner Mind And Discomfort 51:55 Collaboration Ego And Delegation 01:00:57 Flow State Conditions And Attention 01:07:54 Intrinsic Motivation 1:12:07 Music Playlists 01:15:07 Wrap Up Links

• Transcript