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Why is it Like That?

Leyla Acaroglu

Why Is It Like That? is a curiosity podcast hosted by designer, social scientist and sustainability provocateur Leyla Acaroglu. Each episode takes you on a wild ride through science, design, innovation, nature, and the quirks of everyday life. In every episode, Leyla sits down with fascinating thinkers — scientists, designers, explorers, philosophers, and innovators — to unravel counterintuitive questions about the world around us. Expect surprising insights, humour, and more as she digs into the big and small things that shape our lives and our planet. Curious, thought-provoking, and always entertaining, Why Is It Like That? invites you to see the world differently, one question at a time.

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13 episodes
Avg 44 min
English

Episodes 13

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S1 · E12
April 9 · 50 min
Could Doughnut Economics Fix What Growth Has Broken? With Kate Raworth
What if the economy wasn’t something we had to endlessly grow, but something we had to balance? In this episode, economist Kate Raworth challenges the way we’ve been taught to think about economic success and introduces the idea of Doughnut Economics,...
S1 · E11
March 19 · 48 min
Happiness, How Do We Get It? With Lhatu Lhatu
How do we measure a good life, and what if we’ve been getting it wrong? In this episode, Lhatu Lhatu, Director of Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness Centre explores a radically different approach to progress—one that prioritises wellbeing, community,...
#10
March 5 · 50 min
What Makes Indigenous Knowledge Systems So Timeless? With Alison Page
How do narratives of the past affect our understanding of the present? Designer and filmmaker Alison Page explores reframes the first encounter between Captain Cook and the Dharawal people at Kamay through an Aboriginal lens, showing how story,...
S1 · E9
Nov 27, 2025 · 41 min
Have Designers Ruined Everything? With Mike Monteiro
What if the apps you continuously scroll through and the products you use every day are quietly shaping your choices and changing your mind? Designer Mike Monteiro pokes and prodes at the deisgn world, unpacking the hidden impact of the design world,...
S1 · E8
Nov 13, 2025 · 44 min
What’s the Deal With Mushrooms and Death? With Yasmine Ostendorf-Rodriguez
What if the answers to our biggest human challenges, from loneliness, death and sustainability, were hidden in the soil? Artist and author Yasmine Ostendorf-Rodriguez explores how fungi-model communication, cooperation, and resilience reveal telling...
S1 · E7
Oct 30, 2025 · 49 min
The Wisdom of Indigenous Thinking: Can It Change Your Life? With Dr Paul Callaghan
Please note: This episode contains discussions of depression and suicidal thoughts, which may be distressing to some listeners. If you need to reach out for support, you can contact Lifeline 24 hours a day on 13-11-14. After facing deep personal...
S1 · E6
Oct 16, 2025 · 58 min
How Can We Have a Fashion Revolution? With Orsola de Castro
Please note: This episode was recorded on the road, so the audio may sound a little different from our usual in-studio recordings. Clothes are worn by everyone, yet the fashion industry is built on systems of exploitation and exclusion. Co-founder of...
S1 · E5
Oct 2, 2025 · 34 min
Do We Need Interspecies Design? With Damian Lutz
Humans have a tendency to be stuck in their own perspective of the world, and when it comes to designing products and services, this means excluding all the other species that share the Earth with us. But what if we could design for all species and...
S1 · E4
Sep 18, 2025 · 48 min
What is the Hidden Cost of AI? With Thorston Jonas
We are living our lives more and more online, outsourcing our thinking to Artificial Intelligence (AI) and being sucked into digital systems designed to keep us enthralled, but how are the hidden costs of these systems and why should we all be more...
S1 · E1
Sep 4, 2025 · 49 min
Why is Whale Poop in Perfume? With Joe Roman
According to Marine conservationist Joe Roman, whale poop is like snowflakes—no two poops are the same, and they are all individually beautiful. In this episode, we explore the many ways whales are a keystone species for the oceans, helping to fight...
S1 · E3
Sep 4, 2025 · 44 min
Waste Colonization, Are You Doing It? With Betty Adjei
Waste is a luxury for some that comes at the cost of others. For many people, waste is so externalised that they have very little knowledge of just how bad the global waste crisis is and where the things we discard end up. But Betty Adjei knows...
S1 · E2
Sep 4, 2025 · 53 min
Are We Post Human Yet? With Francesca Fernando
We live in a very human-centric world, which can become myopic at times. Philosopher Francesca Fernando helps us push through anthropocentrism into the macro world of the possibility of what posthumanism can offer us. Expect your mind to melt in this...
Sep 1, 2025 · 1 min
Introducing Why is it Like That?
Welcome to Why Is It Like That? hosted by designer and social scientist Leyla Acaroglu. Join fascinating thinkers from science, design, and beyond as we explore quirky, counterintuitive questions about the world. Surprising insights, humour, and big...

Showing 1–13 of 13 episodes