Clever with Amy Devers

Designer Liz Ogbu grew up in Oakland as the daughter of Nigerian immigrants, but it wasn’t until her first trip to Nigeria at 16 that she grasped the profound role place, family, and cultural context play in shaping who we are—and what we create. Drawn to the creative possibilities of architecture, she studied both architecture and engineering before traveling across Africa on a Watson Fellowship, an experience that sharpened her understanding of who her work is ultimately for: the people most impacted by design.Today, Liz is catalyzing what design can do—in transforming informal marketplaces, helping communities heal after being fractured by freeways, and weaving practices of grief, accountability, and repair into the built environment. Her work transcends traditional architecture, centering the excavation of harm and the pursuit of more empathetic, community-rooted design at a moment when it’s needed more than ever. Images and more from Liz Ogbu on our website!Special thanks to our sponsor! Wix Studio is a platform built for all web creators to design, develop, and manage exceptional web projects at scale.Clever is hosted & produced by Amy Devers, with editing by Mark Zurawinski, production assistance from Ilana Nevins and Anouchka Stephan, and music by El Ten Eleven.SUBSCRIBE - listen to Clever on any podcast app!SIGN UP - for our Substack for news, bonus content, new episode alertsVISIT - cleverpodcast.com for transcripts, images, and 200+ more episodesSAY HI! - on Instagram & LinkedIn @cleverpodcast @amydevers

If you caught last week’s interview with Stephanie Tinsley, you heard a compelling, second chapter creative journey in which she summons her inner strengths and plunges herself into the world of investigative podcasting. This week, we’re presenting an episode of Everything They Missed, Stephanie Tinsley’s gripping new true-crime podcast reexamining the 2007 murder of Danny Harris — a case officially closed, but full of unanswered questions. Episode 1, “Protocol,” exposes a disturbing crime scene, a baffling timeline, and an investigative response that feels far too casual. As Stephanie digs deeper, overlooked evidence and unheard voices suggest the truth may still be out there.Protocol | The First 48 Hours After Danny Harris’s MurderDanny Harris, a father of four and military vet, is found murdered in his Tennessee apartment. The scene was savage: blood on the walls, air fresheners failing to hide the stench, a towel jammed so far down his throat it drove a tooth into his lung. His body, undiscovered, for two months. But the nightmare inside that room was only the start. Now, host Stephanie Tinsley pulls it apart piece by piece, asking the question many people would rather stay buried: Did Danny Harris get the justice he deserves?Episode 1, Protocol, follows the Memphis investigation from its first hours: evidence overlooked, leads opening and closing, and questions that would haunt the case for years. What investigators missed at the crime scene would shape everything that followed.Stephanie Tinsley is married to Mark Tinsley, the attorney who represented the family of Mallory Beach in the high-profile Murdaugh case. Living through one of the most sensational trials in recent history gave her a close view of how justice can falter. Today, she brings that perspective to investigating wrongful convictions and exposing the cracks in America’s justice system.Listen to Everything They Missed—-------------------------------------------------------Clever is hosted & produced by Amy Devers, with editing by Mark Zurawinski, production assistance from Ilana Nevins and Anouchka Stephan, and music by El Ten Eleven.Special thanks to our sponsor! Wix Studio is a platform built for all web creators to design, develop, and manage exceptional web projects at scale.SUBSCRIBE - listen to Clever on any podcast app!SIGN UP - for our Substack for news, bonus content, new episode alertsVISIT - cleverpodcast.com for transcripts, images, and 200+ more episodesSAY HI! - on Instagram & LinkedIn @cleverpodcast @amydevers

When her life collided with a high-profile murder trial, longtime true-crime devotee Stephanie Tinsley found an unexpected path into creative agency and advocacy. After a career in sales and private equity, everything shifted when her husband, attorney Mark Tinsley, was thrust into the spotlight during the Murdaugh murder trials. In this episode, she and Amy discuss the making of Everything They Missed, the inner resources she had to marshal to tell the story well, and why centering human dignity is her driving force in true-crime storytelling.Images and more from Stephanie Tinsley on our website!Special thanks to our sponsor: Wix Studio is a platform built for all web creators to design, develop, and manage exceptional web projects at scale.Clever is hosted & produced by Amy Devers, with editing by Mark Zurawinski, production assistance from Ilana Nevins and Anouchka Stephan, and music by El Ten Eleven.SUBSCRIBE - listen to Clever on any podcast app!SIGN UP - for our Substack for news, bonus content, new episode alertsVISIT - cleverpodcast.com for transcripts, images, and 200+ more episodesSAY HI! - on Instagram & LinkedIn @cleverpodcast @amydevers

Molly Heintz grew up fascinated with Greek mythology, and eventually, fashion – drawn to enthralling storytelling and visual aesthetics. She carried this interest in Greek mythology over to studying archeology but when she became burned out in academia, she transitioned to work as a fashion editor, setting her on an entirely new careerpath. From there, she worked in marketing and communications, eventually co-founding Superscript and teaching at SVA, chairing the Masters of Arts in Design Research, Writing & Criticism program. Together with Steven Heller, she’s co-edited The Education of a Design Writer to showcase exemplary design writing and share practical advice for writers. Molly makes a compelling case for why design writing is essential for the design process, and for understanding the world around us. Images and more from Molly Heintz on cleverpodcast.com!Special thanks to our sponsor! Wix Studio is a platform built for all web creators to design, develop, and manage exceptional web projects at scale.Clever is hosted & produced by Amy Devers, with editing by Mark Zurawinski, production assistance from Ilana Nevins and Anouchka Stephan, and music by El Ten Eleven.SUBSCRIBE - listen to Clever on any podcast app!SIGN UP - for our Substack for news, bonus content, new episode alertsVISIT - cleverpodcast.com for transcripts, images, and 200+ more episodesSAY HI! - on Instagram & LinkedIn @cleverpodcast @amydevers

Clever Confidential is Clever’s offshoot series, where we dig into the darker side of design–the shadowy, sometimes sordid tales hiding under a glossy topcoat of respectable legacy.In Episode 4: Before Silicon Valley, there was Olivetti—an Italian design powerhouse on the brink of changing the world. But just as their revolutionary computer neared completion, tragedy struck.Visionary leader Adriano Olivetti and brilliant engineer Mario Tchou both died suddenly, their deaths cloaked in secrecy and Cold War paranoia. What really happened to them—and who stood to gain?Host Amy Devers and writer Andrew Wagner follow the trail of innovation, betrayal, and buried history to uncover how a company destined to shape the digital age was silenced... and why its story was nearly erased.Check out images of the Programma 101 and more about Olivetti on cleverpodcast.comSpecial thanks to our sponsor: Wix Studio is a platform built for all web creators to design, develop, and manage exceptional web projects at scale.Many thanks to our guest expert Barry Katz. Audio clips courtesy of Luca Cottini - Italian Innovators youtube video - CAMILLO & ADRIANO OLIVETTI. At the Origins of the Computer Age. Linkedin and instagram @italianinnovatorsWriting and research: Amy Devers, Andrew Wagner, Ilana NevinsEditing and Sound Design: Camille Stennis and Mark ZurawinskiTheme Music: “Astronomy” by Thin White Rope courtesy of Frontier RecordsSUBSCRIBE - listen to Clever on any podcast app!SIGN UP - for our Substack for news, bonus content, new episode alertsVISIT - cleverpodcast.com for transcripts, images, and 200+ more episodesSAY HI! - on Instagram & LinkedIn @cleverpodcast @amydevers

Julia Watson, a landscape architect, author, and educator, developed a passion for global cultures and knowledge as a child in Australia, inspired by her parents' National Geographic collection. She has since dedicated her career to exploring traditional knowledge systems and their application to contemporary design challenges like extreme weather, waste management, and population growth.At the heart of Watson's work is a profound respect for indigenous knowledge systems and a commitment to applying Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) to climate-adaptive design. Through her work with Lo-TEK, including the recently launched Lo-TEK Office for Intercultural Urbanism, and her books, Lo-TEK: Design by Radical Indigenism and the upcoming Lo-TEK Water (November 30 release), she strives to facilitate the equitable exchange and implementation of indigenous knowledge and technology to the crucial and complex challenges of our evolving world.Images, links and more from Julia Watson on our website!Special thanks to our sponsor - Wix Studio is a platform built for all web creators to design, develop, and manage exceptional web projects at scale.Clever is hosted & produced by Amy Devers, with editing by Mark Zurawinski, production assistance from Ilana Nevins and Anouchka Stephan, and music by El Ten Eleven.SUBSCRIBE - listen to Clever on any podcast app!SIGN UP - for our Substack for news, bonus content, new episode alertsVISIT - cleverpodcast.com for transcripts, images, and 200+ more episodesSAY HI! - on Instagram & LinkedIn @cleverpodcast @amydevers

Graphic designer Aaron Draplin was born in Michigan and raised on LEGO bricks, pizza nights, punk rock & snowboarding. He spent early adulthood rolling with the “crusty undercurrent of f*ckheads” that lives to snowboard before he ventured to Minneapolis to study design amongst the ghosts of his musical heroes. He’s seen some high-falutin’ stuff at the museum, but the steelyard is where it’s at. He’s all about working hard, making a sh*t whack of money, taking care of his people, and having some fun along the way. Thanks to Adobe Max for hosting us in the Airstream podcast lounge.Images and more from Aaron on cleverpodcast.com!Special thanks to our sponsor: Wix Studio is a platform built for all web creators to design, develop, and manage exceptional web projects at scale.This episode of Clever is created, hosted and produced by Amy Devers and Jaime Derringer with music from El Ten Eleven and editing by Jennie Josephson.SUBSCRIBE - listen to Clever on any podcast app!SIGN UP - for our Substack for news, bonus content, new episode alertsVISIT - cleverpodcast.com for transcripts, images, and 200+ more episodesSAY HI! - on Instagram & LinkedIn @cleverpodcast @amydeversIf you enjoy Clever we could use your support! Please consider leaving a review, making a donation, becoming a sponsor, or introducing us to your friends! We love and appreciate you!

Cas Holman grew up playing make-believe in the woods and helping her mechanic step-dad fix cars and dune buggies. Always knowing that she didn’t check the stereotypical gender boxes, she never gave any of the other arbitrary “boxes” much credit either, instead preferring to focus on the outside-the-box possibilities that could be accessed through play, curiosity, and exploration. While getting her MFA, she began working on Geemo, a building toy, which kicked-off her life’s mission of designing for play. Since then, she’s established herself as a champion of open-ended play, designing notable play systems like Rigamajig. She’s worked with global business leaders to incorporate play into company culture, leading to more innovative outcomes, greater trust and safety, and improved resilience. With her upcoming book, Playful, she is on a campaign to help adults reconnect with play throughout their lives because she knows, and has the research and science to prove it, that with play we ALL become more creative, joyful, and productive. Ain’t that good news!Images and more from Cas Holman on our website!Special thanks to our sponsor:Wix Studio is a platform built for all web creators to design, develop, and manage exceptional web projects at scale.Clever is hosted & produced by Amy Devers, with editing by Mark Zurawinski, production assistance from Ilana Nevins and Anouchka Stephan, and music by El Ten Eleven.SUBSCRIBE - listen to Clever on any podcast app!SIGN UP - for our Substack for news, bonus content, new episode alertsVISIT - cleverpodcast.com for transcripts, images, and 200+ more episodesSAY HI! - on Instagram & LinkedIn @cleverpodcast @amydevers