Design Matters with Debbie Millman

Quiara Alegría Hudes is a Pulitzer Prize–winning playwright, composer, and novelist whose work has reshaped contemporary American theater. The co-creator of In the Heights and author of Water by the Spoonful, she has consistently explored identity, family, and belonging across theater, music, memoir, and now fiction in her new book, The White Hot.

Chris Duffy—comedian, writer, and host of the TED podcast How to Be a Better Human—joins to discuss how humor shaped his path from teaching and improv to podcasting and television. Together, they explore why laughing more isn’t about being funny, but about attention, vulnerability, and connection, and how humor helps us stay human.

Ruth Ann Harnisch is an investor, philanthropist, social activist, media producer, and founder of Harnisch Foundation, which supports work that breaks down barriers to equality and opportunity. She joins CreativeMornings live to reflect on her path from teen broadcaster to first female anchor, and how finding her voice in inequitable newsrooms shaped everything that followed.

Brian Chesky is the co-founder and CEO of Airbnb, a company that began with airbeds and grew into a worldwide community built on trust and belonging. He joins to discuss how imagination and design shaped his path from art school to entrepreneurship, and what it means to design the world you want to live in.

For the 20th anniversary of Design Matters, Debbie Millman revisits excerpts from her most memorable interviews. Featuring Jason Reynolds, Marina Abramović, Chris Ware, Richard Saul Wurman, Rick Rubin, and Roxane Gay, this episode gathers voices that challenged, surprised, and have continued to evolve in meaning over time.

For the 20th anniversary of Design Matters, Debbie Millman revisits conversations with renowned poets Eileen Myles, Elizabeth Alexander, Sarah Kay, and Amber Tamblyn. These excerpts reflect on language, identity, memory, and the lived experience that fuels their work. Together, they reveal poetry as an intimate practice that resonates beyond the page.

For the 20th anniversary of Design Matters, Debbie Millman revisits conversations with distinguished actors Claire Danes, Ethan Hawke, Nick Offerman, Kyra Sedgwick, and Josh Brolin. These excerpts explore how they approach their craft, work with directors and fellow actors, and what it means to inhabit a role and sustain a creative life on stage and on screen.

For the 20th anniversary of Design Matters, Debbie Millman revisits conversations with acclaimed directors Brian Koppelman, Thomas Kail, Mike Mills, Sarah Polley, and Siân Heder. These excerpts explore the director’s role as the central collaborator, guiding creative teams and shaping a project from vision to execution. Together, they reflect on the choices, pressures, and responsibilities of bringing a story to life.

For the 20th anniversary of Design Matters, Debbie Millman revisits previous episodes with activists and advocates Gloria Steinem, Anita Hill, Cindy Gallop, Sonya Passi, and Dr. Joy Buolamwini. These excerpts highlight conversations about power, accountability, and the urgent work of dismantling inequality across culture, institutions, and technology.