The Grand Tourist with Dan Rubinstein

Many designers leave their mark, but Philippe Starck blazes a trail and constantly sets new standards for what design can accomplish in our lives. On this episode, Dan speaks with the famed French talent about his awkward teens, why he’ll never have dinner with a client, and why you’ll never see his home published in a magazine.

For more than 100 years, the American Academy in Rome has been a place where the best and brightest rub elbows, exchange ideas, and grow their careers. On this episode, Dan speaks with the institution’s leader Mark Robbins and Rome Prize recipient and artist Sanford Biggers about the importance of collaboration, the decline of empires, and how this incredible institution began.

Throughout her inspiring career, interior designer India Mahdavi has created restaurants, shops, and homes bursting with a sophisticated palette of hues that has become her signature. On this episode, Dan speaks with this highly respected talent about her unique upbringing, how she designed the most Instagrammed restaurant of all time, and how the imaginary world she created as a child inspires her to this day.

The incredible experiences of Catherine Dior, sister to fashion designer Christian Dior, is one that has gone largely untold for decades. On this episode, Dan speaks with author Justine Picardie on her latest book, “Miss Dior: A Story of Courage and Couture” that dives into Catherine’s heroic legacy, her actions as part of the French Resistance, and how she survived the unimaginable.

The colorful, surprising, and delightful worlds that Jorge Pardo creates defy categorization. In this episode, Dan speaks with the boundary-crossing artist on his latest show, his first major monograph, how he translated his oeuvre into a French hotel, and how he really spent his “genius grant” from the MacArthur Foundation.

What is it like to live and entertain at a major English estate? In this episode, Dan speaks with Lady Carnarvon of Highclere Castle. But to many of us, we know it as the location of Downton Abbey. Dan quizzes Lady Carnarvon on her new book that takes readers through all the ins and outs of maintaining the epic 1,000 acre property, from gardens and follies to animals and their very own gin.