Welcome to the no-BS podcast where AI meets design. We're getting down and dirty with the industry's boldest thinkers, builders, and rebels—talking real-world AI, design breakthroughs, and the messy magic in between. No fluff,no filters—just raw conversations, hot takes, and ideas that are shaping the future.
What if the interface could design itself? That's not a hypothetical anymore.
In this episode, Josh Clark (https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshclark/) and Veronika Kindred (https://www.linkedin.com/in/vkind/), co-authors of Sentient Design: Crafting Intelligent Interfaces with AI, are coming on to talk about exactly that. They call it practical magic: starting with bold, even impossible wishes and working backward to real, deliverable experiences. Adaptive interfaces. Agents that just get it done. Dashboards that respond to who you are right now.
And if you've been following my work, you know this hits right at the heart of what I'm presenting at Rosenfeld Media at the end of July, the new design stack and why it reshapes how we build.
This one is not optional listening.
24 Jun 2026
How do I get a job if I can't get experience? How can I get experience if I can't get a job?
DESIGNathon S2 Episode 4 - How do I get experience with no experience?
Our guests have been in the trenches. They're breaking down how to get experience when no one will give you a chance and how to navigate a job market that feels designed to keep you out.
Speakers:
Morgan Denner, (https://www.linkedin.com/in/morgandenner/)
CSPO (https://www.linkedin.com/in/morgandenner/)Steven Steiner (https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevensteiner/)
Hosts:
Anne Cantera (https://www.linkedin.com/in/anne-cantera/)
Mahnaz Hajesmaeili (https://www.linkedin.com/in/mahnaz-hajesmaeili/)
10 May 2026
Special Episode: How do you fail forward into 2M followers?
Maggie Weber spent five years making content nobody watched. Now 2 million people follow her every move. Creator of "Being a Woman on the Internet" and the wildly popular Bad Design series, Maggie joins DESIGNathon to talk about what actually builds an audience: authentic storytelling, leading with generosity, and the slow work of showing up before anyone is paying attention.
If you've ever wanted to learn how to make content that actually connects, this one is for you.
Gust:
Maggie Weber
Hosts:
Anne Cantera
Mahnaz Hajesmaeili
9 May 2026
Agentics Is Here: The Stack, The Skills, The Roles Nobody's Teaching Yet
Agentics Is Here: The Stack, The Skills, The Roles Nobody's Teaching Yet
Most of the AI conversation is running a cycle behind the actual work. While the industry debates whether agents are real, a small group of builders inside the Agentics Foundation are already shipping swarms, orchestration layers, context graphs, and execution environments that don't have names in any textbook or job description yet. These are the people whose demos I walk out of realizing nobody has a clue what's coming next.This month, we're sitting down with several of them to get into the stack they're actually building with, the skills it takes to work at this level, and the roles emerging on their own teams that don't have titles yet. If you're trying to figure out where you fit in the next wave of agentic AI, this is the conversation to listen to.
Speakers:
Dragan Spiridonov (https://www.linkedin.com/in/dragan-spiridonov/)
Ofer Shaal (https://www.linkedin.com/in/shaal/)
Scott McMillan
Hosts:
Anne Cantera (https://www.linkedin.com/in/anne-cantera/)
Mahnaz Hajesmaeili (https://www.linkedin.com/in/mahnaz-hajesmaeili/)
29 Mar 2026
Who Checks the Model? A Deep Dive into AI Bias Audits
DESIGNathon S2 Episode 2 - Who Checks the Model? A Deep Dive into AI Bias Audits
A hiring algorithm that screens out women. A healthcare model trained almost entirely on white male data. A content system that amplifies harm faster than anyone can catch it. These aren't hypotheticals — they shipped. And in most cases, the bias was there long before the product was. This episode gets into the unglamorous, necessary work of catching it first: what bias audits actually look like, where datasets quietly go wrong, and what it takes to interrupt harmful patterns before they reach real people. This is the episode for anyone who's ever asked "but who checks the model?"
Speakers:
Yaddy Arroyo (https://www.linkedin.com/in/yaddy/)
Christian Ortiz (https://www.linkedin.com/in/modatlasmedia/)
Dr. Shaista Hussain (https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-shai-ai-pathology/)
Hosts:
Anne Cantera (https://www.linkedin.com/in/anne-cantera/)
Mahnaz Hajesmaeili (https://www.linkedin.com/in/mahnaz-hajesmaeili/)
29 Mar 2026
The BIG Beautiful AI Ethics Episode
DESIGNathon S2 Episode 1 - The Big Beautiful AI Ethics Episode
With nearly 50,000 jobs cut last year where companies pointed directly at AI as the reason, and a major platform's chatbot generating thousands of nonconsensual images per hour, the ethics conversation isn't theoretical anymore, it's personal. This is the one designers can't sit out.
Speakers:
Kee Jones (https://www.linkedin.com/in/kee-jones-47088386/) (https://www.linkedin.com/in/ellefkingsley/)
Elle Farrell-Kingsley (https://www.linkedin.com/in/ellefkingsley/)
Jennifer Borchardt (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jborchardt/)
Hosts:
Anne Cantera (https://www.linkedin.com/in/anne-cantera/)
Mahnaz Hajesmaeili (https://www.linkedin.com/in/mahnaz-hajesmaeili/)
2 Nov 2025
Robots Are Coming 🤖
Robotics aren’t some distant future, they’re here, reshaping our world right now. Today, we’re diving into the rise of physical AI: machines that don’t just think, but act. So what new roles are they stepping into, and how will they change ours?
Speakers:
Harsha Srivatsa (https://www.linkedin.com/in/harshasrivatsa/)
Dr. Karthika Balan
Hosts:Anne Cantera (https://www.linkedin.com/in/anne-cantera/)
Mahnaz Hajesmaeili (https://www.linkedin.com/in/mahnaz-hajesmaeili/)
29 Sept 2025
Autonomous Agents
The guys actually building what others only talk about: swarms, queen bees, and truly agentic AI. A raw look at the pioneers shaping autonomous ecosystems.
Speakers:
Reuven Cohen (https://www.linkedin.com/in/reuvencohen/)
Bron Fieldwalker (https://www.linkedin.com/in/syndicatedigital/)
Haiyang Li (https://www.linkedin.com/in/quantoceanli/)
Hosts:Anne Cantera (https://www.linkedin.com/in/anne-cantera/)
Mahnaz Hajesmaeili (https://www.linkedin.com/in/mahnaz-hajesmaeili/)
7 Sept 2025
DESIGNathon #5 The New AI Jobs You Haven’t Heard Of (Yet)
AI is creating jobs faster than you think, are you ready for them?Forget the “AI will take your job” headlines. The real story is the surge of new roles reshaping the future of work!
In this episode of DESIGNathon, we’re flipping the script with Harsha Srivatsa (https://www.linkedin.com/in/harshasrivatsa/) and Polly M Allen (https://www.linkedin.com/in/pollymallen/). We’ll explore which AI-powered careers are emerging fastest, the skills you’ll need to stand out, and insider advice to future-proof your career in an AI-driven world.
Guest Speakers:
Harsha Srivatsa (https://www.linkedin.com/in/harshasrivatsa/)
Polly M Allen (https://www.linkedin.com/in/pollymallen/)
Hosts:
Anne Cantera (https://www.linkedin.com/in/anne-cantera/)
Mahnaz Hajesmaeili (https://www.linkedin.com/in/mahnaz-hajesmaeili/)
31 Jul 2025
Getting Hired as a Designer for AI/UX
Hiring in AI UX is new and messy, so we brought in the pros.Is your portfolio really speaking to hiring managers? What do recruiters see on LinkedIn? And how is hiring in AI product design actually different?
This week on DESIGNathon, we’re diving into real-time portfolio reviews, insider takes from recruiters and hiring managers, and a behind-the-scenes look at how candidates are found and evaluated.
Guest Speakers:Rupa Chaturvedi (https://www.linkedin.com/in/rupachaturvedi/), Chris Stambolidis (https://www.linkedin.com/in/christos-stambolidis-900227211/)
Hosts:Anne Cantera (https://www.linkedin.com/in/anne-cantera/)Mahnaz Hajesmaeili (https://www.linkedin.com/in/mahnaz-hajesmaeili/)
30 Jun 2025
Getting started in Conversation DESIGN
Anne Cantera and Mahnaz Hajesmaeili interview Michelle Parayil, Soo-Jin Lee, and Yaddy Arroyo about conversation design, revealing how to acquire this in-demand skill.
31 May 2025
From UX to AI how to pivot and get work
Erika Flowers and John Leach discuss the evolving design landscape and provide actionable strategies for designers to successfully transition from UX to AI, ensuring continued relevance and employability in the industry.
13 May 2025
Is Figma Really Dead? We will ask the OG's
Anaïs Wittrock-Roske, Thomas Wilson, and Tony Moura discuss the future of interface design in the age of AI, exploring the potential dominance of voice, chat, and visual interfaces in an interview.
Who has been a guest on DESIGNathon
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Michelle Parayil
Soo-Jin Lee
Yaddy Arroyo
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3 ratings
Spotify
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1 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 23 / 100
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YouTube
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Engagement
32
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