Astra Taylor is an artist, activist, and founder of the Rolling Jubilee and the Debt Collective. Her latest book is Remake the World: Essays, Reflections, Rebellions.

S9E3: Astra Taylor

Interviews with fascinating people from a range of industries—from music and retail to journalism and technology—who are exploring their creative practices, inventing new ways of working, and helping shape a more inclusive world.

In the 11th season of DB|BD,&nbsp; co-hosts Jessica Helfand and Ellen McGirt are observing equity by highlighting the “redesigners” — people who are addressing urgent problems by challenging big assumptions about how the world can and should work — and who it should work for. 




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The WNBA is both the moment and a movement.  Approximately 400,000 fans attended WNBA games during the first month of the 2024 season, the highest first month attendance in 26 years. An average of 1.32 million viewers are tuning into each game. A historic rookie class that includes Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark are bringing new eyeballs to a game that has some of the most dedicated fan bases in professional sports. The league also saw a 200% increase in revenue in 2023 from the year prior and they are currently negotiating a TV deal independently of the NBA for the very first time.  

And don’t forget the women of this league are staunch social activists who helped flip a U.S. Senate seat in 2021. In this episode of DB|BD, hosts Ellen McGirt and Jessica Helfand sit down with WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert. Engelbert stepped in as the league’s very first commissioner in 2019 after spending 33 years at Deloitte. Engelbert shares how she transformed an almost non-existent marketing department to revive the 30 year old league, what the league is doing to support player wellness and why she considers the WNBA a “growth stock.” Later in the episode we will hear from Lindsay Gibbs a sports reporter and author of the feminist sports newsletter Power Plays. Gibbs explains how this moment in the W fits into three decades of league history, why the long running record of WNBA player activism can’t be ignored and what mainstream sports media is getting wrong in their coverage of the league. On this season of DB|BD, co-hosts Jessica Helfand and Ellen McGirt are observing equity by highlighting the “redesigners” — people who are addressing urgent problems by challenging big assumptions about how the world can and should work — and who it should work for.  This season of DB|BD is powered by Deloitte.  Visit our site for more on this episode and to view a transcript. To check out the WNBA’s upcoming schedule and how to watch,  visit their website.  To read more of Lindsay Gibbs’ reporting, including her piece on Candace Parker’s rookie season, and listen to her podcast, visit her website.  Watch Bruhat Soma win the 2024 Scripps National Spelling Bee. Read more about the integration of Negro League baseball stats into the MLB records. Follow The Design of Business | The Business of Design on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app.  Episodes are produced by Design Observer’s editorial team. The views and opinions expressed by podcast speakers and guests are solely their own and do not reflect the opinions of Deloitte or its personnel, nor does Deloitte advocate or endorse any individuals or entities featured on the episodes. 


S11E5: WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert on Talent, Activism, and the Business of Basketball

Richard Buery is the CEO of Robin Hood, New York City’s largest poverty fighting organization. It supports high-impact community organizations and partners with state and local governments to elevate New Yorkers out of poverty. In 2023 alone, Robin Hood invested $129 million in 200 carefully selected poverty fighting organizations. And New Yorkers need this support more than ever before. Robin Hood’s 2024 Poverty Tracker, released in February, found that nearly 500,000 more New Yorkers lived in poverty in 2022 than in the year prior. But Richard and his team don't see that statistic as a foregone conclusion. It is an urgent call to action to make New York better for all New Yorkers  In this episode of DB|BD, Buery discusses the most pressing issues New York City is currently facing, including the migrant crisis and growth in post-pandemic poverty. He also shares why coalition building is the foundation of Robin Hood’s work and why the organization is investing in A.I. as a poverty fighting tool.  Later in the episode we will hear from Cara Eckholm, a fellow at Cornell’s Urban Tech Hub. She’ll share her thoughts on why urban innovation must include technology and how A.I. fits into the urban renewal puzzle. On this season of DB|BD, co-hosts Jessica Helfand and Ellen McGirt are observing equity by highlighting the “redesigners” — people who are addressing urgent problems by challenging big assumptions about how the world can and should work — and who it should work for.  This season of DB|BD is powered by Deloitte.  Visit our site for more on this episode and to view a transcript. To learn more about Robin Hood, visit their website.  Robinhood’s 2024 Poverty Tracker Learn more about Robin Hood’s A.I. Challenge To explore Daniella Zalcman’s photography, visit her website and revisit this 2019 DB|BD episode. Women Photograph Database Follow The Design of Business | The Business of Design on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app.  Episodes are produced by Design Observer’s editorial team. The views and opinions expressed by podcast speakers and guests are solely their own and do not reflect the opinions of Deloitte or its personnel, nor does Deloitte advocate or endorse any individuals or entities featured on the episodes. 


S11E4: Richard Buery and Robin Hood Are Building a Coalition to Tackle Poverty in NYC

 In 2015, interior designer Jonsara Ruth and architect Alison Mears received a grant to study the use of building materials in affordable housing. This grant led to the creation of the Healthy Materials Lab, a design-led research lab based out of the Parsons School of Design that raises awareness about toxins in building materials and draws attention to healthier alternatives. Almost a decade later, they’re still asking big and necessary questions: What if we could make building materials a little more slowly with an eye towards health and sustainability? And what if these materials were accessible by everyone? What would that mean to the health of the world?  In this episode of DB|BD, Ruth and Mears discuss why the Lab continues to focus on  affordable housing, what harms typical materials in our built environment cause, what healthy alternatives exist,  and how these healthy materials can become accessible and affordable at scale. On this season of DB|BD,  co-hosts Jessica Helfand and Ellen McGirt are observing equity by highlighting the “redesigners” — people who are addressing urgent problems by challenging big assumptions about how the world can and should work — and who it should work for.  This season of DB|BD is powered by Deloitte.  Visit our site for more on this episode and to view a transcript. To learn more about the Healthy Materials Lab, visit their website.  Material Health: Design Frontiers, a book by the Healthy Materials Lab Follow The Design of Business | The Business of Design on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app.  Episodes are produced by Design Observer’s editorial team. The views and opinions expressed by podcast speakers and guests are solely their own and do not reflect the opinions of Deloitte or its personnel, nor does Deloitte advocate or endorse any individuals or entities featured on the episodes. 


S11E3: The Healthy Materials Lab is Making Housing Healthier for Everyone

Franklin Leonard is the founder and CEO of The Black List, a platform that nurtures emerging screenwriters and gives screenplays that aren’t attached to a big producer, actor or studio a chance to be produced. Since The Black List’s founding in 2005, 440 scripts from its annual survey have been produced as feature films, grossing $30 billion in box office worldwide. These films have earned 267 Academy Award nominations and 54 wins, including four Best Picture Oscars (Spotlight, Slumdog Millionaire, The King’s Speech, Argo).  In this episode of DB|BD, Leonard talks about the most pressing issues Hollywood faces, the business case for giving more diverse screenwriters a shot, and why he believes making the film industry a true meritocracy will naturally lead to more diverse filmmaking. On this season of DB|BD,  co-hosts Jessica Helfand and Ellen McGirt are observing equity by highlighting the “redesigners” — people who are addressing urgent problems by challenging big assumptions about how the world can and should work — and who it should work for.  This season of DB|BD is powered by Deloitte.  Visit our site for more on this episode and to view a transcript. To learn more about The Black List, visit their website.  Franklin Leonard’s Ted Talk: How I Accidentally Changed the Way Movies Get Made The Black Film Archive Follow The Design of Business | The Business of Design on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app.  Episodes are produced by Design Observer’s editorial team. The views and opinions expressed by podcast speakers and guests are solely their own and do not reflect the opinions of Deloitte or its personnel, nor does Deloitte advocate or endorse any individuals or entities featured on the episodes. 


S11E2: How Franklin Leonard is using The Black List to Redesign Hollywood

Carrie Mae Weems is a multidisciplinary artist. Her body of work stretches over four decades and across many mediums, but with a singular focus—  depicting the reality of Black life.  

Weems talks about her work, her role in public life, the intersecting crises in the world, and the power of convening people through art to confront big truths. On this season of DB|BD,  co-hosts Jessica Helfand and Ellen McGirt are observing equity by highlighting the “redesigners” — people who are addressing urgent problems by challenging big assumptions about how the world can and should work — and who it should work for. 

This season of DB|BD is powered by Deloitte. 

Visit our site for more on this episode and to view a transcript.

To learn more about Carrie Mae Weems’ work, visit her website.  A write up of Carrie’s Cyclorama in the New York Times.

 Varying Shades of Brown was a project featuring major installations and programs by Carrie Mae Weems across Brown University.

 If you enjoyed this conversation with Carrie, check out Jessica and Ellen’s conversation with Avery Willis Hoffman, the artistic director of the Brown Arts Institute.

 Follow The Design of Business | The Business of Design on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app. 

 Episodes are produced by Design Observer’s editorial team. The views and opinions expressed by podcast speakers and guests are solely their own and do not reflect the opinions of Deloitte or its personnel, nor does Deloitte advocate or endorse any individuals or entities featured on the episodes. 


S9E3: Astra Taylor

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