In the first episode of season 5, Mike Monteiro is "still listening to wax, he's not using the CD" when he joins us to share about his lifelong love of vinyl records. From his parents' 70s console record player to a 4,000-record music room, he traces how music became a path of self-discovery. Mike explains how he keeps track of his incredible collection, talks about the Platonic idea of the prefect record store, and makes a passionate case against audiophile gatekeeping: however you listen to music, you're doing it right.

Guest Bio

Mike Monteiro (he/him) is the co-founder and Design Director of Mule. He writes and speaks frequently about the craft, ethics, and business of design. He's written a bunch of books, including Design Is a Job, Ruined by Design, and the brand new How to die (& other stories), which is only tangentially about design. He lives in San Francisco, with his wife Erika and their dog Rupert. He has been buying vinyl his entire life, and currently has about 4,000 records.

Links

Mike’s website: https://www.mikemonteiro.com/

Mike’s Good News newsletter: https://buttondown.com/monteiro

Muhammad Ali inserting a 45 into the record player of his 1959 Cadillac Eldorado: https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/1edo3g1/muhammad_ali_inserting_a_45_into_the_record/

Credits

Cover design by Raquel Breternitz.