We get comfortable with a mainstay in the world of industrial design and chart the history, meaning and importance of the humble chair.

This week we unearth a few treasures in an industry not so synonymous with design – that of money. We ask the team at Snøhetta how they revamped the Norwegian bank note, consider how the Balkans’ turbulent past is reflected in its various currencies and visit the British Museum for a lesson on world history through numismatics. Plus: Adrian Shaughnessy joins us to discuss the handsome new Unit Editions tome ‘Graphic Stamps’.

On today’s show we shine a light on the most fundamental of visual delights: colour. We chart the tale of three intriguing hues with journalist Kassia St Clair, consider the importance of colour in defining certain cities with author John Sutcliffe and dip into the world of indigo dyeing.

Today we turn our editorial gaze back onto our own turf and consider how to cover a subject as diverse and delightful as design in print and online. Are magazines as influential as they used to be and do clicks and online articles pay the bills? We also mull over the effects of the industry on editorial and graphic design with art director Francesco Franchi.

On today’s show we report from the vanguard of good design Salone del Mobile, Milan’s messy behemoth of a party for the design industry that overtook Lombardy’s capital last week.

This week we hone in on the role of women in architecture and design. We consider the life and legacy of Zaha Hadid, speak with two leading female architects about their work and re-evaluate a few women who have been overlooked in the history of architecture.

We hone in on a tough topic: concrete – and its changing role in architecture. We ask about its future, tell a few little known stories about its brutalist past and mull over the revival of this most polarising of products.

How can cities create the conditions for designers to thrive within? We visit three very different cities – on three continents – working to cultivate their credentials as design hubs: Porto, Mexico City and Dubai.

We step out and smell the roses with an episode dedicated to that most undesigned of delights: plants. Specifically their role in architecture, urban life and office design. We consider the history of London’s urban greenery and the role of plants in landscape architecture. Plus: what the flora in our offices tell us about the changing nature of employment.

This week we take a look at a critically important but less visible facet of the architectural world: competitions. How does the unbuilt world affect the built world? How do you design an architecture competition that delivers a winner for clients, architects and the public? And what’s the best way to approach competitions as a design firm? Listen to find out.