Technical Difficulties

Welcome back to our rerelease season, where we're highlighting some of our favorite episodes from previous seasons.

Join Amy Ko, Professor at the University of Washington Information School, as she recounts her adventures in human-computer interaction, the tech startup world, and academia. She is a leader in computer science education with over 100 published papers and recognition from the ACM (Association for Computing Machinery). Amy researches computing to harness it for play, power, and equity for more technologically just futures. Tune in to hear Amy's perspective on:

• What sparked her interest in human-computer interaction (HCI)
• Moving fast and breaking things(?)
• The startup scene as Chief Technology Officer (CTO)
• Beta release labels are an accountability excuse
• Critically conscious computing
• Creative coding

Technical Difficulties is hosted by Liz Gerber and produced by Lauren Lin & Gilli Nieh. Special thanks to the Alumnae of Northwestern and Northwestern’s Center for HCI + Design. This episode was edited by Troy Cruz.

Welcome back to our rerelease season, where we're highlighting some of our favorite episodes from previous seasons.

Join Dori Tunstall, founder and lead executive officer of Dori Tunstall Inc, as she shares her career journey through design anthropology. Dori is a design anthropologist, public intellectual and book author of, “Decolonizing Design: A Cultural Justice Guidebook" - tune in to hear more!

This episode was produced by Liz Gerber and Madison Deyo, and edited by Troy Cruz.

Welcome back to the Technical Difficulties rerelease season, where we highlight some of our favorite episodes from previous seasons.

Join Nicole Kahn, VP of Design at Carta, as she reflects on discovering design research, the secret to telling sticky stories, and transitioning into tech. She has led design at companies like IDEO and WeWork, and is now building out what good design looks like at Carta. Nicole coined the "Bar Test" for storytelling, and is dedicated to unlocking the creative potential in all. Tune in to hear Nicole's perspective on:

• Transitioning from chemical engineering to design research to tech, and the realities of grad school
• Learnings from WeWork: hypergrowth and authentic leadership
• UX debt
• The "lone designer type"
• The "Bar Test" for better stories
• Realizing your expertise as a designer

Join us as we talk with Irene Au, Design Partner at Kholsa Ventures, as she shares her career path across Yahoo and Google, and her insights on the design industry - tune in to hear more! Hear Irene's perspectives on:

• AI documentaries
• Life long learning
• The internet's evolution
• Building from the ground up

Follow Irene! LinkedIn: / ireneau

This episode was produced by Liz Gerber and Madison Deyo, and edited by Troy Cruz.

Welcome to our special rerelease season of our favorite episodes this fall.

Join Michelle Lee, Partner and Managing Director at IDEO, as she delves into the twists and turns of her design career, starting out as an undergrad unsure how to blend engineering and art, to eventually leading Design for Play at IDEO's Play Lab. She believes the most unconventional paths are the ones that will make you most equipped. At the Play Lab, she applies principles of play to tackle challenges like responsible digital design and sustainable circular economies, building towards better, optimistic futures. Michelle's most recent project is the Designing for Digital Thriving Open Innovation Challenge to reimagine healthy online spaces.

We're launching a special rerelease season of our favorite episodes this fall.

Join Lesley-Ann Noel, an Assistant Professor in the Dept. of Design Studies at North Carolina State University, as she brings us along her entire design journey—from her first encounters with design education, creating the Designer's Critical Alphabet, and recently, The Little Book of Designer's Existential Crises in 2022. Lesley brings an expansive lens to practice design through emancipatory, critical, and anti-hegemonic lenses to center those who are often excluded from research. She advocates for critical awareness in design, and sits as co-Chair of the Pluriversal Design Special Interest Group within the Design Research Society.

Technical Difficulties is back, with a special rerelease season of your favorite episodes dropping this September, and season four coming in spring 2026.

Our host, Liz Gerber, had the privilege of joining Lee Moreau on the Design As podcast to discuss the future of AI and design. Stay tuned for Liz's episode with the release of Design As season three.

Join Elizabeth Churchill, Professor and Department Chair at Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI), as she shares her perspectives on artificial intelligence and teaching the next generation of HCI leaders - tune in to hear more!

Visit technicaldifficultiespodcast.com for a full transcript and to hear more episodes.

Hear Elizabeth's perspectives on:

• Developing tools to support learning
• Emotion, identity, and cognition
• The importance of teachers and educators

Follow Elizabeth! LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabethfchurchill/

This episode was produced by Liz Gerber and Madison Deyo, and edited by Troy Cruz.

Join Christina Janzer, former Senior Vice President of research and analytics at Slack, as she inspires us to make big career moves that fit your future goals- tune in to hear more!

Prefer audio? Find the episode on your platform of choice: technicaldifficultiespodcast.com

Hear Christina's perspectives on:

• Staying open to new opportunities during college
• Starting the user research team at Facebook
• Learning through mistakes
• AI and the future of work-life balance

Follow Christina! LinkedIn: / christina-janzer

This episode was produced by Liz Gerber and Madison Deyo, and edited by Troy Cruz.

Join us as we talk with Irene Au, Design Partner at Kholsa Ventures, as she shares her career path across Yahoo and Google, and her insights on the design industry - tune in to hear more!

Prefer video? Find the episode on your platform of choice: technicaldifficultiespodcast.com

Hear Irene's rspectives on:

• AI documentaries
• Life long learning
• The internet's evolution
• Building from the ground up

Follow Irene! LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ireneau/

This episode was produced by Liz Gerber and Madison Deyo, and edited by Troy Cruz.