Remake

In this conversation we talk about:

Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie is an Israeli-born, Jewish educator, writer, and performance artist. He's the creator of Storahtelling, Inc. and the founding spiritual leader of Lab/Shul in NYC, an artist-driven, everybody friendly, God-optional, pop-up experimental community for sacred Jewish gatherings.

Amichai is a member of the Global Justice Fellowship of the American Jewish World Service, a founding member of the Jewish Emergent Network, serves on the Leadership Council of the New York Jewish Agenda, the Advisory Council of the International School for Peace - a Refugee Support Project in Greece, a member of the Advisory Council for the Institute for Jewish Spirituality, and is a faculty member of the Reboot Network.

Through all his endeavors, he brings a creative, inclusive, and vital energy to Jewish practice and Jewish life.  

In this conversation we talk about:

• How the Jewish concept of the set table served both as a happy early memory, and as an organizing principle for his later work.
• How Covid 19 made rituals and online communities more important than ever.
• His orthodox roots as the scion of an ancient and respected rabbinical dynasty, and his journey of self discovery through theater, drag, and art.
• His creation of storytelling, a way to bring to life the ancient ritual of the reading of the Torah, and the Maven Method he developed to spread the practice further.
• The emergence of Lab/Shul and the community around it.
• The power of spiritual design and a well-designed practice in transforming our lives and our communities for the better.

We also discuss:

• How is religion used as a tool in the service of humanity?
• What happens if you bring scripture to the 21st century as a performance?
• Why is the tribal wisdom of small circles within a bigger circle so important?

I've long believed that one of the most promising avenues to apply design skills and creativity to is in designing communities, social rituals, and spiritual practice that suits the modern world. And, as such, there's no one I can think of that exemplifies this better than Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie. I think this conversation, which is full of wisdom and fun, is a great introduction to exactly the type of spiritual design we need to see more of. So let's jump right in with Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie.

Jerry Colonna is the CEO and co-founder of Reboot.io, an executive coaching and leadership development firm whose coaches and facilitators are committed to the notion that better humans make better leaders.

For nearly 20 years, he has used the knowledge gained as an investor, an executive, and a board member for more than 100 organizations to help entrepreneurs and others to lead with humanity, resilience, and equanimity. He’s been called the CEO Whisperer and the Coach with the Spider Tattoo, and has taken refuge in the Buddhist dharma tradition.

Previous to his career as a coach, he was a partner with JPMorgan Partners (JPMP), the private equity arm of JP Morgan Chase. And before that, had launched Flatiron Partners with partner, Fred Wilson. Flatiron became one of the most successful, early-stage investment programs in the New York City area.

Today, he lives in Boulder, Colorado.

• COVID, and how it exposed the interdependence, but also the inequality of American society.
• Leadership in the context of the Ukraine war, and how when leaders don't address their vulnerable and wounded parts, that expresses itself in violence. We discuss that in the context of malignant narcissism with Putin, and also with Trump.
• His childhood, and how he became keenly aware of how people around him are feeling.
• His career in venture, and how he veered from that into coaching.
• My therapy session, where he points his radical inquiry, his coach mind, at me.
• My tendency to hide, to not want to be very active on social media, at least not publicly on Twitter.
• My fear of being judged, and my fears of not being seen or appreciated.
• What it means to bring your whole self to every challenge in your life, at work, and at any other moment.
• How everything is an opportunity for self growth, and to practice that.
• His reboot system and method, and his book.
• How everybody in life is basically looking for love, safety, and belonging.

We had this conversation in mid-March 2022, and that was two years into the worldwide outbreak of COVID, and a couple of weeks into Russia's invasion of Ukraine. I was excited and nervous to talk to Jerry, who's famous for making podcasters cry. We also had a brief chat months before preparing for this interview and I already had a taste of his radical inquiry approach to coaching.

So as expected, this did not end up being a regular interview. While we got to explore his history and his ideas and his childhood a little bit, Jerry turned his radical inquiry on me as expected. And you'll get to hear a pretty detailed coaching/therapy session on this podcast and dive deeper into my fears and insecurities along the way. I have to say, I found it deeply therapeutic, both at the time, and now weeks later when I relisten. This was a very different, very meaningful process for me, and I hope that you'll find it beneficial as well. It definitely affected the way that I approach putting myself out there and allow myself to be more visible on social media.

Shortly after this interview was recorded, I definitely did start being more vocal and an amazing thing happened. As I started being more vocal on Twitter and other platforms, we got more and more downloads for this podcast and the podcast started growing very, very rapidly. And so I owe a big thank you to Jerry for challenging my assumptions and helping me pinpoint these insecurities. Jerry assured me that this is helpful to other people to hear. So I really hope that will prove true, and that you'll find this episode really helpful to you in your journey as well.

This conversation with Jerry is one of a dozen or so weekly conversations we already have lined up for you with thinkers, designers, makers, authors, philosophers, entrepreneurs, and investors who are working to change our world for the better. So follow this podcast on your favorite podcast app, or head over to remakepod.org to subscribe.

And now let's jump right in with Jerry Colonna.

In this conversation we talk about:

• How Vicki got into design by forging notes for school.
• Studying Behavioral Psychology, and using that lens in design.
• Her early work in psychological research.
• How she found her way into Google.
• The importance of cognitive ability in hiring practices.
• The unique culture at Headspace.
• The challenges of designing a meditation app.
• The role of intuition in design and our overreliance on data.
• What finding umami means to her.
• Her book in the works on cognitive bias.
• Self-coherence as a way to help our own cognitive bias.
• And dreams as a blueprint for reality.

One of my favorite things about being a product designer is meeting other product designers. There is something about the open-mindedness, mindfulness, optimism, and interdisciplinary interests that seem to be a recurring pattern and which make the best product designers a real delight to talk to. And Vicki is no different.

This conversation is one of a dozen or so weekly conversations we already have lined up for you with top designers, thinkers, makers, authors, and activists who are working to change our world for the better. So please follow this podcast on your favorite podcast app, or head over to RemakePod.org to subscribe.

And now, let's jump right in with Vicki Tan.

In this conversation we talk about:

• The value and importance of speaking your truth, and how she learned that in childhood.
• Her journey from Kenya to the United States, and then to South Africa.
• Her experiments with architecture, physics, and computer science.
• Why urban planning was more appealing to her than architecture.
• The issues that architecture doesn't address.
• Her approach to foresight and future thinking.
• Smart cities, and what constitutes bad urban design.
• Her work with Dr. Bayo Akomolafe.
• And decolonizing our knowledge and ways of knowing.

I loved hearing about Geci's use of different foresight practices to imagine different futures and different possibilities for the future. But what really stayed with me is how dire the situation is — with urbanization outpacing our predictions and our ability to plan, and giving rise to shortages and unplanned solutions that may be less than ideal. We need every tool in our creative toolbox to make sure our cities grow to be a place of diversity, creativity, and opportunity, rather than their opposite.

This episode is especially rich with resources and references, so I wanna encourage everyone listening to check the show notes. We are fairly meticulous at listing and providing links to every article, book, person, or resource mentioned in the episode.

We have close to a dozen weekly episodes already lined up for you with thinkers, designers, makers, authors, and entrepreneurs who are working to change our world for the better. So follow this podcast on your favorite podcast app, or head over to RemakePod.org to subscribe.

And now, let's jump right in with Dr. Geci Karuri-Sebina.

In this conversation we talk about:

• Growing up in the 1950's in the US, and seeing segregation and the opposite of inclusion.
• The superficial design of the television era — designing to increase perceived value, and to increase purchases based on looks.
• His experience designing on a computer in the 70's.
• Designing kitchen gadgets.
• The need for multidisciplinary thinking, ergonomics, psychology, and other fields of knowledge.
• What makes a good designer?
• The importance of asking questions and being uncomfortable.
• The connection of design and religious studies, with meditation and mindfulness as tools for a designer.
• Design and inclusion.
• The 4B Collective — gender and design.
• The model of collective versus agency, and the difference between a process-based approach versus a knowledge-based approach in design.
• Qualitative versus quantitative metrics.
• And the death of the brand.

We talked in the middle of April 2022, and I was looking forward to chatting with Dan when I watched his hilarious and informative product review videos he's done with Epicurious, where he takes a kitchen gadget and critiques every aspect of its design, ergonomics, and function. We also had a short prep call before the interview, where it became clear to me what a serious design thinker he is, and how much we can all learn from him. It was really a joy to talk to Dan and explore his way of seeing the world and his unique approach to design.

This conversation with Dan is one of a dozen or so weekly conversations we already have lined up for you with thinkers, designers, makers, authors, entrepreneurs, and investors who are working to change our world for the better in some meaningful way. So follow this podcast on your favorite podcast app, or head over to remakepod.org to subscribe.

And now, let's jump right in with Dan Formosa.

In this conversation we talk about:

• How he developed his love of art and design sensibility.
• Growing up in branding inside of Nike, until eventually becoming Chief Marketing Officer.
• The importance of emotion and storytelling.
• On authenticity, and why chasing cool is a bad idea.
• On creativity as a team sport.
• And on the importance of courage.

We talked in mid-June 2022 and I was looking forward to talking to Greg because Nike clearly is doing some amazing work around branding and brand values, and is able again and again to create authentic connections at scale. 

I'm a latecomer to the world of branding. For much of my life, I was an avid product person and saw the brand as an afterthought. It's only in recent years that I understood the extent to which our lives, our thinking, and our decisions are driven by the stories we tell, and the emotional associations we make. 

The art of doing that well is branding. And it can be used for good or evil, and is just as important in non-profits and political organizations as it is in business. 

I really enjoyed the stories of some of Nike's iconic campaigns. Digging in to find compelling ways to tell stories that illustrate and support your values in a real way, feels like a very human way of crafting a brand that people can believe in. 

I've counted the episodes that we already have recorded and edited for you, and it's currently eight episodes. There are famous designers like Vicki Tan and John Maeda, authors like Susie Wise and Ashish Goel, and the most connected man in the world, Chris Dancy, among them. We release conversations weekly with thinkers, designers, makers, authors, entrepreneurs, and activists who are working to change our world for the better. So follow this podcast on your favorite podcast app, or head over to RemakePod.org to subscribe.

And now, let's jump right in with Greg Hoffman.

In this conversation we talk about:

• How growing up in a strict fundamentalist Christian upbringing, and decoupling from that, shaped his outlook.
• His complex relationship with atheism and religion today.
• How he discovered love and solidarity in activism.
• Technologies of organizing.
• Forming decentralized decision-making processes.
• Nihilism in the face of dysfunction as a form of cowardice.
• Loomio, and collective decision-making software.
• Status and hierarchy.
• Shifting culture through fermentation.
• And the concept of stewardship.

We spoke in mid-June 2022, and I was excited to talk to Rich since he's been introduced to me by Daniel Thorson, whom I interviewed here in episode 10. I've been following his writing on Twitter and find the idea of decentralized work and collaboration fascinating, exciting, and challenging.

It's perhaps the greatest question of our time: now that we're all connected and have incredible tools of self-organization, how can we make better decisions together? How can we outcompete centralized organizations? And how can we benefit from the wonderful richness of so many brains without descending into chaos, nihilism and mob rule?

This conversation is one of a dozen or so weekly conversations that we already have lined up for you with thinkers, designers, makers, authors, entrepreneurs, and activists who are working to change our world for the better. So follow this podcast on your favorite podcast app, or head over to RemakePod.org to subscribe.

And now let's jump right in with Richard D. Bartlett.

In this conversation we talk about:

• Developing listening skills as an introspective child, and how feeling like an outsider helped her develop those skills.
• Her electrical engineering studies, and her transition into looking at how technology influences society and people and how we live. 
• Her time at Netscape, and tying together the products for a consistent look and feel across a suite of products that came out at the time called Netscape Communicator. 
• Her move from Netscape to Yahoo!, and what went wrong for Yahoo! as a company trying to find its way.
• Her time at Google as we look at it from all angles. What was the state of design at Google before she joined and what were the changes she tried to implement as she brought human-centered design and practices to Google?
• Hiring strategies, staff training, and how design workshops ultimately became the Design Sprint at Google.
• What is design and what is a designer?
• And the role of the designer in venture capital.

I think my greatest takeaway from this interview is this sense of hope that someone like Irene is able to walk into these very "techy" cultures and produce real change. And all it takes is really showing the value of the work and being willing to engage and promote better practices. I think Irene will be an inspiration to many non-engineers who find themselves in heavy engineering cultures and want to make a contribution. 

This conversation with Irene is one of many weekly conversations we already have lined up for you with thinkers, best-selling authors, designers, makers, scientists, impact entrepreneurs, and others who are working to change our world for the better. So please follow this podcast on your favorite podcast app, or head over to remakepod.org to subscribe.

And now, let's jump right in with Irene Au.

In this conversation we talk about:

• Lessons from his youth, where he moved around the world as a child and interacted with different religions and backgrounds, which helped him understand that we are shaped by our contexts and experiences.
• His entry into cognitive psychology, and going beyond the laws of behavior into: Why do people behave the way they do?
• Building neural networks to model cognition.
• His world-changing PDP paper (Parallel Distributed Processing: Explorations in the Microstructure of Cognition), a paper that was published in 1986 and transformed this whole field, and directly led to more and more people embracing the connectionist model and neural networks.
• The fact and meaning of bi-directionality in neural networks. What does it mean that information can flow both ways in the same network structure?
• Generative models, and in this context, OpenAI's DALL-E 2 algorithm, which can create amazing illustrations and artworks — and should we credit generative or creative algorithms with artistry and give them credit for their art?
• Consciousness — does it extend beyond humans and is it something that we may be able to find someday in algorithms?

Talking to Jay really reminded me of the best in mankind, that through curiosity, asking interesting questions, and constructing thought models and experiments, we can unlock such a subtle and fundamental thing like cognition and the connectionist model, which then unlocks all of this power for society at large. We now have this responsibility to reign in the worst of mankind in how we exploit, curate, and share in the benefits of this incredible power. This will be a running topic for us, AI in the future. We explore the power of design and human-centered thinking to create a better future for everyone.

This conversation with Jay is one of many weekly conversations we already have lined up for you with leading authors, thinkers, designers, makers, scientists, and social entrepreneurs who are working to change our world for the better. So follow this podcast on your favorite podcast app, or head over to remakepod.org to subscribe.

And now, let's jump right in with Jay McClelland.

In this conversation we talk about:

• Eli's childhood and early realization on how people are treated differently based on gender.
• How Eli recognized they were nonbinary at a young age, but not having the language for it. 
• Eli's process of coming out as nonbinary is transgender transition, facing discrimination as a nonbinary person, including transphobia and barriers to accessing resources.
• The differences between gender and sex and how they are not the same.
• The importance of kindness and affirmation for the LGBTQ plus community.
• How Cisgendered people can support and advocate for trans rights.
• Eli's work with the Transgender Training Institute, which provides education and training on trans issues to businesses, organizations, and government agencies changing hearts and minds, and the need for systemic change to support nonbinary people.
• How does religion enter into the picture? 
• What do most people still need to understand about transgender and non-binary individuals?
• What is the significance of the dynamism of language in this area?
• Understanding Gender Prejudice

What stayed with me most of all is the ever present need for kindness, the need to make an effort to see things from a different person's perspective. This applies equally to cisgendered folks learning about gender dysphoria, as it does to activists understanding that ignorance does not equal malice. In both cases, the smallest gesture of kindness can open the door to a whole new way of relating and moving forward, in which specific details can be discussed from a place of trust.

We already have lined up for you with thinkers, designers, makers, authors, entrepreneurs, and activists who are working to change our world for the better. We have some amazing episodes lined up for you, answering questions like:

Why is prototyping essential to making truly new things?

What's the value of knowing what you're about and crafting a personal manifesto? How can we find the freedom to think in an increasingly connected world?

So follow this podcast on your favorite podcast app, or head over to RemakePod.org to subscribe. And if you're a subscriber already and enjoy our show, you can go to RemakePod.org/support and join our supporter community.

And now, without further ado, let's jump right in with Dr. Eli Green.

• Growing up with no books and few words in a small peasant village in Southern Germany.
• The importance and uses of silence which stayed with him ever since.
• How he became interested in philosophy, and the big questions after his grandfather's death.
• Moving freely from philosophy to comparative religion to anthropology and art history.
• The happy accident that led him to studying neurobiology and learning to see himself as a brain.
• The importance of concepts in framing our day-to-day experience.
• What do terms like human and humanity mean? When were they introduced? How did they evolve?
• What is the relationship between nature, humans, and machines?
• His work with some of the largest technology companies who are building a future to bring philosophy and art into the room.
• Where does creativity lie with AI algorithms like DALL·E 2?
• And the need to always reexamine our assumptions about the world and our values. 

This conversation with Tobias is one of many weekly conversations we already have lined up for you with thinkers, designers, authors, makers, activists, and leaders who are working to change our world for the better. So follow this podcast on your favorite podcast app, or head over to RemakePod.org to subscribe.

And now let’s jump right in, with Dr. Tobias Rees.

TIMESTAMP CHAPTERS

In 2020 the EU Council named her one of the 8 most inspiring women in Europe. In 2021, she was a speaker at the TED conference in Monterey, CA talking about reinventing the passport.

In this conversation we talk about:

• Growing up in post-USSR Estonia.
• Founding her first company at 16, officially becoming the youngest inventor in her country.
• Leading the launch of seven television channels in Northern Europe, including National Geographic Channels and MTV.
• Her aha! moment regarding immigration and migration while in Silicon Valley.
• The migration and mobility revolution.
• What Jobbatical is doing to facilitate movement of talent and knowledge to where it's most needed.
• Reinventing the passport for the new global economy and the modern age.
• And much more.

Shari Davis is a TED speaker, a participatory budgeting facilitator, and as she defines it, a recovering local government employee. She joined the Participatory Budgeting Project (PBP) after nearly 15 years of service and leadership in local government. As director of youth engagement and employment for the City of Boston, she launched Youth Lead the Change, the first youth participatory budgeting process in the US, which won the US Conference of Mayor's City Livability Award.

We spoke at the end of February, and I was very excited to talk to Shari because of her work on participatory budgeting, which seems to be one of the most promising new ways for everyday citizens, from all walks of life, to supervise and have a say in how public funds are being spent. Participatory budgeting has the potential for having an enormous impact on corruption, on efficient use of funds, on creating better, more efficient and more impactful programs, and also a huge effect on how people feel about their government. And all of this is already happening around the world, so I was very excited to hear about this from someone who's really leading this movement.

It was really fun to chat with Shari. She clearly has a lot of practice at connecting with, and including many different kinds of people. And so she puts you right at ease and she uses humor effectively. But it was the topic of the conversation that was really amazing to hear about.

( * Please note: this episode was originally recorded under they/she pronouns. )

• How her early involvement in martial arts as a kid really shaped her attitudes towards practice, responsibility, and community.
• How she initially got involved in the city government in Boston, eventually leading the youth department and bringing together resources and services for the youth of the city into one place.
• How she was asked to lead Youth Lead the Change.
• How the city earmarked $1M to be spent however the youth decided it should be spent, using the power of participation to make better decisions, and how that whole process unfolded.
• The US democracy's fatal flaw and how a lot of decisions happen in non-transparent, closed-door ways, ways that deepen inequality and division.
• How to run and lead a successful inclusive participatory budgeting project, whether you're a local government, a school, a non-profit or a national government, and why that makes such a huge difference.

What stayed with me is this idea that by bringing people together and putting them in the right kind of process, and then paying attention and designing the process itself, how much better decisions are. Talking to Shari was really energizing and hopeful, and this is one of our goals with every conversation we bring you including several conversations we already have lined up for you with thinkers, designers, makers, authors, entrepreneurs, and activists who are working to change our world for the better. So if you're interested in these types of hopeful conversations, follow this podcast on your favorite podcast app, or head over to remakepod.org to subscribe. 

And now let's jump right in with Shari Davis.

In this conversation we talk about:

• Her digital nomad lifestyle.
• How having a pen pal from another country instilled a desire in her to explore other cultures.
• What it was like to live and work on a cruise ship.
• Why she left her music career to become a digital nomad and coliving consultant.
• What is coliving, and what are the range of options for the coliving curious?
• Why is coliving becoming such a trend around the world?
• The freeing experience of coliving for solo digital nomads.
• The value of community and the importance of friendships.
• Different types of coliving spaces.
• Coliving versus packing more people in a small space.
• Crafting a community experience, and also a hospitality experience.
• Getting people involved in the creation versus supplying everything.
• Coliving and old age.
• Why is coliving slower to take off in the United States?
• The urge to explore the world versus the urge to lay roots and nest.
• And her new group, teaching more women how to travel solo.

Design is all about challenging defaults, and so what stayed with me the most is how important it is to challenge societal defaults in terms of our living situation, geography, and lifestyle. Who said the right way to live is to work hard all day so that you can afford a large house with a fence and smart locks to keep everyone else out? And who said that we have to wait until retirement to spend significant time traveling the world?

We have some amazing episodes lined up for you with thinkers, designers, makers, authors, and activists, answering questions like:

• What do most people still need to understand about transgender and non-binary individuals?
• Why is prototyping essential to making truly new things?
• What's the value of knowing what you're about and crafting a personal manifesto?
• And how can we find the freedom to think in an increasingly connected world?

So follow this podcast on your favorite podcast app, or head over to RemakePod.org to subscribe. And if you're a subscriber already and enjoy our show, you can go to RemakePod.org/support and join our supporter community.

And now, without further ado, let's jump right in with Leah Ziliak.

Leidy studies how we transform things from the way they are to the way we want them to be. His research on the science of design has appeared in both Nature and Science, and he has written for The Washington Post, Fast Company, Lit Hub, and the Behavioral Scientist. Leidy has authored more than 80 original research articles and secured more than $10 million in competitive funding to support his and others' work in this area.

In this conversation we talk about:

• His early career as a soccer player.
• Studying engineering.
• His aha! moment when playing Legos with his son, which led to his breakthrough research and proof that people systematically overlook subtractive changes when considering a solution.

We also discuss:

• Adding versus subtracting.
• His book, Subtract.
• On adding as a strategy against entropy.
• On great examples of functional subtraction.
• Subtracting in design and in civilization in general.
• On loss aversion as a possible driver.
• On minimalism.
• And many other topics.

Leidy's insights are especially crucial for designers, and has encouraged me to incorporate a moment of subtraction in our design processes. I think we'd all be better off if our products, our laws, our routines, and our homes, occasionally got simpler, instead of more complex.

This conversation is one of a dozen or so weekly conversations we already have lined up for you with top thinkers, designers, makers, authors, entrepreneurs, and impact investors who are working to change our world for the better. So follow this podcast on your favorite podcast app, or head over to remakepod.org to subscribe.

And now let's jump right in with Dr. Leidy Klotz.