Design Matters with Debbie Millman

Design Matters is one of the longest-running podcasts in the world—and the first ever podcast about design. Hosted by designer, author and educator Debbie Millman, the show has been in continuous production since 2005 and has helped define how creative conversations happen in audio. Across more than 700 episodes over 21 years, Design Matters has become one of the most enduring archives of creative thought and cultural conversation. Millman conducts deeply researched, intimate interviews with leading voices across disciplines including design, literature, science, journalism, music, film, and the performing arts. Guests featured on the program collectively represent the highest levels of achievement in their fields, including recipients of Academy Awards, Pulitzer Prizes, Peabody Awards, Emmy Awards, Grammy and Tony Awards.



What distinguishes Design Matters is Millman’s singular interview style—thoughtful, probing, and deeply humane. Rather than focusing solely on accolades or professional milestones, the conversations explore the formative experiences, doubts, rejections, and personal philosophies that shape creative lives. These interviews reveal the often invisible journeys behind influential work and offer listeners rare insight into how ideas emerge, evolve, and ultimately shape culture.



Originally launched on terrestrial radio before evolving into one of the earliest independent podcasts, Design Matters helped establish a model for in-depth cultural storytelling in audio. Today the show reaches a global audience and is downloaded more than 500,000 times each month worldwide. Over more than two decades, Design Matters has expanded the public understanding of design—not simply as a profession, but as a lens through which we can better understand creativity, culture, and the forces that shape our world. The program stands as a living archive of contemporary creative life and one of the most influential interview platforms documenting the most remarkable thinkers shaping culture.