logo
episode-header-image
Oct 2025
35m 21s

Surprising First Questions

Design Matters Media
About this episode

In celebration of 20 years of Design Matters, Debbie Millman revisits one of the show’s most endearing traditions—the very first question. For years, she’s opened each conversation with a playful, deeply researched inquiry: something personal, unexpected, and revealing. In this special anniversary episode, listeners will hear some of Debbie’s favorite first questions and the illuminating answers they inspired.



Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Up next
Today
Best of Design Matters: Ada Limón
Ada Limón—24th U.S. Poet Laureate and author of seven poetry books, including The Carrying and Bright Dead Things—joins to discuss her new book, Against Breaking: On the Power of Poetry, her childhood between two homes, her deep sensitivity to the natural world, and how poetry be ... Show More
1h 11m
Sep 21
Best of Design Matters: Kim Hastreiter
Kim Hastreiter—co-founder and longtime editor of Paper magazine—joins to reflect on a life at the center of downtown New York’s art, fashion, and nightlife, from scrappy newsprint beginnings to the cover that “broke the internet.” She also discusses her memoir, Stuff: A New York ... Show More
1h 17m
Sep 14
Best of Design Matters: Lidia Yuknavitch
Lidia Yuknavitch is the bestselling author of The Chronology of Water, Reading the Waves, and The Big M, and a writer whose work blurs genre to explore themes of memory, embodiment, grief, and transformation. She joins to discuss her childhood, her early life as a competitive swi ... Show More
1h 20m
Recommended Episodes
Oct 2025
A Question-Asker Becomes a Question-Answerer
tail spinning
1h 14m
May 2021
Design Matters: A conversation with Sarah Kay
Today, we're sharing an episode from another podcast in the TED Audio Collective: Design Matters with Debbie Millman. For over 15 years, Debbie has been interviewing incredibly creative people about how they design the arc of their lives. For more interviews with people like Jacq ... Show More
54m 58s
May 2021
Design Matters: A conversation with Sarah Kay
Today, we're sharing an episode from another podcast in the TED Audio Collective: Design Matters with Debbie Millman. For over 15 years, Debbie has been interviewing incredibly creative people about how they design the arc of their lives. For more interviews with people like Jacq ... Show More
54m 58s
May 2018
EP 3: First Firsts
This week Kristen and Tova chat about 'first times'. Everything from first love and first kiss to their first job and first moment they knew they were pregnant. The ladies got nostalgic and compared notes, it was a fun show with some unexpected moments! Hosted on Acast. See acast ... Show More
47m 33s
Jul 2022
Why Design Matters | Debbie Millman & Yumi Stynes at All About Women 2022
<p>How do you find the courage to make a major change in your life? How do you re-set your values? How do you reconnect with your creative self?</p><br><p>Designer and host of the long-running and wildly popular podcast Design Matters, Debbie Millman explores invention, truth-tel ... Show More
53m 57s
Jan 2024
Put some respect on my name
Welcome to the first Q&A of the year. We chat tarot, dreams, engagements, career, art, and the "personal brand". Full Patti Smith video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2EO3aXTWwg Follow along: ⁠⁠Margot's Instagram⁠⁠ ⁠⁠No Particular Order's Instagram⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Shop NoPO Vol 1⁠⁠ Don't ... Show More
30m 22s
Nov 2017
060 - Questions After Nightfall 1
It’s our first ever Prancing Pony Podcast Q&A episode! Alan and Shawn answer live questions from our very special guests, ranging from the fun to the philosophical. Topics include our favorite villains, the surprising similarities between goblins and dwarves, and the importance o ... Show More
1h 34m
Feb 2020
T.D.M. 01 Branding - Q&A
<p>Questions &amp; Answers period at The Designers Meetup event in its first session about branding with Tarek El-Zeeny, Mahmoud Hassan, Ahmed Gad and Akram William, Moderated by our host Marwan Ramadan</p> <p><br></p> 
26m 47s
Sep 2019
10: Listener Q&A (Sept. 2019)
<p>Our first Listener Q&amp;A episode!!! So many compelling questions including: Are left handed people more creative? Was Nikola Tesla spiritual? How do you quiet the doubting voices in your mind? What was Frida Kahlo's life like after the accident? Is creativity a supernatural ... Show More
1h 55m
Nov 2024
Answering Your Questions
Thank you all for an amazing first season of the Dolls Pod! To celebrate, hosts Emma and Abby are answering 25 of YOUR questions - and announce the season 2 premiere date! Follow @thedollspod on Instagram to join in on the fun 💌Songs in this episode:Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash - G ... Show More
1h 6m