THE NEXUS PODCAST SEASON ONE
Developed by the African American Design Nexus at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design, The Nexus is a podcast that explores the intersection of design, identity, and practice through conversations with Black designers, writers and educators. The Nexus is produced in conjunction with a commitment by the Frances Loeb Library to acquire and create an open-access bibliography of various media suggested by the GSD community on the intersection between race and design.
The Nexus Season 1 is hosted by Caleb Negash and Tara Oluwafemi. The show is recorded and edited by Maggie Janik, and the theme music is produced by DJ Eway.
Check out episodes at the links below.
Institution
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Project
The Nexus Podcast
Co-Host
Caleb Negash
Date
June 2020-January 2021
Aisha Densmore-Bey
Season 1, Episode 1: For our inaugural episode, we talk to Boston-based architect, designer, filmmaker, artist, and GSD Doctor of Design candidate Aisha Densmore-Bey.
This podcast episode served as a catalyst for Aisha’s book Who Made My Stuff?: Miles Learns About Design to be entered into the permanent collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
De Nichols
Season 1, Episode 2: Activist and social practice artist De Nichols discusses the origins of the #DesignAsProtest movement and how design can be a tool to dismantle white supremacist logics.
Bryan Lee, Jr.
Season 1, Episode 3: Bryan Lee Jr. joins us to continue our conversation with De Nichols about the #DesignAsProtest collective and Dark Matter University.
Michelle Joan Wilkinson
Season 1, Episode 4: Dr. Michelle Joan Wilkinson discusses the systems of power embedded in architectural design and her work as a curator documenting diasporic architectural heritage.
Stephen Gray
Season 1, Episode 5: Urban designer and GSD Professor Stephen Gray examines ways in which we can bridge the gap between academia and real-projects.
Toni Griffin
Season 1, Episode 6: Urbanist, architect, and GSD Professor Toni Griffin shares her experiences transitioning from working in the private sector to the public sector and starting her own design research initiative.
Isabel Strauss
Season 1, Episode 7: Isabel Strauss, a current GSD student, discusses her thesis, which takes the shape of a Request for Proposals to address paths to reparations for Black communities in Chicago’s South Side.
Tara Oluwafemi 