Tough conversations can feel like real-life horror stories—but they don’t have to. In We Need to Talk: A Survival Guide for Tough Conversations, Joshua Graves offers a practical, psychologically grounded toolkit for navigating conflict with clarity and courage. Drawing on insights from neuroscience, psychology, and his own lived experience, Graves explains why our brains react so strongly to tension and conflict—and what we can do about it. 

Lou and Joshua discuss workplace power dynamics, emotional triggers, and avoidance patterns, showing how even a moment of pause can shift the outcome. Joshua’s advice? Slow down. Breathe. Ask questions that begin with what or how instead of why. And remember, you're allowed to step away and come back—conflict doesn't need to be resolved in the heat of the moment. 

Whether you're facing pay disputes, boundary violations, or breakdowns in trust, Joshua’s goal isn’t to script your response but to equip you with flexible, self-aware tools you can adapt to your own voice.

We Need to Talk with Joshua Graves

What happens when a cognitive psychologist turned UX researcher brings a critical eye to AI? Dr. Llewyn Paine shares her unique perspective at the intersection of emerging technology and user research. With experience spanning neuromarketing, 3D television, and mixed reality, Llewyn has seen the hype cycles come and go—and learned to spot the gap between promise and practical value.

Llewyn and Lou explore the parallels between now-defunct technologies and today’s AI surge, noting how often new tools are overmarketed before their implications are truly understood. Llewyn urges researchers to engage with AI not as passive users but as experimenters: to test, retest, document, and analyze like scientists. Her recent workshop revealed how even identical prompts to the same model can yield wildly different results—an important reminder that AI is non-deterministic and context-sensitive.

Llewyn also shares a behind-the-scenes look at curating the Designing with AI 2025 conference, built around both the realities of today and the creative possibilities of tomorrow. She reminds us that critical thinking, experimentation, and thoughtful documentation are the UX research community’s superpowers in this unpredictable AI era.

From Hype to Insight: Llewyn Paine on AI, UX, and Critical Thinking

In Episode 14, host Virgil Carroll and co-host Cole dig into a core truth behind most UX mistakes: people don’t pay attention. From accidental group chat leaks to confusing web forms, today’s digital missteps often stem from one thing—poorly designed experiences that expect users to be careful, focused, or even logical.
But here’s the hard truth: they’re not.

That’s why UX exists—to design for inattention, not perfection. In this episode, Virgil and Cole explore how small misjudgments in interface design can lead to big problems, and why it’s time to stop blaming the user and start designing smarter.
They dig into key lessons and takeaways, including:

✅ Why assuming users will “just pay attention” is a guaranteed way to fail
✅ The danger of designing tools for internal teams instead of real users
✅ How AI and other tools can mislead teams if used without critical thinking
✅ Why user feedback beats assumptions—every single time
✅ What it really means to design for the lowest common denominator

From confusing buttons and abandoned carts to real-world usability failures, Virgil and Cole share insights from decades of experience (and a few personal fumbles) that highlight how easy it is to get digital experiences wrong when we ignore how people actually behave.

If you’ve ever wondered why people keep screwing up your carefully planned interface—or if you’re trying to build something that works for real humans, not just ideal ones—this episode’s for you.

For more conversations about digital strategy, UX, accessibility, and all the ways we get it wrong (and how to get it right), visit www.discussingstupid.com and subscribe on your favorite podcast platform.

(0:00) - Intro
(2:10) - People don't pay attention
(4:41) - Are people bad at browsing or is tech too complex?
(6:49) - Will AI shape the future of UX?
(10:50) - The gap between internal assumptions and real user needs
(14:27) - Build for the lowest common denominator
(17:40) - Outro


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S2E14: Want better UX? Expect less from your audience.

Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering, and Alan Dye, Apple’s vice president of Human Interface Design, are two of the most influential creative and technological leaders shaping how we experience the digital world. Together, they represent the rare combination of engineering and design at its highest level, shaping how Apple products feel and behave. They join live at the Apple Headquarters to discuss the much anticipated launch of iOS 26.

Craig Federighi and Alan Dye

Luca Mezzalira, a pioneer and enthusiast of microfrontends, discusses the microfrontends' evolution over the past years, underlying a set of heuristics that will allow you to gradually implement them in your product. He also touches on approaches to obtain quick feedback, both in your inner and outer development loops.

Read a transcript of this interview: http://bit.ly/4lKImO8

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Transcript

Microfrontends: Heuristics, Patterns and Antipatterns by Luca Mezzalira

What happens when you combine righteous anger with unwavering hope? You get George Aye—and the “Angry Hour.”

In this lively episode, Lou Rosenfeld chats with George Aye, co-founder of Greater Good Studio, about his mission to create spaces for “pissed off optimists”—people who see the world’s injustices and refuse to give up on making things better. George shares the philosophy behind Angry Hour, a growing series of meetups uniting professionals from diverse fields around shared frustration and hope. He explains how these gatherings channel collective energy into meaningful connections, local nonprofit support, and even bigger plans like the upcoming Livid Conference—a national gathering for changemakers who are angry enough to care and optimistic enough to act.

If you’re searching for solidarity in uncertain times—or simply wondering how to turn anger into action—this conversation offers insight, inspiration, and a glimpse into a movement fueled by equal parts rage and resolve.

The Pissed-Off Optimist with George Aye

What do video games and world-building have in common? Everything. Lou reconnects with Cheryl Platz—author, designer, and creative director—to explore the evolving world of video game development. Cheryl shares what drew her back to the gaming industry after years in enterprise UX and voice design, and how her new book, The Game Development Strategy Guide, distills insights across disciplines to help teams build modern games that truly thrive.

The conversation ranges from the power of cross-functional collaboration to the benefits UX skills bring to game development to the monetization models shaping today’s games. Cheryl reflects on the challenges facing the industry—massive layoffs, misaligned incentives, and a lack of shared understanding—and how a more human-centered, sustainable approach could be a game changer. 

Whether you're a UX professional, game developer, or just curious about what makes great video games tick, this episode offers a sharp, wide-angle view of where the field is headed.

The Intersection of Game Development and User Experience with Cheryl Platz

Design operations isn’t just about process—it’s about shaping better products, teams, and organizations from the inside out. José Coronado joins Lou to unpack why DesignOps deserves to be treated as a true design discipline. Drawing on his experience leading global teams at JPMorgan Chase, Target, and beyond, José shares strategies for embedding operational roles into business units, measuring impact, and scaling design without sacrificing quality.

They explore how enterprise UX has evolved since the iPhone, why service design is the right lens for thinking about internal operations, and what it takes to foster effective cross-functional collaboration. The conversation offers a preview of José’s upcoming panel at the 2025 DesignOps Summit—and plenty of practical insights for DesignOps professionals at any stage of their journey.

DesignOps is Design with Jose Coronado

What if your next big career move didn’t involve managing people—but managing impact? Catt Small joins Lou to unpack the rise of the staff designer: a role that's redefining what senior-level growth can look like for designers who want to lead without becoming managers.

Catt shares insights from her forthcoming Rosenfeld book, The Staff Designer: Grow, Influence, and Lead as an Individual Contributor, where she draws on her own experience at companies like Etsy, Asana, and Dropbox—alongside interviews with nearly 30 other design pros—to clarify a path that’s increasingly relevant in today’s flattened organizations.

Catt explains why staff designers thrive at the intersection of strategy and execution, influence and diplomacy. Staff design isn’t about hierarchy; it’s about navigating complexity, guiding quality, and mentoring others, all without direct reports. Whether you're a senior designer wondering what’s next or a leader trying to support IC career growth, this episode reframes design leadership for the modern era.

The Staff Designer with Catt Small

🎙️ У новому епізоді РУУУШ Наживо+ розмовляємо з Марією Фронощук — поведінковою науковицею та дослідницею. 

Говоримо про те, як наукові підходи до зміни поведінки застосовують в уряді, маркетингу та сервісному дизайні. Від розуміння несвідомих рішень до створення ефективних бізнес-стратегій, які враховують поведінку споживачів.  

Про що говоримо в епізоді:  
 
✅ Як працює автопілот мозку і чому 90% рішень приймаються несвідомо 
✅ Яку роль відіграє контекст і середовище у прийнятті рішень
✅ Межі етики: коли вплив стає маніпуляцією 
✅ Кейси зі світовою практики: пенсії, донорство, екологія 
✅ Поведінкова наука для малого бізнесу: з чого почати  

👉 Поділіться в коментарях: що було найцікавішим для вас? Що цікаво дізнатися на цю тему?  
🔔 Не забудьте підписатися, щоб не пропустити нові епізоди.
 
📎 Корисні посилання:
РУУУШ Наживо+
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ruuush.nazhyvo
 
Школа РУУУШ
Instagram: http://instagram.com/ruuush.marketing/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ruuush-marketing/
Сайт: https://www.ruuush.marketing 

Як дизайнувати рішення споживачів. Марія Фронощук про поведінкову науку та етичні інструменти впливу

Lou Rosenfeld talks with a LOT of brilliant, interesting changemakers in the UX world and beyond. Subscribe to the Rosenfeld Media podcast for a bird's eye view into what shifts UX faces, and how individuals and teams can respond in ways that drive success.

РУУУШ наживо – це подкаст, в якому ми говоримо про маркетингові інновації в широкому розумінні: бренд-стратегії, ефективність комунікацій, людиноцентричність і нові маркетингові фреймворки. Від засновника школи інноваційного маркетингу РУУУШ.

Software engineers, architects and team leads have found inspiration to drive change and innovation in their team by listening to the weekly InfoQ Podcast. They have received essential information that helped them validate their software development map. We have achieved that by interviewing some of the top CTOs, engineers and technology directors from companies like Uber, Netflix and more. Over 1,200,000 downloads in the last 3 years.

Design Matters by Debbie Millman features interviews with designers, artists and cultural leaders, including Lawrence Weiner, Barbara Kruger, Malcolm Gladwell, Eric Kandel, Stefan Sagmeister, John Maeda, Jonathan Hoefler and Tobias Frere-Jones, Michael Arad, Milton Glaser, Massimo Vignelli, Paula Scher, Steven Heller, Jonah Lehrer, among others.

In 2011, Design Matters received the People’s Design Award from the prestigious Cooper-Hewitt National Design Awards.

Subscribe to Design Matters for free on iTunes, where new episodes are uploaded weekly: http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/design-matters-debbie-millman/id328074695

Discussing Stupid returns to the airwaves to transform digital facepalms into teachable moments—all in the time it takes to enjoy your coffee break! Sponsored by High Monkey, this podcast dives into ‘stupid’ practices across websites and Microsoft collaboration tools, among other digital realms. 

Our "byte-sized" bi-weekly episodes are packed with expert insights and a healthy dose of humor. Discussions focus on five key areas: Business Process & Collaboration, UX/IA, Inclusive Design, Content & Search, and Performance & SEO. 

Join us and let’s start making the digital world a bit less stupid, one episode at a time.

New tracks tagged #User Experience