“In These Uncertain Times” is an interview podcast hosted by designer and writer Derek J. Horn about creating and connecting in the midst of uncertainty. I speak with creators and thought leaders that are forging their path forward in the new normal created by the COVID-19 health crisis. We’ll hear about the cool projects they’re working on, chat about how they’ve adjusted their process, ways of communicating, and their methods of self-care. In each episode, we imagine a brighter world on the other side of this not-so-bright chapter of history.
#20 - Derek J. Horn on Uncertainty, Empathy & Podcasting feat. Katie Martell
Katie Martell (she/her) returns to interview Derek for a special Season 1 finale episode. We discuss my journey over the past year, including the creation of this very podcast, how empathy could help us conquer many of the challenges facing society, body image standards and how they were impacted by lockdown, and unpack the very idea of uncertainty.
Follow Derek on Instagram
Connect with Derek on LinkedIn
Check out Derek's original HCD podcast interview and article that inspired it
And in case you missed them the first time around:
Follow Katie on Twitter: @KatieMartell
Subscribe to The World’s Best Newsletter at Katie-Martell.com
#19 - Deon Mixon on Detroit, Flags & Design Education
Deon Mixon (he/him), Graphic Designer, Author, and Entrepreneur, joins for a thoughtful discussion about his various projects including the Design Eye board game and his proposed redesigned flag for the City of Detroit called Detroit Rise, how he balances his various creative pursuits, and the causes and potential solutions for racial inequity in the design industry.
Follow Deon on Instagram: @deonmixon
Check out Deon’s Website: https://www.deonmixon.com/
Follow the Design Eye Instagram: @designeyegame
Follow the Detroit Rise Instagram: @detroitriseflag_
#18 - Charlene Izere on Legacies & Being a Black Luxe Creator
Black Luxe Creator Charlene Izere (she/her) joins to share how she built her personal brand and several ventures, strike down the notion that guilty pleasures need to be guilty, and share some great advice for aspiring entrepreneurs, thought-leaders, and well-meaning non-Black allies.
Follow Charlene on Instagram
Follow Charlene on YouTube
Follow Charlene on Twitter
Check out Charlene's website
Donate to the We Own Our Legacy Impact Fund to fund essential financial resources, business coaching, and tech support for Black and Brown women founders.
#17 - Cj Giovingo on Systems, Storytelling & Mars
Cj Giovingo (they/them), systems engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, joins for a beautiful conversation about the intertwining nature of systems and creativity, their experience with the ultimate remote work — landing a spacecraft on another planet while working from home — and the invaluable power of telling your story.
Connect with Cj on LinkedIn
Check out Cj on the Mars 2020 Meet the Martians page
#16 - Bassam Shawl on Twitter, Stand-Up & Glow-Ups
Bassam Shawl (he/him) joins for a wide-ranging conversation about his journey with stand-up comedy, our media diets and the attention black hole named Twitter, and have lots of reminiscing about growing up in Upstate New York, including performing together in high-school musical productions.
Follow Bassam on Twitter: @bassamshawl
Follow Bassam on Instagram: @bassamshawl
Follow Bassam on TikTok: @bassamshawl
Check Out his Podcast, Wokemanistan
#15 - Sarah Williams on Branding, QR Codes & New Rituals
Sarah Williams (she/her), Partner and Chief Creative Officer at Beardwood&Co., joins to chat about how we brought our design and strategy agency’s operations and relationships online at the start of the pandemic, how consumers are forming new rituals and brands are adapting to them, and the importance of young people in keeping our creative process fresh and relevant.
Connect with Sarah on LinkedIn
Check out the Beardwood&Co. website
Follow Beardwood&Co. on Instagram: @beardwoodco
#14 - Michael L. Counter, Jr. on Lived Compassion & Honoring Queer Elders
Michael Counter (he/him) joins for a great conversation about Queer art and honoring our elders while they’re still with us, he shares how his firm, counterCULTURE, is bringing Queer, Trans and POC narratives to life in the COVID era through projects like Legends of Drag, and together, we pine for the days of collective gatherings and shared experiences.
Connect with Michael on LinkedIn
Follow Michael on Instagram: @michaellcounter
Check out and donate to Legends of Drag
#13 - Leah Garlock on Fulbright, Adoption & Cultural Identity
Leah Garlock (she/her), Experience Designer and Fulbright ETA Grant Recipient, is here to discuss her various personal projects, the ways in which she’s been virtually engaging with her communities, the exploration of her identity as a Korean-American adoptee, and the challenges of coping with trauma in the midst of pandemic isolation.
Follow Leah on Instagram: @leah.chi.grace
Connect with Leah via email: lggarlock@gmail.com.
#12 - Julio Anta on Comics, Collaboration & Latinx Stories
Comic and graphic novel writer Julio Anta (he/him) joins to discuss the challenges of working through the pandemic as a parent to a young child, how he collaborates with editors and visual artists, the vast diversity of Latinx people and the lack of political nuance they’re often afforded, and how many of his stories make their journey from the headlines to the page of a comic.
Check out Julio's website: julioanta.com
Follow Julio on Instagram: @julioanta
Follow Julio on Twitter: @julioanta
#11 - Rachel Renock on the Creator Economy & the Future of Work
Rachel Renock (she/her), Co-founder and CEO of Wethos, joins to discuss how her company pivoted their entire business in the midst of the pandemic, how she and her co-founder are trying to curb employee burnout through smart policy (and some tips on how you can do the same for your business), the opportunities of the current moment for the future of independent work, and the responsibility of white business leaders to leverage their power to create equitable workplaces.
Follow Rachel on Twitter: @rachren1
Check out the Wethos website
#10 - Susan X Jane on Power, DEI Training & the Capitol Insurrection
Susan X Jane (she/her) joins for a discussion about the timeliness and timelessness of her work as a DEI facilitator, the role of racialized power dynamics throughout American history and how they show up in white-centric corporate cultures, the recent insurrection at the US Capitol, and we wrap up with a discussion about how the media can dangerously warp one’s worldview and entire sense of reality.
Follow Susan on Instagram: @susanxjane
Follow Susan on Twitter: @susanjane19
Connect with Susan on LinkedIn: Susan X Jane
Check out her website, CultureNavigators.com and blog, smntks.com
#9 - Marcos Bessa on LEGO, Product Testing & Creative Motivation
LEGO Design Manager, singer-songwriter & illustrator Marcos Bessa (he/him) joins for a conversation about all things LEGO, his experience living and working through the pandemic in Denmark, and how he finds the motivation for his many other creative pursuits outside of his very creative day job.
Check out Marcos’s website
Follow Marcos on Instagram: @marcosbessaofficial
Check out Marcos’s Design Charity Project Website, Instagram: @younamit
#8 - Lucy Tomkiewicz on Giving, Macarons & Bad Xmas Movies
On this special holiday episode, my BFF Lucy Tomkiewicz (she/her) joins to chat about how she is helping small businesses find their voice in the era of COVID, how she started a quarantine venture that’s as beautiful as it is delicious, and we wrap up with a conversation about the importance of giving during the holidays and especially this year. We also have some fun playing a game about bad Christmas movies, which are a favorite vice of ours.
Follow FromLu on Instagram: @_fromlu
#7 - Malcolm Whitfield on Satire, Accountability, Dungeons & Dragons
Malcolm Whitfield (he/him) stops by to make me laugh and share how he’s adapting his life as a comedian and writer and how he has found an unexpected release in the world of Dungeons & Dragons. Malcolm’s ability to differentiate satirical headlines from real ones is put to the test in the show’s first-ever game segment (!!!) and we make a hard pivot to wrap up with a conversation about restorative justice.
Follow Malcolm on Twitter: @Marvelous_Mal
Follow Malcolm on Instagram: @Marvelous_Mal
Like Malcolm on Facebook: Malcolm Whitfield Comedy
Check out Malcolm's work on The Hard Times
#6 - Paul Weiner on Abstractions, the Flag & Being Very Online
Paul Weiner (he/him) joins to discuss his process of creating abstract art and how the themes and iconography of our current moment are showing up in his work and about how online culture can fuel some of our most intense rhetoric and deepen trenches. We also do a post-mortem analysis on the 2020 election cycle and thinking forward to what will happen in 2021 and beyond.
Follow Paul on Instagram
Check out Paul’s Website
#5 - Teejay Hughes on TikTok, Authenticity & Inspiring Confidence
Teejay Hughes (he/him) chats with Derek about how social media can be a positive platform for inspiration, what people are getting right and wrong about influencers, and what your brand needs to pay attention to when dabbling in new social media platforms like TikTok.
Follow Teejay: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, YouTube, Travel Website
#4 - Dr. Cindi Love on Optimism, Vibrations & Spiritual Harmony
Dr. Cindi Love (she/her) joins Derek for a timely and wide-ranging conversation about how she led a team to transition a series of four national conferences for LGBTQ+ students into a virtual setting, why she’s hopeful about the rising generations, the forces of religion and self-esteem and how they coalesce, how to begin the process of mending our political divide, and how folks can embrace spiritual harmony in their own lives.
Connect with Cindi via: Her Blog, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Email
Connect with Out for Undergrad via: Our Website, Instagram, YouTube
#3 - Courtnee Futch on Creative Currency & Southern Hospitality
Courtnee Futch (she/her) chats with Derek about how she’s making cooking accessible, making the most of the resources you have, and how we should start giving ourselves permission and stop gatekeeping our potential. They wrap up with some great advice about how we can all bring a dose of Southern Hospitality to our daily lives.
Follow Courtnee on Instagram: @courtnee.mfchef
Order Courtnee’s first cookbook, Early Enough via her website.
#2 - Joon Park on Future-Proofing, Deference & Queer Magic
Derek chats with Joon Park (they/them) about how they help their clients “future-proof” their brands as a cultural strategist, the constant necessity of listening and attuning your actions as an ally, the power of being a role-model by living authentically, and the positive possibilities of uncertainty.
Follow Joon on Instagram: @joonyoungpark
#1 - Katie Martell on Truth-Telling, Woke-Washing & Green Velour
Derek chats with Katie Martell (she/hers) about the vital responsibility of marketers during this time of public health crisis and racial justice reckoning. They discuss the power of saying "no" to make room for the most important things in life, and wrap up with an unexpected conversation on what makes for a lasting relationship.
Follow Katie on Twitter: @KatieMartell
Subscribe to The World’s Best Newsletter at Katie-Martell.com
TRAILER - In These Uncertain Times
“In These Uncertain Times” is a new interview podcast about creating and connecting in the midst of uncertainty. I’ll speak with creators and thought leaders that are forging their path forward in the new normal created by the COVID-19 health crisis. We’ll hear about the cool projects they’re working on, chat about how they’ve adjusted their process, ways of communicating, and their methods of self-care. Each episode, we’ll imagine a brighter world on the other side of this not-so-bright chapter of history.