Poets & Thinkers
Episodes
Hollow Echoes: Why AI art will never have a soul with Sean Wolcott
22 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
What happens to art when the systems designed to replicate it at mass can’t actually feel anything? In this conversation, Ben sits down with designe...
Make Doing Good Look Good: On designing for belonging, moral ambition and the pitfalls of privilege with Harald Dunnink
25 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Can designing a movement get the smartest people to work on the biggest problems instead of disappearing into what one author calls “the Bermuda Tri...
For The Culture: On beauty, AI slop, and what lasts when software companies die with Andy Allen
11 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
What if the best business advice ever came from a five-year-old: “I think you should add some googly eyes and rainbow colors!”In this episode, Ben...
Holder of Stories of the Heart: On radical self-inquiry and being a good leader in unsettling times with Jerry Colonna
25 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
What if the most radical question you can ask yourself as a leader isn’t about strategy or growth – but simply “How am I actually feeling?”In ...
Design Against Racism: On the myth of design’s neutrality, lack of critical thinking and the future of design leadership with Omari Souza
11 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Ben sits down with Omari Souza, design researcher and professor, founder of the State of Black Design Conference, and author of his n...
Brain Hacking & Trauma-Informed Leadership: Creating space for human ingenuity to flourish with Christina Goldschmidt
28 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
What if the only way to unlock ingenuity in our organizations is by showing up as authentic leaders who first and foremost know how to “hack their b...
Against the Tyranny of Winners: On beautiful business in the AI age, the rise of “Supercuration”, and the end of efficiency
14 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
What if the future of business isn’t human at all—and maybe that’s exactly what will liberate us to become more humane?In this first episode of ...
The Bullshit Economy: How our obsession with control is making us sick with João Sevilhano
17 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What if our desperate need for certainty, predictability, and control is not making us safer but actually making us psychologically ill? In this episo...
AI as Normal Technology: On superintelligence delusion, bogus claims and a humanistic AI future with Prof. Arvind Narayanan
02 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What if the race toward “superintelligence” is misguided and what does a more humanistic vision for AI adoption actually look like? In this episod...
AI Sovereignty & the Literacy Gap: Policy lessons from the frontlines with Jaxson Khan
20 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What if the biggest regret we’ll have in 10 years isn’t over-regulating AI, but failing to educate people about it? In this episode of Poets &...
The Model Can’t Relate: A poet’s rebellion inside the AI machine with Danielle McClune
06 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What if the people building AI are so caught up in the rush to market that they’ve forgotten to ask the most important question: what does this mean...
Multisensory Beings: How neuroaesthetics shapes the future human-machine interaction and art – with Matthew Bennett
23 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Humans are multisensory beings. What if the tiny sounds you hear from your devices every day are literally vibrating through your body, changing your ...
“Liftoff” rounds, data moats, and trust barriers: How AI is rewriting the venture capital rules with Pascal Unger
09 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What if venture capital is finally getting the reset it desperately needed? And what does that mean for the qualities and skills required for future f...
The Dark Side of Empathy: On AI “Soul Gaps”, emotional commons, and the responsibility to develop humane technologies with Michael Ventura
24 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What if the very technology that promises to make us more efficient is actually creating “soul gaps” – spaces where human understanding and mean...
Rewriting All Layers Of The Stack – Leading with agency when everyone is uncomfortable with Meg Bear
11 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What if the discomfort leaders feel right now, at the beginning of the AI age, isn’t a problem to solve, but the exact place where transformation ha...
Slot Machine Creativity: On the value of friction to create meaningful works of art with Nando Costa
27 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What if the struggle and friction in the creative process is actually what makes art meaningful – and what we’re at risk of losing in our rush tow...
The Optimization Lie: Will AI finally give us the freedom “new work” promised us? – with journalist and author Markus Albers
13 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Digitalization promised us a brave “new work” world. But instead we ended up with more meetings and “fake work”. What’s next and how do we t...
Beyond “Popcorn Innovation”: Human-First leadership from IBM to the United Nations with Frances West
30 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What if the key to navigating our AI-driven future isn’t about becoming more technological, but rather more authentically human? In this inspiring e...
The other “F” Word: Embracing failure to elevate human ingenuity in the AI era with professor and author John Danner
15 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What if our fixation on avoiding failure is the very thing blocking us from building organizations that maximize human ingenuity? And why is this busi...
Do You Breathe When You Scroll? The Art of Digital Mindfulness with conceptual artist Hojin Kang
02 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What if the very technology that distracts us could be transformed into a mirror reflecting our deepest human connections? In this fascinating episode...
AI Policy-Making in Service of Humanity: From Davos and Washington DC to Riyadh with Manail Anis Ahmed
19 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What if our approach to AI and technology development is overlooking the most fundamental human value – dignity? In this thought-provoking episode o...
The Myth of Greatness and Ethics in Business with author and writer Avram Alpert
03 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What if our obsession with being the best is actually holding us back? In this inaugural episode of Poets & Thinkers, we explore the myth of great...