Start Here: 12 Essential Material Matters Podcast Episodes on Design, Architecture and Materials

Material Matters is a podcast hosted by Grant Gibson, exploring the stories, ideas and materials shaping architecture, design, craft and manufacturing today through in-depth conversations with some of the most thoughtful creative voices working across the built environment and beyond. 

If you're new to the podcast, this playlist is the perfect place to begin. Spanning architecture, ceramics, fashion, industrial design, material innovation, sustainability and contemporary craft, these 12 episodes offer an introduction to the breadth of the podcast and the range of perspectives it brings together. Guests include architect John Tuomey, MoMA curator Paola Antonelli, designer Zandra Rhodes, ceramicist Florian Gadsby, material futures researcher Caroline Till and artist Leah Jensen, whose moving conversation explores creativity, illness and emotional repair through making.

Alongside personal stories and creative journeys, the playlist also examines wider questions around how things are designed, manufactured and valued today — from circular production and responsible materials to the role of technology, handcraft and storytelling in shaping the future.

Whether you're interested in architecture, materials, design culture, sustainability or creative practice, these are some of the defining conversations from the Material Matters archive. 

You can follow the podcast on all major platforms including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.