In the depths of the Covid pandemic, it could be hard to find good news. But design critic Alice Rawsthorn and MOMA curator Paola Antonelli saw hope in the practical solutions coming from the design community.
They started an Instagram interview series in which they met designers tackling the biggest challenges of our times – from homelessness to climate change, and the refugee crisis to racism, misogyny, and the collapse of social justice. It was a huge hit with viewers, who were stuck at home and hungry for conversations about how the post-pandemic world could be improved for everyone.
That series has now become a book – Design Emergency: Building a Better Future. It aims to offer inspiration by highlighting the people “at the forefront of practical and radical change”. Among those featured is Peter Barber, an architect with a progressive new vision about how to house people as they make their way out of homelessness.
Rawsthorn and Barber joined Sophie Dimitrijevic and Laura Kelly for this week’s BetterPod – The Big Issue’s weekly interview podcast that asks how we can act today for a better tomorrow.
BetterPod is brought to you by The Big Issue’s Future Generations team. Through the Future Generations team, we offer a platform for exciting young journalists from underrepresented backgrounds to address the biggest issues facing us today.
Listen here, or at your podcast platform of choice.
