Design This Day

Devin sits down with Rob Meyerson, the former president of Blue Origin, to talk about his startup, Interlune, that is on track to harvest resources from the Moon’s surface. Interlune is after one element in particular: Helium-3. It’s extremely rare and valuable on Earth, but plentiful on the Moon. So they partnered with an unlikely collaborator to design a “harvester” that they’re planning to send to the Moon’s surface in the early 2030s.

Rob shares how his team designed creative ways to test their prototype in conditions that mirror the Moon’s environment. He tells Devin about the ways his team is turning science fiction into science fact, and about how Interlune is planning to iterate as they go, allowing them to send missions to the Moon sooner.

1:00 Why helium-3 matters
1:38 The helium-3 supply crunch
2:40 Customers and early demand
4:29 Mining at a lunar scale
5:35 Finding an earth partner
6:48 Designing the harvester
9:13 Prototyping to full scale
12:31 Testing for moon conditions
20:18 Earth return and space economy
26:19 Moon timeline
32:19 Lightning round
Links
Devin Liddell on LinkedIn
Rob Meyerson
Teague
About the Host: Futurist Devin Liddell
Devin Liddell is the Principal Futurist at Teague. With over two decades of experience in innovation and design strategy, Devin has worked with industry giants like Boeing, Intel, and Nike, helping organizations anticipate changes across both near- and far-term horizons to create their preferred futures. Devin is a frequent contributor to Fast Company. 

Get in Touch 
Have a complex problem that needs solving? Have a great guest or topic idea? We want to hear from you. Visit us at teague.com or send us an email at hello@teague.com

Devin speaks with two leaders  at Slate Auto, an EV startup that’s designed a cheap modular pickup truck. Tisha Johnson, Head of Design, and Ben Whitla, Head of Brand and Marketing, join Devin to share the big, gnarly challenges Slate is facing in getting a low-cost, personalizable vehicle to consumers—from design to production.

They tell Devin about the joy and terror of relinquishing design control to their customers, and how they take inspiration from collaborative brands like Lego and Vans. They explain where their two disciplines, vehicle and brand design, inform one another at Slate, leading to a more integrated design approach than either of them expected. Plus, they share their hot takes on why screens in vehicles are totally overrated. 

1:49 Why this kind of modularity hasn’t been seen before
3:43 Their breakthrough in designing the front fascia 
5:51 How brand and vehicle design align
8:58 Designing for customer’s self-expression
11:38 When car owners go wild
14:30 Affordability through minimalism
19:00 Taking the leap on a start-up
23:26 Collaboration vs. AI agents
26:16 Lightning round

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About the Host: Futurist Devin Liddell
Devin Liddell is the Principal Futurist at Teague. With over two decades of experience in innovation and design strategy, Devin has worked with industry giants like Boeing, Intel, and Nike, helping organizations anticipate changes across both near- and far-term horizons to create their preferred futures. Devin is a frequent contributor to Fast Company.
Get in Touch
Have a complex problem that needs solving? Have a great guest or topic idea? We want to hear from you. Visit us at teague.com or send us an email at hello@teague.com

Devin speaks with Corey Clothier, a longtime leader in autonomous vehicles. Corey is the co-founder and CEO of ARIBO Autonomous Solutions, where he helps government agencies and private companies deploy autonomous tech in the real world. In this episode, Corey and Devin talk about autonomy as a shift in how systems work. Good design considers not just what machines can do, but also how they fit into the complex realities of human life. The two explore what that looks like when the human element is a family on vacation, an airport manager struggling to hire staff, and a wounded veteran looking for care. Longtime listeners take note: autonomous lawnmowers make another appearance.

1:34 Fort Bragg's wounded warrior problem
2:23 Convincing a two-star general
6:30 Most useful robot for Marines? 
8:53 Vegas says yes to robot shuttles
12:01 "There's no steering wheel!"
13:12 From Johnny Cab to real autonomy
16:35 The curb space conundrum
17:38 Difference makers: the people in charge
18:21 Michigan leading by example
20:32 Evil robots and American pop culture
21:18 Painted forklifts
23:06 Autonomous lawnmowers

Links
Devin Liddell on LinkedIn
Corey Clothier on LinkedIn
Teague

About the Host: Futurist Devin Liddell
Devin Liddell is the Principal Futurist at Teague. With over two decades of experience in innovation and design strategy, Devin has worked with industry giants like Boeing, Intel, and Nike, helping organizations anticipate changes across both near- and far-term horizons to create their preferred futures. Devin is a frequent contributor to Fast Company. 

Get in Touch 
Have a complex problem that needs solving? Have a great guest or topic idea? We want to hear from you. Visit us at teague.com or send us an email at hello@teague.com

Devin speaks with Robert Walker, a senior design leader who recently transitioned from a two-decade career in automotive design into the world of defense. He previously led design for some of Ford and GM’s most iconic vehicles. Now, he’s applying that experience to the radically different challenge of designing tactical vehicles for military use. It’s a dramatic shift – one that raises big questions about how design adapts when the stakes are high. 

1:47 Welcome to the defense industry  
4:01 The designer's ”curse”
5:13 Humvees and backup cameras
8:44 Success redefined – getting soldiers home
11:38 Humans vs machines on the battlefield
13:13 Leading both design and engineering teams
15:18 Prototyping: build first, get permission later 
17:49 Lightening Round

Links
Devin Liddell on LinkedIn
Robert Walker on LinkedIn
Teague

About the Host: Futurist Devin Liddell
Devin Liddell is the Principal Futurist at Teague. With over two decades of experience in innovation and design strategy, Devin has worked with industry giants like Boeing, Intel, and Nike, helping organizations anticipate changes across both near- and far-term horizons to create their preferred futures. Devin is a frequent contributor to Fast Company. 

Get in Touch 
Have a complex problem that needs solving? Have a great guest or topic idea? We want to hear from you. Visit us at teague.com or send us an email at hello@teague.com