Welcomed by Design is a podcast produced in the Teaching Center’s Media Creation Lab, by Pitt students in the Digital Narrative and Interactive Design major.

The podcast started in May 2022 and focuses on the many ways to move towards a more inclusive future. Host Lynn Priestley and the entire podcast team records interviews about accessible and inclusive design with authors, researchers, advocates, and practitioners across a range of fields.

And they do so with sound design, transcription, accessibility, and additional resources in mind.

“The thing I’m most proud of about the show is that we prove what we’re advocating for is possible by doing it ourselves,” Priestley said.

“Really, really cool people have taken the time to record with us, and they come from a range of different subfields of design: UX, industrial, museum/curatorial, digital, etc.”

The Teaching Center’s Media Creation Lab became the home of the Welcomed by Design podcast when Jessica FitzPatrick, faculty in the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, mentioned the concept to Teaching Center staff.

FitzPatrick and Priestley eventually connected with Max Glider, manager of Classroom Services, who was able to help them find a home to record, edit, and produce the show.

“We felt that the subject matter fell in line with the mission of the Teaching Center and we proceeded to work with Lynn on getting them started in the studio,” Glider said. “Classroom Services staff provided training for Lynn, who quickly became an audio and podcasting expert.

“We’re honored to collaborate on such a great effort with the Welcomed By Design production team.”

You can learn more and listen to the podcast on Spotify.

If you have questions for the team, guest suggestions, or comments about the accessibility of the podcast, you may contact them at welcomedbydesign@gmail.com.

The podcast team:

• Host and producer: Lynn Priestley
• Executive producer: Dr. Jessica FitzPatrick
• Episode sound designer: Ashton McCool
• Supplement sound designer: Chloe Dahan
• Producer: Emily Kuntz
• Transcriber: Shivangi “Teddy” Tiwari