scratchingthesurface.fm

What It Is

Scratching the Surface (scratchingthesurface.fm) is an independent podcast focused on design criticism and design practice. Launched in 2016, it has now released nearly 290 episodes. Unlike commercial podcasts, this show is entirely supported by its audience with no commercial capital injection. It positions itself as offering in-depth industry interviews, centered around cutting-edge topics, industry practices, and critical thinking in the design field.

Core Content & Listening Platforms

Each episode features host Jarrett in conversation with one or more design industry guests, whose lineup spans top practitioners and academic researchers: including Pentagram partner and information designer Giorgia Lupi, Marco Ferrari, head of the Information Design program at Design Academy Eindhoven, and the founder of the non-profit architecture organization MASS, among others. Discussion topics cover cutting-edge areas such as data design expression, data politics, architecture and the climate crisis, sustainable design, and the public value of design. For example, the latest interview with Giorgia Lupi discusses changes in public perceptions of data in the post-pandemic era and how to balance clarity in data expression with artistic presentation.
This podcast is available for subscription and listening on all major global podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Play, Amazon Music, and Soundcloud. It also offers RSS feed subscriptions, so users can choose their preferred listening channel.

Operating Model & Pricing

Unlike most commercial podcasts with embedded advertising, Scratching the Surface explicitly states that its content is fully audience-supported. It only accepts listener sponsorships through Substack, with no publicly available unified subscription pricing. Listeners can choose their own sponsorship amount, and all podcast content itself is free to listen to, with no paywalled episodes.

Pros and Cons Analysis

On the plus side, the podcast features high-quality guests, and the interviews avoid superficiality, diving deep into debates and cutting-edge thinking in the design field. For example, discussions of in-depth topics such as "the problems with sustainable design" and "design should not only reduce harm but create richness" are highly inspiring for industry professionals. Additionally, since it is directly supported by listeners, there is almost no commercial advertising interference, resulting in a clean listening experience.
The downsides are also relatively obvious: the entire podcast only has English audio content, with no matching Chinese subtitles, translations, or written interview transcripts, creating a high barrier for Chinese listeners. The official website also does not provide much additional content beyond show descriptions, with relatively limited information available.

Target Audience & Access Status in China

This podcast is suitable for design practitioners, design students, design researchers, and English-speaking audiences interested in design criticism and cutting-edge design topics. Currently, the crawled content does not explicitly mention access restrictions in China, so direct access status cannot be confirmed.