The E36 Podcast
Conversations on cultural intelligence, creative strategy, and the art of leading with clarity in a shifting world.
For communications professionals, cultural workers, and creatives who want to think more precisely about the work they do and why it matters.
Each episode moves between the signals shaping our world and the practical intelligence needed to navigate them including the role of culture in institutions, the evolving demands of creative economies, the frameworks that turn perspective into practice. Sometimes it is a conversation with a guest. Sometimes it is a direct transmission from twenty years of doing this work.
The E36 Podcast is not about trends. It is about developing the kind of thinking that makes you better at your work — no matter where you are or what you are building.
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The E36 Podcast
Slow Culture, Sharp Design with Creative Director Laura Alston
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In this first video recorded episode of the E36 Podcast (now available on YouTube), Ayofemi Kirby sits down with Caribbean-American creative director and multimedia artist Laura Alston—a longtime E36 collaborator whose work consistently lands with clarity, beauty, and cultural precision.
Together, they explore what it means to practice slow culture in a world obsessed with speed, sameness, and the algorithm. Laura shares her journey from Ivy League art programs—where graphic design was dismissed as “not real art”—to building a career defined by accessibility, cultural nuance, and design systems that help small teams move like full-scale studios.
They discuss:
- The shift from elitist art spaces to design that’s clear, inclusive, and meant for real people
- How lived experience, community, and cultural nuance shape powerful visual language
- AI as a creative collaborator—not a threat—when used with intention and originality
- Why templates and design systems are a form of empowerment, not a shortcut
- The future of thoughtful design in a noisy, overproduced digital world
If you’re a cultural organization, community-centered brand, or designer of color trying to build work with purpose—not just aesthetics—this episode offers real tools, real insight, and real affirmation.
