What does it take to turn a blank space into an unforgettable experience? In this episode, Carl Rhodes—Creative Director and exhibit design veteran—pulls back the curtain on the creative journey behind today’s most engaging museums.

Starting as a painter unsure of his path, Carl shares how a willingness to explore led him into exhibition design, where storytelling, space, and technology intersect. He discusses how great ideas rarely arrive fully formed, but instead emerge through collaboration, iteration, and a bit of creative chaos.

From rethinking how visitors connect with history to shaping experiences that resonate emotionally, Carl explores how narrative and physical interaction influence what we remember. Along the way, the conversation tackles key questions: When should designers enter the process? How do you balance innovation with authenticity? And what role should AI play in creative work?

It’s an honest, thought-provoking look at designing experiences that truly connect.

What happens when a museum treats its floor like a laboratory? In this episode of Matters of Experience, we sit down with Allyson Feeney, Senior Project Director at the Exploratorium in San Francisco, to explore how experimentation, storytelling, and spatial design come together in one of the world’s most iconic interactive museums. Allyson takes us behind the scenes of the museum’s Time Corridor renovation, sharing how her team reimagined the balance between hands-on interactives and powerful visual storytelling.

If you’ve ever ridden an elevator, zipped a jacket, watched IMAX, or tapped a touchscreen, you’ve experienced the legacy of a World’s Fair—whether you knew it or not. In this episode of Matters of Experience, hosts Abby and Brenda Cowan welcome Charles Pappas, one of the world’s leading authorities on World Expos, to uncover how these massive, temporary gatherings quietly shaped everyday life.

From the Crystal Palace of 1851 London to Dubai, Osaka, and beyond, Charles traces the evolution of World’s Fairs through what he calls three eras: products, progress, and panic. Along the way, he reveals how expos introduced groundbreaking technologies, redefined optimism during global crises, and now confront urgent environmental challenges. The conversation explores why these events function as powerful engines of cultural exchange, national identity, and human connection—something no digital platform can fully replace.

With vivid stories about iconic monuments like the Eiffel Tower, immersive pavilion design, and moments of pure serendipity, this episode is a love letter to shared, in-person experience—and a compelling argument for why the World Expo still matters today.