Joaquín Santuber and I first crossed paths at the 2023 Legal Design Conference in Helsinki.
Between sharing a few laughs and geeking out over the latest court innovation and design trends from around the world, we quickly realised that our approaches to this space complemented each other. Joaquín brings an academic zeal, with a deep appreciation for nuance and critical thought. As a design strategist, I focus on pragmatism and applying ideas to the real world.
After tossing around a few ideas—and recognising that we both wanted an excuse to reach out to others doing fascinating work in this field—the idea for this podcast was born.
From a design perspective
Podcasting offers a broad reach and an ability to engage diverse audiences. Unlike traditional methods, podcasts disseminate knowledge widely and create opportunities for ongoing dialogue beyond the boundaries of a workshop (Bryant Naff, 2020). We wanted to explore whether podcasting could also serve as a tool for ‘systemic design’ research (Day et al., 2017; Rogers et al., 2020; Nousala et al., 2018).
From a legal design perspective
Courts have always fascinated me as symbols of justice within society. My interest deepened last year during a collaboration with the Magistrates' Court of Victoria, where Portable helped shape their future service delivery programs. That project culminated in a presentation at the Legal Design Summit in Helsinki, where I met Joaquín. The desire to continue exploring these themes led us to this podcast—a way to bridge my master’s research with real-world legal innovation.
From a podcasting perspective
Podcasting and the law have a natural synergy. As of March 2024, there are over 23,000 podcasts in the True Crime category on Podchaser alone (Podchaser, 2024). In legal innovation, podcasts such as Reimagining Justice, Legal Design Podcast, and Legal Design Thinking IRL have carved out space for important conversations. Yet, within this growing landscape, we noticed a gap: there’s little focus on critically and thematically unpacking the systemic challenges facing courts. That’s where we saw an opportunity to contribute.
We love learning through conversations and building organic, meaningful networks. This podcast is a space for insightful dialogues—discussions we believe should be shared with the world. Together, we aim to uncover new avenues for research and mobilise knowledge in a way that inspires fresh perspectives for our listeners.