NN/G UX Podcast

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Stop Wasting Research (feat. Jake Burghardt & Laura Klein) Sep 16, 2026

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If you've ever wrapped up a great research study, delivered the readout, and then watched the insights vanish into a folder no one opens again, this one's for you. Laura Klein talks with Jake Burghardt, author of Stop Wasting Research, about why a repository alone never gets research used, how to treat insights as durable business assets instead of one-time reports, and where generative AI genuinely helps — and where it doesn't — when it comes to getting more value out of research your organization already has.

About Jake Burghardt & Integrating Research: LinkedIn | Medium | Integrating Research

Jake's book: Stop Wasting Research: Maximize the Product Impact of Your Organization's Customer Insights (Rosenfeld Media) — get 20% off with code: swr-pod

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Rejected to Hired: Surviving the UX Job Hunt Aug 12, 2026

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Job searching has always been harder than it looks, and if you've been searching for a while without much traction, there's a good chance your strategy is working against you. Guest host Laura Klein sits down with Sarah Doody, founder of the Career Strategy Lab, to talk about what UX practitioners get wrong when searching for work.

They cover:

Why the DIY approach tanks your confidence over time
How to treat yourself as a candidate-product — complete with features, benefits, and a roadmap
The role of community in the job search
what your LinkedIn is actually signaling to recruiters
Why some of the best UX opportunities are hiding in industries you've never considered.

About Sarah Doody | Bio | LinkedIn

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Why Most Teams Get Goal-Setting Wrong (feat. Christina Wodtke) | EP 62 Jul 08, 2026

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OKRs are a popular choice to communicate team goals… but most teams do them wrong. In this episode, Laura Klein talks with Christina Wodtke, author of Radical Focus, about what actually makes objectives and key results work: the weekly and quarterly rituals that keep goals alive, why psychological safety matters more than making perfect predictions, and how strategy and vision have to exist before you can even set an OKR in the first place.

About Christina Wodtke: LinkedIn | Eleganthack (blog) | Books by Christina Wodtke

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Incorruptible: How Great Companies Stay Great with Eric Ries May 26, 2026

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Most UX practitioners have spent their careers fighting for the user — pushing back against dark patterns, advocating for quality, and insisting that making things better for people is also better for the business. Eric Ries would say that instinct is exactly right. And that it's not enough.

In this episode, host Laura Klein talks with Eric Ries — New York Times Best Selling Author of The Lean Startup and founder of the Long Term Stock Exchange — about his new book, Incorruptible: Why Good Companies Go Bad...and How Great Companies Stay Great. Eric makes the case that most of today's business best practices are actively value-destroying, and that the builders, designers, and makers who already believe product quality matters are more revolutionary than they realize — they just lack the tools to protect that belief inside their organizations.

They dig into the history of shareholder primacy, why corporate governance is something every practitioner should understand, and the very specific questions you can ask in a job interview to find out whether a company is genuinely mission-driven or just mission-hopeful.

About Eric Ries | Linkedin

The Eric Ries Show
Incorruptible (New Book) - Available Now!
The Lean Start Up (Book)

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→ Becoming a UX Strategist (Live Online)→ Successful Stakeholder Relationships (Live Online)→ Lean UX and Agile (Live Online)→ Demonstrating UX Value (Self-Paced)→ UX Maturity: Elevating Organizational UX Practices (Self-Paced)

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60. Conversational Design and UI: Why Language Matters More Than Ever Apr 29, 2026

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What does it actually mean to design conversationally? Not "add a chatbot" — but genuinely apply the principles of human conversation to the systems we build?

In this episode, host Laura Klein sits down with Erika Hall, author of Conversational Design and Just Enough Research, to re-visit a topic that's only gotten more relevant since her book came out in 2018. They dig into why language has always been an important part of any interface, what the cooperative principle of conversation can teach us about interaction design, and how the current AI moment is muddying what "conversational" even means.

Erika also makes a sharp distinction between AI that solves real problems and AI that performs work — and offers a theory about why so many people are reaching for answer machines right now. Plus: why the best consulting advice is often just "you have to talk to each other," the role of domain expertise in getting anything useful out of an LLM, and what painting chickens has to do with learning to see.

About Erika Hall | LinkedIn | Bluesky

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→ Designing AI Experiences (Live Online)

→ The Human Mind and Usability (Live Online)

→ Understanding LLMs (Self-Paced)

→ Informative Microcopy (Self-Paced)

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59. Getting Hired in UX: What to Do When Apply-and-Wait Isn't Enough Apr 01, 2026

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Navigating the UX job market has always had its ups and downs, especially with AI reshaping the industry. In this episode, host Laura Klein sits down with Evan Sunwall, NN/G's Director of Self-Paced Training, to share candid advice for UX practitioners trying to actively job search or level up in today's competitive market. With nearly 19 years in the field as both a designer and a hiring manager, he has a lot to say about where the field is headed — no matter what stage you're at in your career.

That experience is also what shaped Evan's self-paced course on getting a job in UX, part of NN/G's new and growing library of practical, pre-recorded courses built around real skill gaps. Evan was one of the first to help develop the format — running experiments and prototypes to figure out what actually works for self-directed learners.

Evan also previews a companion course aimed at hiring managers and shares that he's looking for sharp instructors to help expand the library into new topics across research, design, and AI.

Check out our NEW Self-Paced Courses!

About Evan Sunwall | Bio | Linkedin

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58. The Truth About Lean & Agile (Feat. Principal Experience Specialist, Laura Klein) Feb 25, 2026

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If you work in UX, you’ve probably heard the terms lean, Agile, and MVP more times than you can count. But knowing the terms doesn’t mean knowing how to make them work.

In this episode, Laura Klein, Principal Experience Specialist at NN/G, joins Therese Fessenden to talk about what Lean UX was really meant to accomplish — and how teams today can apply its principles without falling into common traps.

Listen as they discuss how Lean UX came about, the skill of zooming between product vision and interaction details, and why growing companies struggle to balance speed and consistency. Whether you’re working at a startup or inside a large enterprise, this episode offers a grounded look at how to design thoughtfully in fast-moving environments.

We’re also excited to have Laura join as the newest co-host of the NN/G UX Podcast. And many congratulations to the Fessenden family as they welcome a new addition to their family.

About Laura Klein | Bio | Linkedin | Bluesky | Usersknow.com

NN/G Live Online Courses Taught by Laura

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57. The Next Decade of UX: Why Psychology Matters More Than Ever (Feat. Thomas Watkins, Founder & Principal UX Architect at 3Leaf) Jan 28, 2026

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Therese Fessenden talks with design psychologist and product strategist Thomas Watkins (host of The Design Psychologist and Product-Led Growth Leaders) about why understanding the human mind is still a true superpower for designers, researchers, and product teams. They explore how products subtly shape our behavior and identity, why over-relying on templates and patterns can flatten experiences instead of differentiating them, the risks of personifying AI tools, and the practical ways practitioners can use psychology and AI together to automate the tedious parts of work while staying human-centered and creating products that truly fit into people’s lives.

About Thomas Watkins: Bio | LinkedIn

The Design Psychologist Podcast
Product-Led Growth Leaders Podcast
3Leaf Consulting (Thomas’ Design Team)

Related Live Online Training: The Human Mind & Usability

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56. AI for UX Analysis: How Accurate Is It? (feat. Christian Holst & Jamie Holst, Baymard Institute) Dec 19, 2025

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As AI-powered tools flood the market promising quick evaluations and audits, the conversation zeroes in on a critical issue: the reliability of these tools. In this episode, co-hosts Therese Fessenden and NN/G VP Kate Moran sit down with Jamie Holst and Christian Holst, the co-founders of Baymard Institute, to examine the growing role of AI in UX analysis. The group discusses the risks of over-relying on AI—particularly for junior UX practitioners—and the deeper implications for professionalism in the field.

About the speakers:

Christian Holst (Co-founder & Research Director, Baymard Institute)
Jamie Holst (Co-founder & CTO, Baymard Institute)
Kate Moran (VP, NN/G)

Links Referenced in the Episode:

Try UX Ray for Free: https://baymard.com/product/ux-ray
Read their article on AI accuracy: https://baymard.com/blog/ai-heuristic-evaluations

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55. Democratizing Research in the Age of AI (feat. Ned Dwyer, CEO & Co-founder of Great Question) Dec 01, 2025

Show notes

The interest in “customer insights” is higher than ever, and more people are interested in both research insights and carrying out research on their own. But, who’s making sure research is done well? Therese sits down with Ned Dwyer, CEO and co-founder of Great Question, to talk about the balance between access and rigor in UX research. They discuss the need for democratization charters, how AI is reshaping research roles, and why enabling good research at scale is as much a cultural challenge as it is a technical one.

Connect with Ned Dwyer: LinkedIn

Learn about UX: nngroup.com/learning

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