Undesign: A Social Change Podcast

In the final chapter, the conversation turns inward. Jeff and Angel reflect on the decision to integrate DrawHistory into national impact agency Today, a step toward evolving their legacy alongside one of their earliest sources of inspiration. Set against a backdrop of pivotal milestones — including parenthood and layoffs — this episode carries both grief and grace. It ends not with finality, but with a passing of the baton, and hope that the work will continue to bloom in new hands.About AnnotationsAnnotations is a raw and reflective three-part audio series about building — and ultimately evolving and letting go of — one of Australia’s early purpose-led strategy and design studios, DrawHistory. Co-founders Jeffrey Effendi and Angel Chen open the vault on a decade of navigating ambitions, doubts, and decisions with former teammate Kosta Lucas. From advocating with refugee communities to reimagining technology’s role in democracy, they trace the personal and professional choices that shaped their journey.For anyone at a crossroads or quietly asking themselves what’s next, Annotations is part memoir, part manual — a time capsule of the fears, flashpoints, and moments of clarity that come with trying to do meaningful work, and the courage it takes to evolve.

Following their public recognition, the studio is no longer a secret — and neither are its growing pains. This episode explores the ambitions and sacrifices behind DrawHistory’s expansion, from growing the business during the pandemic to expanding into APAC: the wins, the cultural tightropes, and the reckoning that comes when purpose starts to feel stretched. Jeff and Angel speak openly about leadership fatigue, transparency, and keeping the soul of the studio intact.About AnnotationsAnnotations is a raw and reflective three-part audio series about building — and ultimately evolving and letting go of — one of Australia’s early purpose-led strategy and design studios, DrawHistory.Co-founders Jeffrey Effendi and Angel Chen open the vault on a decade of navigating ambitions, doubts, and decisions with former teammate Kosta Lucas. From advocating with refugee communities to reimagining technology’s role in democracy, they trace the personal and professional choices that shaped their journey.For anyone at a crossroads or quietly asking themselves what’s next, Annotations is part memoir, part manual — a time capsule of the fears, flashpoints, and moments of clarity that come with trying to do meaningful work, and the courage it takes to evolve.

Jeff and Angel trace the origin story of DrawHistory, a leap of faith away from the legal profession and into the unknown. They reflect on the early convictions that fueled their mission, the decisions that set the tone for the studio’s emerging culture, and the naivety that helped them persist in the early days of imposter syndrome. However, as word about the studio begins to spread, the stage is quietly set for a new kind of pressure: the spotlight.About AnnotationsAnnotations is a raw and reflective three-part audio series about building — and ultimately evolving and letting go of — one of Australia’s early purpose-led strategy and design studios, DrawHistory. Co-founders Jeffrey Effendi and Angel Chen open the vault on a decade of navigating ambitions, doubts, and decisions with former teammate Kosta Lucas. From advocating with refugee communities to reimagining technology’s role in democracy, they trace the personal and professional choices that shaped their journey.For anyone at a crossroads or quietly asking themselves what’s next, Annotations is part memoir, part manual — a time capsule of the fears, flashpoints, and moments of clarity that come with trying to do meaningful work, and the courage it takes to evolve.

With world leaders responding to climate emergencies, and unprecedented threats such as the pandemic and global conflict, we seem to be running headlong into a future where our learnings from the past are both too slow and too small. Have we been too attentive and attached to the wrong things, are we suffering from problems of our own unenlightened making?  We speak with Four Arrows and Darcia Narvaez, who introduce us to the limitations of the dominant worldview which has propelled a world concerned with commerce and progress, often at the expense of principles closely linked to our ability to thrive and survive as human beings. They offer us an insight into how indigenous world views can be incorporated into our ability to adjust to the challenges we face as diverse people, trying to survive and ultimately thrive in a world which demands more reflection and adaptation than ever.

In a world of rapidly evolving expectations on citizens due to COVID, environmental pressures, and the very public role playing of morality and ethics on social media, people face a dizzying space in which to set and attune their own moral compass.  Unpicking this challenge, Dr Tim Dean, Senior Philosopher at The Ethics Centre, discusses how morality and ethics came to exist for humans and what roles they play in our modern lives today. The contagious nature of outrage on social media is uncovered, providing solutions for understanding the addictively engaging nature of cancel culture and the limitations of social media in converting outrage into positive action. Dr Tim Dean is a philosopher and an expert in the evolution of morality, specialising in ethics, critical thinking, the philosophy of science and education. He is also the author of How We Became Human and Why We Need to Change.

In 2022, as public institutions continue to grapple with implementing more inclusive structures to curb historical marginalization of people, experts such as Dr Benjamin Hanckel (Senior Research Fellow, Digital Health and Youth) and Dr Shiva Chandra (Research Officer) are exploring ways to make social media platforms safer for marginalized youth—both of whom are researchers from Western Sydney University's Institute for Culture and Society and the Young and Resilient Research Centre.  In this wide ranging discussion, we examine the complexity of community, what risks are inherent in some social media interactions, and how platforms can foster diversity and feelings of safety for marginalized young people.

The expectations and variety of roles that social media influencers play have increased exponentially, mirrored by increasing scrutiny and policing of how their behaviour plays out amongst their communities and followers. The shifting expectations of followers on influencers has prompted a reappraisal of the status quo by those such as Lillian Ahenkan, also known as FlexMami. FlexMami is a DJ, TV presenter on MTV, model, and multidisciplinary millennial making waves in the Australian entertainment industry. We speak with her about how she grew into becoming a social media influencer, as well as about her drive to shift the goalposts through the creation of follower funded curated communities. We unpick how the popularity and abundance of social media content has led to this situation and how some influencers are evolving by leaving existing social media platforms in pursuit of more flexible and transparent approaches.

The world of gaming has long been highlighted as a hotbed of cultivation of extremist actors and activities, but more recently it's also started to be recognised as a platform where early intervention of extremism and encouragement of democracy and tolerance can be fostered.  Alongside Galen Lamphere-Englund, Senior Advisor, Preventing Violent Extremism and Conflict at Love Frankie, we examine the complexities of gaming, uncovering the distinction between figures of influence, the role of violence, and how powerful gaming narratives can be harnessed as a force for positive change.

Our host, Kosta Lucas speaks with Dr Katie Attwell, Senior Lecturer in the School of Social Sciences at The University of Western Australia (UWA). Dr Attwell leads the large interdisciplinary research project “Coronavax: Preparing Community and Government” with colleagues from UWA and Telethon Kids Institute. ‘Vax’ was the Oxford word of the year in 2021, with ‘Strollout’ being the word of the year in Australia according to the Macquarie Dictionary. The beginning of 2022 then became all about mandates, vaccine mandates being the main flashpoint of public contention. But do any of us actually really know what the term “mandate’ really means? We’ve seen the terms “mask mandate”, “vaccine mandate” and even policy mandate, applied to different COVID responses and settings. But what is a mandate really designed to do, how has it been implemented and is it actually effective as a lever of social policy implementation?

How does the person who admits to hating the concept of marriage proposals see the future of online dating? In this episode, we speak to Lucille McCart, APAC Communications Director of Bumble, who candidly speaks with us about how and why online dating has grown and evolved on apps such as Bumble since the first COVID lockdowns began. She steps us through her take on how technology and dating apps are being used and adapted in places such as India and Indonesia, and incorporated into the existing marriage and relationship traditions, as well as why despite its ease of access and success, it continues to be stigmatized. For more, go to DrawHistory's website: drawhistory.com/undesignpodcast/.