Clever with Amy Devers

Amy Devers has been making things with her hands her whole life — furniture, art, television sets — and that maker sensibility shows up in every episode of Clever. Since 2016, Amy has hosted deeply personal conversations with the people who shape the physical and visual world around us: architects, industrial designers, illustrators, typographers, and creative directors. What sets Clever apart is her ability to get past the portfolio talk and into the real story. She asks about the failures, the pivots, the moments of doubt that led to breakthroughs. Guests like Paula Scher from Pentagram, architect David Adjaye, and illustrator Christoph Niemann have all opened up in ways you do not typically hear in design interviews. The show also runs a companion series called Clever Confidential, which digs into the lesser-told, sometimes uncomfortable stories hiding behind polished design legacies. Co-founded with Jaime Derringer of Design Milk, the podcast has won multiple awards and built a reputation for its raw, unscripted feel. Episodes run about an hour and often touch on how personal history, identity, and psychology influence creative work. Her background as both a designer and a trained therapist gives the interviews an unusual depth — she is genuinely curious about what makes creative people tick, not just what they have made. For anyone who wants to understand the human side of design rather than just the portfolio highlights, Clever is one of the most thoughtful shows in the space.