Taz Khatri

Episode 37: Trauma-Informed Design for the Homeless and for Outer Space!

July 21st, 2026  |  47 mins 21 secs

architecture, homeless, housing, outer space, unhoused

Architect and professor Kate Dudzik-Smith, an expert on trauma informed design, tells us how designing for the needs of the human body is central to all design considerations especially when dealing with vulnerable populations like the homeless and even those pioneers who go up in space. This conversation is for everyone because trauma-informed design is just good, thoughtful, and universal design that benefits all people, regardless of status, background, and whether you have plans to go to outer space.

Episode 36: Why Ashley Harder Wants Your Vote for Phoenix City Council and Her Vision for our Built Environment

June 24th, 2026  |  36 mins 56 secs

affordable housing, architecture, developer, historic preservation, phoenix city council

Historic Preservation advocate and Developer Ashley Harder is running to be the councilperson for District 4 in Phoenix. She tells us about her vision for our city. She believes that historic preservation and affordable housing are not at odds but in fact can make sense together. She wants to see equitable development along the light rail lines and wants to strengthen our public transportation options like Bus Rapid Transit. Find out what else she is advocating for in her bid for Phoenix City Council.

Episode 35: The Crucial Aspect of Accessibility that is missing in the Americans with Disabilities Act

April 22nd, 2026  |  42 mins 46 secs

accessibility, ada, architecture, maegan blau

Phoenix-based Interior Designer Maegan Blau tells us about accessible design from her perspective as a wheelchair user. She tells us what's missing in the American with Disabilities Act and how the accessibility law needs to keep evolving to address more real-life situations. She explains the difference between accessible design on paper versus accessibility in real life.

Episode 34: Three Breathtaking Architecture Movies Coming to Phoenix

March 30th, 2026  |  36 mins 58 secs

architecture, film

No Festival Required does it again! Executive Director Steve Weiss is showing three architecture films sure to take our breath away at this year's Architectural Film Showcase. The first film will be shown on Thursday April 16, 2026 at the 7pm at the Third Street Theater. It's called "Ancestral Artistry: The Influence of Africans and Creoles of Color on Louisiana Architecture" and features artisans responsible for the gorgeous and intricate buildings of New Orleans and other parts of Louisiana. The second is called "Remembering the Future with Herb Greene" and highlights the work of the legendary and groundbreaking organic architect Herb Greene. This film will be shown on Saturday April 18, 2026 at 7pm at the The Pavilion at Taliesen West. The final film of the Showcase, "Going Attractions: The Definitive Story of the Movie Palace", will show stunning movie palaces of yesteryear and many that still live on. Appropriately, it's showing at our own historic movie palace, The Orpheum Theater on April 21, 2026 at 7pm. Tickets for all showings are available at www.nofestivalrequired.com!

Episode 33: Equitable Neighborhoods, Arizona ADU and Missing Middle Laws

February 11th, 2026  |  52 mins 34 secs

accessory dwelling units, adu standard plans, affordable housing, arizona, christian solorio, city of phoenix, equitable neighborhoods, missing middle housing

Listen to my conversation with former State House representative, housing advocate and architect Christian Solorio about equitable neighborhoods and the recently passed state laws mandating fewer restrictions on accessory dwelling units and missing middle housing. Christian was heavily involved in the passing of these laws and he tells us why he thinks they're so important. He also introduces a new City of Phoenix program where homeowners can choose from approved standard ADU plans instead of creating plans from scratch and how this program will make it that much easier to make affordable housing and equitable neighborhoods in Phoenix a reality.

Episode 32: Interview with Environmental Artist Joan Baron

December 17th, 2025  |  40 mins 58 secs

adobe, architecture, joan baron

Environmental Artist Joan Baron has long been interested in earthen materials. She is currently obsessed with adobe and making earthen ovens or hornos as a way to empower everyday people to not only make their own food, but build their own earthen oven too! She, along with artisan Clint Plecas (who was a previous guest on Tea with Taz), lead adobe workshops teaching everyday people how to make adobe bricks and how to build with them. Making your own earthen home with adobe, Joan believes, could be an answer to the housing affordability crisis young people are facing. We also talk about the role of art in the built environment and how it can be used for placemaking. You won't want to miss this conversation with Joan, who is a powerhouse of an artist, community builder, and activist!

Episode 31: Interview with Local Real Estate Developer Ryan Hilbun

October 16th, 2025  |  44 mins 24 secs

architecture, real estate developer

What does a real estate developer actually do? Ryan Hilbun, a local up-and-coming Phoenix developer illuminates the inner workings of the development world in this podcast. He tells us what matters to developers and how they make decisions. (Hint: It's not always JUST about the bottom line.) We also talk about Ryan's passion for Placemaking and how it impacts the work he does.

Episode 30: What is Trauma-Informed Design?

August 25th, 2025  |  44 mins 53 secs

architecture, trauma-informed design

Everyone has gone through some level of trauma, but some have to deal with more serious trauma than others - think of people who have lost housing in a natural disaster or war, people recovering from domestic abuse or hospitalized patients. These may be examples that don't apply to you but designing with a trauma-informed approach benefits everyone! RJ Millhouse, Assistant Professor at the ASU Design School, breaks it down for us and explains how trauma-informed design is a thoughtful approach that would improve design for all demographics.

Episode 29: All About Building with Adobe with Clint Plecas

July 17th, 2025  |  58 mins 7 secs

adobe, architecure

Although adobe is an ancient building material that likely originated in the Middle East, it has a uniquely Arizonan dimension in that our clay-heavy soil is perfect to make sturdy and beautiful adobe bricks. Clint Plecas, an adobe craftsman, gives us an overview of this natural building material, its origins in Arizona, it's rich history, how to make it and how adobe is used and made in modern times.

Episode 28: A Conversation with Prof. Phil Horton on how Design Education is Changing Amid Political Upheaval

June 18th, 2025  |  56 mins 20 secs

architecture, design education, phil horton

Join us for a timely conversation with Clinical Associate Professor of Architecture Phil Horton about how the recent changes in federal funding and policy are impacting The Design School at Arizona State University along with the positive and sometimes challenging impact of eliminating barriers for students who want to study architecture. Phil also tells us about the innovative joint studio he's been running with the architecture program at the An-Najah National University in Nablus, Palestine and how this collaboration has become more relevant yet more uncertain than ever.

Episode 27: A Conversation with Arizona's State Historical Preservation Office

April 8th, 2025  |  51 mins 36 secs

architecture, historic district, historical preservation, kathryn leonard

Kathryn Leonard is one of my favorite leaders. She has been serving as the Arizona State Historic Preservation Officer for nearly nine years and the agency is better for her courageous leadership. Listen to us geek out about historic preservation in Arizona and how stressful it can be, but when it works, how rewarding it is. We talk about some big questions that the field of preservation is facing - such as who's history is being preserved, should we be rethinking the idea of historical integrity and how can we get young people interested in preservation? One of Kathryn and her team's biggest efforts during the year is putting on the annual Arizona State Historic Preservation Conference which is happening in Phoenix this year. Everyone is welcome. You can register here: https://www.azpreservation.org/confer.... Kathryn also talks about the the Arizona State Historic Preservation Plan update which is an opportunity to address the big questions of preservation and to forge a new, more inclusive, path for historic preservation in Arizona.

Episode 26: An Overview of the 2025 Architectural Film Showcase with Steve Weiss

March 27th, 2025  |  29 mins 13 secs

architecture, film festival, no festival required, steve weiss

The Valley's resident independent film screener Steve Weiss (No Festival Required) tells us about the three films he's chosen to show at this year's Architectural Film Showcase. He tells us about the wonderful spaces he will be screening the films in and the star-studded (local stars at least) post-film discussion panels he's put together. Here are the films, times, dates, and locations. You can buy your tickets at www.nofestivalrequired.com "The Hollywood Architect: The Paul R. Williams Story" April 9, 2025, Walter Studios, Doors at 6:30pm, Film at 7:00pm "beadlearchitecture - A Film by Suzanne D. Johnson" April 13, 2025, 3rd Street Theater at Phoenix Center for the Arts, Doors at 12:30pm, FIlm at 1:00pm "Light without Sun - A Film om Architect Jorn Utzon and Cas Lis" April 17, 2025, The Abbey PHX, Doors at 6:30pm, Film at 7:30pm

Episode 25: Omar Bailey Shares His Journey as a Black Architect

February 17th, 2025  |  43 mins 44 secs

architecture, black architect

Omar Bailey, a Senior Associate at the architecture firm Shepley Bulfinch, talks about how he got to where he is and how he found his strengths even though they weren't what he expected they would be in architecture school. Listen to this fun and informative conversation about how architecture professionals change and grow as they advance in their career and some of the additional obstacles minority architects have to overcome.

Episode 24: An Interview with Historic Preservation Thought Leader Bonnie McDonald

November 25th, 2024  |  54 mins 45 secs

architecture, historic preservation

How do we make Historic Preservation relevant to more than just little old ladies of leisure? Who's stories do our current Historic Preservation systems tell and which groups are routinely overlooked? How is Historic Preservation related to Health, Workers Right's and People's Right to Place?

Bonnie McDonald, the President and CEO of Landmarks Illinois, answers these difficult questions and more. Bonnie is the author of THE RELEVANCY GUIDEBOOK — BUILDING A MORE RELEVANT PRESERVATION MOVEMENT and she shares what she learned when interviewing groups of people who are hardly ever included in the Historic Preservation conversation. She shares the things that still need to change and also tells us about glimmers of hope and success stories about how Historic Preservation has been made relevant to a wider swath of the population.

Episode 23: An Interview with Arizona Legislator Sarah Ligouri on the new ADU Law

October 9th, 2024  |  44 mins 23 secs

adu, architecture

There has been a flurry of pushback on the new statewide law mandating that every city that has over 75,000 people must allow any single family home to add at least one attached or detached Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU). Everyone from historic preservationists, city planner, and neighborhood organizations are up in arms about this overall positive move to make ADUs more prevalent in our state. Listen in on my interview with Arizona Legislator Sarah Ligouri, a big proponent of this legislation. to find out why the Arizona Legislature passed such a sweeping law, overriding citys' ability to regulate ADUs, and why it may not be such a bad thing after all.

Episode 22: The New Incarnation of Taliesen School of Architecture

August 27th, 2024  |  37 mins 4 secs

architecture, architecture school, taliesen school of architecture, taliesen west

In this episode Taz interviews Stephanie Lin, the Dean of The School of Architecture, an institution that was once called The Taliesen School of Architecture which was founded by Frank Lloyd Wright. Find out what the school is up to now that it is no longer at Taliesen West and the very cool, hands on, experimental projects that continue to be produced there.