The Experience Designers

Hosted by Steve Usher

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Jul 2026

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Your front row seat to the world of experiences | Bi-weekly episodes

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July 16, 2026Episode 953 min

Abraham Burickson: Most of Our Problems Are World Building Problems

Experience designers know how to build worlds. Abraham Burickson believes it's time to point those tools at the real one, because the climate crisis, childhood anxiety, loneliness and broken education aren't technology problems or political problems. They're world-building problems. Abraham Burickson is an architect-turned-experience designer, co-founder of Odyssey Works, and author of Experience Design: A Participatory Manifesto. Through the Odyssey Works school and foundation, he is now applying world-building to three civilizational challenges: childhood, AI, and climate. He explains: Why every world has its own physics, and how Rosa Parks and Gandhi performed "miracles" by breaking it How you become a different person in every world you enter, without ever noticing The building blocks of any world: physics, population, origin story, language, aesthetics Why "problem solving" is the wrong frame, and the question to ask instead What religion understands about experience design that most businesses never will Why children are losing agency, and how myth and mentorship can restore it Why the climate crisis is really a story crisis about our relationship with nature The one question that changes everything you make: what do I wish for this person? Chapters 00:00 Intro 01:38 We're in a Little World Right Now 03:44 You Become Who Every World Tells You to Be 05:56 Masks, Shadow Selves and Why People Loved Sleep No More 07:13 What We're Exploring: World Building as a Life Project 07:58 Most of Our Problems Are World-Building Problems 10:02 World Building 101: Every World Has a Physics 11:23 How Rosa Parks and Gandhi Broke the Physics of the World 12:53 Origin Stories: Meow Wolf, Marketing and a Destabilised America 15:56 Aesthetics, Steampunk and the Feeling of Agency 18:08 Language Builds Worlds: Gen Z Lexicon, Esperanto and Saudade 21:37 Kids, AI and Climate: Where Abraham Is Applying This Now 22:43 Why Children Are Losing Attention, Agency and Community 23:45 How Myths Actually Worked (They Were Never Just Stories) 26:45 Coming of Age: Bar Mitzvahs, University and 'Adulting' 28:44 Story Masters: Building Real Mentors Into Childhood 31:53 Stop Problem Solving, Start Asking What World We Want 33:12 What Religion Knows About Experience Design 36:17 Reimagining Education From Scratch 37:43 The Question That Changes Everything: What Do I Wish for Them? 40:47 The Climate Crisis as a World-Building Problem 43:34 The Taker Narrative: Why We Treat Nature as a Resource 46:04 Small Communities Can Change the Physics of the World 49:16 Living With the Shuar: Monkeys as Just Another Tribe 51:41 Hopes for London Experience Week BIO Abraham Burickson, Co-Founder of Odyssey Works and the Experience Design Certificate Program, has spent more than two decades exploring the relationship between what we make and how it is experienced. He trained in architecture at Cornell University, in poetry and playwriting at the Michener Center for Writers, and studied alongside the Whirling Dervishes of Turkey and the Shuar of the Ecuadorian Amazon. His work has been discussed in The New York Times, Newsweek and FastCoDesign. He is the author of Experience Design: A Participatory Manifesto (Yale University Press, 2023) and co-author of Odyssey Works: Transformative Experiences for an Audience of One (Princeton Architectural Press, 2016). Connect with Abraham: https://www.linkedin.com/in/abrahamburickson/ www.odysseyworks.org Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@theexperiencedesigners Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1TeZLGnUAo7SNN8IZUHPVN?si=305fe14d75f84e59 Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-experience-designers/id1438152701 Follow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/theexperiencedesigners/posts/?feedView=all Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theexperiencedesigners This episode is brought to you in partnership with London Experience Week and was recorded live at Ministry of Sound. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

July 2, 2026Episode 839 min

Paul Nicholls: From Architecture to the Sphere, a BAFTA and the Future of Experiences

Recorded live at Ministry of Sound in London, this episode is in partnership with London Experience Week, and the studio is dressed by USED Creative, a circular Marketplace. Paul Nicholls is the BAFTA- and Sports Emmy-winning CEO and Chief Creative Officer of Factory Fifteen, the studio behind some of the most ambitious cinematic worlds in entertainment — from the BBC's Tokyo Olympics titles to UFC 306 inside The Sphere. Trained as an architect at The Bartlett, UCL, he's spent fifteen years proving that the building and the story are the same design problem. Paul turns the entire idea of immersion on its head and doesn't stop. He draws a hard line between physical immersion and story immersion, arguing that The Sphere is a technical marvel but not a bigger cinema, and makes the case that you have to design the world before you write a single word of the story. We cover what it actually took to help concept The Sphere back in 2016, the surprising creative lesson behind Kia's North Pole experience for children with cancer, why his BAFTA now sits broken in the studio as a tribute to his late business partner, and why Paul believes AI is about to remove the friction between humans and machines entirely. ━━ CHAPTERS ━━ 00:00 — Welcome to London Experience Week: Paul's first experience event, and it's on his doorstep. 01:37 — The Factory 15 Journey: Architects, viral films, a BAFTA and the Sphere. 09:28 — The Art of World Building: Design the world first. Write the story second. 14:00 — Designing for the Sphere: From concept in 2016 to creating content for the biggest screen on earth. 21:33 — Physical vs Story Immersion: The distinction most experience designers miss. 28:00 — The Future of Experience Design: AI, Gaussian Splatting and what nobody is talking about yet. 35:00 — The Keyboard Is Dying: The human-machine interface is about to change everything. ━━ BIO ━━ Paul Nicholls is a BAFTA and Emmy Award-winning director. He earned a first-class Master's in architecture at The Bartlett, UCL, in 2011 before co-founding Factory Fifteen, a film and experience design studio where he serves as CEO and Chief Creative Officer. Over the past 15 years, Paul has directed films, animations and experiences for The Sphere, The Olympics, The Royal Opera House, The Royal Albert Hall and several World Expos, among others. He is represented commercially by Nexus Studios. Factory Fifteen is a film and experience design studio led by BAFTA and Emmy award-winning directors. They create extraordinary cinematic worlds and live experiences for innovative brands and cultural institutions. Recent experiential case studies include the UFC and Backstreet Boys events at The Sphere, Max Cooper's Royal Albert Hall show, the Kia "Joyride" experience at St Jude's Cancer Research Hospital, and Rêve des Lumières in Tokyo Dream Park. Connect with Paul Nicholls: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-nicholls-36620a30/ Full bio: https://factoryfifteen.com/person/paul-nicholls/ ━━ CREDITS ━━ Special thanks to USED Creative for dressing the studio: https://www.linkedin.com/company/used-creative/ Grateful to The World Experience Organisation for the collaboration at LXW26: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wxo ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

June 18, 2026Episode 748 min

Why Do People Do What They Do? Behavioural Science Meets the Experience Economy

Lea Karam is a behavioural scientist, Founder & CEO of Mindscope, and one of the most distinctive voices on human behaviour in the tech and entertainment industry. She has advised Google, TikTok, Snapchat, BBC iPlayer, ITV, and Pinterest. Lea turns the industry's assumptions on their head and doesn't stop. She makes the case that attention spans haven't decreased, we've built sharper filters, and that more data doesn't mean more understanding, it often means less. She connects behavioural science directly to experience design, and what she says about the broken pyramid, the end of the nudge era, and why impressions are the wrong metric will change how you think about your work. We cover the BBC's bold move onto YouTube, why Gen Z aren't lazy but are demanding more, what the law of polarity means for the experience economy, why what people pause on matters more than what they click, and how Pinterest is quietly rewriting the digital-to-physical playbook. ━━ CHAPTERS ━━ [00:00] Introduction [01:03] Curious, Deep and Built to Bridge Worlds [06:32] The Pyramid Is Gone [09:25] Gen Z, Gen Alpha and the Generation Myth [13:23] Filtering Spans — The Attention Myth Debunked [17:55] The Quantified Need for Human Connection [23:17] Mindscope and the BBC YouTube Case Study [30:53] The Metrics That Are Getting It Wrong [36:31] Five Industry Myths — Busted ━━ BIO ━━ Lea Karam is a multi-award-winning behavioural scientist and the Founder & CEO of Mindscope, an award-winning behavioural science innovation lab across tech, entertainment, culture and commerce. Widely regarded as a pioneer in her field, Lea has built Mindscope into a powerhouse that uncovers emerging human behaviours and translates them into cultural relevance, community reconnection, and commercial growth strategies for some of the world's most influential brands and platforms — including Google, Snapchat, TikTok, Canon, Amex GBT, ITV, and BBC iPlayer. Beyond the lab, Lea is a sought-after keynote speaker known for her sharp, future-focused talks on behaviour, trends, algorithms, identity, consumer psychology, and the rapidly shifting dynamics of modern audiences. Whether she's decoding what makes culture tick or forecasting where attention is heading next, Lea brings industry-altering foresight to every conversation she leads. Named in Campaign Media Week's 30 Under 30 (2022), Management Today's 35 Women Under 35 (2023), and the Media Leader Future 100 (2024), Lea is also a Behavioural Advisor and Executive Member of the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences (Webby Awards). She keynoted MIPCOM Cannes 2025, the first time behavioural science had been centred at the event, and speaks regularly at SXSW, Cannes Lions, and London Experience Week. Connect with Lea Karam: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lea-karam/ https://www.mindscopelabs.com/ ━━ CREDITS ━━ Special thanks to USED Creative for dressing the studio: https://www.linkedin.com/company/used-creative Grateful to The World Experience Organisation for the collaboration at LXW26 https://www.linkedin.com/company/wxo/... ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

June 2, 2026Episode 643 min

The Trust Gap: Why Experiences Are Failing The Modern Consumer

Recorded live at Ministry of Sound in London, this episode is in partnership with London Experience Week and the studio dressed by USED Creative. , a circular Marketplace. Dr Amna Khan is a Senior Lecturer in Consumer Behaviour at Manchester Metropolitan University, a PhD researcher, and one of the UK's most recognisable consumer behaviour commentators, with over 400 appearances on BBC Breakfast, ITV, and Netflix. Amna turns a decade of consumer research on the experience industry, and the picture isn't always comfortable. She makes the case that designers are building experiences without truly understanding the people they're designing for, unpacks why the emotional dimension of trust is twice as powerful as the cognitive dimension, and connects this directly to what the industry keeps getting wrong. We cover the P. Louise pyjama crisis, why the retail assistant is still the most powerful person in any physical experience, what Lush and Fortnum & Mason do differently, Gen Z's relationship with brands, and why showing up brilliantly in three places beats showing up badly in fifteen. Chapters 00:01:16 — Welcome to London Experience Week: Amna's first impressions of LXW and, what brought her to the stage. 00:02:52 — The Science of Trust: What trust actually is, how it develops, and why the emotional layer matters most. 00:08:28 — Service Recovery and Critical Moments: Why getting it wrong can actually strengthen trust — if you show up. 00:10:31 — How Trust Has Fragmented in a Social World: The shift from institutional trust to personal, founder-led relationships. 00:19:28 — The Role of Physical Retail and Human Connection: Why the human element in stores remains the most underutilised asset in retail. 00:26:32 — Popups, Brand Experiences and Memory: Why showing up in the right moment is one of the most powerful trust-building tools. 00:32:28 — Generational Shifts and the Empowered Consumer: How fragmented consumption and social media have changed who holds the power. 00:38:15 — Live Shopping, Belonging and the Future of Connection: Why TikTok live shopping is less about transactions and more about community. Bio Dr. Amna Khan is a Senior Lecturer in Consumer Behaviour and Retailing at Manchester Metropolitan University Business School. She holds a corporate PhD from Alliance Manchester Business School, awarded via a prestigious scholarship from AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals, where she studied the mechanics of trust — including the guanxi relationship networks that shape business and consumer behaviour in Chinese markets. A leading media commentator, she has made over 400 appearances across BBC Breakfast, ITV, BBC Radio 5 Live, Morning Live, The One Show, Watchdog, and Netflix, and is a regular expert on Channel 5 retail documentaries covering Tesco, Primark, M&S, Aldi, Deliveroo, and Coca-Cola. She speaks internationally on consumer psychology, cultural identity, diversity in experience design, and the future consumer, and is represented by London Speaker Bureau (USA). Connect with Dr. Amna Khan: www.linkedin.com/in/dramnakhan Credits Special thanks to USED Creative for dressing the studio: https://www.linkedin.com/company/used-creative/ Grateful to The World Experience Organization for the collaboration at LXW26 : https://www.linkedin.com/company/wxo/posts/?feedView=all ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

May 15, 2026Episode 546 min

Secret Cinema's Dean Rodgers on Creative Excellence, Grease Immersive & Why Playing It Safe Is the Biggest Mistake in the Future Experience Economy

Dean Rodgers is the Experiential Director at Secret Cinema, one of the world's most iconic immersive entertainment companies. With over a decade of building some of the UK's most beloved live experiences, including the Crystal Maze Live Experience, Time Run, and now Secret Cinema's ambitious Studio arm, Dean has watched the experience economy grow from an underground art scene into a global industry. In this episode, Dean makes a bold case: the experience sector has spent the last five years playing it safe, and that era is over. He breaks down the four phases of experiential entertainment, explains why audiences are moving away from their screens and craving genuine human connection, and reveals why creative excellence, not commercial formula, is the only real path to survival in what he believes is the biggest boom the experience economy has ever seen. We also go deep on Secret Cinema's creative process, the hospitality principles behind their most successful shows, what it actually feels like to build an X-wing for a live audience, and why Dean thinks the next wave of experiences is already arriving from an unexpected corner of the world. Chapters 00:00:00 — The Accidental Experience Designer: From theatre director to escape rooms to Secret Cinema — Dean's unlikely twelve-year journey to his dream role. 00:07:35 — The Four Phases of the Experience Economy: Dean maps the evolution of experiential — and why the fourth phase will separate the bold from the comfortable. 00:10:33 — Why Audiences Are Changing Faster Than the Industry: Screens, AI slop, and a hunger for real connection. The cultural forces the sector is failing to keep up with. 00:15:40 — The Projection Show Problem: Why the sector became saturated with investor-driven, low-risk formats — and what that gap is costing the industry. 00:20:24 — How to Design for Creative Excellence: Dean's core creative process — one big idea, the audience as protagonist, and why novelty is non-negotiable. 00:29:45 — Inside Secret Cinema: Grease, Greenwich and What's Next: Behind the scenes on their most successful show ever, the new permanent venue, and the Studio arm's ambitions. 00:41:50 — The Future of Experiences: Boom, Survival and the Next Wave: Why the best days are still ahead — and what a Chinese phenomenon called Jubensha signals about where audiences are heading. Bio Dean is a creator of live immersive experiences. A pioneer with over a decade of leading in the sector. He has designed many of the UK’s acclaimed escape rooms, including Time Run, and was co-founder and creative director of The Crystal Maze Live Experience. He led the immersive department at the multi-award-winning creative agency Bearded Kitten, where he worked with brands including LEGO, Disney, Warner Bros and Netflix. He is currently the Experiential Director at Secret Cinema, where he leads the development of their in-house agency Studio Secret Cinema. There, he oversees new projects, including large-scale brand activations and IP partnerships. Connect with Dean https://www.linkedin.com/in/deanjrodgers/ ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

April 2, 2026Episode 443 min

The Future of the Movie Experience: How Nexus Studios & Meta Built Something Completely New

What happens when cinema breaks free from the screen? In this episode, we sit down with Mike Anderson , award-winning director and creative at Nexus Studios, to explore one of the most fascinating shifts in modern storytelling: spatial cinema . Mike and his team partnered with Meta and Universal Pictures to bring Blumhouse Enhanced Cinema horror films — The Black Phone and M3GAN — into an entirely new immersive format built for the Meta Quest headset. But this isn't VR gaming. It's a new medium for film. Together, Steve and Mike unpack the history of technological inflexion points in filmmaking from the Edison kinetoscope to Dolby surround sound and why we may be at the most significant one yet. They discuss what "spatial" actually means for a viewer, how Nexus built a "visual sound design" layer on top of existing films, and what it's like to watch a horror movie inside a basement that maps to your actual room. From the future of movie theatres and back-catalogue IP, to the possibility of non-linear storytelling and filmmaking made from scratch for spatial platforms, this conversation is a deep dive into where cinema is heading and why the audience might be more ready than we think. If you're curious about immersive experiences, the future of entertainment, XR technology, experience design, or the intersection of AI and storytelling, this episode is essential listening. 00:00 Introduction and pivotal moment in filmmaking. 01:00 A brief history of cinema tech - From kinetoscopes to iPhones — how technology has always driven storytelling. 03:52 What is spatial cinema? - Mike defines spatial viewing and explains the jaw-dropping scale of an in-headset screen. 07:00 Your room becomes the film - How the Quest maps your space and overlays the world of the movie into it. 08:30 Beyond film — where else does this go? - Sports broadcasting, live events, education — the boundless applications of spatial tech. 12:00 The pitch — getting it signed off - The creative and technical complexity of convincing Meta and Universal to back this. 15:30 Inventing a new language - Creating definitions, testing what works, and discovering "visual sound design." 20:00 The viewer experience - What it actually feels and looks like to watch a film in spatial, inside the app. 21:30 The Black Phone & M3GAN - Why horror was the genre of choice and how two very different films were transformed. 24:45 Scaling the format - The tools Nexus built to productise the 2D-to-spatial conversion pipeline. 27:30 What does this mean for movie theatres? - Complementary, not competitive — why cinema isn't going anywhere. 29:10 New films, new possibilities - What happens when a filmmaker builds from scratch for spatial — and how distribution could work. 35:00 Parallel worlds — immersive art & experience design - Frameless, Marshmallow Laser Feast, how tech is opening new creative windows. 37:00 Mike's journey and what drives him - From painting at RISD to installations in Manhattan to the frontier of spatial filmmaking. 41:30 The "Jazz Singer" moment - What the tipping point looks like — and why we're just waiting for it to arrive. Nexus Studios | The Experience Designers Podcast | Mike Anderson Bio Mike Anderson, Director, Nexus Studios Mike Anderson is an award-winning director and animator who brings a mastery of technology and craft to create work often with a subtly absurd or unsettling edge. As a versatile storyteller, he moves effortlessly between aesthetics and techniques, from original series like Good Morning, Pickles! (FXX) and Hot Future (Adult Swim) to music videos for Steve Aoki and Ashnikko, seamlessly blending digital gaming visuals, motion capture, or traditional animation. Mike served as Creative Lead for Blumhouse Enhanced Cinema, guiding the project to create a deeply immersive and engaging experience for audiences. A director in his own right, he applied his narrative insight to interpret and amplify the original director’s intent. Having led creative work for top brands including Apple, Meta, and major IP from Amazon Prime, NBCUniversal, and the NBA, he brings a sharp understanding of storytelling across formats. An avid Quest cinema viewer, he has long envisioned ways to spatialize film, ensuring the experience fully leverages the medium’s emotional and narrative potential. @nexusstories @mikeanderson0101 https://nexusstudios.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikeanderson0101/ ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

February 18, 2026Episode 341 min

The Atomic Unit of Immersive Experiences: Why Presence is Everything

In this episode, we sit down with immersive experience designer Frances Vieras Blanc in the heart of Paris to explore the "atomic unit" of human connection: presence. Dressed in Marie Antoinette-era attire to embody the power of anchoring and immersion (whilst in Paris!), Frances shares her journey from politics to creating the Oracle of Immersion , a tool designed to help brands move beyond the "Instagrammable" into the transformation economy . They discuss the five pillars of immersive design—multi-sensory engagement, agency, story, space, and feeling—and how theatrical techniques like "Yes, and" can bridge the gap between creative art and corporate impact. It is a grounded conversation on how intentionality and "micro-magic" can foster genuine human transformation. Episode Chapters 0:00 – The Atomic Unit of Experience: Presence: Exploring how being fully present with others forms the foundation of all immersive design. 8:50 – Defining Immersion: The Five Pillars: Introducing the Oracle of Immersion as a framework for building multi-sensory and participatory worlds. 16:35 – Designing for Feeling and Impact: Why starting with the desired emotional "peak" is essential for both creative and business success. 19:10 – Navigating the Transformation Economy: How experiences are moving beyond mere entertainment toward deep, meaningful personal shifts. 23:43 – Thinking Outside the Booth: Brand Immersion: Reimagining trade shows and retail spaces by replacing functional design with lived storytelling. 31:35 – The "Yes, And" of Collaborative Growth: How theatrical improv skills and adaptability can unlock innovation within corporate cultures. Frances biography Frances Vieras Blanc is a creative director and immersive strategist with over 30 years of experience in entertainment. Founder of Eat the Cake Studio, an immersive entertainment studio based in France, she crafts and curates immersive experiences—from bold brand activations to original narrative worlds—helping audiences connect deeply while making brands impossible to ignore. A recognized leader in the immersive space, Frances is a founding member of the World Experience Organization (WXO) and its Global Experience Council, a contributing alumna of The College of Extraordinary Experiences, and co-founder of JeDI Immersive, a non-profit advancing the immersive industry in France, and Les Journées de l’Immersif, France’s largest immersive industry gathering. Rooted in a lifelong love of storytelling—spanning stage, film, screenwriting, and video games—she brings human-centered stories to life, transforming messages into emotions and brands into living worlds. Her mission: to turn the ordinary into the extraordinary through emotion, story, and creative impact. Connect https://www.linkedin.com/in/francesvierasblanc-immersive-entertainment/ ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

January 30, 2026Episode 251 min

The Death of Vanilla: Why Physical Retail Experiences are Failing

We speak with retail experience expert Ghalia at 104.fr in Paris to explore the evolving landscape of physical commerce. As the pendulum swings back from ultra-digital to physical, Ghalia shares her deep insights into why brands must move beyond transactional efficiency to embrace "story living". They discuss the strategic value of pop-up stores as experimental tools to test location and product novelty, and the need to blend high-tech with a high-touch human connection. It's a thoughtful, deep dive for experience makers and leaders into how purposeful design and local authenticity can create meaningful, destination-worthy retail experiences that resonate on a cultural and social level. #RetailInnovation #StoryLiving #TheExperienceDesigners #ExperienceDesign #HumanCentredDesign Episode Chapters 0:00 – Reimagining the Purpose of Physical Retail: Exploring why customers leave the house for meaningful destinations rather than just basic transactions. 5:20 – Beyond the Wow Factor: Utilitarian vs. Holistic Design: Understanding the balance between functional, grab-and-go convenience and immersive, time-stretching experiences. 11:52 – From Storytelling to Story Living: How brands provide authentic proof of their heritage and "know-how" through museums and interactive flagships. 26:00 – Pop-ups as a Strategic Tool for Experimentation: Ghalia shares insights from her PhD on using ephemeral spaces to test locations, products, and customer reactions. 40:47 – Human-Centric Design and Holistic Management: Breaking down internal silos to integrate retail design into the heart of the customer journey. 49:40 – The Future of Retail: Social and Cultural Commerce: Looking toward 2025, the next era of commerce must prioritise human connection over mere profit. Ghalia's bio Ghalia is a multifaceted retail expert whose work spans consultancy, insight curation, speaking, authorship, and podcast hosting. She began her career in the fashion industry in 2005 and has since collaborated closely with numerous fashion brands at both retail and management levels. Her expertise lies in ephemeral retail formats, the creation of engaging physical store atmospheres, and the analysis of consumer behavior within omnichannel environments. At a strategic level, Ghalia supports brands through transformation processes and the evolution of their development strategies. Operationally, she contributes to procedure design, training manual development, and team training programs. She holds a PhD from École Supérieure des Affaires in Lebanon, a Master’s degree from the London College of Fashion, and a BA (Hons) from Notre Dame University. Ghalia teaches marketing and retail internationally and is a frequent speaker at leading retail conferences, sharing insights that help shape the future of retail. Connect with Ghalia https://www.linkedin.com/in/ghaliaboustani/ Credits Venue - Centquatre-Paris, 5 rue Curial - 75019 Paris www.104.fr Francois Arrivae from IO Studio - A creative technology laboratory specializing in immersive experiences Links to Francois https://www.linkedin.com/in/fran%C3%A7ois-arrive/ https://io-stud.io ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

January 15, 2026Episode 154 min

Inside The Traitors Live Experience: From TV Hit to Living World with Neil Connolly

A rare behind-the-scenes look inside The Traitors Live Experience in London. Creative Director Neil Connolly at Immersive Experience reveals what it really takes to turn a hit TV show into a living, breathing world, from designing a game with 475 possible outcomes, to building a four-storey immersive venue in just four months. This episode explores how the live experience extends the Traitors universe, how emotion and tension are designed into every moment, and why the audience always comes first. Whether you’re a fan of the show or fascinated by immersive experiences, this gives you a whole new appreciation of what’s really going on behind the roundtable. 00:00 – Welcome to The Traitors Live | What this experience is and why it’s unlike anything else 04:00 – From TV Show to Living World | How the Traitors universe was extended, not copied 10:00 – Designing the Game & the Tension | Turning the TV format into a live, emotional experience 18:30 – 475 Possible Outcomes | Why no two games are ever the same 25:00 – Inside the Machine | The building, technology, and operational scale behind the scenes 46:30 – Emotion First, Business Second (But Both Matter) | Why audience feeling, design, and commercial reality must work together Immersive Everywhere Company Bio An award-winning live entertainment producer on a mission to transform the world’s biggest entertainment brands into extraordinary immersive experiences. They specialise in bringing storytelling to life through interactive, play-based theatrical events that allow audiences to step directly into the worlds they love. The company has produced critically acclaimed experiences, including Doctor Who: Time Fracture, Peaky Blinders: The Rise, and The Great Gatsby — one of the longest-running immersive shows in the world. Immersive Everywhere is behind The Traitors: Live Experience in London’s West End, a fully playable adaptation of the hit TV series created under licence from All3Media International. The company’s vertically integrated model spans creative development, production, ticketing, marketing, and operations, enabling cohesive execution of complex, large-scale experiences that blur the line between spectator and participant. More information - https://www.immersiveeverywhere.com Neil Connolly - Guest & Creative Director Creative Director at Immersive Everywhere and the visionary behind some of the company’s most ambitious IP-based experiences. With a prolific career in immersive design, Neil has led creative work on live attractions such as The Crystal Maze Live, The Tomb Raider Live Experience, and other major branded events. In his work, Neil focuses on extending beloved universes into physical, interactive experiences — always with the audience front of mind. His role on The Traitors: Live Experience involved shaping a dynamic, player-driven adventure that honours the essence of the TV format while adding depth, narrative, and emotional engagement for participants. Connect with Neil https://www.linkedin.com/in/neil-connolly-499054110/ ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

December 19, 2025Episode 2552 min

Donnacadh O'Briain: Why Immersive Theatre Is the Next Evolution of Organisational Training

What happens when leadership training stops being something you sit through and becomes something you step inside? In this episode, theatre director and experience designer Donnacadh O’Briain shares the story of a bold leadership programme that replaced slides, frameworks, and role-play with a fully immersive live theatre experience. Set inside a 1930s dockyard, leaders became participants in an unfolding story forced to navigate complex conversations, power dynamics, trust, and decision-making in real time. Together, Steve and Donnacadh explore why theatre creates deeper learning, how immersion accelerates behavioural change, and what organisations can learn from rehearsal rooms about leadership, presence, and human connection. Chapters 00:00 – From Theatre to Leadership Learning 07:10 – Why Traditional Leadership Training Falls Short 14:30 – Inside the Live Theatre Leadership Experiment 24:40 – Freezing Time: Learning Through Real Decisions 34:50 – The Impact on Leaders and Organisational Culture 44:10 – What Theatre Teaches Us About Leading Humans 51:00 – The Future of Experiential Leadership Development Bio: Donnacadh is an Olivier and Offie Award-winning Director, Experience Designer and Story Architect specialising in live theatre, immersive experiences and experiential learning. He is a cross-industry expert in story and narrative. His wide-ranging career has seen him working on everything from musicals, Shakespeare, West End comedies, and large-scale immersive LBE's, to consulting on story and branding and creating innovative learning projects for major companies in the US and Europe. Recent clients have ranged from entertainment IP giants to Fortune 500 finance and tech companies and Hollywood production houses. He is a TEDx speaker, has given lectures and mentored at institutions such as Cambridge University & RADA, and spent a year as an Associate Fellow of Creativity at Warwick University. Connect with Donnacadh https://www.linkedin.com/in/donnacadh-o-briain-35788837/ ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★