For decades there has been a design-related radio show on ABC Radio National every Saturday at 9am. In recent years it’s broadened far beyond the built environment into a cheery Saturday morning magazine, with a growing emphasis on food and gardens. It’s not quite the must-listen show that it once was, and now has been relegated to the 1pm slot, when everyone is out at Bunnings. There are still some great interviews hosted by current host Jonathan Green.

Blueprint for Living

By Design

Prior to Green, from 2006 the late Alan Saunders then Fenella Kernebone hosted By Design in the same slot. Most of these pages were removed in 2021 because (ironically) they were using templates that were inaccessible. After some serious digging I’ve found a few samples. I can’t host the MP3 files as they’ve copyright-restricted them, so access is a little complicated…

I do hope the ABC can gradually untangle this mess and don’t just delete everything. It’s a valuable archive, containing many interviews with Australian design luminaries. I have contacted them about the issue.

You can access these 2014 Kerneborne episodes by downloading each full half hour show as an mp3 from for this web archive page.

• 13 Sep 2014: War trenchs, Wild pools of the Thames, Robin Gibson and the Queensland Art Gallery
• 6 September 2014: Architectural photography vs Instagram, the escalator, GASP Pavilion
• 30 August 2014: 3D printing, Alex Newson, architect entrepreneur, Miles Lewis on Hoddle
• 23 August 2014: Wardle at Bruny Island, the piano, Powerhouse Museum and Rose Hiscock
• 16 August 2014: Theatre design, Stephen Curtis, mandolins, Bicheno surf club

Allan Saunders had a full hour to luxuriate in.

• 2 November 2011: includes Karen Burns on the women in architecture project (later called Parlour) MP3
• 10 August 2011 By design rides a tram around Melbourne. Also see a short video clip.
• 1 April 2009: chef Thomas Keller, TED, design awards, Malouf on Utzon, Ken Maher
• 20 January 2007: knives and forks, Beni Burnett, tunnels and bridges, Florence Broadhurst MP3

Comfort Zone

Presented by Alan Saunders from May 1997 to January 2005, this magazine programme interviewed people about all things design. From late 2002 audio was published but these seem to be lost in the file system.

Australia