Welcome to the Port Authority Bus Terminal! Would you like a hot towel? AIGA Portland President and NBC ArtWorks Studio Creative Director Ventura Castro sits down with Sean to talk about his design mistakes… as well as Bleeding Cowboys, the many attractions of Secaucus, New Jersey, and Moby’s failed fact checking career.

As Ventura mentioned, Portland Design Month is indeed happening now, and if you’re listening from the Portland area, you still have the rest of October to see all there is to see, including lectures tonight (as this goes out) at PSU with Spotify’s Tina Snow Le. Shout out to past guest Emy Su for doing the lovely graphics this year, and past co-host Gabe Bidney for serving as AIGA Portland’s new Programming Director, helping to pull the whole thing off! Check out our bi-weekly newsletter on Substack for a full guide of event recommendations from past guests and friends of the show!

ABOUT THE GUEST: Equal parts executive producer and creative director, Ventura Castro has been a force behind the scenes of the motion graphics industry for the last 15+ years. As Creative Director for NBC ArtWorks Studio, he leads the in-house agency for brand and package design across all news/documentary properties for on-air and streaming platforms. An avid cinephile, Ventura has taught at the EPFC and given talks at SCAD, SVA, and NYU. He currently serves as President of AIGA Portland, where he leads the organization’s strategic direction and community initiatives, expanding cross-disciplinary programming — and positioning design as both cultural force and civic infrastructure.

Ventura’s work can be seen (soon!) at his website, venturacastro.com, but until then, you can find it on Instagram, LinkedIn, or by watching NBC News or Telemundo’s upcoming coverage of the 2026 US midterm elections.

This episode was recorded Sunday, October 4, 2026.

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