Recently named one of the Business Post Top 100 Women in Irish Tech, Karen Church (VP of Research & Data Science at Intercom) joins Alec Levin to talk about blending research with data science, building Intercom’s RAD org, and the story behind Fin — their AI customer-service agent.We cover:- Why Intercom merged Research + Data Science, and how the RAD org is structured- Lessons from scaling research impact across product, growth, pricing, and customer experience- How Fin was built — experiments, features, and metrics that really matter- The new hybrid skills researchers need as AI reshapes roles- Practical ways to speed up your workflow with AI, while keeping human judgment at the center👉 Connect with Karen: linkedin.com/in/karenchurch🎯Follow us on socials!Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joinlearners/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/learnersX: https://x.com/joinlearners
Kevin Newton leads UX Measurement at LinkedIn. In this preview of his upcoming talk at Research Week, he talks about how AI is changing the researcher’s role, from writing SQL with help from chatbots to experimenting with AI agents that learn your working style.
They cover:
How Kevin’s team is encouraging open, systematic AI experimentation
Why curiosity, not tooling, matters most in hiring
How personal AI agents could shift how research leaders work
The messy, human stuff that still makes research powerful
🎟 Kevin’s talk is part of the AI and UXR program at Research Week, happening June 2–6. Sign up here: https://joinlearners.com/research-week
Gus Griffin (Sr. Strategic Growth Researcher at Figma) joins Alec for a sneak peek of his upcoming Research Week talk. This one’s all about long-term growth—how researchers can step outside their product and help their companies make smarter, more strategic bets.
You’ll hear about:
What Figma’s research team looks for in emerging markets
Why asking dumb questions like “what’s going on out there?” can lead to smart decisions
The difference between chasing features vs. understanding people
The evolving role of the researcher as a business partner
Gus speaks at the Growth UXR program at Research Week, coming up June 2–6 in SF and online. Join us: https://joinlearners.com/research-week
In this special episode, Alec sits down with Zachary Schendel, Senior Director of Research at DoorDash, for a preview of his upcoming talk for UXRConf. They explore why strong cross-functional relationships are essential for researchers, and how to actually build them.
You’ll learn:
Why great research often gets ignored
How to navigate different product manager personalities
What hiring managers really look for today
How AI is changing research workflows (and what it can’t replace)
Real tips on influence, storytelling, and showing up with impact
🎟️ Register free for Research Week: joinlearners.com/research-week
🔗 Connect with Zach: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zachary-schendel-38353157/
Brad Orego, Head of Research at Webflow, joins us to chat about their upcoming talk at UXRConf.
In this episode, Brad shares how their team is expanding the scope of research—supporting executive decision-making, exploring multi-year strategy, and operating more like an insights function than a traditional UX team.
We get into:
🔹 Why fitting research into sprints misses the bigger opportunity
🔹 How to work with execs (hint: they won’t read your summary)
🔹 Building research roadmaps and identifying long-term questions
🔹 Why the most valuable research might not look like "UX research" at all
🎟️ Join us at Research Week—online or in San Francisco: joinlearners.com/research-week
Confidence intervals aren’t just a math concept—they’re a key tool for making better decisions in research.
In this episode, Alec talks with Carl Pearson, Staff UX Researcher at Reddit, about how quantitative researchers approach surveys, metrics, and decision-making with confidence.
They discuss:
Find Carl on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carljpearson/
What does it really mean to “do the research”? Judd Antin joins The Learners Podcast to talk about the mindset, craft, and approach behind great research.
We discuss:
Judd brings years of experience leading research teams at Meta, Airbnb, and beyond. His insights will challenge the way you think about research.
Find Judd on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juddantin/
Madeline Smith is a UX Researcher at Cisco. Madeline joins the podcast to talk about her choice to adopt, working through the waiting game, and finding balance between work and being a new parent.
Find Madeline on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/madsesmith/
Michael Riddering is the founder of Dive, a creator at Figma Academy and has previously held roles as a founding designer, design lead, and design advisor.
Michael joins the podcast to talk about the changing nature of skill development, how tools shape our practice and what learning could look like in the future.
Find Michael on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelriddering/
Learn more about Dive: https://www.dive.club
Claire Menke is the Director of Research, Generative AI at Meta. Claire joins the podcast to talk about testing out career transitions as a working parent, stepping outside of your comfort zone, and taking on "one big job" at a time.
Find Claire on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clairemenke/
Asha Bhatia is the Director of Product at HoneyBook. Samuel Henschen is a Sr. UX Researcher at a stealth startup. Together, Asha and Samuel recently welcomed twins.
On this episode, join us to hear from Asha and Samuel about what it's like welcoming two (not just one!), building an ongoing support network, and balancing the involvement of family and help.
Find Asha on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashacbhatia/
Find Samuel on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samuelhenschen/
George Margrove is a Sr. Principal Psychologist at Workday, and has held a number of interesting roles like Principal Psychologist, Head of Insight, and Sr. Business Psychologist.
George joins us to talk about avoiding hallucinations in your analysis, training your teammates on AI tools and the promise of greater researcher productivity.
Find George on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/george-margrove-phd-b35800a6/
Zabrina Hossain is a product leader previously at Wealthsimple, Shopify, and Snap. Zabrina joins us to talk about her transition into parenthood, discovering her identity as a working mother, and the differences between taking maternity leave at an early stage vs established startup.
Find Zabrina on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zabrina-hossain-58bb61b/
Basel Fakhoury is the Co-Founder and CEO of User Interviews, the user research recruitment platform for teams.
Basel joins the Learners podcast to talk about the growth of research in industry - what's changed, and what hasn't.
Basel Fakhoury on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/baselfakhoury
Learn more about User Interviews: https://www.userinterviews.com
Bretton Fosbrook is the Principal Product Researcher at LaunchDarkly, with previous roles at Wealthsimple and FreshBooks.
In this episode, we chat about scaling research without a research team, building trust with executives, and practicing research without insecurity.
You can find Bretton on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bfosbrook/
Athena Petrides is a Sr. UXR Lead at Glassdoor, and parent to a 13 month old. Join us as we talk about the challenges of returning to work in a fast paced environment like tech.
Find Athena on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/athena-petrides-9a1a7a35/
Oren Friedman is the Co-Founder and CEO of Rally, a CRM for UXRs. Join us as we talk about his early career working in a different kind of research, the path to product-market fit, and key learnings from building a company (not just a product).
Find Oren on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/oren-friedman/
Learn more about Rally: https://www.rallyuxr.com
Lucas Puente is the VP of Research at Slack, where he focuses on quantitative research. Join us as we talk about sample sizes, standard deviations, and most importantly, a staunch defence of NPS.
Find Lucas on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucaspuente/
Lacey Miller is the Head of Growth Marketing at Perigon, an AI-powered a context engine that simplifies the complexity around you. Join us as we talk about approaching marketing differently, the importance of relationships and standing out.
Find Lacey on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laceymiller/
Chris Nguyen is a design educator and the Founder of UX Playbook. Join us as we talk about the different journeys into design, how design education is changing, and what the role of a designer could look like in the future.
Find Chris on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/uxchrisnguyen/details/experience/
