
Best of Design Matters: Suzanne Vega
Acclaimed singer-songwriter Suzanne Vega reflects on her pioneering career, the artistry behind her storytelling, and the lasting cultural impact of songs like “Luka” and “Tom’s Diner.” She joins to discuss her new album, Flying with Angels, which poignantly captures the struggles and resilience of our time. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Opens the player: the full transcript, every word clickable, with translation and flashcards.
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B2 · Upper-intermediate
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- 90% of the words are B1 or easier.
- 165 words a minute: natural, fairly fast speech.
- 196 harder words (B2 and up) in the whole episode.
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It took a long time to learn how to perform.
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Is this episode right for you?
B2 · Upper-intermediate
Comfortable if you already follow TV news
- 90% of the words are B1 or easier.
- 165 words a minute: natural, fairly fast speech.
- 196 harder words (B2 and up) in the whole episode.
Transcript
The opening of the episode. The whole transcript is in the player.
harder words (B2+)
This episode of Design Matters originally appeared in September of 2025. It took a long time to learn how to perform. It took another 10 years until I would say I got better at it. And in fact, that's a lifelong quest for me.
How do you embody the feeling and perform it in front of an audience? From the TED Audio Collective, this is Design Matters with Debbie Millman. On Design Matters, Debbie talks with some of the most creative people in the world about what they do, how they got to be who they are, and what they're thinking about and working
on. On this episode, Suzanne Vega talks about her latest album and opens up about the doubts she had early in her career. Finally, I started to feel like I am a musician.
That was the opening. The rest of the episode (61 min) is in the player: every word clickable, with translation, saved words and flashcards.
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