Is coding essential for engineering managers today? We dive into what “being in the code” really means for EM impact and explore practical ways for managers to stay technical without becoming a bottleneck. It’s more nuanced than just writing features.
After a year working with LLMs, we’ve distilled key practices for prompting, RAG, and evaluation. Learn how to structure inputs, optimize workflows, evaluate outputs effectively, and tackle persistent challenges like hallucinations. Ship robust, reliable AI applications.
Unit tests are mini-experiments, and circular reasoning invalidates the results. We’ll explore how to spot this common pitfall, why it creates a false sense of security, and how to build truly effective tests by comparing code output to independently verified results.
Your tech choices—like static typing or dependency aversion—might be less about logic and more about childhood experiences. This episode explores how our formative years shape our engineering styles and why accepting diverse approaches is crucial for a healthier tech industry. Tune in to understand yourself and your colleagues better.
The “Father of Java” reflects on 30 years of the iconic language, its evolution, and its future. James Gosling shares candid thoughts on Oracle’s stewardship, open source, the JVM’s stunning progress, and offers a pragmatic, often witty, take on the current AI hype.
Ever feel AI makes your thoughts irrelevant? Join us as we explore the “AI sedation” effect – how LLMs provide answers without the intellectual growth from the journey, and why writing things down might be more crucial than ever for software developers.
Why do experts achieve better results more efficiently than novices? It’s not just about raw skill. Explore the subtle differences in problem-solving approaches, decision-making visibility, and the critical role of expert guidance, even in the age of AI and abundant online resources.
AI code is production-ready and poised to replace humans, say tech CEOs. So where are the substantial AI contributions in open source projects? We investigate why AI-generated pull requests are still a rarity in the wild, from CEO talk-up to bots behaving badly.
AI is here to supercharge productivity and democratize programming, but it won’t replace human developers. GitHub CEO Thomas Dohmke unpacks the critical skills needed in the AI era: code literacy, system thinking, and the continuous pursuit of learning to keep pace with the rapidly evolving tech landscape.
Microservices aren’t a silver bullet. For small teams, the majestic monolith offers a simpler path to production. Explore the benefits of intentional, integrated systems—and how to build one that sparks joy.
It’s time to bust some common myths in software development. Explore why chasing the latest tech and intellectual perfection isn’t always the path to real-world success. Learn how shipping reliable code often trumps performance micro-optimizations and premature scaling.
Everyone talks about technical debt, but how do you really measure and manage it? Google faced this problem at scale and found survey data beats automated metrics. They built a framework, trained teams, and saw a huge productivity boost. Learn how to apply their ten tech debt categories and maturity model in your organization.
Feeling stuck? Turns out, you don’t need permission to build remarkable things. Discover how leveraging code and media bypasses gatekeepers. We unpack real-world examples of individuals creating leverage and discuss why agency is the ultimate differentiator in the age of AI. Stop waiting, start building.
Explore the trade-offs of defensive coding with Chris and Amy. They weigh readability against robustness, examining how explicit null checks impact troubleshooting and maintainability. Discover when “letting it fail” makes sense versus when guarding against unexpected inputs is essential, particularly within a shared codebase.
Should tech writers also be operators? This episode dives into why hands-on industry experience isn’t just good for credibility—it’s essential for generating relevant, actionable insights and avoiding the echo chambers of pure commentary. Get the operator’s perspective on writing.
AI copilots promise efficiency but risk eroding core developer skills. What happens when we blindly trust black boxes and sacrifice algorithmic thinking, debugging, and code quality? This episode explores the potential downsides of over-reliance and advocates for augmenting, not replacing, human expertise.
What makes software magical? Why do large engineering organizations feel slow? Explore how deep understanding, not just black boxes, drives both individual brilliance and organizational innovation in software development. Discover the intertwined relationship between vision and engineering.
Ever feel compelled to rebuild every flawed system you encounter? We explore the developer’s burden: seeing every bug as a personal indictment, every clunky tool a mandate for refactoring. Discover why technical capability can become a moral weight, leading to burnout, and the unexpected skill of knowing when to walk away.
Is fun a viable metric for job satisfaction? Our guest argues yes, breaking down why the product engineer role hits the sweet spot. Explore the key ingredients—challenges, support, autonomy, and transparency—and see how they stack up against traditional PM and SWE roles.
As a veteran data scientist, you might think LLMs are part of my daily workflow. Turns out, my usage might surprise you. Discover which tasks LLMs actually nail, how to sidestep common pitfalls like hallucination, and why prompt engineering is your secret weapon for unlocking their power.
Think AI can replace your code reviews? Think again. Discover where AI falls short, why human context is king, and how these digital sidekicks can actually empower developers to build better software, faster. Tune in!
Thinking of adopting that shiny new tech? Hold up. Discover why embracing “boring” technology can actually free your team to solve bigger problems and sidestep operational quicksand. We’ll dive into the concept of innovation tokens and why choosing the “least worst” tool might be the smartest move for your mission.
What makes developers rave about Go? It’s more than just fast compilation. Discover how Go’s simple syntax, killer concurrency, and robust toolchain conspire to simplify your workflow and boost productivity, making complex engineering feel breezy.
What does it take to nurture an open source project for two decades? Join us as we unpack the incredible journey of a side hustle that blossomed into a 30,000-star phenomenon. Discover the hard-won lessons on code, community, and the surprising path to sustainability.
Forget AGI hype; think of LLMs as rapid-fire coding partners. Learn practical tips for augmenting your skills, not replacing them, navigating training data gotchas, and using context like a pro to ship projects faster than ever. You might even discover a new “vibe” for learning.
Forget the MVP. This radical idea says the first thing you should ship is… absolutely nothing. Discover why this blank-page approach frontloads critical decisions, melts away risk, and guarantees a working deployment pipeline from day one. Learn how shipping nothing sets the stage for building the right “something” faster.
Curious about product engineers? These full-stack builders aren’t just writing code—they’re talking to users, digging into data, and shipping fast. Discover how this role is shaping the next wave of tech companies and why their user obsession trumps dogmatic best practices.
AI is surging productivity, but what’s the hidden cost for developers? Discover how prompt engineering could erode the deep focus and creative “flow” that makes coding sing. Join us as we probe this quiet concern and ponder the future of happiness in an AI-accelerated tech landscape.
Could a single developer build a seven-figure business? Dive into the story of a bootstrapped Rails app that scaled to incredible heights. You’ll learn how one engineer leveraged “The One-Person Framework” to build, maintain, and evolve a profitable company.
Top engineers don’t just code; they build full products. Discover how adopting a product-minded approach amplifies your impact, elevates your career, and avoids common tech industry pitfalls. Learn actionable steps to gather real user feedback and steer both technical and product direction.
The rise of AI sent shivers down your spine—is your job obsolete? Fear not! Chris and Amy reveal why coding is evolving, not dying. Learn how AI turbocharges development and discover the true superpowers that will keep you indispensable in the software world.