https://simplecast.com Chats with Kent C. Dodds Kent C. Dodds chats with developers. en Wed, 15 Apr 2026 10:00:00 +0000 Wed, 15 Apr 2026 10:00:17 +0000 https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast Chats with Kent C. Dodds https://image.simplecastcdn.com/images/55d7f360-05c1-43af-9c2d-eb89e156734a/a3cd56ae-bd46-48a8-a2f9-8bceb1585d17/3000x3000/podcast_artworkat2x.jpg?aid=rss_feed https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast episodic Kent C. Dodds chats with developers. Kent C. Dodds false https://feeds.simplecast.com/X_wS_WYh Kent C. Dodds team@kentcdodds.com 57f43465-f54d-4566-947e-35fb3dd4edb0 Human factors, product debt, and industrial design - product engineering with Will King Will's path runs from designing bucket trucks to self-taught software engineering, education products, and database tooling, and that background gives this episode a distinctive lens: software is still a product people use with bodies, habits, emotions, and mental models. The conversation makes product sense concrete through examples like onboarding timing, course complexity, support workflows, and the small confidence signals that separate stable-feeling products from merely functional ones.

You'll hear why watching users work keeps surfacing across this series, how to tell broken experiences from merely unpopular ones, why user feedback usually improves polish more than strategy, and how product engineers can stay valuable in an agent-heavy future by understanding both the user and the constraints of the software medium.

Homework

  • Use AI agents more for gathering than executing: explore multiple solution paths, adjacent domains, and missing context before you ship.
  • Give agents richer context like user demographics, constraints, and likely mental models, then use your own judgment to evaluate what comes back.
  • Slow down long enough to question assumptions before implementation; use AI as a creativity and critique tool, not just a code accelerator.

Resources

Guest: Will King

Host: Kent C. Dodds

Video

Watch this episode on YouTube

]]> Wed, 15 Apr 2026 10:00:00 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Kent C. Dodds, Will King) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast Will's path runs from designing bucket trucks to self-taught software engineering, education products, and database tooling, and that background gives this episode a distinctive lens: software is still a product people use with bodies, habits, emotions, and mental models. The conversation makes product sense concrete through examples like onboarding timing, course complexity, support workflows, and the small confidence signals that separate stable-feeling products from merely functional ones.

You'll hear why watching users work keeps surfacing across this series, how to tell broken experiences from merely unpopular ones, why user feedback usually improves polish more than strategy, and how product engineers can stay valuable in an agent-heavy future by understanding both the user and the constraints of the software medium.

Homework

  • Use AI agents more for gathering than executing: explore multiple solution paths, adjacent domains, and missing context before you ship.
  • Give agents richer context like user demographics, constraints, and likely mental models, then use your own judgment to evaluate what comes back.
  • Slow down long enough to question assumptions before implementation; use AI as a creativity and critique tool, not just a code accelerator.

Resources

Guest: Will King

Host: Kent C. Dodds

Video

Watch this episode on YouTube

]]> Human factors, product debt, and industrial design - product engineering with Will King Kent C. Dodds, Will King 01:01:55 Kent talks with **Will King** about bringing an **industrial design** mindset into software: **human factors**, observing real users, and why good product engineering starts with caring enough to notice what frustrates people. They dig into **product debt**, support as a product superpower, pruning features without breaking trust, and how to use **AI agents** for exploration and critique instead of only faster implementation. Kent talks with **Will King** about bringing an **industrial design** mindset into software: **human factors**, observing real users, and why good product engineering starts with caring enough to notice what frustrates people. They dig into **product debt**, support as a product superpower, pruning features without breaking trust, and how to use **AI agents** for exploration and critique instead of only faster implementation. product debt, product engineering, human factors, user research, industrial design, ai agents false full 5 7 ec6801dd-8e84-481e-b751-584c6a653956 Vertical slices, Solo, and empathy — product engineering with Aaron D. Francis Aaron builds in public—Laravel roots, education, and now Solo, a terminal multiplexer–style desktop app for organizing agents and dev stacks. This episode is a practical tour of product sense for developers: watching people work, reading support email with empathy, cow paths vs. fences, and why the “right” architecture can still lose if humans go home furious.

You’ll hear how Aaron reasons from problem → solution when users ask for worktrees, when to duplicate UI affordances even when the model is “one,” and how introverts can still do discovery by treating outreach like an optimization mission—plus niche opportunities outside the Cursor clone gold rush.

Homework

  • When someone asks for a solution (e.g. a feature), slow down and ask what problem they’re really trying to solve—users often lead with implementations.
  • Practice user empathy: imagine someone stressed, trying to finish work; question “technically correct” UX that blames the user instead of protecting them (confirmations, back-button data loss, etc.).
  • If talking to people is hard, reframe discovery as a systematic search (spreadsheet energy, trusted partners, or domain friends)—or pair with someone who loves conversations.

Resources

Guest: Aaron D. Francis

Host: Kent C. Dodds

Video

Watch this episode on YouTube

]]> Wed, 8 Apr 2026 11:00:00 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Kent C. Dodds, Aaron D. Francis) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast Aaron builds in public—Laravel roots, education, and now Solo, a terminal multiplexer–style desktop app for organizing agents and dev stacks. This episode is a practical tour of product sense for developers: watching people work, reading support email with empathy, cow paths vs. fences, and why the “right” architecture can still lose if humans go home furious.

You’ll hear how Aaron reasons from problem → solution when users ask for worktrees, when to duplicate UI affordances even when the model is “one,” and how introverts can still do discovery by treating outreach like an optimization mission—plus niche opportunities outside the Cursor clone gold rush.

Homework

  • When someone asks for a solution (e.g. a feature), slow down and ask what problem they’re really trying to solve—users often lead with implementations.
  • Practice user empathy: imagine someone stressed, trying to finish work; question “technically correct” UX that blames the user instead of protecting them (confirmations, back-button data loss, etc.).
  • If talking to people is hard, reframe discovery as a systematic search (spreadsheet energy, trusted partners, or domain friends)—or pair with someone who loves conversations.

Resources

Guest: Aaron D. Francis

Host: Kent C. Dodds

Video

Watch this episode on YouTube

]]> Vertical slices, Solo, and empathy — product engineering with Aaron D. Francis Kent C. Dodds, Aaron D. Francis 00:45:39 Kent talks with **Aaron D. Francis** about **product engineering**: why ticket-taking implementation is losing ground to agents, what a **vertical slice** from UI to database really means, and how Aaron’s desktop app **Solo** came from a painful problem—not a feature spec. They go deep on **scratch-your-own-itch** products, separating agents from dev stacks, **Jobs to Be Done**, why users bring you **solutions** instead of problems, and how empathy (and letting go of “technically correct”) changes what you ship. Kent talks with **Aaron D. Francis** about **product engineering**: why ticket-taking implementation is losing ground to agents, what a **vertical slice** from UI to database really means, and how Aaron’s desktop app **Solo** came from a painful problem—not a feature spec. They go deep on **scratch-your-own-itch** products, separating agents from dev stacks, **Jobs to Be Done**, why users bring you **solutions** instead of problems, and how empathy (and letting go of “technically correct”) changes what you ship. empathy, developer tools, product engineering, solo, agents, vertical slice false full 4 7 9d3ae76a-a4b9-4748-ad50-1c01c018423f Foundations, feedback, and agents — Dillon Mulroy on product at Cloudflare Dillon's path runs from internal insurance tools to Vercel Domains to Cloudflare's agent and dashboard work-always with the same through-line: care about the user, get real feedback, and invest in primitives so delighters don't collapse under bad foundations. This episode covers metrics and paging as a product habit, learning from customer escalations, scoping small when AI speeds up coding, and building cross-functional relationships (support, sales, finance) as part of engineering judgment.

You'll hear practical parallels with episodes on delighters and onboarding tension, plus why reviewing agent-written code still matters for system intuition when things break at 2 a.m.

Homework

  • Try hard and care a lot; more practically, focus on foundations and primitives.
  • Put good feedback systems in place so you know what's going on with your product and where it doesn't feel good-alerting and metrics, customer journey signals, or customer interviews.
  • If you have a customer support team, sit with them and watch them triage cases for your product; get to know support-they're sitting on a gold mine of product signal-and empathize with them like you do with users.
  • Kent's shorthand for the mindset Dillon agreed with: make pain painful-if your users are hurting, you should feel it too.

Resources

Guest: Dillon Mulroy

Host: Kent C. Dodds

Video

Watch this episode on YouTube

]]> Wed, 1 Apr 2026 02:13:30 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Kent C. Dodds, Dillon Mulroy) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast Dillon's path runs from internal insurance tools to Vercel Domains to Cloudflare's agent and dashboard work-always with the same through-line: care about the user, get real feedback, and invest in primitives so delighters don't collapse under bad foundations. This episode covers metrics and paging as a product habit, learning from customer escalations, scoping small when AI speeds up coding, and building cross-functional relationships (support, sales, finance) as part of engineering judgment.

You'll hear practical parallels with episodes on delighters and onboarding tension, plus why reviewing agent-written code still matters for system intuition when things break at 2 a.m.

Homework

  • Try hard and care a lot; more practically, focus on foundations and primitives.
  • Put good feedback systems in place so you know what's going on with your product and where it doesn't feel good-alerting and metrics, customer journey signals, or customer interviews.
  • If you have a customer support team, sit with them and watch them triage cases for your product; get to know support-they're sitting on a gold mine of product signal-and empathize with them like you do with users.
  • Kent's shorthand for the mindset Dillon agreed with: make pain painful-if your users are hurting, you should feel it too.

Resources

Guest: Dillon Mulroy

Host: Kent C. Dodds

Video

Watch this episode on YouTube

]]> Foundations, feedback, and agents — Dillon Mulroy on product at Cloudflare Kent C. Dodds, Dillon Mulroy 00:49:02 Kent talks with **Dillon Mulroy**, Principal Engineer at **Cloudflare**, about **Agent Experience** and dogfooding AI platform work: how Cloudflare closes the loop between builders and customers, why **observability** and support are product superpowers, and how to stay disciplined when agents tempt you to ship huge diffs overnight. They go deep on watching users work, **firehose** social feedback, partnering with support, and why "make pain painful" aligns incentives for better software. Kent talks with **Dillon Mulroy**, Principal Engineer at **Cloudflare**, about **Agent Experience** and dogfooding AI platform work: how Cloudflare closes the loop between builders and customers, why **observability** and support are product superpowers, and how to stay disciplined when agents tempt you to ship huge diffs overnight. They go deep on watching users work, **firehose** social feedback, partnering with support, and why "make pain painful" aligns incentives for better software. user feedback, developer tools, product engineering, observability, cloudflare, coding agents false full 3 7 72b54df8-d249-4ec6-b1e2-e73b4ae78c85 The right thing before the thing right — product engineering with Wayne Allan Wayne blends delivery and product leadership—his stories range from a flagship-adjacent launch that nobody used to the everyday discipline of listening to customers without waiting two weeks for a meeting. This episode connects feedback-loop thinking (familiar from CI) to product discovery, yes-and conversations when someone is married to a feature idea, and the difference between hygiene features, performance features, and delighters when teams ship faster than users can absorb.

You'll also hear grounded takes on when "move fast" breaks trust, how AI may reshape search-and-listing UIs, and a concrete reading list: The Mom Test and Crossing the Chasm.

Homework

  • Talk to people, ask good questions, and listen—Wayne says that's the biggest hack that's worked in his career.
  • Read The Mom Test: ask how people solved this problem in the past instead of whether they like your idea or would use it—you get far more useful insight (Wayne ties this to caring about the problem, not your solution).

Resources

Guest: Wayne Allan

Host: Kent C. Dodds

Video

Watch this episode on YouTube

]]> Wed, 1 Apr 2026 02:13:11 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Kent C. Dodds, Wayne Allan) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast Wayne blends delivery and product leadership—his stories range from a flagship-adjacent launch that nobody used to the everyday discipline of listening to customers without waiting two weeks for a meeting. This episode connects feedback-loop thinking (familiar from CI) to product discovery, yes-and conversations when someone is married to a feature idea, and the difference between hygiene features, performance features, and delighters when teams ship faster than users can absorb.

You'll also hear grounded takes on when "move fast" breaks trust, how AI may reshape search-and-listing UIs, and a concrete reading list: The Mom Test and Crossing the Chasm.

Homework

  • Talk to people, ask good questions, and listen—Wayne says that's the biggest hack that's worked in his career.
  • Read The Mom Test: ask how people solved this problem in the past instead of whether they like your idea or would use it—you get far more useful insight (Wayne ties this to caring about the problem, not your solution).

Resources

Guest: Wayne Allan

Host: Kent C. Dodds

Video

Watch this episode on YouTube

]]> The right thing before the thing right — product engineering with Wayne Allan Kent C. Dodds, Wayne Allan 00:50:31 Kent talks with **Wayne Allan** (engineer, PM, and consultant) about **product engineering** in practice: why "building the thing right" only matters after you're building the **right thing**, how to shorten feedback loops without six-month research theater, and why falling in love with the **problem** beats falling in love with your **solution**. They cover scrappy validation, talking to sales and support, the **Kano model**, *Crossing the Chasm*, and what changes when shipping gets faster than learning. Kent talks with **Wayne Allan** (engineer, PM, and consultant) about **product engineering** in practice: why "building the thing right" only matters after you're building the **right thing**, how to shorten feedback loops without six-month research theater, and why falling in love with the **problem** beats falling in love with your **solution**. They cover scrappy validation, talking to sales and support, the **Kano model**, *Crossing the Chasm*, and what changes when shipping gets faster than learning. feedback loops, the mom test, product engineering, user research, crossing the chasm, kano model false full 2 7 785793a3-dc2e-48dc-923f-e78ced3b2245 Product sense, restraint, and OpenCode with Dax Raad Dax has spent years building tools developers actually use; on OpenCode he's thinking hard about product process while the space moves at breakneck speed. This episode is a practical look at product deterioration (not just code rot), bottom-up adoption for dev tools, and how coding agents change who decides what gets built—without replacing the need for taste, restraint, and clarity about what problem you're solving.

You'll hear concrete examples from OpenCode's terminal UI and onboarding, parallels to Kent's Epic Workshop app, and a grounded take on inference pricing, hype, and when "ship messy and fix later" does and doesn't hold up.

Homework

  • Convince yourself that getting good at product really matters—Dax says there's a lot in the culture that tries to tell you it doesn't, and you need that commitment because the belief will be challenged.
  • If you don't already believe it, figure out how to make yourself believe it matters (Kent's recap of the guest's action).

Resources

Guest: Dax Raad

Host: Kent C. Dodds

Video

Watch this episode on YouTube

]]> Wed, 1 Apr 2026 02:12:23 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Kent C. Dodds, Dax Raad) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast Dax has spent years building tools developers actually use; on OpenCode he's thinking hard about product process while the space moves at breakneck speed. This episode is a practical look at product deterioration (not just code rot), bottom-up adoption for dev tools, and how coding agents change who decides what gets built—without replacing the need for taste, restraint, and clarity about what problem you're solving.

You'll hear concrete examples from OpenCode's terminal UI and onboarding, parallels to Kent's Epic Workshop app, and a grounded take on inference pricing, hype, and when "ship messy and fix later" does and doesn't hold up.

Homework

  • Convince yourself that getting good at product really matters—Dax says there's a lot in the culture that tries to tell you it doesn't, and you need that commitment because the belief will be challenged.
  • If you don't already believe it, figure out how to make yourself believe it matters (Kent's recap of the guest's action).

Resources

Guest: Dax Raad

Host: Kent C. Dodds

Video

Watch this episode on YouTube

]]> Product sense, restraint, and OpenCode with Dax Raad Kent C. Dodds, Dax Raad 00:53:59 Kent talks with **Dax Raad** about building [OpenCode](https://opencode.ai) in a crowded coding-agent market: why dev tools are still a consumer-style product, how fast shipping can make good products feel worse, and what "product skill" actually looks like when agents remove friction from implementation. They dig into onboarding, progressive disclosure, listening across many user requests for the real pattern, and why slowing down can be the right move—even when competitors ship faster. Kent talks with **Dax Raad** about building [OpenCode](https://opencode.ai) in a crowded coding-agent market: why dev tools are still a consumer-style product, how fast shipping can make good products feel worse, and what "product skill" actually looks like when agents remove friction from implementation. They dig into onboarding, progressive disclosure, listening across many user requests for the real pattern, and why slowing down can be the right move—even when competitors ship faster. onboarding, developer tools, progressive disclosure, product sense, opencode, coding agents false full 1 7 b9eb0246-d5fe-4df6-905f-d4ae2b21d00e Become a Product Engineer - Introducing Season 7 Software keeps changing, and a lot of the spotlight is on AI—but the shift Kent cares about is bigger than models and agents. Implementation is increasingly delegated to tools that will keep improving; quality, review, and craft still matter, but the gap that won’t go away is product: understanding users, clarifying problems, and shipping what actually helps.

This season is a deliberate tour of product engineering: conversations with people who blend product judgment with technical depth—including PMs and engineers who’ve crossed that line. The goal is the same as it’s always been for Kent’s teaching: give you durable skills. Right now, that means leveling up how you think about product, not just how you type code.

Homework

  • Write down one product decision you influenced (or wish you had) in the last month—what would you validate earlier next time?
  • Pick an app you use weekly: what problem is it really solving for you, and where does it feel like the team lost the plot?
  • Subscribe or follow Chats with Kent so you don’t miss the guest episodes in season 7.

Resources

Video

Watch this on YouTube

]]> Wed, 1 Apr 2026 02:11:35 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Kent C. Dodds) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast Software keeps changing, and a lot of the spotlight is on AI—but the shift Kent cares about is bigger than models and agents. Implementation is increasingly delegated to tools that will keep improving; quality, review, and craft still matter, but the gap that won’t go away is product: understanding users, clarifying problems, and shipping what actually helps.

This season is a deliberate tour of product engineering: conversations with people who blend product judgment with technical depth—including PMs and engineers who’ve crossed that line. The goal is the same as it’s always been for Kent’s teaching: give you durable skills. Right now, that means leveling up how you think about product, not just how you type code.

Homework

  • Write down one product decision you influenced (or wish you had) in the last month—what would you validate earlier next time?
  • Pick an app you use weekly: what problem is it really solving for you, and where does it feel like the team lost the plot?
  • Subscribe or follow Chats with Kent so you don’t miss the guest episodes in season 7.

Resources

Video

Watch this on YouTube

]]> Become a Product Engineer - Introducing Season 7 Kent C. Dodds 00:02:46 Kent kicks off **Chats with Kent** season 7: why **product engineering** is the durable skill as AI takes on more implementation, and how this season’s guests will help you move closer to product thinking—empathy, problem clarity, and building the right thing before making it right. Kent kicks off **Chats with Kent** season 7: why **product engineering** is the durable skill as AI takes on more implementation, and how this season’s guests will help you move closer to product thinking—empathy, problem clarity, and building the right thing before making it right. false full 0 7 13980950-42cf-423c-9ca1-9a629765e75b Wrapping up Season 6 of Chats with Kent Kent says goodbye at the end of another season of the "Chats with Kent" podcast, which featured interviews with speakers for the upcoming Epic Web Comp 2025 conference in Salt Lake City. The host, Kent C. Dodds, expresses excitement about the lineup of speakers and encourages listeners to attend the conference in March 2025. He also mentions that the talks will be available on the EpicWeb.dev platform for those who miss the live event.

Meet at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Kent C. Dodds

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Mon, 10 Mar 2025 07:00:00 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Kent C. Dodds) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast Kent says goodbye at the end of another season of the "Chats with Kent" podcast, which featured interviews with speakers for the upcoming Epic Web Comp 2025 conference in Salt Lake City. The host, Kent C. Dodds, expresses excitement about the lineup of speakers and encourages listeners to attend the conference in March 2025. He also mentions that the talks will be available on the EpicWeb.dev platform for those who miss the live event.

Meet at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Kent C. Dodds

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Wrapping up Season 6 of Chats with Kent Kent C. Dodds 00:01:34 Kent C. Dodds says goodbye for this season of the Chats with Kent podcast. It's all about the speakers at Epic Web Conf 2025. Kent C. Dodds says goodbye for this season of the Chats with Kent podcast. It's all about the speakers at Epic Web Conf 2025. epic web conf false full 26 6 0dc7aadf-6a75-4990-a3a8-666c2071acf3 Of Things Epic: The Principles Behind Great Decisions with Kent C. Dodds Kent C. Dodds sits down with Jason Lengstorf to discuss his talk at Epic Web Conf, Of Things Epic, where he dives into the principles behind effective decision-making in web development. Rather than focusing on which tools to pick, Kent emphasizes the need for a framework that enables developers to make confident decisions that scale. He draws from his experience with the Epic Stack, highlighting the importance of clear reasoning behind technical choices.

Key topics in this conversation include:

  • Why decision paralysis is unnecessary in modern web development.
  • How the Epic Programming Principles provide a solid foundation for making smart tech choices.
  • Why Laravel's opinionated approach has been so successful and what we can learn from it.
  • The importance of structuring your projects so they can evolve without unnecessary rewrites.
  • How in-person conferences create opportunities for career growth and deeper relationships.

Kent also shares his excitement about the hallway track at Epic Web Conf, encouraging attendees to come talk to him about real-world experiences with the Epic Stack, scaling web apps, and even personal interests like family life, one-wheeling, and snowboarding.

Watch this episode.

Meet Kent at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Kent C. Dodds

Host: Jason Lengstorf

]]> Sun, 9 Mar 2025 08:00:00 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Kent C. Dodds, Jason Lengstorf) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast Kent C. Dodds sits down with Jason Lengstorf to discuss his talk at Epic Web Conf, Of Things Epic, where he dives into the principles behind effective decision-making in web development. Rather than focusing on which tools to pick, Kent emphasizes the need for a framework that enables developers to make confident decisions that scale. He draws from his experience with the Epic Stack, highlighting the importance of clear reasoning behind technical choices.

Key topics in this conversation include:

  • Why decision paralysis is unnecessary in modern web development.
  • How the Epic Programming Principles provide a solid foundation for making smart tech choices.
  • Why Laravel's opinionated approach has been so successful and what we can learn from it.
  • The importance of structuring your projects so they can evolve without unnecessary rewrites.
  • How in-person conferences create opportunities for career growth and deeper relationships.

Kent also shares his excitement about the hallway track at Epic Web Conf, encouraging attendees to come talk to him about real-world experiences with the Epic Stack, scaling web apps, and even personal interests like family life, one-wheeling, and snowboarding.

Watch this episode.

Meet Kent at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Kent C. Dodds

Host: Jason Lengstorf

]]> Of Things Epic: The Principles Behind Great Decisions with Kent C. Dodds Kent C. Dodds, Jason Lengstorf 00:13:14 In this episode, Jason Lengstorf flips the script and interviews Kent C. Dodds about his upcoming talk at Epic Web Conf. Kent shares insights into the decision-making framework behind the Epic Stack and why strong principles matter more than specific tech choices. He explores the importance of making decisions that scale with complexity, avoiding analysis paralysis, and embracing simplicity in software architecture. Beyond the talk, Kent and Jason discuss the value of in-person conferences, how they impact careers, and why human connection remains irreplaceable in an AI-driven world. In this episode, Jason Lengstorf flips the script and interviews Kent C. Dodds about his upcoming talk at Epic Web Conf. Kent shares insights into the decision-making framework behind the Epic Stack and why strong principles matter more than specific tech choices. He explores the importance of making decisions that scale with complexity, avoiding analysis paralysis, and embracing simplicity in software architecture. Beyond the talk, Kent and Jason discuss the value of in-person conferences, how they impact careers, and why human connection remains irreplaceable in an AI-driven world. decision-making, career growth, software architecture, epic web conf, web development principles, epic stack, networking, in-person events, analysis paralysis false full 25 6 957efb77-d2bd-4c9f-8943-4277e09610a7 Epic Image Optimization with Andre Landgraf Andre Landgraf joins Kent to discuss his talk at Epic Web Conf, Epic Image Optimization. In this conversation, they explore the challenges and trade-offs of optimizing images for the web, particularly when handling large numbers of event photos or user-generated content. Andre shares how building his own image optimization pipeline gave him a deeper understanding of the process, allowing him to make more informed decisions when choosing external services.

Kent and Andre also discuss:

  • The evolution of All Things Web, a meetup Andre organizes in the Bay Area.
  • The importance of community in web development and how in-person meetups have shaped his career.
  • His experience working with Ember at LinkedIn and his upcoming career shift.
  • Why diving deep into a problem—like image optimization—makes you a better engineer.
  • How Epic Web Conf has become a must-attend event for those passionate about web technologies.

Andre brings a wealth of experience and enthusiasm to the conversation, making this episode a must-listen for anyone looking to level up their approach to image handling in modern web applications.

Watch this episode.

Meet Andre at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Andre Landgraf

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Sat, 8 Mar 2025 08:00:00 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Andre Landgraf, Kent C. Dodds) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast Andre Landgraf joins Kent to discuss his talk at Epic Web Conf, Epic Image Optimization. In this conversation, they explore the challenges and trade-offs of optimizing images for the web, particularly when handling large numbers of event photos or user-generated content. Andre shares how building his own image optimization pipeline gave him a deeper understanding of the process, allowing him to make more informed decisions when choosing external services.

Kent and Andre also discuss:

  • The evolution of All Things Web, a meetup Andre organizes in the Bay Area.
  • The importance of community in web development and how in-person meetups have shaped his career.
  • His experience working with Ember at LinkedIn and his upcoming career shift.
  • Why diving deep into a problem—like image optimization—makes you a better engineer.
  • How Epic Web Conf has become a must-attend event for those passionate about web technologies.

Andre brings a wealth of experience and enthusiasm to the conversation, making this episode a must-listen for anyone looking to level up their approach to image handling in modern web applications.

Watch this episode.

Meet Andre at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Andre Landgraf

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Epic Image Optimization with Andre Landgraf Andre Landgraf, Kent C. Dodds 00:12:50 Kent chats with Andre Landgraf about his journey as a web developer, his passion for community building, and his upcoming talk at Epic Web Conf on image optimization. Andre shares insights from organizing All Things Web, a Bay Area meetup that fosters discussions on modern web development. They also discuss his experiences at LinkedIn, his love for Remix, and the lessons learned from building a custom image optimization pipeline. Andre’s talk will dive into the trade-offs of using third-party services versus rolling your own solution, helping developers understand the fundamentals of image optimization and why it’s worth exploring. Kent chats with Andre Landgraf about his journey as a web developer, his passion for community building, and his upcoming talk at Epic Web Conf on image optimization. Andre shares insights from organizing All Things Web, a Bay Area meetup that fosters discussions on modern web development. They also discuss his experiences at LinkedIn, his love for Remix, and the lessons learned from building a custom image optimization pipeline. Andre’s talk will dive into the trade-offs of using third-party services versus rolling your own solution, helping developers understand the fundamentals of image optimization and why it’s worth exploring. image optimization, remix, web standards, web development, self-hosted solutions, epic web conf, developer community, performance false full 24 6 be2e7abf-baa9-4dbc-b96a-dcc9b3f31a19 Building, Learning, and Networking with Jason Lengstorf at Epic Web Conf In this conversation, Jason Lengstorf, creator of CodeTV and the Web Dev Challenge, joins Kent to discuss:

  • His background in engineering, developer relations, and open-source at companies like IBM, Gatsby, and Netlify.
  • The Web Dev Challenge, a fast-paced, team-based competition that brings developers together to solve unique coding challenges in just four hours.
  • The free Epic Web Conf hackathon happening the day before the conference, where attendees can join the challenge, build something cool, and showcase their work.
  • His philosophy on career growth, taking calculated risks, and building a career you truly enjoy.
  • Why in-person conferences are critical for networking and how making friends, rather than “networking,” can be the key to long-term success. Jason shares why he prioritizes being in physical spaces with other developers, how meaningful relationships have shaped his career, and why he believes success comes from showing up, trying hard, and having the courage to take chances.

Watch this episode.

Meet Jason at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Jason Lengstorf

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Thu, 13 Feb 2025 08:00:00 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Jason Lengstorf, Kent C. Dodds) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast In this conversation, Jason Lengstorf, creator of CodeTV and the Web Dev Challenge, joins Kent to discuss:

  • His background in engineering, developer relations, and open-source at companies like IBM, Gatsby, and Netlify.
  • The Web Dev Challenge, a fast-paced, team-based competition that brings developers together to solve unique coding challenges in just four hours.
  • The free Epic Web Conf hackathon happening the day before the conference, where attendees can join the challenge, build something cool, and showcase their work.
  • His philosophy on career growth, taking calculated risks, and building a career you truly enjoy.
  • Why in-person conferences are critical for networking and how making friends, rather than “networking,” can be the key to long-term success. Jason shares why he prioritizes being in physical spaces with other developers, how meaningful relationships have shaped his career, and why he believes success comes from showing up, trying hard, and having the courage to take chances.

Watch this episode.

Meet Jason at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Jason Lengstorf

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Building, Learning, and Networking with Jason Lengstorf at Epic Web Conf Jason Lengstorf, Kent C. Dodds 00:18:02 Jason Lengstorf joins Kent to talk about his journey in web development, from his early days in agencies to his work at IBM, Gatsby, and Netlify, and now his latest project, CodeTV. He shares insights into the Web Dev Challenge, a fast-paced, high-energy developer show where participants race against the clock to build projects from scratch. Jason will be bringing the Web Dev Challenge to Epic Web Conf, along with an open hackathon for attendees to participate in. He also shares his thoughts on the importance of networking, building authentic relationships, and taking strategic risks in your career. With years of experience in developer relations, open-source contributions, and building community-driven projects, Jason offers practical advice for developers at any stage of their journey. Jason Lengstorf joins Kent to talk about his journey in web development, from his early days in agencies to his work at IBM, Gatsby, and Netlify, and now his latest project, CodeTV. He shares insights into the Web Dev Challenge, a fast-paced, high-energy developer show where participants race against the clock to build projects from scratch. Jason will be bringing the Web Dev Challenge to Epic Web Conf, along with an open hackathon for attendees to participate in. He also shares his thoughts on the importance of networking, building authentic relationships, and taking strategic risks in your career. With years of experience in developer relations, open-source contributions, and building community-driven projects, Jason offers practical advice for developers at any stage of their journey. coding challenges, networking for developers, web development, career growth, developer relations, community building, epic web conf, web dev challenge, hackathon false full 23 6 2f919956-ea86-47a8-a98e-973c0409a5ee Remix, React, and the Web Platform with Ryan Florence In this conversation, Ryan Florence, co-creator of Remix and React Router, joins Kent to talk about the evolving landscape of web development. He shares insights on:

  • The motivation behind moving core Remix features into React Router.
  • The rising importance of AI-driven development and how it affects frameworks.
  • Betting on the web platform as a long-term strategy for performance, portability, and future-proofing applications.
  • How Remix is being reimagined with a focus on web-native capabilities.
  • The role of conferences in building meaningful career relationships. Ryan also shares his personal reflections on balancing career, family, and the desire to step back from the spotlight. Whether you're a Remix user, a React developer, or just curious about where the web is heading, this discussion offers a fascinating look at the future of frameworks and the web.

Watch this episode.

Meet Ryan at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Ryan Florence

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Wed, 12 Feb 2025 08:00:00 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Ryan Florence, Kent C. Dodds) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast In this conversation, Ryan Florence, co-creator of Remix and React Router, joins Kent to talk about the evolving landscape of web development. He shares insights on:

  • The motivation behind moving core Remix features into React Router.
  • The rising importance of AI-driven development and how it affects frameworks.
  • Betting on the web platform as a long-term strategy for performance, portability, and future-proofing applications.
  • How Remix is being reimagined with a focus on web-native capabilities.
  • The role of conferences in building meaningful career relationships. Ryan also shares his personal reflections on balancing career, family, and the desire to step back from the spotlight. Whether you're a Remix user, a React developer, or just curious about where the web is heading, this discussion offers a fascinating look at the future of frameworks and the web.

Watch this episode.

Meet Ryan at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Ryan Florence

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Remix, React, and the Web Platform with Ryan Florence Ryan Florence, Kent C. Dodds 00:22:58 Kent and Ryan Florence dive into the current state and future of Remix, the evolution of React Router, and the web platform’s growing role in modern web development. Ryan reflects on the changes in the ecosystem, the impact of AI, React Server Components, and the move towards standardized web APIs. He also shares insights on his shifting focus, the importance of in-person conferences, and how community-driven relationships have shaped his career. This conversation is packed with candid thoughts, deep technical insights, and a look at what’s next for web developers. Kent and Ryan Florence dive into the current state and future of Remix, the evolution of React Router, and the web platform’s growing role in modern web development. Ryan reflects on the changes in the ecosystem, the impact of AI, React Server Components, and the move towards standardized web APIs. He also shares insights on his shifting focus, the importance of in-person conferences, and how community-driven relationships have shaped his career. This conversation is packed with candid thoughts, deep technical insights, and a look at what’s next for web developers. remix, career growth, ai in web development, react router, community building, epic web conf, web platform, front-end frameworks, react server components false full 22 6 1dbf539e-3c7e-4b1f-b980-4d5aab9486dc JavaScript: The Origin Story with Annie Sexton Annie Sexton joins Kent to talk about her upcoming talk at Epic Web Conf, JavaScript: The Origin Story. In this discussion, she shares her love for history and why documenting the evolution of programming languages is so important. They dive into:

  • The rushed creation of JavaScript and how it shaped the language.
  • Competing languages of the era and how JavaScript won out.
  • The unexpected ways JavaScript evolved into a web powerhouse.
  • Why software history often gets overlooked and why it matters today.
  • How understanding the past helps developers write better code for the future.

Annie’s talk will be a must-watch for developers who want to gain a deeper appreciation of JavaScript and its unique journey. Expect to walk away with a richer perspective on the language that powers the modern web.

Watch this episode.

Meet Annie at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Annie Sexton

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Tue, 11 Feb 2025 08:00:00 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Annie Sexton, Kent C. Dodds) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast Annie Sexton joins Kent to talk about her upcoming talk at Epic Web Conf, JavaScript: The Origin Story. In this discussion, she shares her love for history and why documenting the evolution of programming languages is so important. They dive into:

  • The rushed creation of JavaScript and how it shaped the language.
  • Competing languages of the era and how JavaScript won out.
  • The unexpected ways JavaScript evolved into a web powerhouse.
  • Why software history often gets overlooked and why it matters today.
  • How understanding the past helps developers write better code for the future.

Annie’s talk will be a must-watch for developers who want to gain a deeper appreciation of JavaScript and its unique journey. Expect to walk away with a richer perspective on the language that powers the modern web.

Watch this episode.

Meet Annie at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Annie Sexton

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> JavaScript: The Origin Story with Annie Sexton Annie Sexton, Kent C. Dodds 00:09:14 Kent sits down with Annie Sexton to explore the fascinating history of JavaScript. Annie, known for her engaging educational content, shares why understanding the origins of the language is essential to fully appreciating its present and future. She discusses how JavaScript evolved from a rushed project in the '90s into the dominant force shaping modern web development. Along the way, they touch on competing technologies, key moments in its adoption, and why preserving the history of software is just as important as innovating for the future. With her signature storytelling style, Annie promises an entertaining and insightful journey through JavaScript’s past. Kent sits down with Annie Sexton to explore the fascinating history of JavaScript. Annie, known for her engaging educational content, shares why understanding the origins of the language is essential to fully appreciating its present and future. She discusses how JavaScript evolved from a rushed project in the '90s into the dominant force shaping modern web development. Along the way, they touch on competing technologies, key moments in its adoption, and why preserving the history of software is just as important as innovating for the future. With her signature storytelling style, Annie promises an entertaining and insightful journey through JavaScript’s past. web development, epic web conf, fly.io, software engineering, language evolution, javascript history, programming history false full 21 6 81f92741-ab89-49ae-ac95-ec8e15018d9a Epic Federation: Scaling Web Infrastructure with Zackary Jackson Zackary Jackson joins Kent to discuss his upcoming talk at Epic Web Conf, Epic Federation: Scaling Web Infrastructure. As an expert in large-scale web architecture, Zack has helped build critical tools like Module Federation and RSPack, both of which power ByteDance’s global infrastructure.

In this conversation, Kent and Zack cover:

  • The challenges of managing thousands of developers and repos across multiple teams.
  • Why ByteDance chose to build its own bundler in Rust instead of adopting an existing solution.
  • The impact of slow build times on product velocity and how tooling improvements significantly reduce development friction.
  • The role of Module Federation in solving organizational scale problems, allowing teams to ship independently.
  • How AI-powered tools are shaping the next generation of developer workflows.

Zack also shares his thoughts on why meeting open-source maintainers and industry leaders in person can unlock collaboration opportunities that aren’t as easily accessible online.

Watch this episode.

Meet Zackary at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Zackary Jackson

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Sun, 9 Feb 2025 08:00:00 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Zackary Jackson, Kent C. Dodds) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast Zackary Jackson joins Kent to discuss his upcoming talk at Epic Web Conf, Epic Federation: Scaling Web Infrastructure. As an expert in large-scale web architecture, Zack has helped build critical tools like Module Federation and RSPack, both of which power ByteDance’s global infrastructure.

In this conversation, Kent and Zack cover:

  • The challenges of managing thousands of developers and repos across multiple teams.
  • Why ByteDance chose to build its own bundler in Rust instead of adopting an existing solution.
  • The impact of slow build times on product velocity and how tooling improvements significantly reduce development friction.
  • The role of Module Federation in solving organizational scale problems, allowing teams to ship independently.
  • How AI-powered tools are shaping the next generation of developer workflows.

Zack also shares his thoughts on why meeting open-source maintainers and industry leaders in person can unlock collaboration opportunities that aren’t as easily accessible online.

Watch this episode.

Meet Zackary at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Zackary Jackson

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Epic Federation: Scaling Web Infrastructure with Zackary Jackson Zackary Jackson, Kent C. Dodds 00:16:11 Kent chats with Zackary Jackson, an infrastructure architect at ByteDance, about solving large-scale web infrastructure challenges. Zackary shares insights on building RSPack, a Rust-based bundler, and Module Federation, which enables seamless orchestration of distributed applications. They discuss how these technologies help companies like ByteDance scale efficiently, reducing build times, improving product velocity, and solving organizational friction. Zackary also teases exciting advancements in AI-driven development tools and shares why in-person connections at conferences are invaluable. Kent chats with Zackary Jackson, an infrastructure architect at ByteDance, about solving large-scale web infrastructure challenges. Zackary shares insights on building RSPack, a Rust-based bundler, and Module Federation, which enables seamless orchestration of distributed applications. They discuss how these technologies help companies like ByteDance scale efficiently, reducing build times, improving product velocity, and solving organizational friction. Zackary also teases exciting advancements in AI-driven development tools and shares why in-person connections at conferences are invaluable. bytedance infrastructure, micro-frontends, developer tooling, epic web conf, ai-powered development, bundling, rspack, large-scale web architecture, module federation, performance optimization false full 20 6 ab1b0ff8-eca3-4a1a-907a-81d178c9c341 Epic Bets: Practical Tips for Betting on Yourself with Aaron Francis Aaron Francis joins Kent to discuss his talk at Epic Web Conf, Epic Bets: Practical Tips for Betting on Yourself. In this conversation, Aaron reflects on his non-traditional path into tech, his experience being laid off, and how he prepared himself to be resilient in the face of career uncertainty. He shares insights on why developers should focus on skill stacking, personal branding, and long-term sustainability in their careers rather than chasing trends.

Kent and Aaron also explore:

  • How to future-proof your career without falling into the trap of chasing hype.
  • Why writing and sharing your knowledge can open unexpected doors.
  • The importance of building a professional network before you need it.
  • How to balance ambition with family life and personal values.
  • Why giving your absolute best—both professionally and personally—is always worth it.

Aaron’s perspective is both practical and inspiring, offering a roadmap for developers who want to take control of their future without sacrificing what truly matters.

Watch this episode.

Meet Aaron at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Aaron Francis

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Sat, 8 Feb 2025 08:00:00 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Aaron Francis, Kent C. Dodds) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast Aaron Francis joins Kent to discuss his talk at Epic Web Conf, Epic Bets: Practical Tips for Betting on Yourself. In this conversation, Aaron reflects on his non-traditional path into tech, his experience being laid off, and how he prepared himself to be resilient in the face of career uncertainty. He shares insights on why developers should focus on skill stacking, personal branding, and long-term sustainability in their careers rather than chasing trends.

Kent and Aaron also explore:

  • How to future-proof your career without falling into the trap of chasing hype.
  • Why writing and sharing your knowledge can open unexpected doors.
  • The importance of building a professional network before you need it.
  • How to balance ambition with family life and personal values.
  • Why giving your absolute best—both professionally and personally—is always worth it.

Aaron’s perspective is both practical and inspiring, offering a roadmap for developers who want to take control of their future without sacrificing what truly matters.

Watch this episode.

Meet Aaron at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Aaron Francis

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Epic Bets: Practical Tips for Betting on Yourself with Aaron Francis Aaron Francis, Kent C. Dodds 00:10:38 Kent chats with Aaron Francis about the power of resilience, adaptability, and taking calculated risks in your career. Aaron shares his journey from accounting to software development, navigating multiple career pivots, and ultimately betting on himself to start his own company. Drawing from his personal experience with job loss and reinvention, he offers practical advice on making yourself less fragile in an uncertain industry. This conversation is packed with insights on skill stacking, career resilience, and maintaining a work ethic that prioritizes both personal and professional fulfillment. Kent chats with Aaron Francis about the power of resilience, adaptability, and taking calculated risks in your career. Aaron shares his journey from accounting to software development, navigating multiple career pivots, and ultimately betting on himself to start his own company. Drawing from his personal experience with job loss and reinvention, he offers practical advice on making yourself less fragile in an uncertain industry. This conversation is packed with insights on skill stacking, career resilience, and maintaining a work ethic that prioritizes both personal and professional fulfillment. betting on yourself, balancing work and life, career resilience, personal growth, epic web conf, software development, entrepreneurship, skill stacking, networking, job security false full 19 6 bce334cc-486c-442b-9d35-07b5a60ad585 Shipping Reusable Full-Stack Components with Fran Zekan Fran Zekan, an engineer from Croatia with experience in hardware, robotics, and web development, joins Kent to discuss his talk, Shipping Reusable Full-Stack Components. Fran explains how React Server Components (RSCs) allow developers to build truly self-contained, reusable full-stack features—something that has long been a staple in the Rails ecosystem with Rails Engines.

In this conversation, Fran and Kent discuss:

  • How RSCs simplify full-stack development by eliminating the need for multiple setup steps.
  • Comparisons between RSCs and Rails Engines, and how they bring backend-like encapsulation to React.
  • Real-world examples, including a Stripe Checkout component that can be dropped into any app.
  • The evolution of scaling strategies across different web frameworks, from serverless to Astro’s CDN-first approach.
  • The future of modular, scalable web apps and the potential for Rails-to-React migration.

Fran also shares why he prioritizes in-person conferences, the value of deep technical discussions, and why he believes the Epic Web Conf community is a perfect space for these conversations.

Watch this episode.

Meet Fran at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Fran Zekan

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Fri, 7 Feb 2025 08:00:00 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Fran Zekan, Kent C. Dodds) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast Fran Zekan, an engineer from Croatia with experience in hardware, robotics, and web development, joins Kent to discuss his talk, Shipping Reusable Full-Stack Components. Fran explains how React Server Components (RSCs) allow developers to build truly self-contained, reusable full-stack features—something that has long been a staple in the Rails ecosystem with Rails Engines.

In this conversation, Fran and Kent discuss:

  • How RSCs simplify full-stack development by eliminating the need for multiple setup steps.
  • Comparisons between RSCs and Rails Engines, and how they bring backend-like encapsulation to React.
  • Real-world examples, including a Stripe Checkout component that can be dropped into any app.
  • The evolution of scaling strategies across different web frameworks, from serverless to Astro’s CDN-first approach.
  • The future of modular, scalable web apps and the potential for Rails-to-React migration.

Fran also shares why he prioritizes in-person conferences, the value of deep technical discussions, and why he believes the Epic Web Conf community is a perfect space for these conversations.

Watch this episode.

Meet Fran at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Fran Zekan

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Shipping Reusable Full-Stack Components with Fran Zekan Fran Zekan, Kent C. Dodds 00:14:50 Kent sits down with Fran Zekan, an engineer with a diverse background spanning hardware, robotics, and full-stack web development. Fran shares insights from his experience working with both JavaScript and Rails and discusses how React Server Components (RSCs) are enabling fully encapsulated full-stack components—something that Rails developers have enjoyed for years. They dive into the evolution of full-stack components, their impact on web development, and why Fran is excited to share this topic at Epic Web Conf. Kent sits down with Fran Zekan, an engineer with a diverse background spanning hardware, robotics, and full-stack web development. Fran shares insights from his experience working with both JavaScript and Rails and discusses how React Server Components (RSCs) are enabling fully encapsulated full-stack components—something that Rails developers have enjoyed for years. They dive into the evolution of full-stack components, their impact on web development, and why Fran is excited to share this topic at Epic Web Conf. rails, web architecture, serverless, full-stack development, epic web conf, next.js, modern frameworks, react server components, performance optimization, scalability, reusable components false full 18 6 7225580e-47de-45c2-a9fb-6cb3bb8fde5d Learning-Driven Development with Josh Cirre Josh Cirre, a developer advocate and content creator, joins Kent to discuss his talk at Epic Web Conf: "Learning-Driven Development." Josh shares his philosophy on learning by doing—where the best way to master new technologies is by applying them to real-world projects rather than passively consuming tutorials.

Josh and Kent discuss:

  • The importance of curiosity in learning and how small observations can spark deeper exploration.
  • Why focusing on what you want to build rather than what you want to learn leads to better retention.
  • The challenges of transitioning from acting and comedy to tech, and how performance skills translate into developer advocacy.
  • The power of in-person conferences in forging deeper relationships and improving professional growth.

Josh also shares his love for Svelte, cameras, music, and Broadway musicals—so be sure to find him at Epic Web Conf to geek out on any of those topics!

Watch this episode.

Meet Josh at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Josh Cirre

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Thu, 6 Feb 2025 08:00:00 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Josh Cirre, Kent C. Dodds) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast Josh Cirre, a developer advocate and content creator, joins Kent to discuss his talk at Epic Web Conf: "Learning-Driven Development." Josh shares his philosophy on learning by doing—where the best way to master new technologies is by applying them to real-world projects rather than passively consuming tutorials.

Josh and Kent discuss:

  • The importance of curiosity in learning and how small observations can spark deeper exploration.
  • Why focusing on what you want to build rather than what you want to learn leads to better retention.
  • The challenges of transitioning from acting and comedy to tech, and how performance skills translate into developer advocacy.
  • The power of in-person conferences in forging deeper relationships and improving professional growth.

Josh also shares his love for Svelte, cameras, music, and Broadway musicals—so be sure to find him at Epic Web Conf to geek out on any of those topics!

Watch this episode.

Meet Josh at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Josh Cirre

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Learning-Driven Development with Josh Cirre Josh Cirre, Kent C. Dodds 00:16:52 Kent sits down with Josh Cirre, a developer advocate, content creator, and former stage performer, to discuss his talk at Epic Web Conf: "Learning-Driven Development." Josh shares his unique approach to learning by building real-world projects, the importance of curiosity in the learning process, and how he transitioned from acting and comedy to the tech industry. They also chat about the value of in-person conferences, the crossover between theater and development, and why understanding how you learn is just as important as what you learn. Kent sits down with Josh Cirre, a developer advocate, content creator, and former stage performer, to discuss his talk at Epic Web Conf: "Learning-Driven Development." Josh shares his unique approach to learning by building real-world projects, the importance of curiosity in the learning process, and how he transitioned from acting and comedy to the tech industry. They also chat about the value of in-person conferences, the crossover between theater and development, and why understanding how you learn is just as important as what you learn. stage performance, in-person conferences, career growth, curiosity in tech, content creation, epic web conf, software development, learning strategies, development-driven learning, svelte false full 17 6 8dffb97d-04f4-4289-8d59-1ee9e32a03d4 Demystifying AI: Building an AI Assistant for Better Presentations with Kira Corbett In this episode, Kent is joined by Kira Corbett, an AI-focused developer educator with deep experience in robotics, simulation, and human-computer interaction. Kira discusses her background in building real-world systems and how her transition to web development has shaped her approach to optimizing user experiences.

Her talk at Epic WebConf, "Building an AI Assistant to Deliver Your Best Presentations," explores how AI can enhance communication skills, streamline productivity, and create better engagement in various fields—not just software engineering. Without spoiling too much, Kira hints at an interactive experience that will challenge the audience’s expectations about AI-powered tools.

They also discuss the benefits of conferences, from gaining fresh insights to making meaningful professional and personal connections. As an avid mountain biker and skier, Kira is also excited to hit the slopes at the unofficial Epic WebConf ski day.

Watch this episode.

Meet Kira at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Kira Corbett

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Wed, 5 Feb 2025 08:00:00 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Kira Corbett, Kent C. Dodds) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast In this episode, Kent is joined by Kira Corbett, an AI-focused developer educator with deep experience in robotics, simulation, and human-computer interaction. Kira discusses her background in building real-world systems and how her transition to web development has shaped her approach to optimizing user experiences.

Her talk at Epic WebConf, "Building an AI Assistant to Deliver Your Best Presentations," explores how AI can enhance communication skills, streamline productivity, and create better engagement in various fields—not just software engineering. Without spoiling too much, Kira hints at an interactive experience that will challenge the audience’s expectations about AI-powered tools.

They also discuss the benefits of conferences, from gaining fresh insights to making meaningful professional and personal connections. As an avid mountain biker and skier, Kira is also excited to hit the slopes at the unofficial Epic WebConf ski day.

Watch this episode.

Meet Kira at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Kira Corbett

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Demystifying AI: Building an AI Assistant for Better Presentations with Kira Corbett Kira Corbett, Kent C. Dodds 00:10:36 Kent chats with Kira Corbett, a developer educator with a background in robotics, simulation, and artificial intelligence. They discuss her journey from robotics to web development, her passion for human-computer interaction, and her upcoming talk at Epic WebConf: "Building an AI Assistant to Deliver Your Best Presentations." Kira teases an interactive session where attendees will see AI in action, learn how to optimize their workflows, and explore new ways to improve communication. She also shares insights on why conferences are invaluable for gaining fresh perspectives and making meaningful connections. Kent chats with Kira Corbett, a developer educator with a background in robotics, simulation, and artificial intelligence. They discuss her journey from robotics to web development, her passion for human-computer interaction, and her upcoming talk at Epic WebConf: "Building an AI Assistant to Deliver Your Best Presentations." Kira teases an interactive session where attendees will see AI in action, learn how to optimize their workflows, and explore new ways to improve communication. She also shares insights on why conferences are invaluable for gaining fresh perspectives and making meaningful connections. developer productivity, web development, presentation skills, professional growth, epic web conf, artificial intelligence, simulation, robotics, human-computer interaction, ai tools false full 16 6 3fbd47e6-e710-4c77-93a7-2c4b7849f10d Building Connections and Community at Epic WebConf with Taylor Desseyn Taylor Desseyn, VP of Global Development at Torque.dev and host of the Guidance Counselor 2.0 podcast, joins Kent to discuss his role as an emcee at Epic WebConf and the importance of networking in tech. Taylor shares insights on how developers can maximize their time at conferences, from preparing in advance to actively building meaningful connections.

Taylor emphasizes the value of in-person events, explaining how they provide an opportunity to deepen online relationships, connect with industry leaders, and open doors to new career opportunities. He also shares practical career advice, including how to effectively network, follow up after events, and leverage platforms like LinkedIn to build professional relationships.

Kent and Taylor also discuss the role of an emcee in setting the tone for a conference, the importance of humor and energy in engaging an audience, and Taylor’s excitement to bring his hosting experience to Salt Lake City for Epic WebConf.

Watch this episode.

Meet Taylor at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Taylor Desseyn

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Tue, 4 Feb 2025 08:00:00 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Taylor Desseyn, Kent C. Dodds) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast Taylor Desseyn, VP of Global Development at Torque.dev and host of the Guidance Counselor 2.0 podcast, joins Kent to discuss his role as an emcee at Epic WebConf and the importance of networking in tech. Taylor shares insights on how developers can maximize their time at conferences, from preparing in advance to actively building meaningful connections.

Taylor emphasizes the value of in-person events, explaining how they provide an opportunity to deepen online relationships, connect with industry leaders, and open doors to new career opportunities. He also shares practical career advice, including how to effectively network, follow up after events, and leverage platforms like LinkedIn to build professional relationships.

Kent and Taylor also discuss the role of an emcee in setting the tone for a conference, the importance of humor and energy in engaging an audience, and Taylor’s excitement to bring his hosting experience to Salt Lake City for Epic WebConf.

Watch this episode.

Meet Taylor at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Taylor Desseyn

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Building Connections and Community at Epic WebConf with Taylor Desseyn Taylor Desseyn, Kent C. Dodds 00:11:51 In this episode, Kent chats with Taylor Desseyn, VP of Global Development at Torque.dev and an experienced conference emcee, about the power of networking, career development, and making meaningful connections at events like Epic WebConf. Taylor shares insights from his years in the talent and tech space, his passion for helping developers land their dream jobs, and why in-person events are game-changers for career growth. They also discuss his role as an emcee and how he brings energy, humor, and connection to every conference he’s part of. In this episode, Kent chats with Taylor Desseyn, VP of Global Development at Torque.dev and an experienced conference emcee, about the power of networking, career development, and making meaningful connections at events like Epic WebConf. Taylor shares insights from his years in the talent and tech space, his passion for helping developers land their dream jobs, and why in-person events are game-changers for career growth. They also discuss his role as an emcee and how he brings energy, humor, and connection to every conference he’s part of. talent acquisition, job search, community building, epic web conf, developer marketing, conference hosting, career development, networking false full 15 6 61edd30d-2e4e-480b-870e-a73a4bcc7c2c Beyond Code Assist: Driving Impact as a Next-Gen Developer with Mark Techson Mark Techson, a developer advocate at Google working on Angular, joins Kent to discuss the intersection of AI and developer productivity. His Epic WebConf talk, "Beyond Code Assist: Driving Impact as a Next-Gen Developer," explores how developers can go beyond using AI for simple code assistance and instead integrate AI into their workflows to accomplish more.

Mark emphasizes that the world of software development is evolving, and AI tools are becoming integral to the way we work. He shares insights on how developers can position themselves to thrive, avoid stagnation, and embrace the opportunities AI provides.

Kent and Mark also discuss the importance of standing out in an increasingly automated world, the power of adding a personal touch (like Mark’s unique video talk proposal), and why in-person conferences like Epic WebConf provide irreplaceable professional connections.

Watch this episode.

Meet Mark at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Mark Techson

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Mon, 3 Feb 2025 08:00:00 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Mark Techson, Kent C. Dodds) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast Mark Techson, a developer advocate at Google working on Angular, joins Kent to discuss the intersection of AI and developer productivity. His Epic WebConf talk, "Beyond Code Assist: Driving Impact as a Next-Gen Developer," explores how developers can go beyond using AI for simple code assistance and instead integrate AI into their workflows to accomplish more.

Mark emphasizes that the world of software development is evolving, and AI tools are becoming integral to the way we work. He shares insights on how developers can position themselves to thrive, avoid stagnation, and embrace the opportunities AI provides.

Kent and Mark also discuss the importance of standing out in an increasingly automated world, the power of adding a personal touch (like Mark’s unique video talk proposal), and why in-person conferences like Epic WebConf provide irreplaceable professional connections.

Watch this episode.

Meet Mark at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Mark Techson

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Beyond Code Assist: Driving Impact as a Next-Gen Developer with Mark Techson Mark Techson, Kent C. Dodds 00:10:01 In this episode, Kent chats with Mark Techson, a developer advocate at Google working on Angular, about the evolving role of developers in the AI era. Mark previews his Epic WebConf talk, "Beyond Code Assist: Driving Impact as a Next-Gen Developer," where he challenges developers to rethink their workflows, leverage AI to do more, and embrace the future of software development. They also discuss the value of in-person conferences, professional growth, and how small efforts—like Mark’s creative talk proposal—can make a big impact. In this episode, Kent chats with Mark Techson, a developer advocate at Google working on Angular, about the evolving role of developers in the AI era. Mark previews his Epic WebConf talk, "Beyond Code Assist: Driving Impact as a Next-Gen Developer," where he challenges developers to rethink their workflows, leverage AI to do more, and embrace the future of software development. They also discuss the value of in-person conferences, professional growth, and how small efforts—like Mark’s creative talk proposal—can make a big impact. developer productivity, next-gen development, professional growth, epic web conf, career development, angular, ai tools, google, software engineering false full 14 6 ec534bf3-84c4-441e-a607-14d9f6a77d7c Building Accessible Web Apps with Shruti Kapoor Shruti Kapoor, a frontend engineer at Slack and an Epic Web instructor, joins Kent to dive into the intricacies of accessibility in web development. With over a decade of experience, Shruti has dedicated herself to educating developers on building accessible and inclusive applications.

Her Epic WebConf talk, "Building Accessible Web Apps," will focus on real-world accessibility challenges, showcasing a live demo where she transforms a web app to improve usability for all users. She emphasizes how accessibility is more than just ARIA labels—it requires a thoughtful UX approach, including proper focus management, screen reader behavior, and inclusive interaction patterns.

Kent and Shruti also discuss her experience traveling globally for conferences, how different regions approach web development, and why she prioritizes in-person events like Epic WebConf. They wrap up by exploring imposter syndrome, mentorship, and how developers can take their first steps into public speaking.

Watch this episode.

Meet Shruti at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Shruti Kapoor

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Sun, 2 Feb 2025 08:00:00 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Shruti Kapoor, Kent C. Dodds) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast Shruti Kapoor, a frontend engineer at Slack and an Epic Web instructor, joins Kent to dive into the intricacies of accessibility in web development. With over a decade of experience, Shruti has dedicated herself to educating developers on building accessible and inclusive applications.

Her Epic WebConf talk, "Building Accessible Web Apps," will focus on real-world accessibility challenges, showcasing a live demo where she transforms a web app to improve usability for all users. She emphasizes how accessibility is more than just ARIA labels—it requires a thoughtful UX approach, including proper focus management, screen reader behavior, and inclusive interaction patterns.

Kent and Shruti also discuss her experience traveling globally for conferences, how different regions approach web development, and why she prioritizes in-person events like Epic WebConf. They wrap up by exploring imposter syndrome, mentorship, and how developers can take their first steps into public speaking.

Watch this episode.

Meet Shruti at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Shruti Kapoor

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Building Accessible Web Apps with Shruti Kapoor Shruti Kapoor, Kent C. Dodds 00:10:54 In this episode, Shruti Kapoor, frontend engineer, educator, and accessibility advocate, joins Kent to discuss the nuances of building accessible web applications from the ground up. She shares insights from her work at Slack’s design systems team and previews her Epic WebConf talk, where she will demonstrate how to build an accessible real estate app, test it with screen readers, and fix common accessibility pitfalls. They also discuss the importance of fostering inclusive digital experiences and why in-person conferences like Epic WebConf are invaluable for professional growth and networking. In this episode, Shruti Kapoor, frontend engineer, educator, and accessibility advocate, joins Kent to discuss the nuances of building accessible web applications from the ground up. She shares insights from her work at Slack’s design systems team and previews her Epic WebConf talk, where she will demonstrate how to build an accessible real estate app, test it with screen readers, and fix common accessibility pitfalls. They also discuss the importance of fostering inclusive digital experiences and why in-person conferences like Epic WebConf are invaluable for professional growth and networking. react, inclusive design, web development, slack, developer advocacy, accessibility, epic web conf, imposter syndrome, public speaking false full 13 6 0a2c78fe-719f-4835-8e71-22e62ba02c02 Building Bulletproof Design Systems with Eva Ferreira Eva Ferreira, a frontend engineer, educator, and design systems expert, shares insights into what makes or breaks a design system. As a tech lead at Mable and a long-time web development instructor, Eva brings years of experience building UI components, optimizing accessibility, and implementing robust frontend architectures.

Her talk at Epic WebConf, "Bulletproof Design Systems," dives into the biggest challenges teams face when adopting a design system. She covers topics like onboarding new users, proving the system’s value with measurable success metrics, and avoiding the trap of a single maintainer. Attendees will leave with actionable strategies to make their design systems more sustainable and widely adopted.

Kent and Eva also discuss the importance of sharing failures as well as successes in tech, the struggle of maintaining focus while learning online, and why in-person conferences provide an unmatched experience for both education and networking.

Watch this episode.

Meet Eva at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Eva Ferreira

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Sat, 1 Feb 2025 08:00:00 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Eva Ferreira, Kent C. Dodds) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast Eva Ferreira, a frontend engineer, educator, and design systems expert, shares insights into what makes or breaks a design system. As a tech lead at Mable and a long-time web development instructor, Eva brings years of experience building UI components, optimizing accessibility, and implementing robust frontend architectures.

Her talk at Epic WebConf, "Bulletproof Design Systems," dives into the biggest challenges teams face when adopting a design system. She covers topics like onboarding new users, proving the system’s value with measurable success metrics, and avoiding the trap of a single maintainer. Attendees will leave with actionable strategies to make their design systems more sustainable and widely adopted.

Kent and Eva also discuss the importance of sharing failures as well as successes in tech, the struggle of maintaining focus while learning online, and why in-person conferences provide an unmatched experience for both education and networking.

Watch this episode.

Meet Eva at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Eva Ferreira

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Building Bulletproof Design Systems with Eva Ferreira Eva Ferreira, Kent C. Dodds 00:10:11 In this episode, Eva Ferreira, frontend expert and design systems advocate, joins Kent to explore why design systems fail and how to build them for long-term success. She previews her Epic WebConf talk, "Bulletproof Design Systems," where she breaks down the common pitfalls, best practices for adoption, and how to ensure a design system thrives in an engineering organization. They also discuss the importance of learning from failures, fostering collaboration, and the unique value of in-person conferences. In this episode, Eva Ferreira, frontend expert and design systems advocate, joins Kent to explore why design systems fail and how to build them for long-term success. She previews her Epic WebConf talk, "Bulletproof Design Systems," where she breaks down the common pitfalls, best practices for adoption, and how to ensure a design system thrives in an engineering organization. They also discuss the importance of learning from failures, fostering collaboration, and the unique value of in-person conferences. failure learning, ui, frontend development, accessibility, collaboration, epic web conf, css, engineering best practices, design systems false full 12 6 4a8f26ab-c623-4bd9-9f3e-104ed5509cc5 Building AI-Powered Presentations with Eve Porcello Eve Porcello, an experienced educator and speaker, shares her insights on AI-powered presentation tools and communication skills for developers. With years of experience teaching JavaScript, React, and GraphQL, Eve now focuses on how AI can assist in learning, teaching, and public speaking.

Her Epic WebConf talk, co-presented with Kira Corbett, explores the development of an AI assistant to enhance presentation delivery. They’ll showcase AI-powered tools like ml5 for voice recognition and interactive elements that can make presentations more engaging and accessible.

Kent and Eve also discuss the evolving role of AI in web development, the importance of strong communication skills for engineers, and why in-person conferences provide an unmatched experience. Plus, they talk about skiing in Utah and the unofficial ski day after Epic WebConf!

Watch this episode.

Meet Eve at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Eve Porcello

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Fri, 31 Jan 2025 08:00:00 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Eve Porcello, Kent C. Dodds) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast Eve Porcello, an experienced educator and speaker, shares her insights on AI-powered presentation tools and communication skills for developers. With years of experience teaching JavaScript, React, and GraphQL, Eve now focuses on how AI can assist in learning, teaching, and public speaking.

Her Epic WebConf talk, co-presented with Kira Corbett, explores the development of an AI assistant to enhance presentation delivery. They’ll showcase AI-powered tools like ml5 for voice recognition and interactive elements that can make presentations more engaging and accessible.

Kent and Eve also discuss the evolving role of AI in web development, the importance of strong communication skills for engineers, and why in-person conferences provide an unmatched experience. Plus, they talk about skiing in Utah and the unofficial ski day after Epic WebConf!

Watch this episode.

Meet Eve at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Eve Porcello

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Building AI-Powered Presentations with Eve Porcello Eve Porcello, Kent C. Dodds 00:11:47 In this episode, Eve Porcello, seasoned educator and AI enthusiast, joins Kent to explore how AI can enhance presentation skills. Eve previews her Epic WebConf talk, "Building an AI Assistant to Deliver Your Best Presentations," where she and her co-speaker Kira Corbett dive into the intersection of AI, communication, and accessibility. They discuss the importance of effective presentation skills for developers, how AI can support and enhance communication, and why in-person interactions at conferences are irreplaceable. In this episode, Eve Porcello, seasoned educator and AI enthusiast, joins Kent to explore how AI can enhance presentation skills. Eve previews her Epic WebConf talk, "Building an AI Assistant to Deliver Your Best Presentations," where she and her co-speaker Kira Corbett dive into the intersection of AI, communication, and accessibility. They discuss the importance of effective presentation skills for developers, how AI can support and enhance communication, and why in-person interactions at conferences are irreplaceable. voice recognition, accessibility, epic web conf, machine learning, ai presentations, conference networking, public speaking, developer communication false full 11 6 447c69b6-a381-48c4-a161-91b694e0f3a7 Demystifying Type Inference with Jared Forsyth Jared Forsyth, a front-end infrastructure engineer at Khan Academy, shares insights into type inference and programming language design. With nearly a decade of experience working with React and React Native, Jared has a deep appreciation for tooling and developer experience. His Epic WebConf talk, "Hindley and Milner Walk Into a Bar," will break down type inference algorithms and how they improve developer ergonomics by reducing the need for excessive type annotations.

Jared and Kent discuss the practical benefits of understanding language internals, including how it can improve debugging, enhance problem-solving skills, and make learning new languages easier. They also talk about Jared’s passion for local-first web development, functional programming, and how in-person conferences help build lasting relationships.

Watch this episode.

Meet Jared at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Jared Forsyth

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Thu, 30 Jan 2025 08:00:00 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Jared Forsyth, Kent C. Dodds) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast Jared Forsyth, a front-end infrastructure engineer at Khan Academy, shares insights into type inference and programming language design. With nearly a decade of experience working with React and React Native, Jared has a deep appreciation for tooling and developer experience. His Epic WebConf talk, "Hindley and Milner Walk Into a Bar," will break down type inference algorithms and how they improve developer ergonomics by reducing the need for excessive type annotations.

Jared and Kent discuss the practical benefits of understanding language internals, including how it can improve debugging, enhance problem-solving skills, and make learning new languages easier. They also talk about Jared’s passion for local-first web development, functional programming, and how in-person conferences help build lasting relationships.

Watch this episode.

Meet Jared at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Jared Forsyth

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Demystifying Type Inference with Jared Forsyth Jared Forsyth, Kent C. Dodds 00:09:57 In this episode, Jared Forsyth, a long-time Khan Academy engineer and functional programming enthusiast, joins Kent to explore the fascinating world of type inference. Jared previews his Epic WebConf talk, "Hindley and Milner Walk Into a Bar," where he dives into the mechanics of type inference algorithms and their impact on modern programming languages. They discuss the importance of understanding the fundamentals of language design, why type inference matters, and how getting comfortable with these concepts can make developers more effective. In this episode, Jared Forsyth, a long-time Khan Academy engineer and functional programming enthusiast, joins Kent to explore the fascinating world of type inference. Jared previews his Epic WebConf talk, "Hindley and Milner Walk Into a Bar," where he dives into the mechanics of type inference algorithms and their impact on modern programming languages. They discuss the importance of understanding the fundamentals of language design, why type inference matters, and how getting comfortable with these concepts can make developers more effective. local-first web, type systems, type inference, hindley-milner, functional programming, epic web conf, programming languages false full 10 6 5ada4640-2126-475a-bf59-cc0d0ba3447e Learn Out Loud in 2025 with Madison Kanna Madison Kanna, a full-stack developer and community builder, shares her insights on the importance of learning out loud and building an authentic personal brand. In her Epic WebConf talk, “Why You Should Learn Out Loud in 2025,” Madison emphasizes the growing need to differentiate yourself in an AI-driven world by sharing your work and building genuine connections.

She discusses her experiences as a full-stack developer using TypeScript and Python, as well as her journey running coding communities and fostering accountability. Madison highlights how meeting people at conferences has transformed her online relationships into real friendships and career opportunities.

Watch this episode.

Meet Madison at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Madison Kanna

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Wed, 29 Jan 2025 08:00:00 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Madison Kanna, Kent C. Dodds) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast Madison Kanna, a full-stack developer and community builder, shares her insights on the importance of learning out loud and building an authentic personal brand. In her Epic WebConf talk, “Why You Should Learn Out Loud in 2025,” Madison emphasizes the growing need to differentiate yourself in an AI-driven world by sharing your work and building genuine connections.

She discusses her experiences as a full-stack developer using TypeScript and Python, as well as her journey running coding communities and fostering accountability. Madison highlights how meeting people at conferences has transformed her online relationships into real friendships and career opportunities.

Watch this episode.

Meet Madison at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Madison Kanna

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Learn Out Loud in 2025 with Madison Kanna Madison Kanna, Kent C. Dodds 00:11:51 In this episode, Madison Kanna, a full-stack developer, community builder, and returning Epic WebConf speaker, joins Kent to discuss the power of learning out loud. Madison shares her journey of building an authentic personal brand, the value of community, and how creating and sharing your work can lead to unique career opportunities. She also previews her talk, “Why You Should Learn Out Loud in 2025,” which emphasizes the importance of differentiating yourself in the age of AI through authenticity and personal branding. In this episode, Madison Kanna, a full-stack developer, community builder, and returning Epic WebConf speaker, joins Kent to discuss the power of learning out loud. Madison shares her journey of building an authentic personal brand, the value of community, and how creating and sharing your work can lead to unique career opportunities. She also previews her talk, “Why You Should Learn Out Loud in 2025,” which emphasizes the importance of differentiating yourself in the age of AI through authenticity and personal branding. ai, personal branding, community building, python, epic web conf, learn out loud, typescript false full 9 6 5e00448f-5d25-4ee2-b685-006cf3c28bf3 Networking Through Twitch with Leah Thompson Leah Thompson, known online as LeahTCodes, shares her experience as a career switcher and how live streaming on Twitch became a vital part of her career journey. Leah explains how streaming not only helped her connect with others in tech but also directly led to job opportunities. Her talk at Epic WebConf will explore the unique value of Twitch for building professional relationships and standing out in the tech industry.

Leah also touches on her love of math, her background as a high school teacher, and her passion for helping others break into tech. Whether you're looking for ways to build a network, share your learning journey, or feel more connected in a remote-first world, Leah's insights offer actionable steps to use Twitch as a tool for growth and connection.

Watch this episode.

Meet Leah at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Leah Thompson

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Tue, 28 Jan 2025 08:00:00 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Leah Thompson, Kent C. Dodds) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast Leah Thompson, known online as LeahTCodes, shares her experience as a career switcher and how live streaming on Twitch became a vital part of her career journey. Leah explains how streaming not only helped her connect with others in tech but also directly led to job opportunities. Her talk at Epic WebConf will explore the unique value of Twitch for building professional relationships and standing out in the tech industry.

Leah also touches on her love of math, her background as a high school teacher, and her passion for helping others break into tech. Whether you're looking for ways to build a network, share your learning journey, or feel more connected in a remote-first world, Leah's insights offer actionable steps to use Twitch as a tool for growth and connection.

Watch this episode.

Meet Leah at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Leah Thompson

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Networking Through Twitch with Leah Thompson Leah Thompson, Kent C. Dodds 00:11:57 Leah Thompson, a career switcher turned software engineer, joins Kent to discuss how live streaming on Twitch can be a powerful tool for networking and career growth. Leah shares her journey from high school math teacher to software developer, emphasizing how streaming helped her land both of her developer roles. They explore how Twitch can foster meaningful connections, build a personal brand, and combat isolation in remote work. Leah Thompson, a career switcher turned software engineer, joins Kent to discuss how live streaming on Twitch can be a powerful tool for networking and career growth. Leah shares her journey from high school math teacher to software developer, emphasizing how streaming helped her land both of her developer roles. They explore how Twitch can foster meaningful connections, build a personal brand, and combat isolation in remote work. remote work, live streaming, community building, epic web conf, twitch, networking, career switching false full 8 6 fa8edf68-8272-40ba-9c4e-e502e8c100d4 Reclaiming Authentication with OpenAuth by Dax Raad Dax Raad, known for his work on SST and the creator of OpenAuth, shares his passion for improving the developer experience with authentication and infrastructure. OpenAuth offers developers an alternative to AWS Cognito, enabling self-owned, spec-compliant OAuth systems that are easy to deploy and maintain.

In this episode, Dax talks about:

  • The problems with AWS Cognito and the motivation behind OpenAuth.
  • The simplicity and power of constrained environments like terminal UIs.
  • The value of focusing on infrastructure and developer control over essential services.

Dax also touches on his upcoming talk at Epic WebConf and shares his excitement about meeting other developers in person.

Watch this episode.

Meet Dax at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Dax Raad

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Mon, 27 Jan 2025 08:00:00 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Dax Raad, Kent C. Dodds) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast Dax Raad, known for his work on SST and the creator of OpenAuth, shares his passion for improving the developer experience with authentication and infrastructure. OpenAuth offers developers an alternative to AWS Cognito, enabling self-owned, spec-compliant OAuth systems that are easy to deploy and maintain.

In this episode, Dax talks about:

  • The problems with AWS Cognito and the motivation behind OpenAuth.
  • The simplicity and power of constrained environments like terminal UIs.
  • The value of focusing on infrastructure and developer control over essential services.

Dax also touches on his upcoming talk at Epic WebConf and shares his excitement about meeting other developers in person.

Watch this episode.

Meet Dax at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Dax Raad

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Reclaiming Authentication with OpenAuth by Dax Raad Dax Raad, Kent C. Dodds 00:12:34 Dax Raad, creator of OpenAuth and core contributor to SST, joins Kent to discuss his approach to simplifying authentication with a self-owned, spec-compliant auth server. Dax explains the motivation behind OpenAuth, why AWS Cognito falls short, and how OpenAuth empowers developers to control their own authentication infrastructure while reducing complexity. Dax Raad, creator of OpenAuth and core contributor to SST, joins Kent to discuss his approach to simplifying authentication with a self-owned, spec-compliant auth server. Dax explains the motivation behind OpenAuth, why AWS Cognito falls short, and how OpenAuth empowers developers to control their own authentication infrastructure while reducing complexity. developer experience, authentication, infrastructure, oauth, epic web conf, sst, aws cognito, openauth false full 7 6 28994d1e-266e-4178-84c6-0e99c20f905c What React 19 Means for React Router with Brooks Lybrand Brooks Lybrand, Developer Relations Manager for Remix at Shopify, joins Kent to explore the impact of React 19 on React Router and modern web development. In his talk "What React 19 Means for React Router," Brooks will highlight React 19's integration with server components, web component support, and simplified APIs for meta tags, links, and more. These updates promise to enhance developer experience and streamline app-building processes.

Brooks shares his insights on the evolution of Remix, Shopify's stewardship of the project, and the shift towards unifying React paradigms for better portability. He also discusses his passion for building communities, user feedback, and the importance of in-person connections for professional growth.

Watch this episode.

Meet Brooks at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Brooks Lybrand

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Sun, 26 Jan 2025 08:00:00 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Brooks Lybrand, Kent C. Dodds) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast Brooks Lybrand, Developer Relations Manager for Remix at Shopify, joins Kent to explore the impact of React 19 on React Router and modern web development. In his talk "What React 19 Means for React Router," Brooks will highlight React 19's integration with server components, web component support, and simplified APIs for meta tags, links, and more. These updates promise to enhance developer experience and streamline app-building processes.

Brooks shares his insights on the evolution of Remix, Shopify's stewardship of the project, and the shift towards unifying React paradigms for better portability. He also discusses his passion for building communities, user feedback, and the importance of in-person connections for professional growth.

Watch this episode.

Meet Brooks at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Brooks Lybrand

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> What React 19 Means for React Router with Brooks Lybrand Brooks Lybrand, Kent C. Dodds 00:14:28 In this episode, Brooks Lybrand, Developer Relations Manager for Remix at Shopify, discusses the exciting new features of React 19 and how React Router bridges the gap for developers adopting the latest updates. Brooks explains how React 19's tighter integration with React Router simplifies development, enhances portability, and brings new paradigms to web development. In this episode, Brooks Lybrand, Developer Relations Manager for Remix at Shopify, discusses the exciting new features of React 19 and how React Router bridges the gap for developers adopting the latest updates. Brooks explains how React 19's tighter integration with React Router simplifies development, enhances portability, and brings new paradigms to web development. remix, web development, developer relations, react router, server components, epic web conf, react 19, web components false full 6 6 fa602171-bee8-4438-aae8-c41a1ebddd14 Exploring the Weird Web with Alex Anderson Alex Anderson, a local Salt Lake City developer and creator of the spaceship simulation game Thorium Nova, shares his passion for pushing the limits of web technologies. Alex previews his Epic WebConf talk, "The Weird Web," which showcases creative uses of web APIs such as the GamePad API, Web Serial API, and Web Audio API. These tools allow developers to build interactive, user-friendly, and immersive experiences.

Alex explains how these APIs can be leveraged in both creative and practical ways, from video games to more accessible web applications. He also highlights the value of in-person conferences, emphasizing the connections and inspiration gained from engaging with the developer community.

Watch this episode.

Meet Alex at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Alex Anderson

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Sat, 25 Jan 2025 08:00:00 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Alex Anderson, Kent C. Dodds) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast Alex Anderson, a local Salt Lake City developer and creator of the spaceship simulation game Thorium Nova, shares his passion for pushing the limits of web technologies. Alex previews his Epic WebConf talk, "The Weird Web," which showcases creative uses of web APIs such as the GamePad API, Web Serial API, and Web Audio API. These tools allow developers to build interactive, user-friendly, and immersive experiences.

Alex explains how these APIs can be leveraged in both creative and practical ways, from video games to more accessible web applications. He also highlights the value of in-person conferences, emphasizing the connections and inspiration gained from engaging with the developer community.

Watch this episode.

Meet Alex at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Alex Anderson

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Exploring the Weird Web with Alex Anderson Alex Anderson, Kent C. Dodds 00:11:33 In this episode, Alex Anderson, creator of Thorium Nova and a Salt Lake City-based web developer, joins Kent to discuss pushing the boundaries of web technologies. Alex introduces his talk, "The Weird Web," which dives into underutilized APIs like the GamePad API, Web Serial API, and Web Audio API to create innovative experiences on the web. They also explore how these technologies can provide practical benefits for both games and user-friendly web applications. In this episode, Alex Anderson, creator of Thorium Nova and a Salt Lake City-based web developer, joins Kent to discuss pushing the boundaries of web technologies. Alex introduces his talk, "The Weird Web," which dives into underutilized APIs like the GamePad API, Web Serial API, and Web Audio API to create innovative experiences on the web. They also explore how these technologies can provide practical benefits for both games and user-friendly web applications. weird web, creative web development, web audio api, thorium nova, epic web conf, web serial api, gamepad api false full 5 6 2104a460-abcb-464a-a4bb-a768fcd64930 AI-Powered Development and Solopreneurship with Devon Neill Devon Neill, a software developer and solopreneur from Cape Town, South Africa, shares his experience navigating solopreneurship, including learning the ropes of marketing, user engagement, and copywriting. Devon highlights the importance of streamlining development workflows with AI tools and introduces his Epic WebConf talk. His talk explores diving into the AI hype, comparing various tools, and integrating them with the Epic Stack to take ideas from concept to production in just 20 minutes.

Devon and Kent also discuss the benefits of attending in-person conferences, from building meaningful connections to feeling part of the tech community. Devon shares how attending Epic WebConf and similar events has inspired his career and provided invaluable opportunities.

Watch this episode.

Meet Devon at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Devon Neill

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Fri, 24 Jan 2025 08:00:00 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Devon Neill, Kent C. Dodds) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast Devon Neill, a software developer and solopreneur from Cape Town, South Africa, shares his experience navigating solopreneurship, including learning the ropes of marketing, user engagement, and copywriting. Devon highlights the importance of streamlining development workflows with AI tools and introduces his Epic WebConf talk. His talk explores diving into the AI hype, comparing various tools, and integrating them with the Epic Stack to take ideas from concept to production in just 20 minutes.

Devon and Kent also discuss the benefits of attending in-person conferences, from building meaningful connections to feeling part of the tech community. Devon shares how attending Epic WebConf and similar events has inspired his career and provided invaluable opportunities.

Watch this episode.

Meet Devon at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Devon Neill

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> AI-Powered Development and Solopreneurship with Devon Neill Devon Neill, Kent C. Dodds 00:13:53 In this episode, Devon Neill, a solopreneur and software developer from Cape Town, joins Kent to discuss the intersection of AI tools and efficient development workflows. Devon shares his journey into solopreneurship, the challenges of marketing and user communication, and how he's leveraging AI to optimize his development process. They also dive into Devon's talk for Epic WebConf, which explores combining AI tools with the Epic Stack to build applications quickly and efficiently. In this episode, Devon Neill, a solopreneur and software developer from Cape Town, joins Kent to discuss the intersection of AI tools and efficient development workflows. Devon shares his journey into solopreneurship, the challenges of marketing and user communication, and how he's leveraging AI to optimize his development process. They also dive into Devon's talk for Epic WebConf, which explores combining AI tools with the Epic Stack to build applications quickly and efficiently. ai development, frontend development, epic web conf, solopreneurship, epic stack, productivity tools, marketing false full 4 6 7105bdb4-522a-46e9-8484-9b48c1b792cc Building Your Own AI Minions with Joel Hooks Joel Hooks, a seasoned software developer and co-organizer of Epic WebConf, delves into his experience building personalized AI workflows. Joel introduces his talk on constructing a “hoard of AI minions” to enhance productivity and automation, using his app JoelFit.app as a case study. The app integrates AI routers and workflows for managing health and fitness goals, demonstrating how developers can adopt similar approaches for professional and personal projects.

Joel emphasizes the importance of attending in-person events like Epic WebConf to foster meaningful human connections and exchange ideas. As a veteran of conferences, he shares how relationships built at these events have significantly impacted his career, providing inspiration, professional opportunities, and friendships.

Watch this episode.

Meet Joel at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Joel Hooks

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Thu, 23 Jan 2025 20:58:54 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Joel Hooks, Kent C. Dodds) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast Joel Hooks, a seasoned software developer and co-organizer of Epic WebConf, delves into his experience building personalized AI workflows. Joel introduces his talk on constructing a “hoard of AI minions” to enhance productivity and automation, using his app JoelFit.app as a case study. The app integrates AI routers and workflows for managing health and fitness goals, demonstrating how developers can adopt similar approaches for professional and personal projects.

Joel emphasizes the importance of attending in-person events like Epic WebConf to foster meaningful human connections and exchange ideas. As a veteran of conferences, he shares how relationships built at these events have significantly impacted his career, providing inspiration, professional opportunities, and friendships.

Watch this episode.

Meet Joel at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Joel Hooks

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Building Your Own AI Minions with Joel Hooks Joel Hooks, Kent C. Dodds 00:10:25 In this episode, Joel Hooks, co-organizer of Epic WebConf and creator of platforms like Egghead.io, Epic React, and Epic Web, joins Kent to share insights about building custom AI tools. Joel discusses his talk, focusing on using AI-powered workflows to create personal and professional automation tools. They also explore the benefits of attending conferences, building meaningful human connections, and the unique opportunities Epic WebConf offers for collaboration and inspiration. In this episode, Joel Hooks, co-organizer of Epic WebConf and creator of platforms like Egghead.io, Epic React, and Epic Web, joins Kent to share insights about building custom AI tools. Joel discusses his talk, focusing on using AI-powered workflows to create personal and professional automation tools. They also explore the benefits of attending conferences, building meaningful human connections, and the unique opportunities Epic WebConf offers for collaboration and inspiration. in-person conferences, fitness, epic web conf, software development, ai workflows, automation, health false full 3 6 95175a9a-8077-4c90-b7f8-359299b4449f Creativity, Conferences, and Connection with Bree Hall Bree Hall, a frontend software engineer and developer advocate at HubSpot, emphasizes the role of creativity in coding and professional growth. Bree discusses how personal projects like CSS art, including her recreation of a Nintendo Switch, help her stay inspired and improve her technical skills. She and Kent reflect on the unique value of in-person conferences for building professional and personal relationships, highlighting Epic WebConf as a hub for inspiration and community.

As one of the emcees for Epic WebConf 2025, Bree looks forward to connecting with attendees and hearing from an incredible lineup of speakers. Bree also shares her passion for video games, board games, and connecting with women in tech. Whether the conversations center on technical topics, career growth, or shared hobbies, Bree invites everyone to reach out at the conference.

Watch this episode.

Meet Bree at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Bree Hall

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Thu, 23 Jan 2025 20:52:15 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Bree Hall, Kent C. Dodds) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast Bree Hall, a frontend software engineer and developer advocate at HubSpot, emphasizes the role of creativity in coding and professional growth. Bree discusses how personal projects like CSS art, including her recreation of a Nintendo Switch, help her stay inspired and improve her technical skills. She and Kent reflect on the unique value of in-person conferences for building professional and personal relationships, highlighting Epic WebConf as a hub for inspiration and community.

As one of the emcees for Epic WebConf 2025, Bree looks forward to connecting with attendees and hearing from an incredible lineup of speakers. Bree also shares her passion for video games, board games, and connecting with women in tech. Whether the conversations center on technical topics, career growth, or shared hobbies, Bree invites everyone to reach out at the conference.

Watch this episode.

Meet Bree at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Bree Hall

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Creativity, Conferences, and Connection with Bree Hall Bree Hall, Kent C. Dodds 00:08:47 In this episode, Bree Hall, a frontend software engineer turned developer advocate at HubSpot, joins Kent to discuss the intersection of creativity and coding, the value of in-person connections at conferences, and her journey in tech. Bree shares how coding creatively, such as recreating real-world objects with CSS, sharpens her skills and inspires her professional work. They also dive into the importance of networking, building relationships, and the unique experiences offered by in-person events like Epic WebConf. In this episode, Bree Hall, a frontend software engineer turned developer advocate at HubSpot, joins Kent to discuss the intersection of creativity and coding, the value of in-person connections at conferences, and her journey in tech. Bree shares how coding creatively, such as recreating real-world objects with CSS, sharpens her skills and inspires her professional work. They also dive into the importance of networking, building relationships, and the unique experiences offered by in-person events like Epic WebConf. css art, creative coding, conferences, epic webconf, women in tech, front-end development, networking, gaming false full 2 6 9dadc07a-4094-445e-98a3-1ac6357f90f0 Introducing Season 6 of Chats with Kent Kent introduces a new season of the "Chats with Kent" podcast, which will feature interviews with speakers for the upcoming Epic Web Comp 2025 conference in Salt Lake City. The host, Kent C. Dodds, expresses excitement about the lineup of speakers and encourages listeners to attend the conference in March 2025. He also mentions that the talks will be available on the EpicWeb.dev platform for those who miss the live event.

Meet at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Kent C. Dodds

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Thu, 23 Jan 2025 20:51:54 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Kent C. Dodds) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast Kent introduces a new season of the "Chats with Kent" podcast, which will feature interviews with speakers for the upcoming Epic Web Comp 2025 conference in Salt Lake City. The host, Kent C. Dodds, expresses excitement about the lineup of speakers and encourages listeners to attend the conference in March 2025. He also mentions that the talks will be available on the EpicWeb.dev platform for those who miss the live event.

Meet at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Kent C. Dodds

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Introducing Season 6 of Chats with Kent Kent C. Dodds 00:01:21 Kent C. Dodds introduces this season of the Chats with Kent podcast. It's all about the speakers at Epic Web Conf 2025 Kent C. Dodds introduces this season of the Chats with Kent podcast. It's all about the speakers at Epic Web Conf 2025 epic web conf false full 1 6 b0e39bc5-5cbc-4fe2-9598-beffe0637f79 Chats with Kent Season 5 Wrap-up In this final episode of season five, Kent C. Dodds recaps the enriching conversations with the speakers of Epic WebConf 2024, expressing gratitude and excitement for the upcoming event in April. He encourages listeners, whether planning to attend the conference or not, to revisit the season's episodes for timeless web development advice. While season six remains unplanned, Kent thanks his audience for their continued support and hints at future engagements, urging them to stay tuned.

Meet Kent at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Kent C. Dodds

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Fri, 5 Apr 2024 10:50:00 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Kent C. Dodds) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast In this final episode of season five, Kent C. Dodds recaps the enriching conversations with the speakers of Epic WebConf 2024, expressing gratitude and excitement for the upcoming event in April. He encourages listeners, whether planning to attend the conference or not, to revisit the season's episodes for timeless web development advice. While season six remains unplanned, Kent thanks his audience for their continued support and hints at future engagements, urging them to stay tuned.

Meet Kent at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Kent C. Dodds

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Chats with Kent Season 5 Wrap-up Kent C. Dodds 00:01:43 This episode marks the end of season five of Chats with Kent, recapping the season's highlights and looking forward to Epic Web Conf 2024. This episode marks the end of season five of Chats with Kent, recapping the season's highlights and looking forward to Epic Web Conf 2024. chats with kent, epic web conf false full 26 5 08b8847d-83c7-4264-9c8d-502066bfce10 Navigating Growth and Innovation in Tech with Dan Farrelly In this episode, Kent C. Dodds interviews Dan Farrelly, the CTO and co-founder of Jest, about his journey from front-end engineer to CTO, the challenges of scaling a tech company, and the importance of staying small to maintain agility and innovation. Farrelly shares insights into the evolving challenges of a tech team, from infrastructure to front-end development, and emphasizes the value of a generalist approach in a small, dynamic team. The conversation also delves into Farrelly's upcoming conference talk on improving long-standing APIs and his enthusiasm for learning from and contributing to the developer community.

Watch this episode.

Meet Dan at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Dan Farrelly

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Wed, 3 Apr 2024 10:50:00 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Kent C. Dodds, Dan Farrelly) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast In this episode, Kent C. Dodds interviews Dan Farrelly, the CTO and co-founder of Jest, about his journey from front-end engineer to CTO, the challenges of scaling a tech company, and the importance of staying small to maintain agility and innovation. Farrelly shares insights into the evolving challenges of a tech team, from infrastructure to front-end development, and emphasizes the value of a generalist approach in a small, dynamic team. The conversation also delves into Farrelly's upcoming conference talk on improving long-standing APIs and his enthusiasm for learning from and contributing to the developer community.

Watch this episode.

Meet Dan at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Dan Farrelly

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Navigating Growth and Innovation in Tech with Dan Farrelly Kent C. Dodds, Dan Farrelly 00:12:26 This episode discusses the challenges and strategies of managing growth and innovation in the tech industry with Dan Farrelly. This episode discusses the challenges and strategies of managing growth and innovation in the tech industry with Dan Farrelly. innovation, tech industry, software development, team scaling, api improvement false full 25 5 ef8146b2-1203-4202-b3e3-fd295d08a271 Open-Source Development and Standards with Zeno Rocha In this podcast, Zeno Rocha, open-source advocate and founder of Resend, joins host Kent to discuss the dynamic world of web development and the shift towards SDK-first strategies. They reflect on the evolution of developer tools and the significance of user experience in product development. Rocha and Kent stress the necessity of high standards to stand out in web development, and they also touch upon the value of developer conferences for fostering relationships and collaborations. They look forward to engaging with peers at an upcoming event in Park City, Utah, and consider potential topics like the tech industry comparison between Brazil and the US, initiating open-source projects, and strategies for growing a user-base.

Watch this episode.

Meet Zeno at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Zeno Rocha

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Mon, 1 Apr 2024 10:50:00 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Kent C. Dodds, Zeno Rocha) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast In this podcast, Zeno Rocha, open-source advocate and founder of Resend, joins host Kent to discuss the dynamic world of web development and the shift towards SDK-first strategies. They reflect on the evolution of developer tools and the significance of user experience in product development. Rocha and Kent stress the necessity of high standards to stand out in web development, and they also touch upon the value of developer conferences for fostering relationships and collaborations. They look forward to engaging with peers at an upcoming event in Park City, Utah, and consider potential topics like the tech industry comparison between Brazil and the US, initiating open-source projects, and strategies for growing a user-base.

Watch this episode.

Meet Zeno at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Zeno Rocha

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Open-Source Development and Standards with Zeno Rocha Kent C. Dodds, Zeno Rocha 00:10:51 In this podcast episode, Zeno Rocha and Kent discuss the dynamic world of web development, including the shift towards SDK-first strategies, the evolution of developer tools, the importance of high standards, and the value of developer conferences for fostering relationships and collaborations. In this podcast episode, Zeno Rocha and Kent discuss the dynamic world of web development, including the shift towards SDK-first strategies, the evolution of developer tools, the importance of high standards, and the value of developer conferences for fostering relationships and collaborations. developer tools, web development, sdk-first strategies, developer conferences, high standards false full 24 5 76740e4b-01ac-4e60-ae3c-4e94a6e97dc2 Tailwind CSS in Modern Web Development with Simon Vrachliotis In the podcast, Simon, an advocate for Tailwind CSS, shares his insights on its impact on web development and design. Tailwind CSS serves as a facilitator between design and development teams, streamlining collaborations and enabling quick translation of design concepts into code. He highlights how it enhances learning, boosts efficiency, and, despite some tradeoffs, provides significant workflow benefits by integrating design tool shortcuts. Simon also teases an upcoming conference where the potential of Tailwind CSS will be further explored.

Watch this episode.

Meet Simon at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Simon Vrachliotis

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Fri, 29 Mar 2024 10:50:00 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Kent C. Dodds, Simon Vrachliotis) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast In the podcast, Simon, an advocate for Tailwind CSS, shares his insights on its impact on web development and design. Tailwind CSS serves as a facilitator between design and development teams, streamlining collaborations and enabling quick translation of design concepts into code. He highlights how it enhances learning, boosts efficiency, and, despite some tradeoffs, provides significant workflow benefits by integrating design tool shortcuts. Simon also teases an upcoming conference where the potential of Tailwind CSS will be further explored.

Watch this episode.

Meet Simon at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Simon Vrachliotis

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Tailwind CSS in Modern Web Development with Simon Vrachliotis Kent C. Dodds, Simon Vrachliotis 00:12:26 In this podcast episode, Simon Vrachliotis, an advocate for Tailwind CSS, discusses the impact of Tailwind CSS on web development and design, highlighting its role in facilitating collaboration, enhancing learning, and boosting efficiency. In this podcast episode, Simon Vrachliotis, an advocate for Tailwind CSS, discusses the impact of Tailwind CSS on web development and design, highlighting its role in facilitating collaboration, enhancing learning, and boosting efficiency. design, web development, efficiency, collaboration, tailwind css false full 23 5 bf141843-edb1-41eb-b716-9738e2634d8a Maximizing Networking Opportunities with Madison Kanna In this episode, host Kent and Madison Kanna, the upcoming MC for Epic WebConf, discuss the benefits of attending conferences like Epic WebConf beyond just the informational content. They delve into how conferences can be a goldmine for networking, transforming online contacts into real-world connections. Madison explains her path and how initiatives such as her Sunday book club can cultivate community and continuous learning. Kent offers advice to introverts on navigating networking at these events, and together, they highlight their excitement for the Epic WebConf, underscoring the professional and personal growth opportunities it promises, further amplified by Madison's promotional efforts for the conference.

Watch this episode.

Meet at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Madison Kanna

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Wed, 27 Mar 2024 10:50:00 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Kent C. Dodds, Madison Kanna) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast In this episode, host Kent and Madison Kanna, the upcoming MC for Epic WebConf, discuss the benefits of attending conferences like Epic WebConf beyond just the informational content. They delve into how conferences can be a goldmine for networking, transforming online contacts into real-world connections. Madison explains her path and how initiatives such as her Sunday book club can cultivate community and continuous learning. Kent offers advice to introverts on navigating networking at these events, and together, they highlight their excitement for the Epic WebConf, underscoring the professional and personal growth opportunities it promises, further amplified by Madison's promotional efforts for the conference.

Watch this episode.

Meet at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Madison Kanna

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Maximizing Networking Opportunities with Madison Kanna Kent C. Dodds, Madison Kanna 00:12:18 A conversation between Kent and Madison Kanna, discussing the networking opportunities and value of attending conferences like Epic WebConf beyond just the informational content. A conversation between Kent and Madison Kanna, discussing the networking opportunities and value of attending conferences like Epic WebConf beyond just the informational content. conferences, professional growth, networking, career opportunities, collaborative learning false full 22 5 1758ff9b-57ff-4a41-b857-033e7a8b55a2 Deep in Databases and Full Stack Dev with Tyler Benfield In this episode, Tyler Benfield, a staff software engineer at Prisma, joins Kent to explore the world of databases and their critical role in full-stack development. Tyler shares insights from his journey from front-end development to mastering database performance and optimization, while also touching on the trend of front-end developers upskilling to become full-stack, leveraging languages like JavaScript and TypeScript. The conversation concludes with a preview of Tyler's session at the upcoming Epic Web Conference where he will cover topics such as SQLite, varying database types, performance tuning, and share personal anecdotes, offering an engaging learning opportunity for web developers.

Watch this episode.

Meet Tyler at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Tyler Benfield

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Mon, 25 Mar 2024 10:50:00 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Kent C. Dodds, Tyler Benfield) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast In this episode, Tyler Benfield, a staff software engineer at Prisma, joins Kent to explore the world of databases and their critical role in full-stack development. Tyler shares insights from his journey from front-end development to mastering database performance and optimization, while also touching on the trend of front-end developers upskilling to become full-stack, leveraging languages like JavaScript and TypeScript. The conversation concludes with a preview of Tyler's session at the upcoming Epic Web Conference where he will cover topics such as SQLite, varying database types, performance tuning, and share personal anecdotes, offering an engaging learning opportunity for web developers.

Watch this episode.

Meet Tyler at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Tyler Benfield

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Deep in Databases and Full Stack Dev with Tyler Benfield Kent C. Dodds, Tyler Benfield 00:11:32 In this podcast episode, Tyler Benfield, a staff software engineer at Prisma, and Kent explore the critical role of databases in full-stack development, discussing optimization techniques and the trend of front-end developers becoming full-stack. In this podcast episode, Tyler Benfield, a staff software engineer at Prisma, and Kent explore the critical role of databases in full-stack development, discussing optimization techniques and the trend of front-end developers becoming full-stack. epic web conference, full-stack development, front-end developers, optimization, database false full 21 5 8c5593c2-2a82-4108-b148-e4c7788ba082 Harnessing Real-time Experiences with Sunil Pai In the podcast episode featuring Sunil Pai, a former member of the React.js core team and developer at Cloudflare, the focus is on PartyKit, his new project set to transform real-time application development. PartyKit introduces features like real-time updates and server-rendering, aimed at facilitating the creation of dynamic, chat-GPT-like AI experiences. Sunil intends to showcase real-time apps and PartyKit at Epic WebConf, emphasizing the event's value in fostering networking and the exchange of industry insights for enhancing user experiences.

Watch this episode.

Meet Sunil at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Sunil Pai

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Fri, 22 Mar 2024 10:50:00 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Kent C. Dodds, Sunil Pai) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast In the podcast episode featuring Sunil Pai, a former member of the React.js core team and developer at Cloudflare, the focus is on PartyKit, his new project set to transform real-time application development. PartyKit introduces features like real-time updates and server-rendering, aimed at facilitating the creation of dynamic, chat-GPT-like AI experiences. Sunil intends to showcase real-time apps and PartyKit at Epic WebConf, emphasizing the event's value in fostering networking and the exchange of industry insights for enhancing user experiences.

Watch this episode.

Meet Sunil at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Sunil Pai

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Harnessing Real-time Experiences with Sunil Pai Kent C. Dodds, Sunil Pai 00:10:34 In this podcast episode, Sunil Pai, former member of the React.js core team, introduces PartyKit, his new project aimed at transforming real-time application development, showcasing its potential to create dynamic AI experiences and discussing its presentation at Epic WebConf. In this podcast episode, Sunil Pai, former member of the React.js core team, introduces PartyKit, his new project aimed at transforming real-time application development, showcasing its potential to create dynamic AI experiences and discussing its presentation at Epic WebConf. real-time applications, epic webconf, react.js, partykit, ai experiences false full 20 5 c90167fa-c3e9-4221-ab6d-ffe34fb29ac4 Exploring Modern Web Development and UI with Una Kravets In a conversation with Kent, Una, an expert in UI and a presenter at the upcoming EpicWebConf, delves into the dynamic world of modern web development. She underscores the importance of keeping up with the advances in UI capabilities and CSS, the shift towards more declarative techniques, and the necessity of adapting to new web standards. Una champions the vital role of community input in shaping web development and looks forward to the invaluable exchanges that come from in-person interactions, especially as the industry anticipates returning to face-to-face events post-pandemic. Her discussion calls on developers to remain adaptive, engage actively with their peers, and embrace the continual evolution of the web.

Watch this episode.

Meet Una at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Una Kravets

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Wed, 20 Mar 2024 10:50:00 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Kent C. Dodds, Una Kravets) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast In a conversation with Kent, Una, an expert in UI and a presenter at the upcoming EpicWebConf, delves into the dynamic world of modern web development. She underscores the importance of keeping up with the advances in UI capabilities and CSS, the shift towards more declarative techniques, and the necessity of adapting to new web standards. Una champions the vital role of community input in shaping web development and looks forward to the invaluable exchanges that come from in-person interactions, especially as the industry anticipates returning to face-to-face events post-pandemic. Her discussion calls on developers to remain adaptive, engage actively with their peers, and embrace the continual evolution of the web.

Watch this episode.

Meet Una at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Una Kravets

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Exploring Modern Web Development and UI with Una Kravets Kent C. Dodds, Una Kravets 00:10:25 In this podcast episode, UI expert Una Kravets discusses the importance of embracing modern web development standards, the role of community feedback, and the value of in-person interactions. In this podcast episode, UI expert Una Kravets discusses the importance of embracing modern web development standards, the role of community feedback, and the value of in-person interactions. community engagement, web development, ui, css, in-person interactions false full 19 5 3142651f-471f-4351-9bd2-0e114a2a54b6 The Limitations and Potential of SQLite with Glauber Costa In the latest podcast, Glauber Costa, CEO of Turso and an ex-Red Hat contributor, speaks with Kent about the often overlooked yet robust SQLite database technology. Sharing their personal experiences with SQLite, they discuss its functionality, suitability in production, and the importance of version control in document evolution. Costa encourages developers to recognize SQLite's potential and looks forward to learning more about real-world challenges at the upcoming web development conference, promising insights into effectively utilizing databases in technology projects.

Watch this episode.

Meet Glauber at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Glauber Costa

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Mon, 18 Mar 2024 10:50:00 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Kent C. Dodds, Glauber Costa) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast In the latest podcast, Glauber Costa, CEO of Turso and an ex-Red Hat contributor, speaks with Kent about the often overlooked yet robust SQLite database technology. Sharing their personal experiences with SQLite, they discuss its functionality, suitability in production, and the importance of version control in document evolution. Costa encourages developers to recognize SQLite's potential and looks forward to learning more about real-world challenges at the upcoming web development conference, promising insights into effectively utilizing databases in technology projects.

Watch this episode.

Meet Glauber at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Glauber Costa

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> The Limitations and Potential of SQLite with Glauber Costa Kent C. Dodds, Glauber Costa 00:09:41 Glauber Costa, CEO of Turso, discusses the potential and practicality of SQLite database technology in a recent podcast, emphasizing its robustness, value in production, and importance in document evolution. He looks forward to learning more about real-world challenges at an upcoming web development conference and invites developers to explore Turso's offerings. Glauber Costa, CEO of Turso, discusses the potential and practicality of SQLite database technology in a recent podcast, emphasizing its robustness, value in production, and importance in document evolution. He looks forward to learning more about real-world challenges at an upcoming web development conference and invites developers to explore Turso's offerings. sqlite, database technology, turso false full 18 5 a51a1331-1f30-42b7-9b4c-86bbca84ff5a The Web and Design Systems with Michael Chan In the podcast hosted by Kent C. Dodds, Michael Chan, celebrated as Chantastic, shares his insights on the evolution of web development and the critical role of design systems. He discusses how design systems should evolve with product development, the importance of documentation, and the dynamic nature of design systems contrary to the belief that they are static. Michael advocates for the empowering aspect of creating personal software and looks forward to the future where emerging tools will not only prevent breaks but also enhance development workflows. The conversation ends with a positive outlook on the web’s future and the excitement for the Epic WebConf, seen as a springboard for new ideas and community engagement.

Watch this episode.

Meet Michael at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Michael Chan

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Fri, 15 Mar 2024 10:50:00 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Kent C. Dodds, Michael Chan) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast In the podcast hosted by Kent C. Dodds, Michael Chan, celebrated as Chantastic, shares his insights on the evolution of web development and the critical role of design systems. He discusses how design systems should evolve with product development, the importance of documentation, and the dynamic nature of design systems contrary to the belief that they are static. Michael advocates for the empowering aspect of creating personal software and looks forward to the future where emerging tools will not only prevent breaks but also enhance development workflows. The conversation ends with a positive outlook on the web’s future and the excitement for the Epic WebConf, seen as a springboard for new ideas and community engagement.

Watch this episode.

Meet Michael at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Michael Chan

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> The Web and Design Systems with Michael Chan Kent C. Dodds, Michael Chan 00:14:39 In this podcast episode, Kent C. Dodds and Michael Chan discuss the evolution of web development, the dynamic nature of design systems, and the excitement for the upcoming Epic WebConf. In this podcast episode, Kent C. Dodds and Michael Chan discuss the evolution of web development, the dynamic nature of design systems, and the excitement for the upcoming Epic WebConf. web development, evolution, future, design systems, documentation false full 17 5 f4e16649-bb6a-4d3a-a908-e33048c196a9 User Experience and Web Development with Ryan Florence In a conversation with Kent, Ryan Florence, co-creator of Remix and React Router, discusses how web development and user experience intersect, and the impact of personal interaction at events like the upcoming Epic WebConf. He updates listeners on the Remix singles project, which integrates extensive open-source work with his business ventures, and tackles the complexities developers face when merging existing React applications with new frameworks. Ryan also addresses the double-edged nature of bundlers in web development, providing performance benefits while obscuring the underlying API. The episode concludes with a call for web applications to prioritize reliability, speed, and intentional design, as Ryan emphasizes the consequences of misleading UX design, highlighting the overarching goal of enhanced user experiences in the web development sphere.

Watch this episode.

Meet Ryan at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Ryan Florence

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Wed, 13 Mar 2024 10:50:00 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Kent C. Dodds, Ryan Florence) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast In a conversation with Kent, Ryan Florence, co-creator of Remix and React Router, discusses how web development and user experience intersect, and the impact of personal interaction at events like the upcoming Epic WebConf. He updates listeners on the Remix singles project, which integrates extensive open-source work with his business ventures, and tackles the complexities developers face when merging existing React applications with new frameworks. Ryan also addresses the double-edged nature of bundlers in web development, providing performance benefits while obscuring the underlying API. The episode concludes with a call for web applications to prioritize reliability, speed, and intentional design, as Ryan emphasizes the consequences of misleading UX design, highlighting the overarching goal of enhanced user experiences in the web development sphere.

Watch this episode.

Meet Ryan at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Ryan Florence

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> User Experience and Web Development with Ryan Florence Kent C. Dodds, Ryan Florence 00:18:11 In this podcast episode, Ryan Florence and Kent discuss the intersection of web development and user experience, covering topics such as the upcoming Epic WebConf, integrating React applications with new frameworks, the role of bundlers, and the importance of prioritizing reliability and intentional design in web applications. In this podcast episode, Ryan Florence and Kent discuss the intersection of web development and user experience, covering topics such as the upcoming Epic WebConf, integrating React applications with new frameworks, the role of bundlers, and the importance of prioritizing reliability and intentional design in web applications. remix, web development, react router, user experience false full 16 5 4a43d648-3d22-41dd-812a-3ba9f5661644 Web Accessibility and the Future of Remote Work with Sandrina Pereira In a thought-provoking dialogue, Front-end Engineer Sandrina Pereira explores the importance of web accessibility and how remote work is shaping the future of the tech industry. She discusses her role in crafting server-side validations for forms and her company's initiative to formalize a web accessibility statement, underscoring Remote.com's commitment to standards and improvement. Pereira also teases her upcoming presentation at Epic WebConf, aiming to demystify web accessibility with real-world examples and advocate for the consideration of diverse user abilities. Additionally, she reflects on the positive impact of remote work on inclusive hiring practices and the democratization of the tech field, as well as the significance of personal interactions at tech conferences.

Watch this episode.

Meet Sandrina at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Sandrina Pereira

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Mon, 11 Mar 2024 10:50:00 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Kent C. Dodds, Sandrina Pereira) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast In a thought-provoking dialogue, Front-end Engineer Sandrina Pereira explores the importance of web accessibility and how remote work is shaping the future of the tech industry. She discusses her role in crafting server-side validations for forms and her company's initiative to formalize a web accessibility statement, underscoring Remote.com's commitment to standards and improvement. Pereira also teases her upcoming presentation at Epic WebConf, aiming to demystify web accessibility with real-world examples and advocate for the consideration of diverse user abilities. Additionally, she reflects on the positive impact of remote work on inclusive hiring practices and the democratization of the tech field, as well as the significance of personal interactions at tech conferences.

Watch this episode.

Meet Sandrina at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Sandrina Pereira

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Web Accessibility and the Future of Remote Work with Sandrina Pereira Kent C. Dodds, Sandrina Pereira 00:10:38 In this podcast episode, Front-end Engineer Sandrina Pereira discusses the importance of web accessibility, her work on server-side validations, and the future of remote work in the tech industry, highlighting the upcoming Epic WebConf where she aims to demystify web accessibility with real-world examples and advocate for inclusive hiring practices in the tech field. In this podcast episode, Front-end Engineer Sandrina Pereira discusses the importance of web accessibility, her work on server-side validations, and the future of remote work in the tech industry, highlighting the upcoming Epic WebConf where she aims to demystify web accessibility with real-world examples and advocate for inclusive hiring practices in the tech field. false full 15 5 d1c95808-4816-41a2-abaf-f4292e3ee16a Sparking Positive Energy in Tech and Beyond with Mark Techson In this episode, Kent and Mark Techson, from Google's Angular team, traverse the expansive terrain of web development, drawing parallels between coding and music. Mark, blending his industry wisdom with musical passion, provides an intriguing perspective on the structural similarities between the two. He also explores the vital role of an MC in enriching event experiences and fostering engagement. Throughout the conversation, Mark’s candidness about his personal journey as a developer and parent adds a relatable dimension, painting a rich, holistic picture of life in tech.

Watch this episode.

Meet Mark at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Mark Techson

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Fri, 8 Mar 2024 11:50:00 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Kent C. Dodds, Mark Techson) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast In this episode, Kent and Mark Techson, from Google's Angular team, traverse the expansive terrain of web development, drawing parallels between coding and music. Mark, blending his industry wisdom with musical passion, provides an intriguing perspective on the structural similarities between the two. He also explores the vital role of an MC in enriching event experiences and fostering engagement. Throughout the conversation, Mark’s candidness about his personal journey as a developer and parent adds a relatable dimension, painting a rich, holistic picture of life in tech.

Watch this episode.

Meet Mark at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Mark Techson

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Sparking Positive Energy in Tech and Beyond with Mark Techson Kent C. Dodds, Mark Techson 00:09:35 This podcast episode features an in-depth conversation with Mark Techson, a web developer from Google's Angular team, exploring the connections between web development and music, the role of an MC in event experiences, and Mark's personal journey in the tech industry. This podcast episode features an in-depth conversation with Mark Techson, a web developer from Google's Angular team, exploring the connections between web development and music, the role of an MC in event experiences, and Mark's personal journey in the tech industry. community engagement, web development, mc role, music, personal experiences false full 14 5 efb88b34-48cf-4e07-a94b-7849f4c90ccd Journey of Web Development with Jacob Paris Developer and freelancer Jacob Paris delves into his personal evolution from game to web development, noting the core similarities like database interactions that tie different development fields together. He spotlights the efficacy of Remix in streamlining web development, particularly in UI and database interactivity, which he will explore further at Epic WebConf. Paris reflects on the critical nature of understanding the historical context of technology choices and advocates for well-justified selections in tech stacks. His upcoming conference presentation will dissect CRUD operations for effective application development, underlining the necessity of anticipating application demands for a more deliberate architectural approach. Paris looks forward to Epic WebConf both as a platform for sharing knowledge and fostering valuable community connections within the Remix sphere.

Watch this episode.

Meet Jacob at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Jacob Paris

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Wed, 6 Mar 2024 11:50:00 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Kent C. Dodds, Jacob Paris) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast Developer and freelancer Jacob Paris delves into his personal evolution from game to web development, noting the core similarities like database interactions that tie different development fields together. He spotlights the efficacy of Remix in streamlining web development, particularly in UI and database interactivity, which he will explore further at Epic WebConf. Paris reflects on the critical nature of understanding the historical context of technology choices and advocates for well-justified selections in tech stacks. His upcoming conference presentation will dissect CRUD operations for effective application development, underlining the necessity of anticipating application demands for a more deliberate architectural approach. Paris looks forward to Epic WebConf both as a platform for sharing knowledge and fostering valuable community connections within the Remix sphere.

Watch this episode.

Meet Jacob at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Jacob Paris

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Journey of Web Development with Jacob Paris Kent C. Dodds, Jacob Paris 00:10:02 In this podcast episode, developer Jacob Paris discusses his journey from game development to web development, highlighting the core similarities between different applications and the transformative role of Remix in streamlining UI creation for interacting with databases, offering a glimpse into his upcoming talk at Epic WebConf. In this podcast episode, developer Jacob Paris discusses his journey from game development to web development, highlighting the core similarities between different applications and the transformative role of Remix in streamlining UI creation for interacting with databases, offering a glimpse into his upcoming talk at Epic WebConf. remix, technology choices, crud operations, web development, game development false full 13 5 6f7395c3-be6c-4b6b-9056-5f5be8bd3bb2 Building Community and Innovation in Web Development with Kent C. Dodds In this enlightening conversation, Kent C. Dodds shares his transition from a full-stack web developer to a renowned educator and community influencer within the web development sphere. He recounts his initial steps into public speaking, his experiences with rejection and eventual success in the conference circuit, and the pivotal role these platforms have played in his career.

Kent also delves into his work on creating and promoting quality web development education through platforms like testingjavascript.com, epicreact.dev, and his involvement with the Remix community. The discussion further touches on his anticipation for the upcoming Epic Web Comp, his thoughts on the evolution of web technologies like React server components, and his commitment to fostering a supportive and collaborative community through in-person events.

Kent's story is not just about technical achievements but also about the power of community engagement and the impact of sharing knowledge and opportunities within the tech ecosystem.

Watch this episode.

Meet Kent at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Kent C. Dodds

Host: Shaundai Person

]]> Mon, 4 Mar 2024 11:50:00 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Kent C. Dodds) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast In this enlightening conversation, Kent C. Dodds shares his transition from a full-stack web developer to a renowned educator and community influencer within the web development sphere. He recounts his initial steps into public speaking, his experiences with rejection and eventual success in the conference circuit, and the pivotal role these platforms have played in his career.

Kent also delves into his work on creating and promoting quality web development education through platforms like testingjavascript.com, epicreact.dev, and his involvement with the Remix community. The discussion further touches on his anticipation for the upcoming Epic Web Comp, his thoughts on the evolution of web technologies like React server components, and his commitment to fostering a supportive and collaborative community through in-person events.

Kent's story is not just about technical achievements but also about the power of community engagement and the impact of sharing knowledge and opportunities within the tech ecosystem.

Watch this episode.

Meet Kent at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Kent C. Dodds

Host: Shaundai Person

]]> Building Community and Innovation in Web Development with Kent C. Dodds Kent C. Dodds 00:13:10 This episode flips the script and Shaundai Person interviews Kent C. Dodds to talk about his experience as a conference speaker, community builder, and educator, highlighting his contributions to web development and his vision for the future of the field. This episode flips the script and Shaundai Person interviews Kent C. Dodds to talk about his experience as a conference speaker, community builder, and educator, highlighting his contributions to web development and his vision for the future of the field. false full 12 5 60cbfb62-158d-4621-9bca-b7a4a56349cf Balancing Tech Careers and Personal Life with Michelle Bakels In the podcast, Michelle Bakels, a seasoned software developer and the Program Director for Developer Health at G2i, joins Kent to explore the necessity of balancing a tech career with personal life to ensure overall well-being. Drawing on her experience with health challenges stemming from work stress, Michelle underscores the importance of the Developer Health Operating System initiative, which aims to promote healthier working habits in the tech world. They discuss the pitfalls of self-imposed stress, the need for effective resource management, and the role of communication in navigating the ever-evolving realm of software development, with a particular nod to the complexities of React. The session wraps up with a commitment to further discuss the crucial topic of developer health in future talks.

Watch this episode.

Meet Michelle at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Michelle Bakels

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Fri, 1 Mar 2024 11:50:00 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Kent C. Dodds, Michelle Bakels) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast In the podcast, Michelle Bakels, a seasoned software developer and the Program Director for Developer Health at G2i, joins Kent to explore the necessity of balancing a tech career with personal life to ensure overall well-being. Drawing on her experience with health challenges stemming from work stress, Michelle underscores the importance of the Developer Health Operating System initiative, which aims to promote healthier working habits in the tech world. They discuss the pitfalls of self-imposed stress, the need for effective resource management, and the role of communication in navigating the ever-evolving realm of software development, with a particular nod to the complexities of React. The session wraps up with a commitment to further discuss the crucial topic of developer health in future talks.

Watch this episode.

Meet Michelle at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Michelle Bakels

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Balancing Tech Careers and Personal Life with Michelle Bakels Kent C. Dodds, Michelle Bakels 00:10:45 In this podcast episode, Kent and Michelle discuss the importance of balancing a tech career with personal life for overall well-being and introduce the Developer Health Operating System initiative. In this podcast episode, Kent and Michelle discuss the importance of balancing a tech career with personal life for overall well-being and introduce the Developer Health Operating System initiative. self-imposed stress, effective communication, developer health, work-life balance, software development false full 11 5 e8c207f6-bfea-4330-9195-ab4d39435f63 Harnessing the Power of AI in Web Development with Barry McGee In a thought-provoking podcast with Kent, Barry McGee from Shopify shares insights on the integration of AI in web development and the evolving landscape of remote work. Having transitioned to remote working in 2016, Barry brings a wealth of experience from significant tech companies and discusses the future of web performance, AI's role in enhancing user experiences like the context-aware search in Shopify's Shop App, and the strategies for maintaining application performance at scale, including the importance of caching. As web development continues to evolve, Barry's perspectives offer a glimpse into the symbiotic relationship between AI advancements and efficient remote work practices.

Watch this episode.

Meet Barry at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Barry McGee

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Wed, 28 Feb 2024 11:50:00 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Barry McGee, Kent C. Dodds) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast In a thought-provoking podcast with Kent, Barry McGee from Shopify shares insights on the integration of AI in web development and the evolving landscape of remote work. Having transitioned to remote working in 2016, Barry brings a wealth of experience from significant tech companies and discusses the future of web performance, AI's role in enhancing user experiences like the context-aware search in Shopify's Shop App, and the strategies for maintaining application performance at scale, including the importance of caching. As web development continues to evolve, Barry's perspectives offer a glimpse into the symbiotic relationship between AI advancements and efficient remote work practices.

Watch this episode.

Meet Barry at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Barry McGee

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Harnessing the Power of AI in Web Development with Barry McGee Barry McGee, Kent C. Dodds 00:12:01 Barry McGee, a seasoned professional in the web industry, discusses the integration of AI in web development and the evolving landscape of remote work in a thought-provoking podcast with Kent. They explore topics such as web performance, AI-powered user experiences, and strategies for maintaining application performance at scale. Barry McGee, a seasoned professional in the web industry, discusses the integration of AI in web development and the evolving landscape of remote work in a thought-provoking podcast with Kent. They explore topics such as web performance, AI-powered user experiences, and strategies for maintaining application performance at scale. remote work, web development, shopify, ai integration, web performance false full 10 5 1459ea26-1b55-4ddd-aac9-6a3f09c65449 AI in Web Development with Scott Hanselman In this illuminating episode, Scott Hanselman, with over 30 years in the tech industry, including a significant tenure at Microsoft, delves into the impact of AI on web development. He reflects on his technological journey from the early days of the internet and explores AI's potential in automating routine development tasks. Scott advises on the ethical use of AI and stresses the importance of understanding technology's fundamentals for mastery. He also touches on the personal side of tech work, advocating for empowerment, authenticity, and emotional health in the field. The podcast wraps with a call to highlight positive narratives that contribute to a supportive tech community.

Watch this episode.

Meet Scott at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Scott Hanselman

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Mon, 26 Feb 2024 11:50:00 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Kent C. Dodds, Scott Hanselman) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast In this illuminating episode, Scott Hanselman, with over 30 years in the tech industry, including a significant tenure at Microsoft, delves into the impact of AI on web development. He reflects on his technological journey from the early days of the internet and explores AI's potential in automating routine development tasks. Scott advises on the ethical use of AI and stresses the importance of understanding technology's fundamentals for mastery. He also touches on the personal side of tech work, advocating for empowerment, authenticity, and emotional health in the field. The podcast wraps with a call to highlight positive narratives that contribute to a supportive tech community.

Watch this episode.

Meet Scott at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Scott Hanselman

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> AI in Web Development with Scott Hanselman Kent C. Dodds, Scott Hanselman 00:10:43 In this podcast episode, Scott Hanselman discusses the impact of AI on web development, emphasizing the importance of understanding technology's fundamentals, ethical usage of AI, and promoting empowerment and emotional health in the tech industry. In this podcast episode, Scott Hanselman discusses the impact of AI on web development, emphasizing the importance of understanding technology's fundamentals, ethical usage of AI, and promoting empowerment and emotional health in the tech industry. technology, web development, ai, ethics, scott hanselman false full 9 5 ed3cb5c4-0831-47bd-a06c-90da558ab5e5 Developer Empowerment with Saron Yitbarek In the podcast, Saron Yitbarek, the founder of Code Newbie, shares insights into empowering developers through enhanced learning resources, financial opportunities, and community building. With Code Newbie evolving into a comprehensive media company and her successful venture into designing The Story Graph, Saron highlights the importance of newsletters for personal engagement and the benefits of fostering a learning-centric community. Additionally, she underlines her commitment to financial empowerment for developers via the "Big Cash Money" community, paving the way for broader discussions at the Epic Web Dev conference.

Watch this episode.

Meet Saron at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Saron Yitbarek

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Fri, 23 Feb 2024 11:50:00 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Kent C. Dodds, Saron Yitbarek) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast In the podcast, Saron Yitbarek, the founder of Code Newbie, shares insights into empowering developers through enhanced learning resources, financial opportunities, and community building. With Code Newbie evolving into a comprehensive media company and her successful venture into designing The Story Graph, Saron highlights the importance of newsletters for personal engagement and the benefits of fostering a learning-centric community. Additionally, she underlines her commitment to financial empowerment for developers via the "Big Cash Money" community, paving the way for broader discussions at the Epic Web Dev conference.

Watch this episode.

Meet Saron at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Saron Yitbarek

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Developer Empowerment with Saron Yitbarek Kent C. Dodds, Saron Yitbarek 00:13:33 In this podcast episode, Saron Yitbarek, founder of Code Newbie, discusses empowering developers through enhanced learning resources, financial opportunities, and community building, highlighting the importance of newsletters and the "Big Cash Money" community. In this podcast episode, Saron Yitbarek, founder of Code Newbie, discusses empowering developers through enhanced learning resources, financial opportunities, and community building, highlighting the importance of newsletters and the "Big Cash Money" community. learning resources, code newbie, financial opportunities, developer empowerment false full 8 5 6d4f321b-b407-46a3-907c-fb9cf56fb0b7 Journey into Web Development and Remix with Lina Mahrouch Lina Mahrouch, a software engineer, recounts her transition from professional gaming to web development and her subsequent mastery of Remix for full-stack applications. The podcast highlights Remix's strengths in data handling, caching, and SEO, while also pointing out common pitfalls in its use. Kent and Lina stress the importance of networking in career advancement, particularly through conferences like the upcoming Epic WebConf. Discussions also touch on the exciting potential of AI in web development and the enduring value of personal interactions in the tech industry.

Watch this episode.

Meet at Lina Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Lina Mahrouch

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Wed, 21 Feb 2024 11:50:00 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Kent C. Dodds, Lina Mahrouch) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast Lina Mahrouch, a software engineer, recounts her transition from professional gaming to web development and her subsequent mastery of Remix for full-stack applications. The podcast highlights Remix's strengths in data handling, caching, and SEO, while also pointing out common pitfalls in its use. Kent and Lina stress the importance of networking in career advancement, particularly through conferences like the upcoming Epic WebConf. Discussions also touch on the exciting potential of AI in web development and the enduring value of personal interactions in the tech industry.

Watch this episode.

Meet at Lina Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Lina Mahrouch

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Journey into Web Development and Remix with Lina Mahrouch Kent C. Dodds, Lina Mahrouch 00:09:43 Join Lina Mahrouch, a software engineer, discussing her journey from professional gaming to web development and her expertise in using Remix for full-stack applications, highlighting its benefits and the importance of networking at conferences like the upcoming Epic WebConf. Join Lina Mahrouch, a software engineer, discussing her journey from professional gaming to web development and her expertise in using Remix for full-stack applications, highlighting its benefits and the importance of networking at conferences like the upcoming Epic WebConf. remix, web development, journey, networking false full 7 5 cc806d04-170e-4ee2-b63d-feccb56d711e Demystifying DivOps with Ben Ilegbodu Kent C. Dodds welcomes Ben Ilegbodu to discuss his work with front-end platforms and the coined term "DivOps," focusing on non-UI aspects like configurations and optimizations that enhance app performance and developer workflows. Ben shares insights into why JavaScript's ecosystem fosters a unique need for DivOps, emphasizing its role as a legitimate discipline crucial for app optimization and improved user experiences. The conversation also touches on the diverse challenges and solutions within DivOps, expectations for the Epic WebConf in Utah, and the value of community and knowledge sharing in advancing the field. Additionally, Ben's personal goal to visit every NBA arena adds a personal touch to the discussion, illustrating the blend of professional and personal interests that enrich the tech community.

Watch this episode.

Meet Ben at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Ben Ilegbodu

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Mon, 19 Feb 2024 11:50:00 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Kent C. Dodds) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast Kent C. Dodds welcomes Ben Ilegbodu to discuss his work with front-end platforms and the coined term "DivOps," focusing on non-UI aspects like configurations and optimizations that enhance app performance and developer workflows. Ben shares insights into why JavaScript's ecosystem fosters a unique need for DivOps, emphasizing its role as a legitimate discipline crucial for app optimization and improved user experiences. The conversation also touches on the diverse challenges and solutions within DivOps, expectations for the Epic WebConf in Utah, and the value of community and knowledge sharing in advancing the field. Additionally, Ben's personal goal to visit every NBA arena adds a personal touch to the discussion, illustrating the blend of professional and personal interests that enrich the tech community.

Watch this episode.

Meet Ben at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Ben Ilegbodu

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Demystifying DivOps with Ben Ilegbodu Kent C. Dodds 00:10:45 In this episode, Kent C. Dodds chats with Ben Ilegbodu about the concept of DivOps in the JavaScript ecosystem, its importance in optimizing apps and developer experiences, and what to expect from their upcoming engagement at Epic WebConf. In this episode, Kent C. Dodds chats with Ben Ilegbodu about the concept of DivOps in the JavaScript ecosystem, its importance in optimizing apps and developer experiences, and what to expect from their upcoming engagement at Epic WebConf. developer experience, epic webconf, front-end development, divops, javascript false full 6 5 8ea38653-4364-40a4-91a2-7950bd1c3e44 Lifelong Learning in Web Development with Mandy Hartman Mandy Hartman, a front-end developer at Jenzabar, shares her insights on the importance of continuous learning in web development, drawing on her own transition from academia to tech. She discusses her hands-on learning experiences, including participation in the "#100DaysOfCode" challenge and creating personal projects for skill demonstration in job interviews. Hartman's readiness to utilize online communities for support, her application development inspired by her time in museums and archives all underscore her dedication to constant skill refinement and knowledge-sharing. Her story is a testament to the benefits of lifelong learning for both aspiring developers and those shifting careers.

Come to Epic Web Conf.

NOTE: Due to personal conflicts, Mandy will not be able to attend Epic Web Conf after all. Maybe next year!

Guest: Mandy Hartman

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Fri, 16 Feb 2024 11:50:00 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Kent C. Dodds, Mandy Hartman) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast Mandy Hartman, a front-end developer at Jenzabar, shares her insights on the importance of continuous learning in web development, drawing on her own transition from academia to tech. She discusses her hands-on learning experiences, including participation in the "#100DaysOfCode" challenge and creating personal projects for skill demonstration in job interviews. Hartman's readiness to utilize online communities for support, her application development inspired by her time in museums and archives all underscore her dedication to constant skill refinement and knowledge-sharing. Her story is a testament to the benefits of lifelong learning for both aspiring developers and those shifting careers.

Come to Epic Web Conf.

NOTE: Due to personal conflicts, Mandy will not be able to attend Epic Web Conf after all. Maybe next year!

Guest: Mandy Hartman

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Lifelong Learning in Web Development with Mandy Hartman Kent C. Dodds, Mandy Hartman 00:08:14 Mandy Hartman, a front-end developer at Jenzabar, discusses the importance of lifelong learning in web development and shares her personal experiences and insights on continuous skill refinement and knowledge-sharing. Mandy Hartman, a front-end developer at Jenzabar, discusses the importance of lifelong learning in web development and shares her personal experiences and insights on continuous skill refinement and knowledge-sharing. continuous improvement, web development, technology industry, lifelong learning false full 5 5 f66de3e0-4b78-4cf9-9287-69e88136ad9c Reinventing API Design, Testing, and Mocking: An Interview with Artem Zakharchenko In the podcast, Artem Zakharchenko, a software engineer specializing in APIs, delves into his journey shifting from his job to focus on open-source contributions, notably the Mock Service Worker library. He emphasizes the importance of efficient testing in software development and his commitment to enhancing his knowledge and the tools he develops, such as adding WebSocket support to MSW. His upcoming workshop at the Epic Web Conference will cover the essentials of automated testing and writing assertions, encouraging developer participation in a discussion on testing challenges to foster a collaborative learning environment.

Watch this episode.

Meet Artem at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Artem Zakharchenko

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Wed, 14 Feb 2024 11:50:00 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Kent C. Dodds, Artem Zakharchenko) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast In the podcast, Artem Zakharchenko, a software engineer specializing in APIs, delves into his journey shifting from his job to focus on open-source contributions, notably the Mock Service Worker library. He emphasizes the importance of efficient testing in software development and his commitment to enhancing his knowledge and the tools he develops, such as adding WebSocket support to MSW. His upcoming workshop at the Epic Web Conference will cover the essentials of automated testing and writing assertions, encouraging developer participation in a discussion on testing challenges to foster a collaborative learning environment.

Watch this episode.

Meet Artem at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Artem Zakharchenko

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Reinventing API Design, Testing, and Mocking: An Interview with Artem Zakharchenko Kent C. Dodds, Artem Zakharchenko 00:12:38 Artem Zakharchenko, a software engineer specializing in API design and testing, discusses his journey transitioning to open-source contributions and highlights his upcoming workshop on automated testing at the Epic Web Conference. Artem Zakharchenko, a software engineer specializing in API design and testing, discusses his journey transitioning to open-source contributions and highlights his upcoming workshop on automated testing at the Epic Web Conference. workshop, testing, api design, open-source contributions, software engineer false full 4 5 6ca69657-84f4-4d1c-b733-30810d525fb7 Local First Architecture and Side Projects with Alex Anderson Web developer Alex Anderson speaks with Kent about his side project, Thorium, an open-source spaceship bridge simulator game designed for science education, which also encapsulates the principles of Local First architecture. Anderson elaborates on the advantages of Local First design in ensuring direct data access and enhancing web syncing, all while balancing privacy with user experience. A specific focus is given to integrating Local First architecture with a Remix app to enable seamless online and offline app functionality. Additionally, the conversation touches on the personal joys and communal aspects of baking, showcasing the human side of tech experts engaged in pioneering web development and community-driven projects.

Watch this episode.

Meet Alex at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Alex Anderson

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Mon, 12 Feb 2024 08:00:00 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Kent C. Dodds, Alex Anderson) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast Web developer Alex Anderson speaks with Kent about his side project, Thorium, an open-source spaceship bridge simulator game designed for science education, which also encapsulates the principles of Local First architecture. Anderson elaborates on the advantages of Local First design in ensuring direct data access and enhancing web syncing, all while balancing privacy with user experience. A specific focus is given to integrating Local First architecture with a Remix app to enable seamless online and offline app functionality. Additionally, the conversation touches on the personal joys and communal aspects of baking, showcasing the human side of tech experts engaged in pioneering web development and community-driven projects.

Watch this episode.

Meet Alex at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Alex Anderson

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Local First Architecture and Side Projects with Alex Anderson Kent C. Dodds, Alex Anderson 00:09:34 In this podcast episode, web developer Alex Anderson discusses his side project Thorium, an open-source spaceship bridge simulator game designed for science education. The conversation also explores the principles of Local First architecture and the joy of side projects like baking. In this podcast episode, web developer Alex Anderson discusses his side project Thorium, an open-source spaceship bridge simulator game designed for science education. The conversation also explores the principles of Local First architecture and the joy of side projects like baking. local first architecture, baking, web development, side projects, spaceship bridge simulator game false full 3 5 a16af782-9363-4739-9f39-21960bec7917 Exploring the Power of CSS Custom Properties with Adam Argyle In this insightful conversation with Kent, Chrome team's CSS and UI expert Adam Argyle delves into the transformative power of CSS custom properties in web development. Likening them to a basil leaf that elevates a meal, Adam teases his upcoming talk at Epic WebConf, promising to elaborate further on the subject. He spotlights current innovations in Chrome and CSS that include color variants, automated designer interactions, and dynamic features such as view transitions and scroll-driven animations. These developments not only enrich web design but also advocate for progressive enhancement to ensure a captivating and interactive user experience. Adam's expertise offers a valuable resource for staying abreast of the evolving landscape of CSS and web design.

Watch this episode.

Meet Adam at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Adam Argyle

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Fri, 9 Feb 2024 22:28:02 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Kent C. Dodds, Adam Argyle) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast In this insightful conversation with Kent, Chrome team's CSS and UI expert Adam Argyle delves into the transformative power of CSS custom properties in web development. Likening them to a basil leaf that elevates a meal, Adam teases his upcoming talk at Epic WebConf, promising to elaborate further on the subject. He spotlights current innovations in Chrome and CSS that include color variants, automated designer interactions, and dynamic features such as view transitions and scroll-driven animations. These developments not only enrich web design but also advocate for progressive enhancement to ensure a captivating and interactive user experience. Adam's expertise offers a valuable resource for staying abreast of the evolving landscape of CSS and web design.

Watch this episode.

Meet Adam at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Adam Argyle

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Exploring the Power of CSS Custom Properties with Adam Argyle Kent C. Dodds, Adam Argyle 00:06:24 Get to know Adam Argyle and the amazing things you can do with CSS custom properties. Get to know Adam Argyle and the amazing things you can do with CSS custom properties. web development, css custom properties, chrome team, progressive enhancement, user interfaces false full 2 5 140f2bfd-d4bb-4835-a28e-127c09a29526 Introducing Season 5 of Chats with Kent Kent C. Dodds introduces Season 5 of "Chats with Kent," highlighting its unique focus on the speakers of the upcoming Epic WebConf 2024 on April 11th. This season aims to familiarize listeners with the conference speakers through 10-15 minute intros, offering insights into their backgrounds and what they'll be discussing. Kent encourages both attending the conference in person for a richer experience and utilizing the available live stream for those unable to attend. This season serves as a platform for listeners to engage with the content and speakers, whether they plan to participate in-person or online.

Meet at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Kent C. Dodds

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Fri, 9 Feb 2024 22:27:42 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Kent C. Dodds) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast Kent C. Dodds introduces Season 5 of "Chats with Kent," highlighting its unique focus on the speakers of the upcoming Epic WebConf 2024 on April 11th. This season aims to familiarize listeners with the conference speakers through 10-15 minute intros, offering insights into their backgrounds and what they'll be discussing. Kent encourages both attending the conference in person for a richer experience and utilizing the available live stream for those unable to attend. This season serves as a platform for listeners to engage with the content and speakers, whether they plan to participate in-person or online.

Meet at Epic Web Conf.

Guest: Kent C. Dodds

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Introducing Season 5 of Chats with Kent Kent C. Dodds 00:02:04 Kent C. Dodds introduces this season of the Chats with Kent podcast. It's all about the speakers at Epic Web Conf 2024 Kent C. Dodds introduces this season of the Chats with Kent podcast. It's all about the speakers at Epic Web Conf 2024 false full 1 5 b52c915a-5c7b-4820-9e0c-7c03582e8369 Tiger Abrodi Chats About Advancing Your Skills The path of teaching yourself to code isn't for the faint of heart. It takes consistency, discipline, and the ability to recognize you're actually making progress. Tutorials are an excellent tool, but they are also a trap.

If all you do are tutorials, retaining the skills you learn is going to be extremely difficult. Without applying those skills they aren't going to become ingrained, and you aren't going to see how they're used in context. You also won't make progress if you aren't being consistent. Without consistency, your skills will fade and when you start coding again you'll have to relearn things instead of advancing on to more advanced topics.

In this episode, Tiger Abrodi chats about how he uses projects, habits, and self-assessment to consistently advance his skills as a programmer.

Homework

  • Take 20 minutes to do a little self-evaluation and assess how well your professional growth as a developer is going.
  • Write down some specific habits that you want to develop to help you with your goals

Guest: Tiger Abrodi

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Mon, 4 Oct 2021 10:44:41 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Tiger Abrodi, Kent C. Dodds) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast The path of teaching yourself to code isn't for the faint of heart. It takes consistency, discipline, and the ability to recognize you're actually making progress. Tutorials are an excellent tool, but they are also a trap.

If all you do are tutorials, retaining the skills you learn is going to be extremely difficult. Without applying those skills they aren't going to become ingrained, and you aren't going to see how they're used in context. You also won't make progress if you aren't being consistent. Without consistency, your skills will fade and when you start coding again you'll have to relearn things instead of advancing on to more advanced topics.

In this episode, Tiger Abrodi chats about how he uses projects, habits, and self-assessment to consistently advance his skills as a programmer.

Homework

  • Take 20 minutes to do a little self-evaluation and assess how well your professional growth as a developer is going.
  • Write down some specific habits that you want to develop to help you with your goals

Guest: Tiger Abrodi

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Tiger Abrodi Chats About Advancing Your Skills Tiger Abrodi, Kent C. Dodds 00:31:12 Learn about how good habits can be deliberately formed to advance your skills! Learn about how good habits can be deliberately formed to advance your skills! career, dev, code, productivity, tech false full 25 4 bb38a848-2227-4217-b1e9-c4765a3d222d Jhey Tompkins Chats About Building Awesome Demos It's easy to become entrenched in what you already know how to do. You might have a fun project idea that requires creating really awesome CSS animations, and it might seem out of reach if you haven't done anything like that before. But getting through that mental block is an extremely rewarding experience. You gain technical skills and improve your general problem-solving abilities.

If you've ever struggled with side-projects, check out this episode where you'll learn how Jhey Tompkins never seems to run out of things to build and get his expert advice on how he problem solves.

Homework

  • Start keeping a list of every random idea that you have. Use the list for project inspiration

Resources

Guest: Jhey Tompkins

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Mon, 4 Oct 2021 10:44:40 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Jhey Tompkins, Kent C. Dodds) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast It's easy to become entrenched in what you already know how to do. You might have a fun project idea that requires creating really awesome CSS animations, and it might seem out of reach if you haven't done anything like that before. But getting through that mental block is an extremely rewarding experience. You gain technical skills and improve your general problem-solving abilities.

If you've ever struggled with side-projects, check out this episode where you'll learn how Jhey Tompkins never seems to run out of things to build and get his expert advice on how he problem solves.

Homework

  • Start keeping a list of every random idea that you have. Use the list for project inspiration

Resources

Guest: Jhey Tompkins

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Jhey Tompkins Chats About Building Awesome Demos Jhey Tompkins, Kent C. Dodds 00:34:07 Learn how to use projects to improve your skills and problem-solving! Learn how to use projects to improve your skills and problem-solving! animation, dev, code, css, tech false full 24 4 2a43f4bd-fd56-4160-9fee-fc407e649026 Scott Moss Chats About Time Management Scott Moss is a retired Navy Veteran who made the career change into software engineering after becoming a father. His journey wasn't an easy one, and as a dad, he had to learn many lessons in work-life balance.

For us developers who have kids, his struggle is one that almost all of us can relate to. This industry has an extremely high ceiling, and there is a culture of grinding every day after work in order to make it big. It's easy to fall into the trap of thinking "this is what is best for my family", you have to ask yourself is it worth the sacrifice of losing that time with your kids, and are you doing it for them or are you doing it for yourself?

Though it doesn't have to be all or nothing in either direction. There are strategies you can put into place that will allow you to reach your goals in both your work and family life. But it's going to require self-awareness, emotional availability, and good time management.

So check out this episode If you want to hear more about Scott's story and get advice on making family life work while still succeeding in your career!

Homework

  • Sit down and record every single minute of your day for the next week. At the end of the week review and see the time that you wasted on things that add no value to the goals.

Guest: Scott Moss

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Mon, 4 Oct 2021 10:44:39 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Scott Moss, Kent C. Dodds) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast Scott Moss is a retired Navy Veteran who made the career change into software engineering after becoming a father. His journey wasn't an easy one, and as a dad, he had to learn many lessons in work-life balance.

For us developers who have kids, his struggle is one that almost all of us can relate to. This industry has an extremely high ceiling, and there is a culture of grinding every day after work in order to make it big. It's easy to fall into the trap of thinking "this is what is best for my family", you have to ask yourself is it worth the sacrifice of losing that time with your kids, and are you doing it for them or are you doing it for yourself?

Though it doesn't have to be all or nothing in either direction. There are strategies you can put into place that will allow you to reach your goals in both your work and family life. But it's going to require self-awareness, emotional availability, and good time management.

So check out this episode If you want to hear more about Scott's story and get advice on making family life work while still succeeding in your career!

Homework

  • Sit down and record every single minute of your day for the next week. At the end of the week review and see the time that you wasted on things that add no value to the goals.

Guest: Scott Moss

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Scott Moss Chats About Time Management Scott Moss, Kent C. Dodds 01:05:18 Learn how one engineer pushed himself to be as productive as possible while also striving to be the best dad he could possibly be. Learn how one engineer pushed himself to be as productive as possible while also striving to be the best dad he could possibly be. career, time management, dev, code, productivity, tech false full 23 4 ff10e2ff-d053-476f-9d8b-607a32ed7a80 Mark Dalgleish Chats About Vanilla Extract There is a diverse range of philosophies when it comes to CSS. Settling on something that fits the needs of your team and application can be a real challenge. Mark Dalgleish, the co-creator of CSS Modules, has been working on an option that might make that choice less of a challenge!

Vanilla Extract is kind of like "CSS-modules in TypeScript", allowing you to write CSS in your TypeScript, with locally scoped variables, and generate static CSS files on runtime. If you're interested in getting a deeper look, as well hear more about design systems, CSS in JS, and CSS Modules, check out this episode!

Homework

Resources

Guest: Mark Dalgleish

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Mon, 4 Oct 2021 10:44:39 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Kent C. Dodds, Mark Dalgleish) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast There is a diverse range of philosophies when it comes to CSS. Settling on something that fits the needs of your team and application can be a real challenge. Mark Dalgleish, the co-creator of CSS Modules, has been working on an option that might make that choice less of a challenge!

Vanilla Extract is kind of like "CSS-modules in TypeScript", allowing you to write CSS in your TypeScript, with locally scoped variables, and generate static CSS files on runtime. If you're interested in getting a deeper look, as well hear more about design systems, CSS in JS, and CSS Modules, check out this episode!

Homework

Resources

Guest: Mark Dalgleish

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Mark Dalgleish Chats About Vanilla Extract Kent C. Dodds, Mark Dalgleish 00:39:06 Learn more about CSS Modules, CSS in JS, and Vanilla Extract! Learn more about CSS Modules, CSS in JS, and Vanilla Extract! css modules, css in js, dev, code, css, tech, typescript false full 22 4 d1d3315a-101e-4329-80a3-e23615f06ca5 Josh Comeau Chats About Gaining a Reputation Whether you know it or not, we all have a "personal brand". It's the summary of the part of yourself that you present to the public. And while there are negative connotations to the term, it doesn't have to be that way.

Building a personal brand for yourself is a very useful tool for cultivating a community of like-minded people. But it's not a quick process, and it's not something that you can hack if you want the real thing. In this episode, Josh Comeau chats about how he grew a community and reputation around CSS, and how the lessons he learned can apply to you.

Homework

  • Take an hour to draft a blog post in markdown without worrying about how you are going to build your website.

Resources

Guest: Josh Comeau

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Mon, 4 Oct 2021 10:44:38 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Kent C. Dodds, Josh Comeau) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast Whether you know it or not, we all have a "personal brand". It's the summary of the part of yourself that you present to the public. And while there are negative connotations to the term, it doesn't have to be that way.

Building a personal brand for yourself is a very useful tool for cultivating a community of like-minded people. But it's not a quick process, and it's not something that you can hack if you want the real thing. In this episode, Josh Comeau chats about how he grew a community and reputation around CSS, and how the lessons he learned can apply to you.

Homework

  • Take an hour to draft a blog post in markdown without worrying about how you are going to build your website.

Resources

Guest: Josh Comeau

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Josh Comeau Chats About Gaining a Reputation Kent C. Dodds, Josh Comeau 00:32:30 Learn how to build a community of people through your reputation! Learn how to build a community of people through your reputation! career, dev, code, tech, community false full 21 4 f5d58ad9-3d6f-4275-b606-6e11913de834 Josh Comeau Chats About Effective Learning Constantly learning is something that we all have to do as developers. If you're a JavaScript developer then chances are CSS is something that hasn't been easy to learn for you. It doesn't have the error messages JS does and when things go wrong you can have no idea what's even happening.

Well in this episode Josh Comeau gives us some effective strategies to not only learn CSS, but to learn any library, language, framework, etc that you might want to know!

Homework

  • After solving a problem you were stuck on, take about 10 minutes to dive in deeper to understand why it worked the way it did and why your solution fixed it

Resources

Guest: Josh Comeau

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Mon, 4 Oct 2021 10:44:37 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Josh Comeau, Kent C. Dodds) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast Constantly learning is something that we all have to do as developers. If you're a JavaScript developer then chances are CSS is something that hasn't been easy to learn for you. It doesn't have the error messages JS does and when things go wrong you can have no idea what's even happening.

Well in this episode Josh Comeau gives us some effective strategies to not only learn CSS, but to learn any library, language, framework, etc that you might want to know!

Homework

  • After solving a problem you were stuck on, take about 10 minutes to dive in deeper to understand why it worked the way it did and why your solution fixed it

Resources

Guest: Josh Comeau

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Josh Comeau Chats About Effective Learning Josh Comeau, Kent C. Dodds 00:31:24 Learn strategies on how to effectively teach yourself! Learn strategies on how to effectively teach yourself! career, dev, css, tech, javascript, learning false full 20 4 0f002c8e-fc35-442f-a08a-9fd1a0536c58 Tracy Lee Chats About Positivity We have to remember that we are all human beings with social and emotional needs. Our career suffers when we fall into a pit of negativity or when we put up mental barriers that prevent us from interacting with people we might've wanted to talk to.

In this episode, Tracy Lee chats about the importance of remembering that everyone, even the awesome people speaking at the conference are all human. When we idolize people it's easy to fall into the trap of thinking they're "better" than we are. We might miss out on opportunities to speak with them out of self-consciousness.

Tracy also addresses how general negativity can impact our careers. She cautions against doom scrolling on Twitter and gives us some great strategies on how to surround ourselves with positivity, without burying our heads in the sand to the problems in our world.

Homework

  • Thing of a specific positive thing and share it with somebody!

Resources

Guest: Tracy Lee

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Mon, 4 Oct 2021 10:44:36 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Tracy Lee, Kent C. Dodds) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast We have to remember that we are all human beings with social and emotional needs. Our career suffers when we fall into a pit of negativity or when we put up mental barriers that prevent us from interacting with people we might've wanted to talk to.

In this episode, Tracy Lee chats about the importance of remembering that everyone, even the awesome people speaking at the conference are all human. When we idolize people it's easy to fall into the trap of thinking they're "better" than we are. We might miss out on opportunities to speak with them out of self-consciousness.

Tracy also addresses how general negativity can impact our careers. She cautions against doom scrolling on Twitter and gives us some great strategies on how to surround ourselves with positivity, without burying our heads in the sand to the problems in our world.

Homework

  • Thing of a specific positive thing and share it with somebody!

Resources

Guest: Tracy Lee

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Tracy Lee Chats About Positivity Tracy Lee, Kent C. Dodds 00:32:28 Learn how a positive mindset impacts your career! Learn how a positive mindset impacts your career! mental health, career, tech false full 18 4 4a40b877-2b2b-40db-9901-34aa30ddff85 Stephan Meijer Chats About Side-Projects Side projects are important in our line of work. They sharpen our skills and sometimes they can even take off and lead our career in a new direction. But seeing people create these amazing projects over a weekend can be demotivating as a junior developer. "How can they do that when I'm five days deep into a todo app? What do they have that I'm missing?"

The answer might be a disappointment to some, but often it is because they have 10+ years more experience than you do. But don't let this demotivate you! You don't lack intelligence, you just have more experience.

If you want more advice on side projects and dealing with the influence of others, then listen to this episode where Stephan Meijer chats about how he switched from an architecture career into tech, side projects, and how to be true to yourself and your goals.

Homework

  • Take 10 minutes to think about how the advice that you've given to somebody recently may have influenced the direction that they're going in their life.
  • Take 10 minutes to think about how the advice that other people have given you has influenced your own direction and consider whether you're happy with that direction

Resources

Guest: Stephan Meijer

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Mon, 4 Oct 2021 10:44:36 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Stephan Meijer, Kent C. Dodds) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast Side projects are important in our line of work. They sharpen our skills and sometimes they can even take off and lead our career in a new direction. But seeing people create these amazing projects over a weekend can be demotivating as a junior developer. "How can they do that when I'm five days deep into a todo app? What do they have that I'm missing?"

The answer might be a disappointment to some, but often it is because they have 10+ years more experience than you do. But don't let this demotivate you! You don't lack intelligence, you just have more experience.

If you want more advice on side projects and dealing with the influence of others, then listen to this episode where Stephan Meijer chats about how he switched from an architecture career into tech, side projects, and how to be true to yourself and your goals.

Homework

  • Take 10 minutes to think about how the advice that you've given to somebody recently may have influenced the direction that they're going in their life.
  • Take 10 minutes to think about how the advice that other people have given you has influenced your own direction and consider whether you're happy with that direction

Resources

Guest: Stephan Meijer

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Stephan Meijer Chats About Side-Projects Stephan Meijer, Kent C. Dodds 00:30:34 Learn why some people are able to have such high output Learn why some people are able to have such high output dev, code, tech false full 19 4 5fc46484-47de-40e4-912c-2df81ccfde74 Sandrina Pereira Chats About Accessibility Building our apps to be accessible is absolutely necessary, but building a great a11y friendly experience is extremely challenging when we ourselves aren't in a situation that requires the use of a screenreader is keyboard-only navigation.

We can't fully rely on tools to audit the a11y score of our apps. With the challenge being distinctly human, computers aren't able to get a complete picture.

That's why it's necessary for you to use these alternative methods for web navigation yourself. Try navigating your app's pages blindfolded while using a screen reader, or trying to just use the keyboard. If you find your website is unusable, consider it a bug. Accessibility is not an enhancement.

So if you're curious about what you can do to make your apps more accessible, check out this episode where Sandrina chats about methods that you can start using today.

Homework

  • Implement one of the following options in your app:
  • Disable all of the CSS and see if your app still makes sense visually
  • Use your app in direct sunlight. Spot any contrast issues
  • Navigate your app with only a keyboard
  • Blindfold yourself and try using your app with a screen-reader

Resources

Guest: Sandrina Pereira

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Mon, 4 Oct 2021 10:44:35 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Sandrian Pereira, Kent C. Dodds) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast Building our apps to be accessible is absolutely necessary, but building a great a11y friendly experience is extremely challenging when we ourselves aren't in a situation that requires the use of a screenreader is keyboard-only navigation.

We can't fully rely on tools to audit the a11y score of our apps. With the challenge being distinctly human, computers aren't able to get a complete picture.

That's why it's necessary for you to use these alternative methods for web navigation yourself. Try navigating your app's pages blindfolded while using a screen reader, or trying to just use the keyboard. If you find your website is unusable, consider it a bug. Accessibility is not an enhancement.

So if you're curious about what you can do to make your apps more accessible, check out this episode where Sandrina chats about methods that you can start using today.

Homework

  • Implement one of the following options in your app:
  • Disable all of the CSS and see if your app still makes sense visually
  • Use your app in direct sunlight. Spot any contrast issues
  • Navigate your app with only a keyboard
  • Blindfold yourself and try using your app with a screen-reader

Resources

Guest: Sandrina Pereira

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Sandrina Pereira Chats About Accessibility Sandrian Pereira, Kent C. Dodds 00:32:47 Learn how to assess if your app is a11y friendly! Learn how to assess if your app is a11y friendly! dev, code, accessibility, tech, a11y false full 17 4 ce86dfc8-303e-4d7d-9b09-cb47b921b19c Ian Sutherland Chats About Improving Developer Experience Everything that developers do is DX (Developer Experience). But, it can be hard to know when it is appropriate to spend the time to improve the DX at your workplace. You also might be curious about what you can do to enhance the DX.

Repetitive tasks are an easy one to look out for. If you find yourself doing something again and again it's probably worth automating. This could come in the form of tests, scripts, generators, and snippets! For example, if you find yourself having to test some state that takes multiple steps to reach on your website, try using Cypress to automate reaching that state!

If improving your DX sounds interesting to you, check out this episode where Ian Sutherland chats about a variety of practical things you could be doing to enhance it.

Homework

  • Automate a tedious task that you have to do often

Resources

Guest: Ian Sutherland

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Mon, 4 Oct 2021 10:44:34 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Ian Sutherland, Kent C. Dodds) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast Everything that developers do is DX (Developer Experience). But, it can be hard to know when it is appropriate to spend the time to improve the DX at your workplace. You also might be curious about what you can do to enhance the DX.

Repetitive tasks are an easy one to look out for. If you find yourself doing something again and again it's probably worth automating. This could come in the form of tests, scripts, generators, and snippets! For example, if you find yourself having to test some state that takes multiple steps to reach on your website, try using Cypress to automate reaching that state!

If improving your DX sounds interesting to you, check out this episode where Ian Sutherland chats about a variety of practical things you could be doing to enhance it.

Homework

  • Automate a tedious task that you have to do often

Resources

Guest: Ian Sutherland

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Ian Sutherland Chats About Improving Developer Experience Ian Sutherland, Kent C. Dodds 00:30:21 Learn how to improve your developer experience with automation and tooling! Learn how to improve your developer experience with automation and tooling! dev, code, tech, tooling, automation false full 16 4 c9cd7bbf-0a96-4abd-8c8b-d8b8e28d2aa3 Ian Sutherland Chats About Getting Involved In Open-Source "I should really get more involved in open-source" is something that's always on the back of our minds. You are fully aware of how rewarding it could be but that perfect opportunity to contribute never comes up.

Ian Sutherland, a maintainer of Create React App and contributor to NodeJS, used to be in that position. He had always struggled with getting into open source, he wanted to do something substantial but nothing ever came up. One day, he noticed a tiny bug in create react app. Ian quickly fixed it and put in a PR. Once he was past the first PR barrier, making additional ones was so much easier.

Fear is a big barrier to entry. People are maybe afraid they're going to do something silly, make a silly mistake and look foolish, but you really have to get over that as well. To get over it try to start small. When you start small, what was once a mountain to climb is now a hill. The stakes are much lower and success is still extremely rewarding!

Sometimes, getting involved can happen organically through opportunities from people you meet. Ian got involved with Node randomly at the Vancouver Node Interactive Conference during a collaborator summit. And an open-source raid group was formed in Kent's discord where they collaborate on helping out with various open-source projects. So remember that you don't have to do it alone, and look out for opportunities with others.

Homework

  • Next time you are hesitant to try something new, try starting smaller!

Resources

Guest: Ian Sutherland

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Mon, 4 Oct 2021 10:44:32 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Kent C. Dodds, Ian Sutherland) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast "I should really get more involved in open-source" is something that's always on the back of our minds. You are fully aware of how rewarding it could be but that perfect opportunity to contribute never comes up.

Ian Sutherland, a maintainer of Create React App and contributor to NodeJS, used to be in that position. He had always struggled with getting into open source, he wanted to do something substantial but nothing ever came up. One day, he noticed a tiny bug in create react app. Ian quickly fixed it and put in a PR. Once he was past the first PR barrier, making additional ones was so much easier.

Fear is a big barrier to entry. People are maybe afraid they're going to do something silly, make a silly mistake and look foolish, but you really have to get over that as well. To get over it try to start small. When you start small, what was once a mountain to climb is now a hill. The stakes are much lower and success is still extremely rewarding!

Sometimes, getting involved can happen organically through opportunities from people you meet. Ian got involved with Node randomly at the Vancouver Node Interactive Conference during a collaborator summit. And an open-source raid group was formed in Kent's discord where they collaborate on helping out with various open-source projects. So remember that you don't have to do it alone, and look out for opportunities with others.

Homework

  • Next time you are hesitant to try something new, try starting smaller!

Resources

Guest: Ian Sutherland

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Ian Sutherland Chats About Getting Involved In Open-Source Kent C. Dodds, Ian Sutherland 00:31:12 Learn how to get over that first hurdle of getting involved in open-source! Learn how to get over that first hurdle of getting involved in open-source! dev, open-source, code, tech false full 15 4 53ac0069-c6de-4b8a-accf-7f120e35e3dd Vlad Magdalin Chats About The No-Code Movement Vlad Magdalin is the founder of Webflow, a powerful visual development tool that enables people to create professional websites without writing code. Webflow is on a much lower level of abstraction than something like Squarespace, and users still need to understand the core fundamentals of web development.

You might think that tools like these are going to take jobs away from developers, but it actually does the opposite! When innovative technologies allow more people to do work that was once restricted to experts, it benefits everybody. That's what the no-code movement is about. Removing barriers, and giving development power to non-experts.

As developers, we'll be able to collaborate better with designers and other team members. And with the increased output of surface-level webpages, there will be more demand for developers with a deeper skillset.

Homework

  • Teach a non-coder one coding related topic without using code

Resources

Guest: Vlad Magdalin

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Mon, 4 Oct 2021 10:44:31 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Kent C. Dodds, Vlad Magdalin) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast Vlad Magdalin is the founder of Webflow, a powerful visual development tool that enables people to create professional websites without writing code. Webflow is on a much lower level of abstraction than something like Squarespace, and users still need to understand the core fundamentals of web development.

You might think that tools like these are going to take jobs away from developers, but it actually does the opposite! When innovative technologies allow more people to do work that was once restricted to experts, it benefits everybody. That's what the no-code movement is about. Removing barriers, and giving development power to non-experts.

As developers, we'll be able to collaborate better with designers and other team members. And with the increased output of surface-level webpages, there will be more demand for developers with a deeper skillset.

Homework

  • Teach a non-coder one coding related topic without using code

Resources

Guest: Vlad Magdalin

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Vlad Magdalin Chats About The No-Code Movement Kent C. Dodds, Vlad Magdalin 00:35:50 Learn more about how the no-code movement benefits everybody! Learn more about how the no-code movement benefits everybody! dev, code, tech false full 14 4 049efa65-2d79-478e-9769-ae01ca42ffc5 Taylor Bell Chats About Effective Teaching Teaching what you know is a great way to give back to your community, grow your reputation as an expert, and to even make some extra income. But, just because you're an expert doesn't automatically mean you'll be able to effectively transfer your knowledge and skills to others.

Taylor Bell works for egghead, and one of his main focuses is helping instructors plan courses through an academic discipline known as "instructional design". Specifically, the "Understanding by Design" methodology is used. This process ensures that instructors are able to effectively teach what they know and be confident in learners retaining the knowledge.

From a high level, it's a three stage process of determining the desired results, determining the evidence that proves the learner is achieving those results, and developing a plan that results in the learner being able to apply what they've learned to other scenarios.

So if you're interested in writing better instructional blog posts, recording better videos, and just becoming a more effective teacher in general, check out this episode!

Homework

  • Think of something that you could teach to somebody else, and try to frame it in the three stages of UBD. Email Taylor your homework - taylor@egghead.io

Resources

Guest: Taylor Bell

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Mon, 4 Oct 2021 10:44:30 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Kent C. Dodds, Taylor Bell) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast Teaching what you know is a great way to give back to your community, grow your reputation as an expert, and to even make some extra income. But, just because you're an expert doesn't automatically mean you'll be able to effectively transfer your knowledge and skills to others.

Taylor Bell works for egghead, and one of his main focuses is helping instructors plan courses through an academic discipline known as "instructional design". Specifically, the "Understanding by Design" methodology is used. This process ensures that instructors are able to effectively teach what they know and be confident in learners retaining the knowledge.

From a high level, it's a three stage process of determining the desired results, determining the evidence that proves the learner is achieving those results, and developing a plan that results in the learner being able to apply what they've learned to other scenarios.

So if you're interested in writing better instructional blog posts, recording better videos, and just becoming a more effective teacher in general, check out this episode!

Homework

  • Think of something that you could teach to somebody else, and try to frame it in the three stages of UBD. Email Taylor your homework - taylor@egghead.io

Resources

Guest: Taylor Bell

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Taylor Bell Chats About Effective Teaching Kent C. Dodds, Taylor Bell 00:33:12 Learn how to teach more effectively using the UbD method! Learn how to teach more effectively using the UbD method! dev, education, tech, learning false full 13 4 48ee5f8a-3801-492c-8e4c-e7fac227f7f5 Daria Caraway Chats About TypeScript TypeScript has been taking over, and for good reason. Have you ever had good end-to-end or integration tests that ended up being invaluable during some refactoring? You can think of TypeScript in the same way. It's amazing when it's done well, but when done poorly it's misleading and a huge headache.

Because of this, migrating to TypeScript is not a magic bullet. When converting large pieces of code from JavaScript to TypeScript you need to be cautious about typing things correctly, don't be afraid of using unknown and moving on if you're unsure.

In this episode, you'll learn more about these realities of working with TypeScript and why it's all totally worth it!

Homework

  • TypeScript Users: Take a look at five interfaces you wrote recently and see if you can refactor them to make them easier to read for the next person.
  • Non-TypeScript Users: Think about the last complex code that you had to interface with and whether it would have been easier to interface with if it had types.

Guest: Daria Caraway

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Mon, 4 Oct 2021 10:44:29 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Daria Caraway, Kent C. Dodds) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast TypeScript has been taking over, and for good reason. Have you ever had good end-to-end or integration tests that ended up being invaluable during some refactoring? You can think of TypeScript in the same way. It's amazing when it's done well, but when done poorly it's misleading and a huge headache.

Because of this, migrating to TypeScript is not a magic bullet. When converting large pieces of code from JavaScript to TypeScript you need to be cautious about typing things correctly, don't be afraid of using unknown and moving on if you're unsure.

In this episode, you'll learn more about these realities of working with TypeScript and why it's all totally worth it!

Homework

  • TypeScript Users: Take a look at five interfaces you wrote recently and see if you can refactor them to make them easier to read for the next person.
  • Non-TypeScript Users: Think about the last complex code that you had to interface with and whether it would have been easier to interface with if it had types.

Guest: Daria Caraway

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Daria Caraway Chats About TypeScript Daria Caraway, Kent C. Dodds 00:35:55 Learn about what it's like to migrate a JavaScript project into TypeScript! Learn about what it's like to migrate a JavaScript project into TypeScript! dev, code, tech, javascript, typescript false full 12 4 32d9a4e5-fb43-41e2-9525-34bde9fb693e Daria Caraway Chats About Having a Generalist Skillset Software development has always been a fast-paced sector. New and better technologies are constantly coming out and if companies don't keep up they'll soon be out of date.

Daria has experience with multiple teams who were upgrading their stack, and through that has discovered joy in being a generalist who is capable of working with a variety of technologies and able to see the big picture.

She has found having a generalist skillset both keeps her interested and gives her the ability to communicate with the front and backend teams in ways they both understand. With her ability to understand the different levels and keep everyone on the same page she is on the path to becoming an effective engineering manager in the coming years.

"Generalist" doesn't just mean full-stack developer, there are many more skill areas than front and back end. Maybe you could work on the CI pipeline, or maybe automated testing. There is a lot of value in choosing this path instead of building the deep knowledge of a specialist. They can't work in isolation, someone has to be able to coordinate and "be the glue" between the different parts of the stack.

Homework

  • Take five minutes to think about whether you want to be a generalist or a specialist, and then write down the three things you can do to get your career to go in that direction
  • Talk to your manager about your career goals

Guest: Daria Caraway

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Mon, 4 Oct 2021 10:44:29 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Kent C. Dodds, Daria Caraway) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast Software development has always been a fast-paced sector. New and better technologies are constantly coming out and if companies don't keep up they'll soon be out of date.

Daria has experience with multiple teams who were upgrading their stack, and through that has discovered joy in being a generalist who is capable of working with a variety of technologies and able to see the big picture.

She has found having a generalist skillset both keeps her interested and gives her the ability to communicate with the front and backend teams in ways they both understand. With her ability to understand the different levels and keep everyone on the same page she is on the path to becoming an effective engineering manager in the coming years.

"Generalist" doesn't just mean full-stack developer, there are many more skill areas than front and back end. Maybe you could work on the CI pipeline, or maybe automated testing. There is a lot of value in choosing this path instead of building the deep knowledge of a specialist. They can't work in isolation, someone has to be able to coordinate and "be the glue" between the different parts of the stack.

Homework

  • Take five minutes to think about whether you want to be a generalist or a specialist, and then write down the three things you can do to get your career to go in that direction
  • Talk to your manager about your career goals

Guest: Daria Caraway

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Daria Caraway Chats About Having a Generalist Skillset Kent C. Dodds, Daria Caraway 00:31:09 Learn about the pros of having a more generalized set of skills! Learn about the pros of having a more generalized set of skills! career, dev, code, fullstack, tech false full 11 4 ee6b16dd-0ce2-485d-baf4-07ecd811173a Michael Jackson Chats About Remix Twitter and Instagram had a problem that would ordinarily be simple on smaller scales. They needed to be able to generate IDs on the order of millions per second. Twitter used a brute force method of having a triple-redundant service that generates the IDs. However, Instagram had the elegant solution of inserting a little script that could generate thousands of IDs per second but was sharded across 256 nodes.

This illustrates that with the right abstraction for the job, you'll be saved a ton of time and resources. This has been Remix's philosophy.

There was a lot of stuff that we have built in the current generation of web frameworks where the browser actually has a really good primitive already for that solution. In the same way that the spirit of React is "just use JavaScript", the spirit of Remix is just use the web. And in the process of using Remix, you are going to learn more about the web.

So give Remix a try! And see for yourself the power that the browser gives you.

Homework

Resources

Guest: Michael Jackson

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Mon, 4 Oct 2021 10:44:28 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Michael Jackson, Kent C. Dodds) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast Twitter and Instagram had a problem that would ordinarily be simple on smaller scales. They needed to be able to generate IDs on the order of millions per second. Twitter used a brute force method of having a triple-redundant service that generates the IDs. However, Instagram had the elegant solution of inserting a little script that could generate thousands of IDs per second but was sharded across 256 nodes.

This illustrates that with the right abstraction for the job, you'll be saved a ton of time and resources. This has been Remix's philosophy.

There was a lot of stuff that we have built in the current generation of web frameworks where the browser actually has a really good primitive already for that solution. In the same way that the spirit of React is "just use JavaScript", the spirit of Remix is just use the web. And in the process of using Remix, you are going to learn more about the web.

So give Remix a try! And see for yourself the power that the browser gives you.

Homework

Resources

Guest: Michael Jackson

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Michael Jackson Chats About Remix Michael Jackson, Kent C. Dodds 00:50:29 Learn about the power of using the right abstractions Learn about the power of using the right abstractions react, remix, web, dev, code, tech, browser false full 10 4 4197ce02-704e-451b-a40e-92b0129f041c Lydia Hallie and Evan Bacon Chat About Leveling Up Your JS The JavaScript ecosystem is vast and solves a wide array of problems. Because of this, it is key that you have a foundational understanding of JavaScript if you want to be able to work across the JS spectrum.

It is also helpful to know the layers of abstraction that are going on. Become familiar with what comes with the browser like the navigator API and what comes with Node like file system or assert. If you can understand these parts then it becomes easier to know how to use JavaScript in whatever context you are in.

Inspiration is the most important thing when learning to code. Do what excites you. Without that fire, you are going to burn out when things get difficult. Try to build whatever sounds fun to you, and see how you can incorporate what you're trying to learn into that. Afterward, you can learn a lot by trying to optimize your project!

Always strive to gain a deeper understanding of your tools beyond their applications. When you read specs and source code you'll become more familiar and be able to write much better code.

Homework

  • Take 30 minutes to dive deeper and try to understand how a tool you use works under the hood.

Resources

Guest: Lydia Hallie

Guest: Evan Bacon

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Mon, 4 Oct 2021 10:44:27 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Lydia Hallie, Evan Bacon, Kent C. Dodds) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast The JavaScript ecosystem is vast and solves a wide array of problems. Because of this, it is key that you have a foundational understanding of JavaScript if you want to be able to work across the JS spectrum.

It is also helpful to know the layers of abstraction that are going on. Become familiar with what comes with the browser like the navigator API and what comes with Node like file system or assert. If you can understand these parts then it becomes easier to know how to use JavaScript in whatever context you are in.

Inspiration is the most important thing when learning to code. Do what excites you. Without that fire, you are going to burn out when things get difficult. Try to build whatever sounds fun to you, and see how you can incorporate what you're trying to learn into that. Afterward, you can learn a lot by trying to optimize your project!

Always strive to gain a deeper understanding of your tools beyond their applications. When you read specs and source code you'll become more familiar and be able to write much better code.

Homework

  • Take 30 minutes to dive deeper and try to understand how a tool you use works under the hood.

Resources

Guest: Lydia Hallie

Guest: Evan Bacon

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Lydia Hallie and Evan Bacon Chat About Leveling Up Your JS Lydia Hallie, Evan Bacon, Kent C. Dodds 00:30:55 Learn strategies for becoming a better JavaScript developer! Learn strategies for becoming a better JavaScript developer! js, dev, code, tech, javascript false full 9 4 2dc5aea6-5d8d-4d31-bf14-a6e1d3cf3607 Titus Wormer Chats About ECMAScript Modules It's time to embrace ESM (ECMAScript Module). NodeJS is providing support for ESM out of the box. With ESM modules coming out of the experimental stage we're going to see a lot of packages begin to embrace it.

ESM provides superior organization of your code by allowing you to more easily create smaller, reusable chunks of code. ESM gives you a "module scope" where not only are functions and variables available to each other in the same module but also allows you to explicitly make them available to other modules. There is also the Loader API that is currently in its experimental stages.

In this episode, you'll also learn about more differences between ESM and CommonJS, and some of the challenges and potential problems of using native ESM today.

Homework

Resources

Guest: Titus Wormer

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Mon, 4 Oct 2021 10:44:26 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Titus Wormer, Kent C. Dodds) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast It's time to embrace ESM (ECMAScript Module). NodeJS is providing support for ESM out of the box. With ESM modules coming out of the experimental stage we're going to see a lot of packages begin to embrace it.

ESM provides superior organization of your code by allowing you to more easily create smaller, reusable chunks of code. ESM gives you a "module scope" where not only are functions and variables available to each other in the same module but also allows you to explicitly make them available to other modules. There is also the Loader API that is currently in its experimental stages.

In this episode, you'll also learn about more differences between ESM and CommonJS, and some of the challenges and potential problems of using native ESM today.

Homework

Resources

Guest: Titus Wormer

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Titus Wormer Chats About ECMAScript Modules Titus Wormer, Kent C. Dodds 00:33:04 Learn about what ECMAScript Modules bring to the table! Learn about what ECMAScript Modules bring to the table! js, ecmascript modules, dev, ecmascript, code, esm, tech, javascript, node false full 8 4 a382d5b9-5f09-4189-86b8-e1ea9e5dee43 Titus Wormer Chats About Natural Language Processing Tools Titus Wormer does a lot of work with natural language processing. He is the creator of Retext, Remark, and many many more open-source projects.

In this episode Titus chats about his extensive open-source work, and goes a bit deeper into his ecosystem of natural language processing tools and plugins. You'll also learn about abstract state trees and their practical applications!

Homework

Resources

Guest: Titus Wormer

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Mon, 4 Oct 2021 10:44:26 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Kent C. Dodds, Titus Wormer) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast Titus Wormer does a lot of work with natural language processing. He is the creator of Retext, Remark, and many many more open-source projects.

In this episode Titus chats about his extensive open-source work, and goes a bit deeper into his ecosystem of natural language processing tools and plugins. You'll also learn about abstract state trees and their practical applications!

Homework

Resources

Guest: Titus Wormer

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Titus Wormer Chats About Natural Language Processing Tools Kent C. Dodds, Titus Wormer 00:30:03 Learn more about Titus Wormer's open-source natural language processing ecosystem! Learn more about Titus Wormer's open-source natural language processing ecosystem! natural language processing, abstract state trees, nlp, code, ast, tech, open source false full 7 4 135aa445-5339-4b82-b433-0c83f8db65f0 Will Johnson Chats About Landing a Job in Tech Will Johnson used to work for call centers and factories, but he managed to make the daunting career change into tech. This especially isn't easy when you're clocking in 12 hour days. To make time to grow Will was waking up early, staying up late, and doing stuff on weekends.

"It was very, very time consuming, but it was one of those things where like I knew if I got that one chance that all of this would be worth it."

In addition to building up technical skills, networking is absolutely critical for landing a roll.

"I knew that I had to network and meet people in the industry to advocate for me, because I knew that my resume wasn't going to have anyone beating out the door saying, 'Let's hire him.' Right? But as far as the process of building relationships was completely organic. There's not any strategy or networking books I've read. I just knew that taking people's advice, sharing things with them that they might find interesting, and following up with them was a good way to nurture a relationship with someone."

"Growth hacking" style networking is disingenuous and suboptimal. It's about building genuine trust and relationships with people. When you have real trust, there won't be fear when they take the risk of referring or hiring you. To build those relationships just help people out without an expectation of something in return. Chances are you might be the person they think of when they need a podcast guest, a role needs filling at their work, etc.

Homework

  • Find somebody who has a need, and try to fill that need, whether it's on Discord or Twitter or wherever, without any expectation of reciprocation.

Resources

Guest: Will Johnson

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Mon, 4 Oct 2021 10:44:25 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Will Johnson, Kent C. Dodds) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast Will Johnson used to work for call centers and factories, but he managed to make the daunting career change into tech. This especially isn't easy when you're clocking in 12 hour days. To make time to grow Will was waking up early, staying up late, and doing stuff on weekends.

"It was very, very time consuming, but it was one of those things where like I knew if I got that one chance that all of this would be worth it."

In addition to building up technical skills, networking is absolutely critical for landing a roll.

"I knew that I had to network and meet people in the industry to advocate for me, because I knew that my resume wasn't going to have anyone beating out the door saying, 'Let's hire him.' Right? But as far as the process of building relationships was completely organic. There's not any strategy or networking books I've read. I just knew that taking people's advice, sharing things with them that they might find interesting, and following up with them was a good way to nurture a relationship with someone."

"Growth hacking" style networking is disingenuous and suboptimal. It's about building genuine trust and relationships with people. When you have real trust, there won't be fear when they take the risk of referring or hiring you. To build those relationships just help people out without an expectation of something in return. Chances are you might be the person they think of when they need a podcast guest, a role needs filling at their work, etc.

Homework

  • Find somebody who has a need, and try to fill that need, whether it's on Discord or Twitter or wherever, without any expectation of reciprocation.

Resources

Guest: Will Johnson

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Will Johnson Chats About Landing a Job in Tech Will Johnson, Kent C. Dodds 00:29:55 Learn how to grow a genuine following and land a career in tech Learn how to grow a genuine following and land a career in tech career, networking, tech false full 6 4 5e01e4d4-f271-4533-9e32-7567c7602983 Ryan Florence Chats About Remix Modern web development has given us a cornucopia of powerful abstractions. But as we've moved to higher levels of abstraction Ryan has noticed that we are reinventing the wheel in places, especially with what the browser provides by default.

Remix aims to solve this problem. Remix is trying today's benefits of a highly dynamic page, but still have that same feeling of simplicity that we had with PHP.

The whole point of Remix is to emulate what the browser does so that you don't need those full page reloads, but programmers get to just develop with the same mental model as if there was no JavaScript on the page

As you use Remix what ends up happening is that you accidentally become a better web developer as become a lot more familiar with the browser's abilities.

Homework

Resources

Guest: Ryan Florence

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Mon, 4 Oct 2021 10:44:24 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Ryan Florence, Kent C. Dodds) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast Modern web development has given us a cornucopia of powerful abstractions. But as we've moved to higher levels of abstraction Ryan has noticed that we are reinventing the wheel in places, especially with what the browser provides by default.

Remix aims to solve this problem. Remix is trying today's benefits of a highly dynamic page, but still have that same feeling of simplicity that we had with PHP.

The whole point of Remix is to emulate what the browser does so that you don't need those full page reloads, but programmers get to just develop with the same mental model as if there was no JavaScript on the page

As you use Remix what ends up happening is that you accidentally become a better web developer as become a lot more familiar with the browser's abilities.

Homework

Resources

Guest: Ryan Florence

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Ryan Florence Chats About Remix Ryan Florence, Kent C. Dodds 00:37:31 Combine the power of the old and new web with Remix! Combine the power of the old and new web with Remix! react, remix, dev, software, tech, javascript true full 5 4 ba57ccc2-ff09-4e81-b826-c0aced7e7bd8 Cher Scarlett Chats About The Consequences of Modern Software Web development isn't as simple as it used to be. We can't view the source of any webpage and be able to recreate it anymore, it's all bundled and obfuscated. That increased complexity comes from the increasingly larger role that the internet is taking on in our society and the need for our websites to do more than display static information.

The growing role of software in our society has had its consequences. Addictive design, and biases being built into software waste people's time at best, but also have the devastating ability to ruin lives. In this episode, Cher Scarlett brings awareness to these issues and recommends some books that you can read to educate yourself further.

Homework

Guest: Cher Scarlett

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Mon, 4 Oct 2021 10:44:24 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Kent C. Dodds, Cher Scarlett) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast Web development isn't as simple as it used to be. We can't view the source of any webpage and be able to recreate it anymore, it's all bundled and obfuscated. That increased complexity comes from the increasingly larger role that the internet is taking on in our society and the need for our websites to do more than display static information.

The growing role of software in our society has had its consequences. Addictive design, and biases being built into software waste people's time at best, but also have the devastating ability to ruin lives. In this episode, Cher Scarlett brings awareness to these issues and recommends some books that you can read to educate yourself further.

Homework

Guest: Cher Scarlett

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Cher Scarlett Chats About The Consequences of Modern Software Kent C. Dodds, Cher Scarlett 00:37:56 Learn about the consequences of addictive design and biased algorithms Learn about the consequences of addictive design and biased algorithms ethics, dev, code, sociology, software false full 4 4 2f6f9e69-1644-4ea4-b065-565e387229c8 Joel Hooks Chats About Standout Developer Portfolios Landing your first developer job isn't easy. Companies don't want to take the risk of hiring a junior, they have no idea how competent you are. A traditional resume doesn't adequately prove your abilities.

Why would they just take your word for it? In order to standout you need to show those hard-earned skills off!

You need to publicly showcase your work. That doesn't just mean spinning up a fancy blog or linking your Github full of tutorial projects you followed along with. Tutorials are excellent for personal growth but they don't prove that you're capable of applying that knowledge elsewhere. It's all about proving your skills are valuable to a business.

This doesn't mean that your site has to be boring though! Showcasing your practical skills might be the most important thing but you should still make your site your own. You are more than the sum of your skills and you are also communicating your interests and personality through your website and portfolio

Homework

  • Spend 30 minutes to assess your own portfolio. Figure out what it's communicating about you and ask yourself if aligns with what you want to communicate. Try to see if there is anything missing from it.

Resources

Guest: Joel Hooks

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Mon, 4 Oct 2021 10:44:23 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Joel Hooks, Kent C. Dodds) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast Landing your first developer job isn't easy. Companies don't want to take the risk of hiring a junior, they have no idea how competent you are. A traditional resume doesn't adequately prove your abilities.

Why would they just take your word for it? In order to standout you need to show those hard-earned skills off!

You need to publicly showcase your work. That doesn't just mean spinning up a fancy blog or linking your Github full of tutorial projects you followed along with. Tutorials are excellent for personal growth but they don't prove that you're capable of applying that knowledge elsewhere. It's all about proving your skills are valuable to a business.

This doesn't mean that your site has to be boring though! Showcasing your practical skills might be the most important thing but you should still make your site your own. You are more than the sum of your skills and you are also communicating your interests and personality through your website and portfolio

Homework

  • Spend 30 minutes to assess your own portfolio. Figure out what it's communicating about you and ask yourself if aligns with what you want to communicate. Try to see if there is anything missing from it.

Resources

Guest: Joel Hooks

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Joel Hooks Chats About Standout Developer Portfolios Joel Hooks, Kent C. Dodds 00:30:53 Learn how to build a developer portfolio that gets you hired Learn how to build a developer portfolio that gets you hired career, developer, dev, code, portfolio false full 3 4 c7419c33-2760-411b-8219-b959ae3a4243 Maggie Appleton Chats About Creating Effective Visual Metaphors Almost everything we experience in the world we experience through metaphor. Even when we talk about abstract things that don't have physical form, we talk about them in terms of directionality and bodies.

Stock markets go up, our moods are low, and past years are behind us.

So what makes this useful to us on the internet? Strong visual metaphor is really key for people understanding things. Capturing someone's attention is critical, and you want people to immediately understand what you're trying to tell them before you lose their attention.

If communicating to your users more effectively is something you're interested in, in this episode, you'll also learn about Maggie's process for creating, illustrating, and effectively using visual metaphors on the web!

Homework

  • Spend 10 minutes brainstorming metaphors for a website that you want to build or something else that you're building right now.

Guest: Maggie Appleton

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Mon, 4 Oct 2021 10:44:22 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Maggie Appleton, Kent C. Dodds) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast Almost everything we experience in the world we experience through metaphor. Even when we talk about abstract things that don't have physical form, we talk about them in terms of directionality and bodies.

Stock markets go up, our moods are low, and past years are behind us.

So what makes this useful to us on the internet? Strong visual metaphor is really key for people understanding things. Capturing someone's attention is critical, and you want people to immediately understand what you're trying to tell them before you lose their attention.

If communicating to your users more effectively is something you're interested in, in this episode, you'll also learn about Maggie's process for creating, illustrating, and effectively using visual metaphors on the web!

Homework

  • Spend 10 minutes brainstorming metaphors for a website that you want to build or something else that you're building right now.

Guest: Maggie Appleton

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Maggie Appleton Chats About Creating Effective Visual Metaphors Maggie Appleton, Kent C. Dodds 00:30:51 Learn how to create metaphors and create appropriate visualizations for them Learn how to create metaphors and create appropriate visualizations for them design, web design false full 2 4 c299f93c-5e49-44d6-b814-92d02ff22814 Michael asks Kent about his site rewrite Kent's spent the last several months completely focused on rewriting his website, recording new episodes for Chats with Kent, and creating an all new podcast called the Call Kent Podcast.

Michael Chan joins Kent to ask him about the motivation to rewrite kentcdodds.com with Remix. Kent explains what technology he used to create the unique experience on the site and why Gatsby falls short of the needs of most apps. Michael also asks about the new teams feature of kentcdodds.com and how it helps you get more out of the content.

Kent also introduces the new Call Kent Podcast where people like you "call" in right in your browser and record a ~2 minute question or discussion topic. Then your recording and Kent's response is turned into a podcast episode. It's a fun new way to engage and participate in the greater KCD community.

Lots of exciting stuff to unpack in this first episode of Season 4 of Chats with Kent!

Homework

  • Stay Curious
  • Checkout remix

Guest: Michael Chan

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Mon, 4 Oct 2021 10:44:21 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Michael Chan, Kent C. Dodds) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast Kent's spent the last several months completely focused on rewriting his website, recording new episodes for Chats with Kent, and creating an all new podcast called the Call Kent Podcast.

Michael Chan joins Kent to ask him about the motivation to rewrite kentcdodds.com with Remix. Kent explains what technology he used to create the unique experience on the site and why Gatsby falls short of the needs of most apps. Michael also asks about the new teams feature of kentcdodds.com and how it helps you get more out of the content.

Kent also introduces the new Call Kent Podcast where people like you "call" in right in your browser and record a ~2 minute question or discussion topic. Then your recording and Kent's response is turned into a podcast episode. It's a fun new way to engage and participate in the greater KCD community.

Lots of exciting stuff to unpack in this first episode of Season 4 of Chats with Kent!

Homework

  • Stay Curious
  • Checkout remix

Guest: Michael Chan

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Michael asks Kent about his site rewrite Michael Chan, Kent C. Dodds 00:45:15 Kent wants to get you pumped about Season 4 of Chats with Kent, introduce a new podcast you can participate in, and tell you all about his new website built with Remix! Kent wants to get you pumped about Season 4 of Chats with Kent, introduce a new podcast you can participate in, and tell you all about his new website built with Remix! react, remix, gatsby, kent c. dodds false full 1 4 3001437a-0206-4690-b9eb-32b9dd8f3b16 Tanner Linsley Separates UI State And Server State Tanner Linsley is the creator of react-table, react-charts, and react-query. Tanner also has a startup called nozzle.io where they track rankings in Google and do cool things around technical SEO.

A lot of Tanner's libraries were born out of necessity at nozzle. We often reach for abstractions that were built to solve problems that we don't have and that ends up creating awkward problems for us. We wind up with poor performance or a bigger bundle size than we need, so having a custom made solution can be a good thing.

Your UI state is not the same as your server state and they should be separate things. By keeping these types of state separated from each other you can simplify your app. Server state is different enough in structure, persistence strategy, consumption, and lifecycle to be managed in smarter systems that are configurable to an apps needs of data freshness.

Homework

  • Take inventory of your state. What is UI state and what is Server state?

Resources

Guest: Tanner Linsley

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Tue, 19 May 2020 13:35:34 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Kent C. Dodds, Tanner Linsley) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast Tanner Linsley is the creator of react-table, react-charts, and react-query. Tanner also has a startup called nozzle.io where they track rankings in Google and do cool things around technical SEO.

A lot of Tanner's libraries were born out of necessity at nozzle. We often reach for abstractions that were built to solve problems that we don't have and that ends up creating awkward problems for us. We wind up with poor performance or a bigger bundle size than we need, so having a custom made solution can be a good thing.

Your UI state is not the same as your server state and they should be separate things. By keeping these types of state separated from each other you can simplify your app. Server state is different enough in structure, persistence strategy, consumption, and lifecycle to be managed in smarter systems that are configurable to an apps needs of data freshness.

Homework

  • Take inventory of your state. What is UI state and what is Server state?

Resources

Guest: Tanner Linsley

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Tanner Linsley Separates UI State And Server State Kent C. Dodds, Tanner Linsley 00:36:01 Tanner Linsley talks about creating libraries and separating UI state and server state. Tanner Linsley talks about creating libraries and separating UI state and server state. react state, react, caching, application state management, dev, code, tech, react-query, server state false full 12 3 adc2e7d2-e505-4fee-98b6-acd4979d08e3 Serene Yew Provides Mentorship Serene Yew runs Pixeltree, a software consultancy that focuses on sourcing junior talent and providing them with the mentorship that they need so they can bridge the experience gap and get a job.

What better way to incite change than to be that change? You can have a huge influence on someone by taking on a mentorship role. And, not only does mentorship benefit who you're mentoring, but it also benefits you. Serene finds that every single person that she's mentored has changed her in some way for the better. They all taught her something that she didn't even know she needed to learn.

A good mentor is going to listen to you, understand who you are as a person. They're going to guide but, more importantly, they're going to listen. A mentor is compassionate, empathetic, and personally invested in their mentee's success. They're humble and they recognize that they also have more to learn in this ever-changing world. Mentors are to be the cheerleader in the mentee's corner to support them and maybe provide a network connection or even just a good book recommendation.

Homework

  • Reach out to a local college and ask about mentorship programs or attend a meetup and find a mentee.

Guest: Serene Yew

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Tue, 19 May 2020 13:35:31 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Serene Yew, Kent C. Dodds) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast Serene Yew runs Pixeltree, a software consultancy that focuses on sourcing junior talent and providing them with the mentorship that they need so they can bridge the experience gap and get a job.

What better way to incite change than to be that change? You can have a huge influence on someone by taking on a mentorship role. And, not only does mentorship benefit who you're mentoring, but it also benefits you. Serene finds that every single person that she's mentored has changed her in some way for the better. They all taught her something that she didn't even know she needed to learn.

A good mentor is going to listen to you, understand who you are as a person. They're going to guide but, more importantly, they're going to listen. A mentor is compassionate, empathetic, and personally invested in their mentee's success. They're humble and they recognize that they also have more to learn in this ever-changing world. Mentors are to be the cheerleader in the mentee's corner to support them and maybe provide a network connection or even just a good book recommendation.

Homework

  • Reach out to a local college and ask about mentorship programs or attend a meetup and find a mentee.

Guest: Serene Yew

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Serene Yew Provides Mentorship Serene Yew, Kent C. Dodds 00:29:41 Serene Yew chats with Kent about why you should be a mentor, how you can be an excellent mentor, and how to find a mentee. Serene Yew chats with Kent about why you should be a mentor, how you can be an excellent mentor, and how to find a mentee. career, dev, mentoring, networking, mentorship false full 11 3 f0532a1c-4a59-4e81-a0d5-259518b735ca Saron Yitbarek's Path Into Tech Saron Yitbarek started a company called Code Newbie, which started as a Twitter community and grew into a couple of podcasts and a conference.

Saron first became interested in technology after she read the Steve Jobs book, it was the first time she got introduced to technology in a way that she could relate to, where tech was talked about through the eyes of design, art, and storytelling. So, she started calling CEOs of startups until she got an internship, which led to a job. Saron wanted to get into development, though, so she quit her job, started to learn to code, and joined a code boot camp.

Saron's path wasn't always financially secure. She realized that she needed to save and create a safety net. These days to help her budget, she uses a tool called You Need A Budget. The tool enables you to be more critical about where your money is going. Think of it as a digital envelope system.

What if you wanted to get into tech but don't know where to start? Saron's one piece of advice for you is go look up your dream job. What is the dream job you have, the dream company you want to work for? Write down five options for yourself. If you could have any job right now at the best company you could think of, what are those jobs? Find those job postings. Put them in a spreadsheet. Figure out the keywords and what the required skills are for each job. See what each job has in common, and then that's your list, that's your curriculum. That's the stuff that you need to learn. Out of that list, pick one technology, one tool, one language that you recognize that has been repeated across these job postings and start learning that one thing.

Homework

  • Start a gratitude journal (write 5 things you're grateful for every day).
  • Search for 5 dream jobs and figure out what they have in common and learn one of those things.

Resources

Guest: Saron Yitbarek

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Tue, 19 May 2020 13:35:28 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Kent C. Dodds, Saron Yitbarek) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast Saron Yitbarek started a company called Code Newbie, which started as a Twitter community and grew into a couple of podcasts and a conference.

Saron first became interested in technology after she read the Steve Jobs book, it was the first time she got introduced to technology in a way that she could relate to, where tech was talked about through the eyes of design, art, and storytelling. So, she started calling CEOs of startups until she got an internship, which led to a job. Saron wanted to get into development, though, so she quit her job, started to learn to code, and joined a code boot camp.

Saron's path wasn't always financially secure. She realized that she needed to save and create a safety net. These days to help her budget, she uses a tool called You Need A Budget. The tool enables you to be more critical about where your money is going. Think of it as a digital envelope system.

What if you wanted to get into tech but don't know where to start? Saron's one piece of advice for you is go look up your dream job. What is the dream job you have, the dream company you want to work for? Write down five options for yourself. If you could have any job right now at the best company you could think of, what are those jobs? Find those job postings. Put them in a spreadsheet. Figure out the keywords and what the required skills are for each job. See what each job has in common, and then that's your list, that's your curriculum. That's the stuff that you need to learn. Out of that list, pick one technology, one tool, one language that you recognize that has been repeated across these job postings and start learning that one thing.

Homework

  • Start a gratitude journal (write 5 things you're grateful for every day).
  • Search for 5 dream jobs and figure out what they have in common and learn one of those things.

Resources

Guest: Saron Yitbarek

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Saron Yitbarek's Path Into Tech Kent C. Dodds, Saron Yitbarek 00:37:40 Saron Yitbarek chats with Kent about changing her career path, finances, punching your feelings in the face, and doing the hard thing. Saron Yitbarek chats with Kent about changing her career path, finances, punching your feelings in the face, and doing the hard thing. career, boot camp, dream job, budget, tech false full 10 3 90f6282c-831d-4e48-9b73-1ba00757c387 Preethi Kasireddy Reinvents Herself Software development isn't limited to "nerds." During her time at Andreessen Horowitz, Preethi met thousands of entrepreneurs. What she realized was that software engineering is what these entrepreneurs use to change the world. They're able to code the future they believe in using software engineering.

A lot of people were surprised that Preethi gave up a promising career in venture capital to become a developer. But, Preethi says that the greatest artists reinvented themselves often. There's something unique and special about the periods in our lives where we are working on improving ourselves. We kind of lose that after going through everyday life. And so we must continue to find new hobbies and interests that we enjoy and grow with.

The world is driven by logic and what is objectively measurable is what ends up being valued. The hedge fund manager making millions a year is doing something objectively measurable while the artist isn't. But, beyond a certain point, money doesn't make you happier. You have to look out for your happiness. Your happiness is your incentive for choosing to pursue your passion over choosing the option that makes you more money.

Homework

  • Go back and think about dreams you had as a child and re-evaluate those dreams now.

Guest: Preethi Kasireddy

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Tue, 19 May 2020 13:35:24 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Preethi Kasireddy, Kent C. Dodds) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast Software development isn't limited to "nerds." During her time at Andreessen Horowitz, Preethi met thousands of entrepreneurs. What she realized was that software engineering is what these entrepreneurs use to change the world. They're able to code the future they believe in using software engineering.

A lot of people were surprised that Preethi gave up a promising career in venture capital to become a developer. But, Preethi says that the greatest artists reinvented themselves often. There's something unique and special about the periods in our lives where we are working on improving ourselves. We kind of lose that after going through everyday life. And so we must continue to find new hobbies and interests that we enjoy and grow with.

The world is driven by logic and what is objectively measurable is what ends up being valued. The hedge fund manager making millions a year is doing something objectively measurable while the artist isn't. But, beyond a certain point, money doesn't make you happier. You have to look out for your happiness. Your happiness is your incentive for choosing to pursue your passion over choosing the option that makes you more money.

Homework

  • Go back and think about dreams you had as a child and re-evaluate those dreams now.

Guest: Preethi Kasireddy

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Preethi Kasireddy Reinvents Herself Preethi Kasireddy, Kent C. Dodds 00:33:57 Preethi Kasireddy chats with Kent about how she gave up her promising career in venture capital to become a developer. Preethi Kasireddy chats with Kent about how she gave up her promising career in venture capital to become a developer. self improvement, career, dev, code, happiness, tech false full 9 3 aafa0a46-077b-49c1-a58c-ced69277bfa5 Michael Chan Encapsulates State One of the things Michael loves about React is that it's a lot easier to make a black box of abstraction with iron-clad React components that don't leak.

Something that concerns Michael deeply about any technology is when we put too much inside of it. We saw this pretty early on in React, where everyone was taking all manner of state and putting it into Redux. We have to think about the principle of co-location and the fact that the closer you put related things together, the easier it will be to maintain in the longterm.

In React, we've got this excellent encapsulation model that allows us to do this thing for the first time. But, you have to be very strict about what you let in there. The encapsulation model is only as good as you are at encapsulating a single piece of information.

Homework

  • Take one of your small css-in-js components and use regular css to back it up.

Guest: Michael Chan

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Tue, 19 May 2020 13:35:22 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Michael Chan, Kent C. Dodds) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast One of the things Michael loves about React is that it's a lot easier to make a black box of abstraction with iron-clad React components that don't leak.

Something that concerns Michael deeply about any technology is when we put too much inside of it. We saw this pretty early on in React, where everyone was taking all manner of state and putting it into Redux. We have to think about the principle of co-location and the fact that the closer you put related things together, the easier it will be to maintain in the longterm.

In React, we've got this excellent encapsulation model that allows us to do this thing for the first time. But, you have to be very strict about what you let in there. The encapsulation model is only as good as you are at encapsulating a single piece of information.

Homework

  • Take one of your small css-in-js components and use regular css to back it up.

Guest: Michael Chan

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Michael Chan Encapsulates State Michael Chan, Kent C. Dodds 00:39:30 Michael Chan talks about co-location, encapsulation, and CSS grid. Michael Chan talks about co-location, encapsulation, and CSS grid. react, dev, code, css, tech, state, programming false full 8 3 47e93f40-6242-4099-aa95-864d89702cdd Michael Chan Teaches You How To Break Into The Industry It was around 2008-2010 when Michael's family's business went under due to the recession. From that point, Michael spent every spare second he had reading whatever he could. He'd be reading Ruby and JavaScript documentation while he pushed his son on the swing.

In this episode, Michael talks about what it takes to break into the tech industry. He explains how interviews are a hackable skill and the importance of building relationships in the industry.

Homework

  • Sit down for 5 minutes and think about what you really want to do with your life and figure out how you can sell that. Get one customer.

Resources

Guest: Michael Chan

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Tue, 19 May 2020 13:35:19 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Michael Chan, Kent C. Dodds) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast It was around 2008-2010 when Michael's family's business went under due to the recession. From that point, Michael spent every spare second he had reading whatever he could. He'd be reading Ruby and JavaScript documentation while he pushed his son on the swing.

In this episode, Michael talks about what it takes to break into the tech industry. He explains how interviews are a hackable skill and the importance of building relationships in the industry.

Homework

  • Sit down for 5 minutes and think about what you really want to do with your life and figure out how you can sell that. Get one customer.

Resources

Guest: Michael Chan

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Michael Chan Teaches You How To Break Into The Industry Michael Chan, Kent C. Dodds 00:33:00 Michael Chan chats with Kent about how he broke into the tech industry after the 2008 recession. Michael Chan chats with Kent about how he broke into the tech industry after the 2008 recession. career, dev, code, tech, programming false full 7 3 21e64b61-5e48-4cd8-ac44-8bf5ccee210a Justin McMurdie Breaks Apps Into Micro-Services Most applications on the backend and the front end get built as a monolith, but you could improve your developer experience and performance if you broke your applications out into microservices.

The pros and cons are the same for monorepos and microservices. Microservices is a different paradigm. And so, there's a lot of training that goes involved for different people to understand the various deployment processes. The microservices system is slightly more complex in some ways, but on the pro side, you gain some performance benefits where you can scale up services by themselves.

A part of the improved developer experience is you get a better context of what you're working on. So say you need to fix a bug in the e-mail service. You don't have to dig through a mountain of code to find it. It's in the e-mail service.

Homework

Resources

Guest: Justin McMurdie

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Tue, 19 May 2020 13:35:16 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Kent C. Dodds, Justin McMurdie) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast Most applications on the backend and the front end get built as a monolith, but you could improve your developer experience and performance if you broke your applications out into microservices.

The pros and cons are the same for monorepos and microservices. Microservices is a different paradigm. And so, there's a lot of training that goes involved for different people to understand the various deployment processes. The microservices system is slightly more complex in some ways, but on the pro side, you gain some performance benefits where you can scale up services by themselves.

A part of the improved developer experience is you get a better context of what you're working on. So say you need to fix a bug in the e-mail service. You don't have to dig through a mountain of code to find it. It's in the e-mail service.

Homework

Resources

Guest: Justin McMurdie

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Justin McMurdie Breaks Apps Into Micro-Services Kent C. Dodds, Justin McMurdie 00:32:16 Justin McMurdie chats with Kent about breaking your app into micro-services. Justin McMurdie chats with Kent about breaking your app into micro-services. dev, code, microservices, tech, programming false full 6 3 469ba6d9-548e-4a20-914d-6c043a35c562 Talia Nassi on Testing in Production What does it mean to test in production? Simply put, testing in production means testing your features in the environment where your features will live. So what if a feature works in staging, that's great, but you should care if the feature works in production, that's what matters.

An excellent tool for testing in production is feature flagging. Feature flagging allows you to separate your code deployment from your feature release. So, when you use a tool like future flagging, you're able to target specific users to see your feature, and you can test your feature and make sure it works and fix any bugs.

Homework

Resources

Guest: Talia Nassi

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Tue, 19 May 2020 13:35:12 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Talia Nassi, Kent C. Dodds) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast What does it mean to test in production? Simply put, testing in production means testing your features in the environment where your features will live. So what if a feature works in staging, that's great, but you should care if the feature works in production, that's what matters.

An excellent tool for testing in production is feature flagging. Feature flagging allows you to separate your code deployment from your feature release. So, when you use a tool like future flagging, you're able to target specific users to see your feature, and you can test your feature and make sure it works and fix any bugs.

Homework

Resources

Guest: Talia Nassi

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Talia Nassi on Testing in Production Talia Nassi, Kent C. Dodds 00:29:36 Talia Nassi chats with Kent about knowing the product as a tester, testing in production, and tools for testing. Talia Nassi chats with Kent about knowing the product as a tester, testing in production, and tools for testing. testing, dev, code, tech, programming false full 5 3 5dda4380-1176-4196-9156-8d299c869d46 Dr. Michaela Greiler Makes Code Reviews Your Team's Superpower Dr. Michaela Greiler is focused on helping teams make code reviews their superpower!

During Dr. Michaela's time at Microsoft, they found that developers were spending six hours a week doing code reviews. You have to ask yourself if that time is really being well spent.

How do you ensure that code reviews are worth the time? There is a huge variety of experiences with code review. It can be really good, and it can be really, really horrible as well. There is not a lot of formal training around it.

Formal training would improve the consistency and value of code reviews, and it would be especially helpful for Junior Developers. It would give them such a self-esteem and confidence boost if they would know, "This is what we're actually looking for, this is how we give code review feedback"

Homework

Resources

Guest: Dr. Michaela Greiler

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Tue, 19 May 2020 13:35:09 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Dr. Michaela Greiler, Kent C. Dodds) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast Dr. Michaela Greiler is focused on helping teams make code reviews their superpower!

During Dr. Michaela's time at Microsoft, they found that developers were spending six hours a week doing code reviews. You have to ask yourself if that time is really being well spent.

How do you ensure that code reviews are worth the time? There is a huge variety of experiences with code review. It can be really good, and it can be really, really horrible as well. There is not a lot of formal training around it.

Formal training would improve the consistency and value of code reviews, and it would be especially helpful for Junior Developers. It would give them such a self-esteem and confidence boost if they would know, "This is what we're actually looking for, this is how we give code review feedback"

Homework

Resources

Guest: Dr. Michaela Greiler

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Dr. Michaela Greiler Makes Code Reviews Your Team's Superpower Dr. Michaela Greiler, Kent C. Dodds 00:32:03 Dr. Michaela Greiler chats with Kent about code reviews, non-violent communication, data-driven research, and starting a business Dr. Michaela Greiler chats with Kent about code reviews, non-violent communication, data-driven research, and starting a business dev, code, tech, programming, code review false full 4 3 5850e926-8135-40e0-a6d3-ebb931cfe065 Courtney McCleve On Developing Empathy The internet is one of those resources that we have available to us, and it's fantastic at what it does. However, there's a lot of content that isn't super curated and isn't in a format that makes it digestible. Courtney is interested in making the web accessible not only in the way we typically think of accessibility for people with disabilities who need screen readers and other assistive technologies but also for people with mental disabilities or difficulty learning.

We can help by improving the way we present the information, make it more accessible, and use words and phrases that are more inclusive. It enhances the experience for everybody, not just those who have learning disabilities.

Courtney is starting a Salt Lake City chapter for Devs with Disabilities. They are creating a support system for people with disabilities wanting to get into development and using the community around to assist those people.

Homework

  • Attend an event (like a meetup) where you're a little outside of your comfort zone.
  • If you already go to meetups, talk with people who you don't typically talk with.

Resources

Guest: Courtney McCleve

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Tue, 19 May 2020 13:35:07 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Kent C. Dodds, Courtney McCleve) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast The internet is one of those resources that we have available to us, and it's fantastic at what it does. However, there's a lot of content that isn't super curated and isn't in a format that makes it digestible. Courtney is interested in making the web accessible not only in the way we typically think of accessibility for people with disabilities who need screen readers and other assistive technologies but also for people with mental disabilities or difficulty learning.

We can help by improving the way we present the information, make it more accessible, and use words and phrases that are more inclusive. It enhances the experience for everybody, not just those who have learning disabilities.

Courtney is starting a Salt Lake City chapter for Devs with Disabilities. They are creating a support system for people with disabilities wanting to get into development and using the community around to assist those people.

Homework

  • Attend an event (like a meetup) where you're a little outside of your comfort zone.
  • If you already go to meetups, talk with people who you don't typically talk with.

Resources

Guest: Courtney McCleve

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Courtney McCleve On Developing Empathy Kent C. Dodds, Courtney McCleve 00:28:56 Courtney McCleve chats with Kent about developing relationships with people with disabilities and gaining an understanding of the hardships they face. Courtney McCleve chats with Kent about developing relationships with people with disabilities and gaining an understanding of the hardships they face. dev, code, accessibility, meetups, tech, a11y false full 3 3 71abe081-d4aa-47fb-9da3-26053a00909b Amelia Wattenberger Breaks The UX Mold In her free time, Amelia Wattenberger enjoys creating "code sketches." On the surface, they might just look like silly examples, but she's learned concepts or ways of doing things through these tiny code examples. You can learn a lot by playing with something in isolation and then trying to see how you can apply it to a production application later.

Amelia then goes on to share her process of creating a blog post. Step one is thinking of the main idea she wants to communicate. Step two is asking herself who she is trying to communicate with and what context are they in. Step three is sketching out her ideas.

People remember things better when they're flashier and more novel. We kind of ended up just porting newspapers into web format. But, the web is so much more powerful than it used to be, which gives us this fantastic opportunity to create unique experiences for people when communicating our ideas.

Homework

  • Do something unconventional

Resources

Guest: Amelia Wattenberger

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Tue, 19 May 2020 13:35:04 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Kent C. Dodds, Amelia Wattenberger) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast In her free time, Amelia Wattenberger enjoys creating "code sketches." On the surface, they might just look like silly examples, but she's learned concepts or ways of doing things through these tiny code examples. You can learn a lot by playing with something in isolation and then trying to see how you can apply it to a production application later.

Amelia then goes on to share her process of creating a blog post. Step one is thinking of the main idea she wants to communicate. Step two is asking herself who she is trying to communicate with and what context are they in. Step three is sketching out her ideas.

People remember things better when they're flashier and more novel. We kind of ended up just porting newspapers into web format. But, the web is so much more powerful than it used to be, which gives us this fantastic opportunity to create unique experiences for people when communicating our ideas.

Homework

  • Do something unconventional

Resources

Guest: Amelia Wattenberger

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Amelia Wattenberger Breaks The UX Mold Kent C. Dodds, Amelia Wattenberger 00:33:27 Amelia Wattenberger chats with Kent about enhancing communication with users through novel experiences. Amelia Wattenberger chats with Kent about enhancing communication with users through novel experiences. dev, code, tech, programming, creativity, blogging false full 2 3 a1316f9a-6fce-4c90-bb34-cc2b71a3c119 Alex Anderson Creates Web-Based Spaceship Controls Thorium is the software that space centers use for the computer controls and the flight director controls of simulated space ship experiences!

The cool thing about Thorium is that it's entirely web-based. Alex is using React to build Thorium and a 3D universe. The 3D universe is being driven by react-three-fiber by Paul Henschel, which is a fantastic piece of software.

Alex says that if you are privileged enough to have the time and the energy and the resources to be able to do side projects, that you should go for it. He believes side projects give you a lot of benefits outside of just the enjoyment of doing them.

Work-life balance is essential, though. There was a time where Alex just completely stopped working on it for about a month and a half. And that was necessary for him to be able to recenter, refocus, and get in a good place where he could be motivated and energized about it again.

Homework

  • Set a timer for 10 minutes and write down one thing you would like to accomplish and break it down into small and simple actions that can be done over time.

Resources

Guest: Alex Anderson

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Tue, 19 May 2020 13:34:56 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Alex Anderson, Kent C. Dodds) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast Thorium is the software that space centers use for the computer controls and the flight director controls of simulated space ship experiences!

The cool thing about Thorium is that it's entirely web-based. Alex is using React to build Thorium and a 3D universe. The 3D universe is being driven by react-three-fiber by Paul Henschel, which is a fantastic piece of software.

Alex says that if you are privileged enough to have the time and the energy and the resources to be able to do side projects, that you should go for it. He believes side projects give you a lot of benefits outside of just the enjoyment of doing them.

Work-life balance is essential, though. There was a time where Alex just completely stopped working on it for about a month and a half. And that was necessary for him to be able to recenter, refocus, and get in a good place where he could be motivated and energized about it again.

Homework

  • Set a timer for 10 minutes and write down one thing you would like to accomplish and break it down into small and simple actions that can be done over time.

Resources

Guest: Alex Anderson

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Alex Anderson Creates Web-Based Spaceship Controls Alex Anderson, Kent C. Dodds 00:33:05 Alex chats with Kent about how he started Thorium and working on a side-project you love. Alex chats with Kent about how he started Thorium and working on a side-project you love. thorium, react, side project, space, software, tech false full 1 3 b8c93a5b-6d59-4de0-a97b-6e90e94bfd9c Laurie Barth Chats With Kent About Growing Outside Of Your Comfort Zone Laurie has a tough time saying no, and she ends up trying a lot of different things, but this isn't necessarily a bad thing. Attempting to learn something new gives you the fresh perspective of a beginner starting from nothing. We get comfortable and take for granted the pieces of knowledge we have on our skills.

You have to find a balance, though. It's demotivating to feel dumb all of the time. You need to use the thing you learned for some time, so you advance beyond the beginner phase of the skill. If you jump from skill to skill too fast, you'll feel like you're going nowhere. Try to figure out everything that is contributing to your success that you don't have any experience in, and these are the areas where you'll probably want to dig deeper.

Homework

  • Try to do something outside of your comfort zone, and use that experience to help you learn how to empathize with those who are unfamiliar with the things that you already know.

Resources

Guest: Laurie Barth

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Wed, 27 Nov 2019 21:07:02 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Kent C. Dodds, Laurie Barth) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast Laurie has a tough time saying no, and she ends up trying a lot of different things, but this isn't necessarily a bad thing. Attempting to learn something new gives you the fresh perspective of a beginner starting from nothing. We get comfortable and take for granted the pieces of knowledge we have on our skills.

You have to find a balance, though. It's demotivating to feel dumb all of the time. You need to use the thing you learned for some time, so you advance beyond the beginner phase of the skill. If you jump from skill to skill too fast, you'll feel like you're going nowhere. Try to figure out everything that is contributing to your success that you don't have any experience in, and these are the areas where you'll probably want to dig deeper.

Homework

  • Try to do something outside of your comfort zone, and use that experience to help you learn how to empathize with those who are unfamiliar with the things that you already know.

Resources

Guest: Laurie Barth

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Laurie Barth Chats With Kent About Growing Outside Of Your Comfort Zone Kent C. Dodds, Laurie Barth 00:31:48 Laurie Barth chats with Kent about finding new skills and exploring them. Laurie Barth chats with Kent about finding new skills and exploring them. mental health, career false full 12 2 8daa1967-1653-445e-b32c-040e36ec06ee Eve Porcello Chats With Kent About Sustainably Expanding Skills A lot of times, when people are learning something new, they feel, "Oh, I have to learn this fast and my manager's counting on me to learn this," and everything's super stressful. As software engineers, we continually have to learn new things, and carrying that stress is tough on our mental health, so we must learn how to mitigate it.

Don't worry about being an expert. Try to be okay with being a beginner at something. You shouldn't expect more than that from yourself when you start learning something new.

It's essential to break your goal down into multiple steps so that it's not this vast, daunting leap that you have to take. Smaller steps of minor discomfort are a lot easier to cope with.

Homework

  • Think of one goal you have and take 10 minutes to break it down into smaller chunks

Resources

Guest: Eve Porcello

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Wed, 27 Nov 2019 21:05:10 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Eve Porcello, Kent C. Dodds) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast/seasons/02/episodes/laurie-barth-chats-with-kent-about-growing-outside-of-your-comfort-zone A lot of times, when people are learning something new, they feel, "Oh, I have to learn this fast and my manager's counting on me to learn this," and everything's super stressful. As software engineers, we continually have to learn new things, and carrying that stress is tough on our mental health, so we must learn how to mitigate it.

Don't worry about being an expert. Try to be okay with being a beginner at something. You shouldn't expect more than that from yourself when you start learning something new.

It's essential to break your goal down into multiple steps so that it's not this vast, daunting leap that you have to take. Smaller steps of minor discomfort are a lot easier to cope with.

Homework

  • Think of one goal you have and take 10 minutes to break it down into smaller chunks

Resources

Guest: Eve Porcello

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Eve Porcello Chats With Kent About Sustainably Expanding Skills Eve Porcello, Kent C. Dodds 00:30:36 Eve Porcello chats with Kent about managing your learning goals in a way that doesn't lead to burnout. Eve Porcello chats with Kent about managing your learning goals in a way that doesn't lead to burnout. career, dev, tech, programming false full 11 2 becda2f5-e47e-4c71-a307-d1f10d5720c3 Ken Wheeler Chats With Kent About Going For Challenging Opportunities Almost every demo Ken has done at a conference was wildly out of his league technologically. The deadline for the conference pushes him to grow rapidly. Conference-driven development. Elon Musk says, "If it's physically possible, then we can make it happen." Take stock of the situation and ask yourself what the reality of it is, is it possible? If so, then you can accomplish it.

It's not possible to take the second step or even the last step unless you've taken that first step. Finding a simple way to take that first step and just going for it is critical to becoming the person that you want to be.

Even to this day, Ken still is anxious to get on stage, but it's always awesome afterward. Some talks go well, and others don't, but even if it didn't go well, you still went up there and did it. The audience is rooting for you, and despite what you might think, the majority of them don't know the subject of your talk, and the few that do still want you to succeed.

Homework

  • Write down three things that you've been holding back on
  • Choose one of those things and write down the steps that you can take to accomplish that!

Resources

Guest: Ken Wheeler

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Wed, 27 Nov 2019 21:04:25 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Ken Wheeler, Kent C. Dodds) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast/seasons/02/episodes/ken-wheeler-chats-with-kent-about-going-for-challenging-opportunities Almost every demo Ken has done at a conference was wildly out of his league technologically. The deadline for the conference pushes him to grow rapidly. Conference-driven development. Elon Musk says, "If it's physically possible, then we can make it happen." Take stock of the situation and ask yourself what the reality of it is, is it possible? If so, then you can accomplish it.

It's not possible to take the second step or even the last step unless you've taken that first step. Finding a simple way to take that first step and just going for it is critical to becoming the person that you want to be.

Even to this day, Ken still is anxious to get on stage, but it's always awesome afterward. Some talks go well, and others don't, but even if it didn't go well, you still went up there and did it. The audience is rooting for you, and despite what you might think, the majority of them don't know the subject of your talk, and the few that do still want you to succeed.

Homework

  • Write down three things that you've been holding back on
  • Choose one of those things and write down the steps that you can take to accomplish that!

Resources

Guest: Ken Wheeler

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Ken Wheeler Chats With Kent About Going For Challenging Opportunities Ken Wheeler, Kent C. Dodds 00:31:53 Ken Wheeler chats with Kent about saying yes to challenging opportunities and using them as a chance to rapidly grow. Ken Wheeler chats with Kent about saying yes to challenging opportunities and using them as a chance to rapidly grow. career, dev, code, tech, programming, public speaking false full 10 2 c0bdc63c-45b5-45cc-8446-6211aac5db8b Erik Rasmussen Chats With Kent About Maintaining Open-Source Libraries Erik built the Redux Form library to help manage form states in Redux. He decided to open-source Redux Form, and it exploded and became very, very popular.

People kept coming up to Erik with additional use cases, and the form library itself kept growing to the point where the bundle size got out of hand and saying yes to all the requests for features created a monster.

So Erik came up with his second form library "final-form." This time he created a plugin architecture to reduce the maintenance and make the library more capable of handling unconsidered use cases.

Erik talks about the key things that need to happen for a library to take off. First, it has to be documented well, and the motivation has to get explained clearly. Second, someone who has a following needs to love it and share it with people. Third, you've got to be there on the ground, ready to make quick fixes as people give them to you.

Homework

  • Release some open-source software!

Resources

Guest: Erik Rasmussen

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Wed, 27 Nov 2019 21:03:46 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Erik Rasmussen, Kent C. Dodds) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast/seasons/02/episodes/erik-rasmussen-chats-with-kent-about-maintaining-open-source-libraries Erik built the Redux Form library to help manage form states in Redux. He decided to open-source Redux Form, and it exploded and became very, very popular.

People kept coming up to Erik with additional use cases, and the form library itself kept growing to the point where the bundle size got out of hand and saying yes to all the requests for features created a monster.

So Erik came up with his second form library "final-form." This time he created a plugin architecture to reduce the maintenance and make the library more capable of handling unconsidered use cases.

Erik talks about the key things that need to happen for a library to take off. First, it has to be documented well, and the motivation has to get explained clearly. Second, someone who has a following needs to love it and share it with people. Third, you've got to be there on the ground, ready to make quick fixes as people give them to you.

Homework

  • Release some open-source software!

Resources

Guest: Erik Rasmussen

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Erik Rasmussen Chats With Kent About Maintaining Open-Source Libraries Erik Rasmussen, Kent C. Dodds 00:36:40 Erik Rasmussen chats with Kent about maintaining a popular open-source library and the key things that need to happen in order for a library to take off. Erik Rasmussen chats with Kent about maintaining a popular open-source library and the key things that need to happen in order for a library to take off. redux, code, tech, programming, open source false full 9 2 fa621d05-1851-4dea-b975-910c250cfb0e Angie Jones Chats With Kent About Automated Visual Testing Visual testing is like snapshot testing with images. So when your application is in the state that you want it to be in, you verify this as a human being, and then utilize tools to take a picture of your application in that state.

Visual testing isn't a new concept, but the technology was previously flaky. But now, Applitools is using AI and machine learning to be able only to detect the things that we care about as human beings.

Visual testing catches issues that your scripts won't detect, and Applitools is especially powerful at it. The processing gets offloaded onto the Applitools servers, and snapshots of your app are tested on multiple platforms so you can be confident that no visual bugs get created anywhere!

Homework

Resources

Guest: Angie Jones

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Wed, 27 Nov 2019 21:03:11 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Angie Jones, Kent C. Dodds) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast/seasons/02/episodes/angie-jones-chats-with-kent-about-automated-visual-testing Visual testing is like snapshot testing with images. So when your application is in the state that you want it to be in, you verify this as a human being, and then utilize tools to take a picture of your application in that state.

Visual testing isn't a new concept, but the technology was previously flaky. But now, Applitools is using AI and machine learning to be able only to detect the things that we care about as human beings.

Visual testing catches issues that your scripts won't detect, and Applitools is especially powerful at it. The processing gets offloaded onto the Applitools servers, and snapshots of your app are tested on multiple platforms so you can be confident that no visual bugs get created anywhere!

Homework

Resources

Guest: Angie Jones

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Angie Jones Chats With Kent About Automated Visual Testing Angie Jones, Kent C. Dodds 00:29:43 Angie Jones chats with Kent about the advantages of visual testing your app with Applitools Angie Jones chats with Kent about the advantages of visual testing your app with Applitools testing, tech, programming, development false full 8 2 575709e8-2fae-4a1a-b737-a44663ec631c Nader Dabit Chats With Kent About Keeping An Optimistic Mindset How do you stay optimistic when being bombarded with negativity every day? Nader reminds us that, statistically, we are living in the safest and most prosperous period in human history. Nader went through a lot of hardship growing up, and it caused him to assume the entire world was that way, but in reality, it wasn't. Try to maintain perspective, and remember that your experiences aren't reflective of the world as a whole.

The voice in your head talks about yourself in a way that you'd never treat another person. Be mindful of yourself and treat yourself with kindness; the way you talk about yourself can make a significant impact on your happiness.

Kent shares his experience with seeing a therapist for the last year and explains how therapy isn't something not just for people who are experiencing trauma or mental illness. Everyone can benefit from having a neutral third party that helps you talk through the problems you are experiencing in life, no matter how big or small.

Reducing the amount of media you consume can improve your headspace as well. That doesn't mean to turn a blind eye to any negativity. Instead, you should learn about the bad things that are happening within your sphere of influence. It doesn't do the world any good to take on pain from something that you have no control over. Your energy is better spent taking an active part in improving the parts of the world that you can influence.

Homework

  • For a week, take at least a minute or so daily and write one thing that you're optimistic about.

Resources

Guest: Nader Dabit

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Wed, 27 Nov 2019 21:02:46 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Nader Dabit, Kent C. Dodds) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast/seasons/02/episodes/nader-dabit-chats-with-kent-about-keeping-an-optimistic-mindset How do you stay optimistic when being bombarded with negativity every day? Nader reminds us that, statistically, we are living in the safest and most prosperous period in human history. Nader went through a lot of hardship growing up, and it caused him to assume the entire world was that way, but in reality, it wasn't. Try to maintain perspective, and remember that your experiences aren't reflective of the world as a whole.

The voice in your head talks about yourself in a way that you'd never treat another person. Be mindful of yourself and treat yourself with kindness; the way you talk about yourself can make a significant impact on your happiness.

Kent shares his experience with seeing a therapist for the last year and explains how therapy isn't something not just for people who are experiencing trauma or mental illness. Everyone can benefit from having a neutral third party that helps you talk through the problems you are experiencing in life, no matter how big or small.

Reducing the amount of media you consume can improve your headspace as well. That doesn't mean to turn a blind eye to any negativity. Instead, you should learn about the bad things that are happening within your sphere of influence. It doesn't do the world any good to take on pain from something that you have no control over. Your energy is better spent taking an active part in improving the parts of the world that you can influence.

Homework

  • For a week, take at least a minute or so daily and write one thing that you're optimistic about.

Resources

Guest: Nader Dabit

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Nader Dabit Chats With Kent About Keeping An Optimistic Mindset Nader Dabit, Kent C. Dodds 00:28:28 Nader Dabit chats with Kent about how he keeps an optimistic mindset in a world full of negativity. Nader Dabit chats with Kent about how he keeps an optimistic mindset in a world full of negativity. mental health, mindfulness, therapy, stoicism, productivity, optimism false full 7 2 96892776-3a7e-4baf-ac45-b19c3899acf1 Kelly Vaughn Chats With Kent About Personal Finance Kelly got into personal finance while she was struggling financially in grad school. Your very first step to getting your money under control should be to know where your money is going. Sit down and look at the last three months of your bank statements and categorize your purchases.

Being able to visualize and measure where your money is going is a fantastic first step for people wanting to at least see if you could make some changes to the way that you're spending your money.

After you figure out where your money is going, your second step is to make a budget. Kelly uses the envelope system. Each category of spending gets an "envelope" of money, and once there's no more money from the envelope, you can't spend any more on that category.

Homework

  • Figure out where your money has been going the last three months
  • Create a budget using an app like You Need A Budget, a notebook, or a spreadsheet

Resources

Guest: Kelly Vaughn

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Wed, 27 Nov 2019 21:02:19 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Kelly Vaughn, Kent C. Dodds) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast/seasons/02/episodes/kelly-vaughn-chats-with-kent-about-personal-finance Kelly got into personal finance while she was struggling financially in grad school. Your very first step to getting your money under control should be to know where your money is going. Sit down and look at the last three months of your bank statements and categorize your purchases.

Being able to visualize and measure where your money is going is a fantastic first step for people wanting to at least see if you could make some changes to the way that you're spending your money.

After you figure out where your money is going, your second step is to make a budget. Kelly uses the envelope system. Each category of spending gets an "envelope" of money, and once there's no more money from the envelope, you can't spend any more on that category.

Homework

  • Figure out where your money has been going the last three months
  • Create a budget using an app like You Need A Budget, a notebook, or a spreadsheet

Resources

Guest: Kelly Vaughn

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Kelly Vaughn Chats With Kent About Personal Finance Kelly Vaughn, Kent C. Dodds 00:26:47 Kelly Vaughn chats with Kent about the first steps you need to take to get your finances under control. Kelly Vaughn chats with Kent about the first steps you need to take to get your finances under control. money, finances, budgeting, budget false full 6 2 5452e859-4ede-41ef-b349-cf7b5ef84a99 Jen Luker Chats With Kent About Finding Inspiration From Anywhere Jen puts knitting before the fact that she is a senior software engineer when she defines who she is; this doesn't make her a worse engineer than someone who eats, sleeps, and breathes code.

With each new thing you learn, whether you're good or bad at it, you'll tend to discover something about it that teaches you something new. With everything Jen learns, she tries to bring it back into the ways she interacts with the world, whether that's through some art medium or programming.

Technological progress has been an evolving process of standing on the shoulders of giants, one after another, learning how to take something they'd seen before and applied it to some new technology or new problem they were working on at the moment.

The short version is that you can find inspiration virtually anywhere, and not to close off those points of inspiration just because you're focusing on a computing problem.

Homework

  • Watch at least one of the talks linked under resources!

Resources

TEDxBeaconStreet: Knitting is Coding; Lindiwe Matlali
TEDxRiga: Crocheting Hyperbolic Planes; Daina Taimina
TED: A delightful way to teach kids about computers; Linda Liukas

Guest: Jen Luker

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Wed, 27 Nov 2019 21:01:45 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Kent C. Dodds, Jen Luker) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast/seasons/02/episodes/jen-luker-chats-with-kent-about-finding-inspiration-from-anywhere Jen puts knitting before the fact that she is a senior software engineer when she defines who she is; this doesn't make her a worse engineer than someone who eats, sleeps, and breathes code.

With each new thing you learn, whether you're good or bad at it, you'll tend to discover something about it that teaches you something new. With everything Jen learns, she tries to bring it back into the ways she interacts with the world, whether that's through some art medium or programming.

Technological progress has been an evolving process of standing on the shoulders of giants, one after another, learning how to take something they'd seen before and applied it to some new technology or new problem they were working on at the moment.

The short version is that you can find inspiration virtually anywhere, and not to close off those points of inspiration just because you're focusing on a computing problem.

Homework

  • Watch at least one of the talks linked under resources!

Resources

TEDxBeaconStreet: Knitting is Coding; Lindiwe Matlali
TEDxRiga: Crocheting Hyperbolic Planes; Daina Taimina
TED: A delightful way to teach kids about computers; Linda Liukas

Guest: Jen Luker

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Jen Luker Chats With Kent About Finding Inspiration From Anywhere Kent C. Dodds, Jen Luker 00:28:35 Jenn Luker chats with Kent about how you can become a better programmer by pursuing interest that seem unrelated to computing. Jenn Luker chats with Kent about how you can become a better programmer by pursuing interest that seem unrelated to computing. computing, software, history, tech, programming false full 5 2 b87af75e-e754-4a7f-bc8b-00468d692647 Henry Zhu Chats With Kent About The Responsibilities Of A Maintainer Henry Zhu's transition from a programing role to a more managerial role as Babel's maintainer has been hard. As programmers, we tend to value our work based on the number of commits or pushing features. When you are a manager, you're not writing much code anymore.

There's still an expectation that maintainers should be writing code. Still, maintainers also have to triage and merge things, release process, onboard, market, write documentation, test, make videos, and give talks. Because of all this, a maintainer's time is best spent figuring out how to get more people involved with a project.

To get people interested, the maintainer has to do the job of showing people what's possible. You have to be involved in the community, and you have to like it. At a fundamental level, open-source is about service, serving other people in the community, giving back, and not expecting anything in return.

Homework

  • Without writing code, do one thing to contribute to open source!

Resources

Guest: Henry Zhu

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Wed, 27 Nov 2019 21:01:26 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Henry Zhu, Kent C. Dodds) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast/seasons/02/episodes/henry-zhu-chats-with-kent-about-the-human-side-of-open-source Henry Zhu's transition from a programing role to a more managerial role as Babel's maintainer has been hard. As programmers, we tend to value our work based on the number of commits or pushing features. When you are a manager, you're not writing much code anymore.

There's still an expectation that maintainers should be writing code. Still, maintainers also have to triage and merge things, release process, onboard, market, write documentation, test, make videos, and give talks. Because of all this, a maintainer's time is best spent figuring out how to get more people involved with a project.

To get people interested, the maintainer has to do the job of showing people what's possible. You have to be involved in the community, and you have to like it. At a fundamental level, open-source is about service, serving other people in the community, giving back, and not expecting anything in return.

Homework

  • Without writing code, do one thing to contribute to open source!

Resources

Guest: Henry Zhu

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Henry Zhu Chats With Kent About The Responsibilities Of A Maintainer Henry Zhu, Kent C. Dodds 00:32:49 Henry Zhu chats with Kent about his transition into being a project maintainer, and the responsibilities that he had to take on. Henry Zhu chats with Kent about his transition into being a project maintainer, and the responsibilities that he had to take on. code, babel, tech, javascript, programming, open source, community false full 4 2 bb55ce80-34bc-4cab-bc1b-e837bab85c8a Jenn Creighton Chats With Kent About Avoiding An "Apropcolypse" Jenn has been working with React since 0.13. She has a background in creative writing, and it melded well with React.

One of her big early mistakes with React was focusing too hard on making components reusable. When you try to make your component one-hundred percent reusable, you end up with a massive stack of props. In our effort to make things reusable, we end up making it harder for ourselves and others.

Sometimes it even makes sense to duplicate the component, change its name, and add your changes to it instead of adding more props to the existing component. Too many props on your component not only makes it hard to refactor but also difficult to even use.

One of Jenn's rules for her codebase is that new engineers should be able to come in and get up to speed quickly. It is an overall rule that has to do with keeping the codebase consistent. Jenn puts rules in place like, "We consistently use this state management library." So if a person comes in, they aren't finding multiple ways of doing the same thing.

Homework

  • Document it before you write your next component!

Resources

Guest: Jenn Creighton

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Wed, 27 Nov 2019 21:01:09 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Kent C. Dodds, Jenn Creighton) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast/seasons/02/episodes/jenn-creighton-chats-with-kent-about-avoiding-an-apropcolypse Jenn has been working with React since 0.13. She has a background in creative writing, and it melded well with React.

One of her big early mistakes with React was focusing too hard on making components reusable. When you try to make your component one-hundred percent reusable, you end up with a massive stack of props. In our effort to make things reusable, we end up making it harder for ourselves and others.

Sometimes it even makes sense to duplicate the component, change its name, and add your changes to it instead of adding more props to the existing component. Too many props on your component not only makes it hard to refactor but also difficult to even use.

One of Jenn's rules for her codebase is that new engineers should be able to come in and get up to speed quickly. It is an overall rule that has to do with keeping the codebase consistent. Jenn puts rules in place like, "We consistently use this state management library." So if a person comes in, they aren't finding multiple ways of doing the same thing.

Homework

  • Document it before you write your next component!

Resources

Guest: Jenn Creighton

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Jenn Creighton Chats With Kent About Avoiding An "Apropcolypse" Kent C. Dodds, Jenn Creighton 00:29:47 Jenn Creighton chats with Kent about how she keeps her React codebase clean. Jenn Creighton chats with Kent about how she keeps her React codebase clean. react, code, software, tech, javascript, programming, reactjs false full 3 2 444a982d-3b4b-4c0d-9507-a408f530ad49 Bianca Gandolfo Chats With Kent About Lifestyle Design We're all really busy but we are also ambitious and have goals, but a lot of the time those goals aren't defined so well.

It's important that our goals are well defined and manageable, we're hard on ourselves when we aren't making progress towards them. You want to expend your energy on the things that are providing you with value, and when you expend your energy beating yourself up, it's worse than wasted energy because it's energy directed at making life worse for you.

Bianca started Code and Coffee to take people through the process of refining and focussing their goals and breaking them down into achievable bite-sized chunks that they work on for 15 minutes a day during morning coffee. You can do this yourself too!

Homework

  • Keep a self-awareness journal for seven days. Every night, write down all of the feelings that you had that day
  • Take 15 minutes every day to work toward a goal. Try it for a week and see how you feel

Resources

Guest: Bianca Gandolfo

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Wed, 27 Nov 2019 21:00:54 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Bianca Gandolfo, Kent C. Dodds) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast/seasons/02/episodes/bianca-gandolfo-chats-with-kent-about-lifestyle-design We're all really busy but we are also ambitious and have goals, but a lot of the time those goals aren't defined so well.

It's important that our goals are well defined and manageable, we're hard on ourselves when we aren't making progress towards them. You want to expend your energy on the things that are providing you with value, and when you expend your energy beating yourself up, it's worse than wasted energy because it's energy directed at making life worse for you.

Bianca started Code and Coffee to take people through the process of refining and focussing their goals and breaking them down into achievable bite-sized chunks that they work on for 15 minutes a day during morning coffee. You can do this yourself too!

Homework

  • Keep a self-awareness journal for seven days. Every night, write down all of the feelings that you had that day
  • Take 15 minutes every day to work toward a goal. Try it for a week and see how you feel

Resources

Guest: Bianca Gandolfo

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Bianca Gandolfo Chats With Kent About Lifestyle Design Bianca Gandolfo, Kent C. Dodds 00:32:33 Bianca Gandolfo chats with Kent about creating goals for yourself and following through with them. Bianca Gandolfo chats with Kent about creating goals for yourself and following through with them. mental health, career, tech false full 2 2 42900f4b-1e48-483c-89cf-b2f53ccbbbfc Lindsey Kopacz Chats With Kent About A11y When Lindsey started, she didn't know what accessibility even meant. She would see that there was an "accessibility error" and fix it, but she didn't understand why she was fixing it. A11y clicked for her when she realized that the point of accessibility was to make the web usable for people with disabilities.

Code, at its core, is about people, and it allows people to use and purchase products. Ultimately we code to make people's lives better, and if you aren't making your site accessible, then you are discriminating against the one in four people living with a disability. Accessibility is not an edge case.

Doing the following will take you far!

  • Make sure you have form labels
  • Use alt text in your images
  • Don't leave buttons and links empty
  • Use buttons and links appropriately
  • Test your site with a screenreader
  • Navigate your website with the tab key

Homework

  • Install and use the AXE Chrome extension!

Resources

Guest: Lindsey Kopacz

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Wed, 27 Nov 2019 21:00:35 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Kent C. Dodds, Lindsey Kopacz) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast/seasons/02/episodes/lindsey-kopacz-chats-with-kent-about-a11y When Lindsey started, she didn't know what accessibility even meant. She would see that there was an "accessibility error" and fix it, but she didn't understand why she was fixing it. A11y clicked for her when she realized that the point of accessibility was to make the web usable for people with disabilities.

Code, at its core, is about people, and it allows people to use and purchase products. Ultimately we code to make people's lives better, and if you aren't making your site accessible, then you are discriminating against the one in four people living with a disability. Accessibility is not an edge case.

Doing the following will take you far!

  • Make sure you have form labels
  • Use alt text in your images
  • Don't leave buttons and links empty
  • Use buttons and links appropriately
  • Test your site with a screenreader
  • Navigate your website with the tab key

Homework

  • Install and use the AXE Chrome extension!

Resources

Guest: Lindsey Kopacz

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Lindsey Kopacz Chats With Kent About A11y Kent C. Dodds, Lindsey Kopacz 00:31:26 Lindsey Kopacz talks about how she learned about a11y, why you should be making your site accessible, and how you can start making your site accessible. Lindsey Kopacz talks about how she learned about a11y, why you should be making your site accessible, and how you can start making your site accessible. dev, accessibility, software, tech, a11y, programming false full 1 2 bd8f562b-5555-4d28-8482-ac0883f15e64 Lessons Learned From Four Major Projects with Shirley Wu Shirley Wu has been freelancer since 2016, creating data visualizations for her clients. In this episode, Shirley talks about the four projects that had the most significant impact on her.

In 2017 Shirley created an interactive visualization of the musical, Hamilton. It blew up on the internet. It was the first time a project of her's had a significant response. It made her realize that code could be beautiful, colorful, and inspiring. The audience might not remember the figures or the writeup, but they will remember the emotional response they had.

Her next project was less fun and a lot more serious. She worked with The Guardian on an investigative journalism piece called Bussed Out. The project was meaningful to her. In the past, she shied away from more serious projects due to a fear of the backlash she'd receive if she didn't do it right. She got to work with a very talented team of journalists who taught her what she was capable of if she teamed up with the right people on important topics.

On a less serious note, Shirley had the privilege of having a visualization be commissioned by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. The project was to do something with the data from Send Me SFMOMA. This project caused her to reconnect with making art for its own sake.

The most recent influential project was Legends. It was a personal project on the fifty-one female Nobel Prize winners since 1901. With her other digital projects, she is lucky only to get a few minutes of someone's time, but she wanted more than that, she wanted people to linger and be present. So Shirley is now pushing herself to break the boundaries of digital and make moving her visualization into physical space a reality.

Resources

Guest: Shirley Wu

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Mon, 5 Aug 2019 20:15:58 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Shirley Wu, Kent C. Dodds) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast/seasons/01/episodes/lessons-learned-from-four-major-projects-with-shirley-wu Shirley Wu has been freelancer since 2016, creating data visualizations for her clients. In this episode, Shirley talks about the four projects that had the most significant impact on her.

In 2017 Shirley created an interactive visualization of the musical, Hamilton. It blew up on the internet. It was the first time a project of her's had a significant response. It made her realize that code could be beautiful, colorful, and inspiring. The audience might not remember the figures or the writeup, but they will remember the emotional response they had.

Her next project was less fun and a lot more serious. She worked with The Guardian on an investigative journalism piece called Bussed Out. The project was meaningful to her. In the past, she shied away from more serious projects due to a fear of the backlash she'd receive if she didn't do it right. She got to work with a very talented team of journalists who taught her what she was capable of if she teamed up with the right people on important topics.

On a less serious note, Shirley had the privilege of having a visualization be commissioned by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. The project was to do something with the data from Send Me SFMOMA. This project caused her to reconnect with making art for its own sake.

The most recent influential project was Legends. It was a personal project on the fifty-one female Nobel Prize winners since 1901. With her other digital projects, she is lucky only to get a few minutes of someone's time, but she wanted more than that, she wanted people to linger and be present. So Shirley is now pushing herself to break the boundaries of digital and make moving her visualization into physical space a reality.

Resources

Guest: Shirley Wu

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Lessons Learned From Four Major Projects with Shirley Wu Shirley Wu, Kent C. Dodds 00:40:18 Shirley Wu discusses what she learned from her four most influential projects. Shirley Wu discusses what she learned from her four most influential projects. career, code, data viz, tech, programming, data, visualization false full 14 1 889b0a53-c5fd-47a2-bb75-00fdecb9042d Getting Started With Code Live-Streaming With Suz Hinton Suz started streaming because she wanted to show people that hardware coding is just like regular everyday coding, it's just for smaller, dumber computers. It's been two and a half years since she started streaming and her reasons have changed since then. Suz has a community of fourteen thousand that gathers around her stream now. Despite her now much busier schedule these days this community motivates her to keep coming back and getting open source work done.

Suz talks about how you need to be doing it for the right reasons if you want to actually stick with it. Don't expect to make a salary off of your live-coding stream. Make sure that you go into it with a sustainable schedule for you, don't try to push it only to burn out after a month or two. Don't invest a ton of money upfront either, it's okay to just have a headset and a webcam for your first streams while you are testing the waters.

Most of the people who watch you are interested in what you are doing and want you to succeed. The people who'd tell you how much you suck aren't going to spend the time to watch your live stream. We tend to be our own biggest critics, don't let the fear of criticism keep you from streaming!

Resources

Guest: Suz Hinton

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Mon, 5 Aug 2019 20:15:47 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Kent C. Dodds, Suz Hinton) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast/seasons/01/episodes/getting-started-with-code-live-streaming-with-suz-hinton Suz started streaming because she wanted to show people that hardware coding is just like regular everyday coding, it's just for smaller, dumber computers. It's been two and a half years since she started streaming and her reasons have changed since then. Suz has a community of fourteen thousand that gathers around her stream now. Despite her now much busier schedule these days this community motivates her to keep coming back and getting open source work done.

Suz talks about how you need to be doing it for the right reasons if you want to actually stick with it. Don't expect to make a salary off of your live-coding stream. Make sure that you go into it with a sustainable schedule for you, don't try to push it only to burn out after a month or two. Don't invest a ton of money upfront either, it's okay to just have a headset and a webcam for your first streams while you are testing the waters.

Most of the people who watch you are interested in what you are doing and want you to succeed. The people who'd tell you how much you suck aren't going to spend the time to watch your live stream. We tend to be our own biggest critics, don't let the fear of criticism keep you from streaming!

Resources

Guest: Suz Hinton

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Getting Started With Code Live-Streaming With Suz Hinton Kent C. Dodds, Suz Hinton 00:29:39 Suz Hinton talks about how she became a successful live-coding streamer. Suz Hinton talks about how she became a successful live-coding streamer. streaming, dev, code, twitch, tech false full 13 1 a3df3747-b82d-4086-83e2-c7066b6dd119 You Can Learn A Lot For The Low Price Of Your Ego With Shawn Wang You can learn in private, or you can learn in public. 99% of developers work and learn privately in the shadows, so why shouldn't you? Something magical happened when Shawn started creating resources and sharing what he learned in public. More advanced people began to help him by correcting him when he was wrong. By learning publically, he was able to both teach and learn at the same time!

"You can learn so much on the internet for the low, low price of your ego." If you keep your identity small, you can remain open to new ideas. If you make what you know a part of your identity, being receptive to new ideas and accepting that you were wrong becomes challenging.

Go beyond writing blog posts, they are educational, but their lifespan is limited. Write the resource that you wish existed while you are learning something. Write documentation, create cheat-sheets, these things not only provide immense value to people who are learning, but they also connect you to the authors of the technology who didn't have the time to create those resources. People start to perceive you as an authority on the subject when you make these things, which makes people also want to hire you for your expertise on the subject.

If you want to learn from professionals, then make it worth their time! Kent talks about how he'd record "tech chats" with developers and upload them to Youtube. Having an audience opens up the doors for opportunities!

Resources

Guest: Shawn Wang

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Mon, 5 Aug 2019 20:15:38 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Kent C. Dodds, Shawn Wang) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast/seasons/01/episodes/you-can-learn-a-lot-for-the-low-price-of-your-ego-with-shawn-wang You can learn in private, or you can learn in public. 99% of developers work and learn privately in the shadows, so why shouldn't you? Something magical happened when Shawn started creating resources and sharing what he learned in public. More advanced people began to help him by correcting him when he was wrong. By learning publically, he was able to both teach and learn at the same time!

"You can learn so much on the internet for the low, low price of your ego." If you keep your identity small, you can remain open to new ideas. If you make what you know a part of your identity, being receptive to new ideas and accepting that you were wrong becomes challenging.

Go beyond writing blog posts, they are educational, but their lifespan is limited. Write the resource that you wish existed while you are learning something. Write documentation, create cheat-sheets, these things not only provide immense value to people who are learning, but they also connect you to the authors of the technology who didn't have the time to create those resources. People start to perceive you as an authority on the subject when you make these things, which makes people also want to hire you for your expertise on the subject.

If you want to learn from professionals, then make it worth their time! Kent talks about how he'd record "tech chats" with developers and upload them to Youtube. Having an audience opens up the doors for opportunities!

Resources

Guest: Shawn Wang

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> You Can Learn A Lot For The Low Price Of Your Ego With Shawn Wang Kent C. Dodds, Shawn Wang 00:32:34 Shawn Wang talks about how learning in public was the single best thing he did for his career. Shawn Wang talks about how learning in public was the single best thing he did for his career. career, dev, software, tech, programming false full 12 1 73af9e8d-47d4-4cde-adc6-5d95cad1dbb6 Become Intentional With Your Time With Scott Hanselman Getting involved in the world of open-source isn't trivial, especially when we are new to this industry and don't a lot of technical experience. Those of us with the privilege of knowledge and expertise should lend it to others. Lift others, and one day they may do the same.

Scott Hanselman talks about how he isn't a "transactional networker," he doesn't keep score or expect something in return for helping others. Living this way is freeing and fulfilling, even if at times you get burned by someone.

It's hard to find fulfillment when we are always taking life as it comes and when you are always dealing with putting out the next fire. We play Tetris all week long trying to fit in time for meetings, catching up on email, spending time with family, and so on. Spend an hour to figure out your direction and figure out what needs to be fixed and let go of the things that can't be. Be intentional with your time.

The key takeaway of this episode is to be intentional with your time. Understand your boundaries. If you don't want to spend all your free-time on open source, or if you want to lurk on twitter without posting, then acknowledge it. Being left in undecided territory puts weight on yourself.

So you've intentionally decided what you want to do with your time, now what? The key is being consistent. Don't overreach with your goals, since it will just create a guilt system. Instead, schedule a small chunk of time each week where you'll spend time working towards your goal. It's a marathon, not a sprint!

Lastly, be kind to yourself. That voice in our head treats us in a way that we'd never treat others. If we aren't a total jerk to someone when they make a small mistake, then we shouldn't be one to ourself. We praise people when they do something good, even if it is small, so permit yourself to praise yourself!

Homework

  • Schedule a small chunk of time each work working toward a goal
  • Be kind to yourself

Resources

Guest: Scott Hanselman

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Mon, 5 Aug 2019 20:15:30 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Scott Hanselman, Kent C. Dodds) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast/seasons/01/episodes/become-intentional-with-your-time-with-scott-hanselman Getting involved in the world of open-source isn't trivial, especially when we are new to this industry and don't a lot of technical experience. Those of us with the privilege of knowledge and expertise should lend it to others. Lift others, and one day they may do the same.

Scott Hanselman talks about how he isn't a "transactional networker," he doesn't keep score or expect something in return for helping others. Living this way is freeing and fulfilling, even if at times you get burned by someone.

It's hard to find fulfillment when we are always taking life as it comes and when you are always dealing with putting out the next fire. We play Tetris all week long trying to fit in time for meetings, catching up on email, spending time with family, and so on. Spend an hour to figure out your direction and figure out what needs to be fixed and let go of the things that can't be. Be intentional with your time.

The key takeaway of this episode is to be intentional with your time. Understand your boundaries. If you don't want to spend all your free-time on open source, or if you want to lurk on twitter without posting, then acknowledge it. Being left in undecided territory puts weight on yourself.

So you've intentionally decided what you want to do with your time, now what? The key is being consistent. Don't overreach with your goals, since it will just create a guilt system. Instead, schedule a small chunk of time each week where you'll spend time working towards your goal. It's a marathon, not a sprint!

Lastly, be kind to yourself. That voice in our head treats us in a way that we'd never treat others. If we aren't a total jerk to someone when they make a small mistake, then we shouldn't be one to ourself. We praise people when they do something good, even if it is small, so permit yourself to praise yourself!

Homework

  • Schedule a small chunk of time each work working toward a goal
  • Be kind to yourself

Resources

Guest: Scott Hanselman

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Become Intentional With Your Time With Scott Hanselman Scott Hanselman, Kent C. Dodds 00:31:47 Scott Hanselman talks about how to be intentional with your life. Scott Hanselman talks about how to be intentional with your life. career, dev, tech, programming, open source false full 11 1 1fb1a35d-48a8-431a-b3e3-523a6457efc5 There Aren't Any Shortcuts To Expertise With Sara Vieira When something is easy for us, it more than likely is just familiar to us. It's easy to forget how challenging it was to learn what we know. When we tell someone who is still learning that something is easy, it diminishes the accomplishment of learning something new.

People who are good at things put in the time and the practice to get where they are, there isn't a shortcut to experience. We can gain experience by building things. But what do you build?

In this episode, Sara Vieira talks about how to find ideas for your side projects, and what you can do to make them fun and sustainable.

Resources

Guest: Sara Vieira

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Mon, 5 Aug 2019 20:15:21 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Sara Vieira, Kent C. Dodds) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast/seasons/01/episodes/there-arent-any-shortcuts-to-expertise-with-sara-vieira When something is easy for us, it more than likely is just familiar to us. It's easy to forget how challenging it was to learn what we know. When we tell someone who is still learning that something is easy, it diminishes the accomplishment of learning something new.

People who are good at things put in the time and the practice to get where they are, there isn't a shortcut to experience. We can gain experience by building things. But what do you build?

In this episode, Sara Vieira talks about how to find ideas for your side projects, and what you can do to make them fun and sustainable.

Resources

Guest: Sara Vieira

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> There Aren't Any Shortcuts To Expertise With Sara Vieira Sara Vieira, Kent C. Dodds 00:30:24 Sara Vieira talks about the road to expertise. Sara Vieira talks about the road to expertise. career, side projects, software, programming false full 10 1 54f68300-0dea-46f9-a3f1-d3164d3ef8b0 A Few Excellent Reasons For Why Should Give GraphQL A Try With Peggy Rayzis Peggy Rayzis is the engineering manager at Apollo, where she leads the developer experience team.

Peggy talks about how Apollo touches every layer of development. There are a lot of ways that you can implement GraphQL in your application. It's incredibly flexible. You can even have GraphQL running entirely on the front-end! Peggy recommends that you implement it in your existing application by creating a GraphQL layer that sits between your front-end and underlying services.

Why would it be worth all of the effort to refactor your application from a REST architecture to a GraphQL one? There are performance benefits from switching to GraphQL, but the main draw is the developer experience. GraphQL is much nicer to work with than REST, no more firing up Postman or console logging to get a peek at what's going on.

To get started with GraphQL, Peggy recommends taking a single endpoint in your application and beginning with a schema, then move on to writing your resolvers, get your server running, and then connect your front-end. If you want to learn on something that isn't your product, then Apollo has excellent documentation that is linked bellow.

Resources

Guest: Peggy Rayzis

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Mon, 5 Aug 2019 20:15:13 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Kent C. Dodds, Peggy Rayzis) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast/seasons/01/episodes/a-few-excellent-reasons-for-why-should-give-graphql-a-try-with-peggy-rayzis Peggy Rayzis is the engineering manager at Apollo, where she leads the developer experience team.

Peggy talks about how Apollo touches every layer of development. There are a lot of ways that you can implement GraphQL in your application. It's incredibly flexible. You can even have GraphQL running entirely on the front-end! Peggy recommends that you implement it in your existing application by creating a GraphQL layer that sits between your front-end and underlying services.

Why would it be worth all of the effort to refactor your application from a REST architecture to a GraphQL one? There are performance benefits from switching to GraphQL, but the main draw is the developer experience. GraphQL is much nicer to work with than REST, no more firing up Postman or console logging to get a peek at what's going on.

To get started with GraphQL, Peggy recommends taking a single endpoint in your application and beginning with a schema, then move on to writing your resolvers, get your server running, and then connect your front-end. If you want to learn on something that isn't your product, then Apollo has excellent documentation that is linked bellow.

Resources

Guest: Peggy Rayzis

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> A Few Excellent Reasons For Why Should Give GraphQL A Try With Peggy Rayzis Kent C. Dodds, Peggy Rayzis 00:32:41 Peggy Rayzis discusses GraphQL's excellent developer experience. Peggy Rayzis discusses GraphQL's excellent developer experience. apollo, software, programming, graphql false full 9 1 27b1699a-9885-46a1-a9ff-9c7038b668f5 The State Of WebAssembly With Lin Clark and Till Schneidereit Lin Clark and Till Schneidereit from Mozilla discuss where WebAssembly came from and where it's going. WebAssembly was inspired by asm.js, a subset of JavaScript that could be compiled from a language such as C++. WebAssembly can take the idea further since it doesn't have the same limitations that JavaScript does.

Lin and Till talk about why even a front-end developer would use WebAssembly, which leads to a discussion on one of the primary use cases of WebAssembly, performance optimization. They also get into the nitty-gritty of WASI, or the WebAssembly System Interface, which allows WebAssembly to be used outside of the browser.

Resources

Guest: Lin Clark

Guest: Till Schneidereit

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Mon, 5 Aug 2019 20:15:03 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Lin Clark, Kent C. Dodds, Till Schneidereit) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast/seasons/01/episodes/the-state-of-webassembly-with-lin-clark-and-till-schneidereit Lin Clark and Till Schneidereit from Mozilla discuss where WebAssembly came from and where it's going. WebAssembly was inspired by asm.js, a subset of JavaScript that could be compiled from a language such as C++. WebAssembly can take the idea further since it doesn't have the same limitations that JavaScript does.

Lin and Till talk about why even a front-end developer would use WebAssembly, which leads to a discussion on one of the primary use cases of WebAssembly, performance optimization. They also get into the nitty-gritty of WASI, or the WebAssembly System Interface, which allows WebAssembly to be used outside of the browser.

Resources

Guest: Lin Clark

Guest: Till Schneidereit

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> The State Of WebAssembly With Lin Clark and Till Schneidereit Lin Clark, Kent C. Dodds, Till Schneidereit 00:36:07 Lin Clark and Till Schneidereit from Mozilla discuss the current state of WebAssembly and WASI. Lin Clark and Till Schneidereit from Mozilla discuss the current state of WebAssembly and WASI. webassembly, software, mozilla, javascript, programming false full 8 1 0008e54a-3b74-4e4c-8253-ac21a3cdf43a Funding Open-Source Maintainers Using Ethical Advertising With Eric Berry It's challenging to sustain open source projects, a lot of time and energy is poured in without any compensation in return. Eric Berry created CodeFund to give developers who are finding it difficult to justify putting their time into open source projects a means to get compensated.

Open source today is not the same as it was five years ago. Ninety-six percent of all web apps are using open source. The web relies on it. Sixty-five percent of all projects have only one or two maintainers, and their work is providing value to a lot of companies and people. Maintainers having the option to be compensated benefits not only the maintainer but also everyone who relies on the project.

Advertising is a scary word these days with big advertisers tracking people across the web and gathering their data. CodeFund doesn't use third-party trackers and doesn't collect data from the developer's audience. Advertising doesn't have to be evil, it can serve a good purpose if it's used correctly.

Resources

Guest: Eric Berry

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Mon, 5 Aug 2019 20:14:52 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Eric Berry, Kent C. Dodds) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast/seasons/01/episodes/funding-open-source-maintainers-using-ethical-advertising-with-eric-berry It's challenging to sustain open source projects, a lot of time and energy is poured in without any compensation in return. Eric Berry created CodeFund to give developers who are finding it difficult to justify putting their time into open source projects a means to get compensated.

Open source today is not the same as it was five years ago. Ninety-six percent of all web apps are using open source. The web relies on it. Sixty-five percent of all projects have only one or two maintainers, and their work is providing value to a lot of companies and people. Maintainers having the option to be compensated benefits not only the maintainer but also everyone who relies on the project.

Advertising is a scary word these days with big advertisers tracking people across the web and gathering their data. CodeFund doesn't use third-party trackers and doesn't collect data from the developer's audience. Advertising doesn't have to be evil, it can serve a good purpose if it's used correctly.

Resources

Guest: Eric Berry

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Funding Open-Source Maintainers Using Ethical Advertising With Eric Berry Eric Berry, Kent C. Dodds 00:33:59 Eric Berry talks about CodeFund and what it does to help the open source community. Eric Berry talks about CodeFund and what it does to help the open source community. ethics, software, programming, open source, advertising false full 7 1 5c77bf91-0f09-43f1-b8fd-91f50fa40ce6 Creating Successful Mentor Relationships With Emma Bostian Emma Bostian launched codingcoach.io, a free, open-source project that connects mentees with mentors. Emma discusses how she launched Coding Coach before she had a real database. It's better to have your product out there than to sit on it until it's perfect, you can always iterate.

Mentoring doesn't just help others, you improve your teaching skills, and it also just looks good to be a mentor.

Mentees should respect a mentor's time since they are doing it for free. When asking someone to be your mentor briefly describe where you're currently at, and some tangible goals that you want to work towards.

Mentorship doesn't strictly have to be a one-on-one relationship with someone. You can mentor people through content creation as well. Blogging, recording videos, writing books, and giving talks all teach people.

Often people's goal with their mentor is to be ready for the technical interview. Many companies are wising up to the fact that someone's ability to write algorithms doesn't correlate with their expertise as a front-end developer.

Homework

  • Kent advises to keep your HTML, CSS, and JavaScript skills sharp, learn the abstractions you are using so you can talk about them intelligently.

Resources

Guest: Emma Bostian

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Mon, 5 Aug 2019 20:14:43 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Emma Bostian, Kent C. Dodds) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast/seasons/01/episodes/creating-successful-mentor-relationships-with-emma-bostian Emma Bostian launched codingcoach.io, a free, open-source project that connects mentees with mentors. Emma discusses how she launched Coding Coach before she had a real database. It's better to have your product out there than to sit on it until it's perfect, you can always iterate.

Mentoring doesn't just help others, you improve your teaching skills, and it also just looks good to be a mentor.

Mentees should respect a mentor's time since they are doing it for free. When asking someone to be your mentor briefly describe where you're currently at, and some tangible goals that you want to work towards.

Mentorship doesn't strictly have to be a one-on-one relationship with someone. You can mentor people through content creation as well. Blogging, recording videos, writing books, and giving talks all teach people.

Often people's goal with their mentor is to be ready for the technical interview. Many companies are wising up to the fact that someone's ability to write algorithms doesn't correlate with their expertise as a front-end developer.

Homework

  • Kent advises to keep your HTML, CSS, and JavaScript skills sharp, learn the abstractions you are using so you can talk about them intelligently.

Resources

Guest: Emma Bostian

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Creating Successful Mentor Relationships With Emma Bostian Emma Bostian, Kent C. Dodds 00:31:26 Emma Bostian discusses mentorship and all the benefits of being a mentor. Emma Bostian discusses mentorship and all the benefits of being a mentor. career, software, mentorship, programming, development false full 6 1 e4fa5dc7-ce8d-4b2d-99f8-5f4fcd8918fd Make Your Apps Resilient UsingFinite State Machines With David Khourshid In this episode, David Khourshid gives the rundown on how finite state machines can make your app more testable, more resilient to bugs, and easier to refactor.

David's initial interest in finite state machines stemmed from his background in music. With music, there is a universal notation that crosses genre boundaries. David thought what if there could be music notation for logic? Well, it ends up people have been trying to figure this out for the last thirty years.

A finite state machine can only be in exactly one state out of a limited number of possible states. The machine can transition to another state through explicitly defined events.

David also chats with Kent about extended finite state machines, how state machines can be used to simplify integration testing, the differences between xstate and redux.

Homework

  • Take whatever feature you are working on and model it out in your head as a finite state machine

Resources

Guest: David Khourshid

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Mon, 5 Aug 2019 20:14:33 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (David Khourshid, Kent C. Dodds) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast/seasons/01/episodes/make-your-apps-resilient-finite-state-machines-with-david-khourshid In this episode, David Khourshid gives the rundown on how finite state machines can make your app more testable, more resilient to bugs, and easier to refactor.

David's initial interest in finite state machines stemmed from his background in music. With music, there is a universal notation that crosses genre boundaries. David thought what if there could be music notation for logic? Well, it ends up people have been trying to figure this out for the last thirty years.

A finite state machine can only be in exactly one state out of a limited number of possible states. The machine can transition to another state through explicitly defined events.

David also chats with Kent about extended finite state machines, how state machines can be used to simplify integration testing, the differences between xstate and redux.

Homework

  • Take whatever feature you are working on and model it out in your head as a finite state machine

Resources

Guest: David Khourshid

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Make Your Apps Resilient UsingFinite State Machines With David Khourshid David Khourshid, Kent C. Dodds 00:32:29 David Khourshid talks about how finite-state machines can make our code stronger. David Khourshid talks about how finite-state machines can make our code stronger. xstate, finite state machines, software, programming false full 5 1 1607b104-2d17-4b7c-8f65-07722857f8f6 A Rundown Of What's Next For React With Dan Abramov What's next for React? In this second interview with Dan Abramov React's direction is discussed along with overviews of exciting new features.

Dan gives a great rundown these incoming features. React suspense is going to provide a baked-in solution for the problems that async data fetching causes with component rendering, and concurrent mode is bringing non-blocking rendering. Further insight is provided into what problems sparked the need for these new features and why they were the chosen implementations.

There's also discussion on React Fire modernizing React DOM, JSX v2, if React is a framework or a library, what React is intended for, and React's end-game.

Resources

Guest: Dan Abramov

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Mon, 5 Aug 2019 20:14:19 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Kent C. Dodds, Dan Abramov) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast/seasons/01/episodes/a-rundown-of-whats-next-for-react-with-dan-abramov What's next for React? In this second interview with Dan Abramov React's direction is discussed along with overviews of exciting new features.

Dan gives a great rundown these incoming features. React suspense is going to provide a baked-in solution for the problems that async data fetching causes with component rendering, and concurrent mode is bringing non-blocking rendering. Further insight is provided into what problems sparked the need for these new features and why they were the chosen implementations.

There's also discussion on React Fire modernizing React DOM, JSX v2, if React is a framework or a library, what React is intended for, and React's end-game.

Resources

Guest: Dan Abramov

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> A Rundown Of What's Next For React With Dan Abramov Kent C. Dodds, Dan Abramov 00:52:17 Dan Abramov talks about the future of React. Dan Abramov talks about the future of React. jsx, react, dev, software, javascript, programming false full 4 1 6648c00a-16f9-4712-9a06-0c6ddf9709a8 Realigning Your Model of React After Hooks With Dan Abramov In this episode, Kent and Dan talk about the ways in which you'll have to reconstruct your mental model of how React works in order to get the hang of hooks, and how hooks more closely align with React's intended model.

React has made multiple attempts at figuring out a way to share state between components. Mixins, higher-order components, render props, and now hooks. Dan Abramov walks through what went right and what went wrong with each of the implementations prior to hooks. None of these implementations lined up with React's model, they were too indirect, or too limiting.

Classes didn't properly fit in with React's component model either. Components don't use inheritance, they aren't ever instantiated, you don't call methods off of them. Dan explains how Components are more like a stateful function, and how Hooks are a closer approximation of this mental model.

Resources

Guest: Dan Abramov

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Mon, 5 Aug 2019 20:14:05 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Dan Abramov, Kent C. Dodds) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast/seasons/01/episodes/realigning-your-model-of-react-after-hooks-with-dan-abramov In this episode, Kent and Dan talk about the ways in which you'll have to reconstruct your mental model of how React works in order to get the hang of hooks, and how hooks more closely align with React's intended model.

React has made multiple attempts at figuring out a way to share state between components. Mixins, higher-order components, render props, and now hooks. Dan Abramov walks through what went right and what went wrong with each of the implementations prior to hooks. None of these implementations lined up with React's model, they were too indirect, or too limiting.

Classes didn't properly fit in with React's component model either. Components don't use inheritance, they aren't ever instantiated, you don't call methods off of them. Dan explains how Components are more like a stateful function, and how Hooks are a closer approximation of this mental model.

Resources

Guest: Dan Abramov

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Realigning Your Model of React After Hooks With Dan Abramov Dan Abramov, Kent C. Dodds 00:45:20 Dan Abramov discusses how the addition of hooks changed how we write React. Dan Abramov discusses how the addition of hooks changed how we write React. react, dev, software false full 3 1 adadcdd9-240f-49aa-9a24-1d5a11717b38 Establishing Your Personal Brand With Cassidy Williams Cassidy Williams is an engineer at Codepen. In the last five years, Cassidy has worked for five companies. She had left each on her terms as she learned through experience what she wanted and didn't want. Figuring out what you like and what you don't like is critical for ending up somewhere that you're happy with, Cassidy calls this establishing your personal brand. The term "personal brand" has negative connotations to it, it seems unauthentic, but really what it means is figuring out who you are and making that public, it's as authentic as you make it.

Kent challenges you to take five minutes and write down what you like and what you don't like. Afterward, reflect on that list and ask yourself if where you're at now lines up, if it doesn't dig deeper into figuring out how to make the necessary changes for your life to align more with your likes and dislikes.

Resources

Guest: Cassidy Williams

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Mon, 5 Aug 2019 20:13:56 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Kent C. Dodds, Cassidy Williams) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast/seasons/01/episodes/establishing-your-personal-brand-with-cassidy-williams Cassidy Williams is an engineer at Codepen. In the last five years, Cassidy has worked for five companies. She had left each on her terms as she learned through experience what she wanted and didn't want. Figuring out what you like and what you don't like is critical for ending up somewhere that you're happy with, Cassidy calls this establishing your personal brand. The term "personal brand" has negative connotations to it, it seems unauthentic, but really what it means is figuring out who you are and making that public, it's as authentic as you make it.

Kent challenges you to take five minutes and write down what you like and what you don't like. Afterward, reflect on that list and ask yourself if where you're at now lines up, if it doesn't dig deeper into figuring out how to make the necessary changes for your life to align more with your likes and dislikes.

Resources

Guest: Cassidy Williams

Host: Kent C. Dodds

]]> Establishing Your Personal Brand With Cassidy Williams Kent C. Dodds, Cassidy Williams 00:33:55 Cassidy Williams talks about the power that comes with establishing your personal brand. Cassidy Williams talks about the power that comes with establishing your personal brand. career, personal brand false full 2 1 ebacc799-3aa8-476a-8833-33686749abe6 Growing Your Skills And Career Through Teaching with Ali Spittel In this episode, Ali Spittel, a software engineer and developer advocate at Dev.to, joins us to talk about how excellent teaching can be for not only the people who are learning from you but also for developing your skills and your career.

Teaching is one of the best ways we can teach ourselves something. It requires you to build an understanding of the subject matter strong enough to explain the material to other people and answer questions. "At some point, you tell a computer what to do, and it does it. It's really predictable. If you tell it to do the right thing, it's going to do the right thing without failure." As you may know, giving instructions to humans doesn't end up being so straightforward, even if you explain something perfectly, mistakes can still be made. It's a challenge to understand the material from multiple angles to accommodate different people, but it's excellent for solidifying your understanding.

Ali challenges you to write a blog post! It doesn't have to be long. Kent C. Dodds will write articles that are only a few paragraphs. Even if no one reads it, you still took the time to learn something and grow.

Resources

Guest: Ali Spittel

Kent C. Dodds

]]> Mon, 5 Aug 2019 20:13:43 +0000 team@kentcdodds.com (Ali Spittel, Kent C. Dodds) https://kentcdodds.com/chats-with-kent-podcast/seasons/01/episodes/growing-your-skills-and-career-through-teaching-with-ali-spittel In this episode, Ali Spittel, a software engineer and developer advocate at Dev.to, joins us to talk about how excellent teaching can be for not only the people who are learning from you but also for developing your skills and your career.

Teaching is one of the best ways we can teach ourselves something. It requires you to build an understanding of the subject matter strong enough to explain the material to other people and answer questions. "At some point, you tell a computer what to do, and it does it. It's really predictable. If you tell it to do the right thing, it's going to do the right thing without failure." As you may know, giving instructions to humans doesn't end up being so straightforward, even if you explain something perfectly, mistakes can still be made. It's a challenge to understand the material from multiple angles to accommodate different people, but it's excellent for solidifying your understanding.

Ali challenges you to write a blog post! It doesn't have to be long. Kent C. Dodds will write articles that are only a few paragraphs. Even if no one reads it, you still took the time to learn something and grow.

Resources

Guest: Ali Spittel

Kent C. Dodds

]]> Growing Your Skills And Career Through Teaching with Ali Spittel Ali Spittel, Kent C. Dodds 00:30:03 Ali Spittel talks about how teaching can help your skills and your career. Ali Spittel talks about how teaching can help your skills and your career. growth, teaching, career, web development, dev, software, education, javascript, mentorship false full 1 1