Best The ReadME Project Podcasts (2025)

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Powering public goods 31:51

Play Pause

2 years ago31:51

31:51

In this episode of The ReadME Podcast, hosts Neha Batra and Martin Woodward look back on their growth and learnings from the past season, from pronunciation struggles to hosting highs. Next, they share a fun story about the world's first webcam at the University of Cambridge in 1991 and its coffee-related origins. The hosts then dive into the Digit…

1
(De)coding conventions 42:04

2 years ago42:04

42:04

Programming languages are always in flux, and so is the way we use them. In this episode, we dive into the rise of TypeScript, with The ReadME Project’s Senior Editor Mike Melanson outlining its history and evolution. Hosts Neha Batra and Martin Woodward discuss the pros and cons of static typing, and Jordan Harband from TC39 shares his views on th…

1
Bridging code and community 41:11

2 years ago41:11

41:11

The influence of open source extends well beyond code. In this episode, we dive into the less-explored areas of the open source community, spotlighting their profound and wide-ranging impact. With host Neha Batra away for travel, Martin Woodward welcomes Kyler Middleton to discuss navigating the open source community in a highly regulated environme…

1
Kelsey Hightower—Present 46:23

2 years ago46:23

46:23

In this bonus episode, we hear from Kubernetes superstar Kelsey Hightower. Diving into crucial elements like empathy in maintainership, succession planning, and the identification of future leaders, hosts Martin Woodward and Neha Batra explore Kelsey’s philosophy on fostering thriving open source communities—and his hopes for the future state of Ku…

1
The open/closed equilibrium 41:02

2 years ago41:02

41:02

This month, we consider the evolution of openness in open source. The ReadME Project’s Senior Editor, Mike Melanson joins hosts Martin and Neha to discuss expert advice on why “closed to contributions” sometimes makes sense and how that model aligns with open source expectations. Additionally, maintainer, founder, and CEO of Scarf Avi Press highlig…

1
Fusing tech and progress 38:42

2 years ago38:42

38:42

This month we’re exploring quantum leaps in technology—then, now, and what devs can do today to prepare for tomorrow. The hosts welcome Klint Finley, Senior Editor of The ReadME Project, to discuss the role that open source played in a recent nuclear fusion breakthrough. Additionally, we speak with Jerome Hardaway, Executive Director of Vets Who Co…

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Innovation without barriers 36:15

2 years ago36:15

36:15

Here’s what’s in store for this episode: 00:00 - The hosts hear from Ed Summers, GitHub’s head of accessibility, about the meaning of disability and accessibility and why it's important to involve everyone in building technology. 10:43 - The panel: Annalu Waller, Becky Tyler, and Kirsty McNaught join the hosts to discuss how they started working to…

1
Co-maintaining openness 35:23

2 years ago35:23

35:23

Here’s what’s in store for this episode: 00:00 - The hosts discuss how to impress and win over the heart of a developer in your life. 02:30 - First Commit: How India built the PARAM 8000 supercomputer. 06:07 - The Interview: Peter Strömberg and Brandon Ringe, the co-maintainers of Calva, discuss the benefits of sharing responsibility for open sourc…

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Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication 36:00

2 years ago36:00

36:00

Here’s what’s in store for this episode: 00:00 - Martin and Neha share how they spent the holiday break and discuss New Year's resolutions. 02:25 - First Commit: The story of TIME magazine naming the computer “Machine of the Year.” 06:10 - Feature Release: The ReadME Project’s Mike Melanson shares how maximalism in development has crept into places…

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Let the games begin 36:14

2 years ago36:14

36:14

Here’s what’s in store for this episode: 00:00 - Neha and Martin discuss the return of social norms and the childhood video games they remember best. 03:38 - First Commit: The hosts share the origin story of the NORAD Tracks Santa system. 06:57 - The Interview: Dr. Johanna Pirker provides her perspective on how open source can help the gaming indus…

1
Cue the command line 42:16

3 years ago42:16

42:16

Here’s what’s in store for this episode: 00:00 - The hosts discuss GitHub Universe and highlight some of their favorite sessions. 02:30 - First Commit: Neha and Martin discuss the US presidential election of November 1952, which was the first time that a computer was used to predict winners. 05:55 - Features Story: The ReadME Project Sr. Editor, Kl…

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Code like it’s 1995 45:57

3 years ago45:57

45:57

Here’s what’s in store for this episode: 00:00 - Intro: The hosts discuss AI image generators and draw parallels with GitHub’s pair programmer: Copilot. 03:34 - First Commit: Neha and Martin discuss ARPANET’s 1980 crash, the first known network-wide crash. 6:16 - Feature Story: The ReadME Project Sr. Editor Mike Melanson discusses his recent articl…

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Build your own luck 37:28

3 years ago37:28

37:28

Here’s what’s in store for this episode: 00:00 - Meet our newest co-host, and learn about The ReadME Podcast’s new format. 01:40 - First Commit: Neha and Martin explore “Eternal September.” 03:54 - Features Story: RMP Sr. Editor, Klint Finley, joins to discuss his recent story Functional programming is finally going mainstream. 18:17 - #AskRMP - Op…

1
Trailer 2:09

3 years ago2:09

2:09

The ReadME Podcast is your portal into the open source community. We'll introduce you to the people building the projects you use every day, answer your questions about tech, and guide you through the ever-changing open source landscape. We take deep dives into the trends shaping the future of technology, the culture and craft of software developme…

1
Hosts in the hot seat 43:07

3 years ago43:07

43:07

For the final ReadME Podcast episode of Season 2 our hosts Brian and Neha turn the spotlight around and interview each other. The conversation covers everything from Nintendos at Christmas and university computer hand-me-downs to Encarta, Ask Jeeves, and Netscape. They also dive down the rabbit hole of their tech journeys—starting from the beginnin…

1
FreeCodeCamp: For curious people, by curious people 33:08

3 years ago33:08

33:08

As a school director, Quincy dabbled with code to automate some of his colleagues’ more administrative tasks—and it changed everything. Computers tackled the tedious work, and teachers could focus on teaching. This led Quincy to pursue programming more seriously, but his transition to work as a software engineer was a bit rocky. Inspired to find a …

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Keeping creativity alive while managing workloads 34:01

3 years ago34:01

34:01

Jani Eväkallio discovered programming when he was stuck inside with a broken leg as a teenager. He fell in and out of programming afterwards and took an OSS hiatus at 16. He has since dove back in and maintained countless projects over the years—but quickly recognized his own limitations and didn’t hesitate to hand over the reins to those looking f…

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Three careers and motherhood are just the start 53:03

4 years ago53:03

53:03

Salma Alam-Naylor, aka White Panther, discovered programming at a young age but focused on music and comedy into her twenties. Though her path to developing wasn’t obvious or linear, she wouldn’t change it for anything. Today, she’s a positive force in open source, making an impact on Twitch, Discord, and via her vocal commitment to accessibility a…

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Where utility meets beauty: Hoppscotch 35:06

4 years ago35:06

35:06

Liyas Thomas is the founder of Hoppscotch, an open source API development ecosystem that’s seen exponential growth. Encouraged by his own mentors, Liyas now maintains Hoppscotch full time. Whether he’s programming or pursuing his passion for art, he always puts beauty at the core of his work. During this conversation, he shares his path to Hoppscot…

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Giving 110% in the right place at the right time 48:28

4 years ago48:28

48:28

Fred Schott’s love for programming started early, and he worked hard during his 20s at companies like Box and Google. As his own side projects experienced open source success, Fred took the plunge in 2021 and started Astro, a JavaScript-based static site builder full time. In this conversation, he speaks about his introduction to open source, his p…

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A master in both piano and WordPress 41:58

4 years ago41:58

41:58

While earning her Master’s degree in Piano, Helen Hou-Sandí worked in the computer lab, where her skills caught the attention of her music conservatory. Implored to make a website, she discovered the instant gratification of WordPress and was hooked. A decade later, she’s a leading WordPress developer who’s passionate about open source. Helen share…

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Python enthusiast, Twitch streamer, et. al. 33:50

4 years ago33:50

33:50

Anthony Sottile started college as a biochemistry major, but pivoted to programming two years in. After his first coding class, the school was so impressed they invited Anthony to teach the following semester. He loved helping others realize the potential of programming, which eventually led him to Twitch, where he codes, shares stories, and builds…

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Season 2 Trailer 1:00

4 years ago1:00

1:00

Season 2 of The ReadME Podcast is on the way with our hosts Brian Douglas and Neha Batra! New episodes will be dropping every Tuesday starting October 26th...By GitHub's The ReadME Project

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Prioritizing empathy and taking risks to build Chakra UI 38:07

4 years ago38:07

38:07

Segun Adebayo’s approach to computers and technology is driven by a belief that how we communicate is just as important as what we communicate. With this in mind, he created Chakra UI, a modular and accessible React library that has a quarter million downloads a month. Originally from Nigeria and now based in Dubai, Segun sat down with us to share …

1
Creating space and opportunity with She Code Africa 31:18

4 years ago31:18

31:18

Based in Lagos, Nigeria, Ada Nduka Oyom initially studied microbiology at university, but quickly fell in love with programming. Witnessing the huge disparity of women to men in technology, she started She Code Africa so women could learn to code and be properly recognized for their work. In this episode, Ada shares her inspiration for She Code Afr…

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Changing the hardware development game at Adafruit 31:20

4 years ago31:20

31:20

While procrastinating at MIT in 2005, Limor Fried built her own MP3 player and shared it online, immediately inspiring others to create their own hardware. What started as a small side hustle on PayPal is now Adafruit, a wildly successful business with 100 employees and a 50,000 square-foot factory in New York. Limor, otherwise known as “Ladyada,” …

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From comics in Virginia to React Core at Facebook 40:07

4 years ago40:07

40:07

Rachel Nabors grew up in rural Virginia and knew that if they could just get a laptop and the internet, they could bring the world to them. Currently balancing documentation, demos, and community engagement on Facebook’s React Core team, it’s safe to say Rachel was right. An illustrator, developer, author, speaker, and teacher, Rachel shares how th…

1
cURL: 25 years and 200 releases later 43:49

4 years ago43:49

43:49

Almost 25 years ago, in 1997, Daniel Stenburg created cURL, a command line tool for transferring data. The name stands for “client URL,” works on any platform, and is used in billions of installations. Despite maintaining cURL for a quarter of a century, Daniel couldn’t be happier where he is, and wouldn’t want to be doing anything else. We recentl…

1
Quitting a steady job to chase intuition 33:05

4 years ago33:05

33:05

In this episode, we talk with Henry Zhu, full-time maintainer of Babel, the Javascript compiler. We’ll discover how Henry first got into programming, and what convinced him to leave a stable job at Adobe to take the leap into open source. Henry digs into the challenges and rewards of building a community, and how he finds balance. Hear it all strai…

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From a master's thesis to global go-to 25:30

4 years ago25:30

25:30

While working on his master’s thesis for web applications, Tobias Koppers created an optimizer out of necessity, which he called webpack. His thesis complete, Tobias realized how fun it was to iterate with users and bring code splitting and bundling to the masses. Driven by the continuous innovation of the open source community, a few choice partne…

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Keeping the lights on with Home Assistant 37:22

4 years ago37:22

37:22

Originally from the Netherlands and now based in California, Paulus Schoutsen has always been fascinated by data, and how it could be used to optimize people’s lives. Seven years ago, he open sourced a simple way to remotely turn his house lights on at sunset. Today, Home Assistant has grown to an entire home automation framework with a worldwide c…

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Humanizing bots and building community 32:24

4 years ago32:24

32:24

When Mariatta Wijaya arrived in Canada from Indonesia, she got a job as a software developer, and the first language she learned was Python. Now a Python core developer, she creates GitHub bots that are not just functional, but friendly. She’s also the co-organizer of Vancouver PyLadies and the PyCascades conference, was nominated twice for the Goo…

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From a 3D side project to the dream job 37:43

4 years ago37:43

37:43

When she was young, Gina Häußge’s dad showed her how to make her first computer commands, and she was hooked on watching code come to life. Fast forward to 2012, when she got her first 3D printer, which she loved. What she didn’t love were the noises and fumes it spat out during prints. So she put it in the spare bathroom, built a monitor that she …

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How one idea grew into a popular Javascript ecosystem 33:04

4 years ago33:04

33:04

Evan You came to the U.S. from China when he was 18, and ended up at Parsons for a Master’s of Fine Arts in design and coding. He landed his dream job at Google Creative Lab, where he would become drawn to his side project, which would become what we now know as Vue. The core library has since evolved into an entire ecosystem and progressive framew…

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Taking Das Blog into the future 49:46

4 years ago49:46

49:46

In this episode, we sit down with Scott Hanselman and Mark Downie, maintainers of Das Blog. Developed in the C# programming language, Das Blog is a robust blogging application that supports languages across the globe and doesn’t require a database. Scott and Mark share how they met, and how they’re ushering 20 years of code into the future. We’ll d…

1
Season 1 Trailer 2:07

4 years ago2:07

2:07

On The ReadME Podcast, we take a look behind the scenes of the most impactful open source projects and the developers who make them happen. Our guests are coding in public, creating firmware, designing hardware, researching security vulnerabilities, creating art and music, and making phenomenal scientific discoveries. They’re also working on the pe…

The ReadME Project Podcasts

1
The ReadME Podcast

The ReadME Project, GitHub

1
Powering public goods 31:51

1
(De)coding conventions 42:04

1
Bridging code and community 41:11

1
Kelsey Hightower—Present 46:23

1
The open/closed equilibrium 41:02

1
Fusing tech and progress 38:42

1
Innovation without barriers 36:15

1
Co-maintaining openness 35:23

1
Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication 36:00

1
Let the games begin 36:14

1
Cue the command line 42:16

1
Code like it’s 1995 45:57

1
Build your own luck 37:28

1
Trailer 2:09

1
Hosts in the hot seat 43:07

1
FreeCodeCamp: For curious people, by curious people 33:08

1
Keeping creativity alive while managing workloads 34:01

1
Three careers and motherhood are just the start 53:03

1
Where utility meets beauty: Hoppscotch 35:06

1
Giving 110% in the right place at the right time 48:28

1
A master in both piano and WordPress 41:58

1
Python enthusiast, Twitch streamer, et. al. 33:50

1
Season 2 Trailer 1:00

1
Prioritizing empathy and taking risks to build Chakra UI 38:07

1
Creating space and opportunity with She Code Africa 31:18

1
Changing the hardware development game at Adafruit 31:20

1
From comics in Virginia to React Core at Facebook 40:07

1
cURL: 25 years and 200 releases later 43:49

1
Quitting a steady job to chase intuition 33:05

1
From a master's thesis to global go-to 25:30

1
Keeping the lights on with Home Assistant 37:22

1
Humanizing bots and building community 32:24

1
From a 3D side project to the dream job 37:43

1
How one idea grew into a popular Javascript ecosystem 33:04

1
Taking Das Blog into the future 49:46

1
Season 1 Trailer 2:07