Best Ry Walker Podcasts (2025)

1
S3E2: Heikki Linnakangas, Cofounder Neon 27:00

7M ago27:00

27:00

Today we take a deep dive into the world of PostgreSQL extensions, featuring our conversation with Heikki Linnakangas, co-founder of Neon, an expert Postgres hacker, and contributor to pgvector. Heikki shares the fascinating story of how Neon was born in 2021, driven by the vision of creating an open-source platform akin to Aurora Serverless. He de…

1
S3E1: Francesco Tisiot, Field CTO Aiven 31:46

7M ago31:46

31:46

Joining Aiven in 2021, Francesco Tisiot works as a Field CTO and AI Lead. He serves as a technical advisor to clients and prospects, helping to meet their needs without the focus on sales, acting as a 'rented' CTO to provide expert guidance. Join us as we dive into Francesco's insightful perspectives on the Postgres community, where he challenges t…

1
S2E10: DJ Patil and Ray Lane, GreatPoint Ventures 44:18

11M ago44:18

44:18

Today we’re joined by Ray Lane and DJ Patil from GreatPoint Ventures. Ray, known for his pivotal role at Oracle during its turnaround, shares his journey from the US Army to top tech positions and eventually co-founding GreatPoint Ventures, where he supports entrepreneurs. DJ Patil – investor, entrepreneur, and former U.S. Chief Data Scientist – jo…

1
S2E9: Sai Srirampur, PeerDB 41:37

12M ago41:37

41:37

Sai Srirampur is the co-founder of PeerDB and a veteran Postgres Solutions Engineer with experience at Citus Data and Microsoft. He has been at the forefront of optimizing and scaling Postgres for large data workloads and is now spearheading innovation in data movement and replication with PeerDB. In this episode, we'll discuss the challenges of tu…

1
S2E8: Melanie Plageman, Microsoft 36:55

1y ago36:55

36:55

In this episode, we talk Postgres committer Melanie Plagemean about her involvement with @PGConfdev, improvements to vacuum scheduling and auto vacuum configuration, the logical replication of DDL, and platforms such as CNCF and Kubernetes integrating with Postgres. Links mentioned: PGConf.dev YouTube – CMU Database Group Path To Citus Con Podcast …

1
S2E7: Bharath Rupireddy, AWS 30:08

1y ago30:08

30:08

Bharath Rupireddy has carved a niche for himself in the Postgres community since he began using the database system back in 2020. From his start at EnterpriseDB to making strides at Microsoft, and now contributing to the AWS open-source project, Bharath is entrenched in the inner workings of Postgres development. He has worked in many areas of Post…

1
S2E6: Gülçin Yıldırım Jelínek, EDB 37:09

1y ago37:09

37:09

As the podcast host of The Builders, member of Postgres Women, and Staff Engineer at EDB, Gülçin Yıldırım Jelínek is passionate to see where this space will take us. We kick off Season 2 with Gülçin as she shares her journey in the tech industry, CloudNativePG, the impact of AI on Postgres, and the representation of women in the Postgres community.…

1
S2E5: Jelte Fennema-Nio, Principal Software Engineer, Microsoft 31:40

1y ago31:40

31:40

Alongside his peers studying Systems Network Engineering, Jelte Fennema-Nio unearthed a security vulnerability within the framework of Postgres. Since then, Jelte joined the world of cybersecurity and network engineering. He is currently Principal Software Engineer at Microsoft working on Citus/ Postgres/ PgBouncer. In this episode we explore: Fork…

1
S2E4: Amit Kapila, Fujitsu India 34:22

1y ago34:22

34:22

Amit Kapila is a PostgreSQL Committer and a Senior Director at Fujitsu India. Amit joins the show to share his contributions to logical replication enhancements (achieving highly available systems), his involvement in the PostgreSQL community, and his perspective on contributions from tech giants in advancing PostgreSQL features. In this episode we…

1
S2E3: David Wheeler, Principal Architect, Tembo 38:35

1y ago38:35

38:35

As Principal Architect at Tembo and the creator of PGXN, David Wheeler is a seminal figure in the Postgres world. Join us as we discuss David's tenure at The New York Times, his influential projects like Bricolage and pgTAP, and the game-changing database change management system, Sqitch. In this episode we explore: David Wheeler's transition from …

1
S2E2: Denis Magda, Director of Developer Relations, Yugabyte 48:23

1y ago48:23

48:23

Denis Magda is the mastermind behind the innovative extension PgCompute and a pivotal figure in the world of Postgres development. With over a decade and a half of experience, Denis cut his teeth on Postgres during its use in high-traffic social networking projects in Eastern Europe and has continued to push the envelope at Yugabyte as the head of …

1
S2E1: Andrew Atkinson, Software Engineer and Author 35:32

1y ago35:32

35:32

Andrew Atkinson is a Software Engineer who specializes in building high-performance web applications using PostgreSQL and Ruby on Rails. He wrote the book ‘High-Performance PostgreSQL for Rails’, published by Pragmatic Programmers in 2024. Our discussion with Andrew spans the technical challenges of sharding and the concurrent evolution of Rails an…

1
S1E10: Tim Sehn, Dolthub, Doltgres 34:30

1+ y ago34:30

34:30

Just describing something truly novel is challenging, let alone building it. That’s the story of our final episode from Season 1, where Ry sits down with Tim Sehn from Dolthub to talk about the journey of building Dolt, the new release of Doltgres, and the challenges of adapting to the changing ways users engage with your product.…

1
S1E9: Bertrand Drouvot, AWS Cloud, pgsentinel 33:53

1+ y ago33:53

33:53

Build the thing you wish you had right now. That’s the story behind Hacking Postgres, Ep 9, where Ry sits down with Bertrand Drouvot of AWS Cloud. Today they talked about the struggles of trying to build from scratch vs having a template, what should be core vs an extension, and being able to see what’s really happening inside your database.…

1
S1E8: Philippe Noël, ParadeDB 36:06

1+ y ago36:06

36:06

Search is simple in theory. In practice? Anything but. Join Ry for Episode 8 of Hacking Postgres, where he sits down with Philippe Noël of ParadeDB to talk about how search is evolving, the influence of AI, and the lessons you'd tell your younger self.By Ry Walker

1
S1E7: Burak Yucesoy, Ubicloud 36:04

1+ y ago36:04

36:04

Postgres for everything? How about building a new cloud provider? Join us for Ep 7 of Hacking Postgres where Ry talks with Burak Yucesoy of Ubicloud about new clouds, getting attached to extensions, and the future potential of Postgres.By Ry Walker

1
S1E6: Regina Obe and Paul Ramsey, PostGIS 35:12

1+ y ago35:12

35:12

Ever wonder what it's like to build a geospatial extension for PostgreSQL? Join us for Episode 6 of Hacking Postgres, where Ry sits down with Regina Obe and Paul Ramsey, two of the key creators of PostGIS.By Ry Walker

1
S1E5: Alexander Korotkov, OrioleDB 39:19

1+ y ago39:19

39:19

In this episode, Ry and Alexander talk about OrioleDB (and the challenge of fighting bloat), fuzzy and vector search, and the challenges behind database management.By Ry Walker

1
S1E4: Pavlo Golub, Cybertec, pg_timetable 24:19

1+ y ago24:19

24:19

Pavlo Golub is the Co-Founder of PostgreSQL Ukraine and a PostgreSQL expert at Cybertec. Pavlo created pg_timetable, an advanced standalone job scheduler for Postgres.By Ry Walker

1
S1E3: Eric Ridge, ZomboDB, pgrx, plrust 20:42

1+ y ago20:42

20:42

Eric Ridge is the primary developer of ZomboDB, “Making Postgres and Elasticsearch work together like it's 2023.” He’s also an active part of the pgrx and plrust teams.By Ry Walker

1
S1E2: Adam Hendel, Tembo, pg_later, pgmq 24:57

1+ y ago24:57

24:57

Adam Hendel started his career in Military Intelligence before transitioning into the private sector as a Machine Learning Engineer for companies like UnitedHealth, C.H. Robinson, and Shipt. Now, as a Founding Engineer at Tembo, Adam spends his time creating extensions and figuring out how to make “Postgres for Everything” a reality.…

1
S1E1: Marco Slot, Citus Data, Microsoft 30:25

1+ y ago30:25

30:25

Marco Slot spent nearly five years as lead engineer on Citus, an extension that turns Postgres into a distributed database. Citus Data was acquired by Microsoft in 2019, so these days Marco spends his time developing the Citus database engine which powers Azure Cosmos DB for PostgreSQL.By Ry Walker

1
Episode 040: Mike Matthews, Muscle For Life 1:09:27

12y ago1:09:27

1:09:27

Mike Matthews from Muscle For Life joins us in this episode to talk nerdy about fitness and nutrition programs, including the truth and lies about supplements. This show fits into our mini-series on health and wellness, which kicked off last time with Derek Flanzraich, founder and CEO of Greatist. Mike's insights are a great complement to Derek's b…

1
Episode 039: Derek Flanzraich, Greatist 52:13

12y ago52:13

52:13

We're kicking off our latest series on health and wellness with a celebration! Derek Flanzraich kindly joined us on Greatist's second birthday, a site he created to provide reliable, scientifically validated information on health and wellness. It's a topic close to our hearts here at NerdKicks, and Derek gives us excellent insight into the quest to…

1
Episode 038: James Clear 1:07:16

12y ago1:07:16

1:07:16

We're thrilled to have James Clear on this very special episode of the NerdKicks Podcast! Why is it special? Because it's our first birthday! Who better to have on for a chat then James, who talks with us about the science and practice of habit formation? It's such geeky fun that Mindy even inadvertently quotes James back to himself. Thank you so m…

1
Episode 037: Tim Metzner and Ry Walker, Differential 59:20

12y ago59:20

59:20

We delve deep into our miniseries on tech startups by welcoming Tim Metzner and Ry Walker to the show. Tim and Ry are two co-founders of Differential, a Cincinnati-based startup company that's part incubator, accelerator, consultancy, and angel investor. Uniting their many years of experience working in the tech startup scene, Differential works wi…

1
Episode 036: Bill Condo and Michael Waclo, Designer Vs. Developer 1:13:38

12y ago1:13:38

1:13:38

Matt's friends Bill Condo and Michael Waclo joined us in this fun episode to talk about the rise of the Internet and how web technologies influenced all our nerdy origin stories. Bill is a talented developer while Michael is a sharp designer. Together and with the help of other web friends, they produce an interesting video podcast series called De…

1
Episode 035: Pat Flynn, Let Go 55:31

12y ago55:31

55:31

If you're a massive podcast connoisseur like Mindy (I'm getting there), then you may have already come across Pat. He's the creator of the remarkably popular Smart Passive Income Podcast, which shares transparent insights into the world of online business and marketing. Pat is kicking off our new miniseries on digital entrepreneurship. We talk with…

1
Episode 034: Joseph Rose, Black Heart Letterpress 55:10

12y ago55:10

55:10

Joseph Rose is one interesting guy. Mindy and I wanted to chat him up about all things letterpress. And we did. But little did we know heading into our conversation that Joseph is also quite musically inclined, including singing and playing bass guitar in a band. Letterpress + music = one fascinating show, if we do say so ourselves. Jump onboard th…

1
Episode 033: Jeremy Dooley, Chatype 44:20

12y ago44:20

44:20

Can a typeface bring a city together? Jeremy Dooley proved it can, with the highly successful Chatype Kickstarter campaign, which was chosen by the Kickstarter staff as one of the top campaigns of 2012. We talk with Jeremy about the process of designing a typeface, as well as how a typeface can help a community build identity.…

1
Episode 032: Joanna Penn, The Creative Penn 58:51

12+ y ago58:51

58:51

We are so thrilled to have Joanna Penn on the show! Joanna is both a successful fiction writer and an amazing blogger; her site, The Creative Penn, teaches writers the ins and outs of the entire writing process, from idea generation to getting a polished work into the hands of readers. Her advice and experience is truly valuable for both aspiring a…

1
Episode 031: Sean Platt, Author Entrepreneur 1:13:28

12+ y ago1:13:28

1:13:28

Few friends of mine are as creative, giving, and hilarious as my friend Sean Platt. Sean is an amazing fiction author with a number of active series in production, including two being published by Amazon's exclusive 47North division. Sean's imagination is impressive to behold. Our chat with him about being a proud entrepreneur, ambitious writer, cr…

1
Episode 030: Marisa Lynch, New Dress a Day 1:05:03

12+ y ago1:05:03

1:05:03

NerdKicks, meet Marisa! Marisa is quite the darling. She is so lovely and bubbly. And her project, New Dress a Day, is a bright ray of sunshine. Marisa started her project almost four years ago and is still going strong today, making a beautiful new dress each day out of scary garments found at thrift stores. More than the wonder of her creations, …

1
Episode 029: Jodi Ettenberg, Food Traveler Extraordinaire 1:10:16

12+ y ago1:10:16

1:10:16

Jodi has an impressive worldview has been shaped from amazing experiences as a traveler, lawyer, writer, freelancer, foodie, author and more. Determined and charismatic. Energetic and witty. Thoughtful and informed. Jodi is a delightful firecracker.By Matt Gartland & Mindy Holahan

1
Episode 028: Jeff Smith, Stella B and the Busted League 1:08:34

12+ y ago1:08:34

1:08:34

From the creative mind of Jeff Smith comes Stella B and the Busted League, a comedy web series about comic book nerds. Stella Botticelli is a twenty-something comic book artist who publishes her own book about the courtship and dating of two superheroes. Stella is navigating her way through life with the help of her closest friends, a tight-knit gr…

1
Episode 027: I Have A Bad Feeling About This 1:27:12

12+ y ago1:27:12

1:27:12

Once upon a time, in a land far, far away...(Liverpool, England)...two nerds set upon an epic quest to write, produce and share their own feature film. We chat with Alan Donohoe and Jamie Williamson, two nerds with a shared love of screenwriting, about their adventure to produce "I Have A Bad Feeling About This," including their collaborative writi…

1
Episode 026: Brittany Partridge, The Red Thread Movement 45:58

12+ y ago45:58

45:58

Brittany Partridge doesn't just talk about making a positive difference in the world. She does it. And she's been doing it since age 17. At 17, Brittany went on a mission trip to Romania where she met other girls her age. These girls, however, were among the millions of young people around the world being bought and sold through a global network of…

1
Episode 025: Eugene Korsunskiy, SparkTruck 57:30

12+ y ago57:30

57:30

What do you get when you mash up a passion for making, education and technology, then put it on wheels? SparkTruck! SparkTruck was born to revitalize hands-on learning for kids by introducing them to design challenges and empowering them with some cutting-edge tools like a laser cutter and some 3D printers. Infused with a spirit of curiosity, disco…

1
Episode 024: Megs Yunn, Beverly's Birthdays 1:00:12

12+ y ago1:00:12

1:00:12

Everybody has a birthday, but not every family can afford to give their kid a birthday party. Megs Yunn is working to change that, bringing birthday celebrations to kids in homeless shelters and transitional housing within the city of Pittsburgh. A little girl named Beverly deeply moved her, and Meg set out to make the world a bit happier and a bit…

1
Episode 023: Trade School 55:50

12+ y ago55:50

55:50

Today's guests are from Trade School! Part education, part art experience, Trade School brings people together to learn from each other, using barter as the means of payment. We have a fantastic conversation about the movement and its spread from New York City to cities around the world.By Matt Gartland & Mindy Holahan

1
Episode 022: Gui Cavalcanti, Project Hexapod 47:58

12+ y ago47:58

47:58

What could be cooler than a real-life giant robot spider? For real. How about a giant robot spider that you can drive! That's precisely what Gui Cavalcanti and his team of 18 roboticists, engineers, designers, and fabricators are doing: building a 4,000 pound, 18 foot diameter rideable 6-legged robot named Stompy.…

1
Episode 021: Georgia Guthrie, The Hacktory 1:00:38

12+ y ago1:00:38

1:00:38

We're thrilled to have Georgia Guthrie on the show to talk about The Hacktory, Philly's hackerspace dedicated to promoting the intersection of arts and technology. We had a great chat about benefits of supportive environments for nurturing artistic growth. This is the first in our series on collaborative workplaces.…

1
Episode 020: Kenneth Lim, International Nerd 1:13:10

12+ y ago1:13:10

1:13:10

Kenneth Lim proves that there are many sides to being a nerd. For starters, Ken is a whiz marketing data analyst. (He loves data.) He's also connected into the European indie music scene. (He lives in Amsterdam. Yes, the Amsterdam.) Ever the internationalist, he adores American fantasy football. (He REALLY loves data!) And he's something of a gamer…

1
Episode 019: Tony Alexander, Traveler's Joy 1:39:45

13y ago1:39:45

1:39:45

Ever seen commercials of the Dos Equis' Most Interesting Man in the World? Tony Alexander reminds me of him. Tony's bio is a little hard to describe. Web entrepreneur. Travel aficionado. Technologist. Angel investor. Gamer. Nerd. Well, maybe that wasn't so hard.By Matt Gartland & Mindy Holahan

1
Episode 018: Benny Lewis, Fluent In Three Months 1:18:00

13y ago1:18:00

1:18:00

Meet Benny Lewis, the Irish Polyglot! Benny is fluent in 11 languages--and here's the best part--he says you can be, too. Benny insists that he is not, indeed, a magical language genie, and that you don't have to spend hundreds (thousands) on a fancy set of software or a class. Take a listen to our chat and learn about languages, traveling, and the…

1
Episode 017: Transitions 58:03

13y ago58:03

58:03

Time for another Pittsburgh Special: hanging out in the Gartland family basement. This episode of the show is guest-less; it's just Matt and me taking a low-key saunter through the changes in our lives. It's also got updates on a couple of our past guests and their projects.By Matt Gartland & Mindy Holahan

1
Episode 016: Mastermind, Nerd Style 1:06:08

13y ago1:06:08

1:06:08

In last week's episode, Kim and Jason referenced the impact their mastermind group has had on their growth as business people. This week, we take a deeper look at mastermind groups by crashing Matt's weekly mastermind with Brandon Sutton and Jonathan Wondrusch. Brandon and Jonathan are both businessmen, creative entrepreneurs, and...wait for it...n…

1
Episode 015: Kim and Jason, Escape Adulthood 1:13:31

13y ago1:13:31

1:13:31

Escape adulthood is the rallying cry that energizes Kim and Jason Kotecki and empowers their delightful community of fellow rebels fighting against adultitis.By Matt Gartland & Mindy Holahan

1
Episode 014: Steve Swanson, Muppetcast Part 2 1:08:33

13y ago1:08:33

1:08:33

Muppet lovers, the wait is over! Here is part two of our conversation with Steve Swanson from The MuppetCast Podcast, in which we continue our discussion of Muppet movies, toys, and the impact that Jim Henson and team has had on an entire generation of children.By Matt Gartland & Mindy Holahan

1
Episode 013: Steve Swanson, Muppetcast Part 1 1:11:15

13y ago1:11:15

1:11:15

We are thrilled to have Steve Swanson, host of the Muppetcast Podcast, on the show! In fact, we had more fun than we could fit into a single episode! This is the first of two episodes, in which we talked for a good bit about his show and his amazing guests, who have included insiders of the Jim Henson family and original Muppet cast and crew. Steve…

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Ry Walker Podcasts

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