Better Stack Podcast

Better Stack

The Better Stack Podcast brings you cutting-edge conversations about AI, software development, and technology from the developer advocate team at Better Stack. Join us as we explore the latest in AI, coding tools, and startup journeys with industry experts, helping developers and tech leaders stay ahead in the rapidly evolving world of technology.

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August 21 · 50 min
19: The Python YouTuber Who Never Missed an Upload in 7 Years
In this episode of the Better Stack Podcast, we sit down with Florian Dedov, creator of NeuralNine, a nearly 500,000-subscriber YouTube channel with over 1,000 videos teaching Python and machine learning. Florian shares how his content journey started with self-published Kindle books written to fund a high school graduation trip, the keylogger and Trojan-horse tutorials that went viral before YouTube forced him to delete them, and why "stupid-sounding" content like AI stock prediction consistently outperforms his more serious work. We also dig into his seven-year streak of never missing a single upload, his real estate fintech startup LoanMap, an early brush with GPT-2 through a game called AI Dungeon years before ChatGPT existed, and why he's rethinking what his channel should look like next.
S1 · E18
July 24 · 1 hr 36 min
18: Why Can't AI Find the Gorilla?
Vincent Warmerdam of Marimo joins the Better Stack Podcast to talk Python notebooks, the CoreWeave acquisition, and why LLMs still can't analyze data. He breaks down how Marimo grew 5% a week to become the next evolution of Jupyter, why Python beat every compiled language for data science, and how a gorilla hidden in a dataset exposes the gap between AI doing the work and actually understanding it. Plus mechanical keyboards and RSI, PyPI supply chain attacks, vibe coding and skill atrophy, and the scrubbable IDE he built to make himself care about code again.🔗 Relevant LinksCalmCode YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoi0sH40GlLvNl9TZB40QegMarimo YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@marimo-teamVincent Twitter: https://x.com/fishnets88❤️ More about usRadically better observability stack: https://betterstack.com/Written tutorials: https://betterstack.com/community/Example projects: https://github.com/BetterStackHQ📱 SocialsTwitter: https://twitter.com/betterstackhqInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/betterstackhq/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@betterstackLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/betterstack📌 Chapters:00:00 - Intro & the Keyboard Collection07:29 - Vincent's Background & Marimo15:09 - Purple-Pilled on AI20:48 - The Dynamite Balloon Story28:26 - Why Python Won Data Science36:51 - The Road to Marimo46:30 - CoreWeave & Supply Chain Attacks50:27 - Vibe Coding & Caring About Code1:02:19 - Where's the 10x Better Software?1:12:21 - Vincent's AI Setup1:15:47 - Turning the Tables on YouTube1:33:10 - The Gorilla Dataset
S1 · E17
July 15 · 1 hr 10 min
17: The Guy Who Coined "Event Gateways" Explains Why Webhooks Are Dying
In this episode of the Better Stack Podcast, we sit down with Alex Bouchard, founder of Hookdeck, the company on a mission to kill webhooks. Alex shares how a frustrating basement side project — sparked by a Medium post titled "Webhooks suck, but there's something you can do about it" — turned into a fully-funded event infrastructure company. We dig into why he coined the term "Event Gateway," how Hookdeck's open-source Outpost project stays aligned with its business incentives, and why AWS EventBridge's vendor lock-in leaves the door open for a more agnostic alternative. Alex also breaks down the hidden latency problems behind vendor webhooks (and why GitHub, Shopify, and Stripe outages hit harder than you'd think), how AI agents are reshaping event-driven architecture, and why he thinks push-based queues are underrated compared to poll-based ones. Plus: the Vercel testimonial that came out of nowhere, running a 10-person team with an async-first culture, and a spicy hot take on why most queuing systems are "just very dumb."
June 4 · 56 min
16: Rust, Codex CLI & Why He Quit Coding Before AI - Dreams of Code
In this episode we sit down with Elliot, the developer behind the Dreams of Code and the Dreams of Autonomy YouTube channels, for a conversation about where software development is heading in the age of AI. We dig into why he's gone all-in on Rust for 2026, the reality of building a cross-platform video editor with unsafe FFI, and why he ditched Claude Code for Codex. Elliot shares how he actually uses AI day-to-day (stubs, public interfaces, and aggressive git staging), why he believes LLMs are hitting diminishing returns, and the death of coding tutorials. Plus native vs web apps, NixOS, his full camera setup, and a round of spicy hot takes from everyone at the table.
May 23 · 1 hr 1 min
15: Why Claude Recommends Resend, YouTube for Devs & Building in Public - Chris Pennington
In this episode of the Better Stack Podcast, we sit down with Chris Pennington, DX Engineer at Resend and creator of the Coding in Public YouTube channel. Chris shares his unlikely journey from a documentation role with no professional coding experience to becoming the 10th hire at Resend, all sparked by a YouTube video about React Email. We dig into how Resend gets Claude to recommend them ~70% of the time (JSON-LD, Q&A sections, recency bias, and being early to LLM tooling), how his team runs scoped OpenClaude agents for competitor analysis and marketing reports, and why he still codes by hand despite AI. We also cover email deliverability myths, React Server Components' ongoing struggles, why Astro should be the default for most websites, and Chris's mental hack of planning only until 1pm to stay ahead. Plus: his video setup, Raycast obsession, and why coding with his kids is his favorite way to learn.
March 25 · 1 hr 11 min
14: Warp Oz, AI Agents & Why Benchmarks Don't Matter Anymore - Ben Holmes
In this episode, Ben from Warp joins us to discuss the rapidly evolving landscape of AI-powered development tools. We explore his journey from creating whiteboard programming shorts to working on Astro, his honest take on React Server Components, and how the rise of coding agents is reshaping what matters in API design. Ben also dives deep into Warp's vision for the future of terminals, transforming them into agent-ready workspaces with built-in diff views, file explorers, and code review features that work with any CLI agent like Claude Code or Codex. Whether you're curious about the future of frameworks, how to work effectively with AI agents, or why terminals are becoming IDE-like, this conversation covers the cutting edge of developer tooling.
March 11 · 58 min
13: From Adobe Flash to CEO of Pencil - an AI Agent Driven Design Tool
In this episode, we dive deep with Tom Krcha, former Adobe Flash evangelist and creator of Pencil.dev, about the evolution of design tools and the future of AI-powered design. From his early days building Flash games and Adobe XD to creating a visual design interface that bridges the gap between human creativity and LLMs, Tom shares insights on multi-agent orchestration, model benchmarking with Opus 4.6, and why parallel agents are unlocking new workflows. We explore the human touch in AI design, future frontiers like animation and 3D, and how new interfaces beyond chat, from eye tracking to visual cursors are making AI feel more creative and alive.
S1 · E12
February 25 · 1 hr 2 min
12: How AI Will Transform DevOps and SRE Practices
In this episode, Amin Astaneh shares his journey from open source enthusiast to SRE expert, discusses the impact of AI on DevOps, and offers insights on building reliable, fast-moving teams. He also talks about his nomadic lifestyle and adventures on the road, providing a holistic view of technology and life. Show notes: Certomodo.io: https://certomodo.io/The Field Guide to Understanding Human Error: https://sidneydekker.com/the-field-guide-to-understanding-human-errorThe Phoenix Project: https://itrevolution.com/product/the-phoenix-project/The DevOps Handbook, Second Edition: https://itrevolution.com/product/the-devops-handbook-second-edition/Practice of Cloud System Administration, The: DevOps and SRE Practices for Web Services, Volume 2: https://www.amazon.com/Practice-Cloud-System-Administration-Practices/dp/032194318XToyota Kata: Managing People for Improvement, Adaptiveness and Superior Results: https://www.amazon.com/Toyota-Kata-Managing-Improvement-Adaptiveness/dp/0071635238Leading Change: https://www.amazon.com/Leading-Change-New-Preface-Author/dp/1422186431
February 9 · 55 min
11: Vite, Rust & The Future of JavaScript Tooling - Evan You
In this episode, Evan You, creator of Vue.js and Vite, shares his journey from building Vite to founding VoidZero and developing a complete Rust-based JavaScript toolchain. He discusses the evolution from Vite's ESBuild+Rollup hybrid to Rolldown, the 50-100x performance gains with OXC (linter, formatter, parser), and how Vite Plus aims to simplify the entire JavaScript onboarding experience. Evan also shares his thoughts on the future of bundling vs no-build approaches, why his team chose Rust over Go, how they're using AI to ship features faster while maintaining code quality, and offers a candid take on React Server Components as a long-time skeptic who believes the trade-offs often outweigh the benefits.Link:Do we need bundlers - https://rolldown.rs/in-depth/why-bundlers
January 26 · 1 hr 17 min
10: AI, Terminal Tools & Building a Supportive Developer Community - Bashbunni
In this episode, Bashbunni shares her journey from mastering terminal tools to joining (and leaving) Charm, to building inclusive coding communities. She discusses her transition from Vim to Doom Emacs, the impact of AI on coding education, and why balancing shortcuts with hands-on learning is crucial for developer growth. Bash also loves to coding in public and she regularly streams to encourage more people to code along with her and also to give her tips on what she can do to improve her Linux setup. Link: Bashbunni - https://www.bashbunni.dev/Charm - https://charm.land/VScode vim plugin - https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=vscodevim.vimSeven Languages in Seven Weeks - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Seven-Languages-Weeks-Programming-Programmers/dp/193435659XDoom Emacs - https://github.com/doomemacs/doomemacsLearn X in Y minutes - https://learnxinyminutes.com/The Pragmatic Programmer - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pragmatic-Programmer-Andrew-Hunt/dp/020161622X
Dec 18, 2025 · 1 hr 14 min
09: Kubernetes Love It or Hate It? The Truth Platform Engineering - Rawkode Academy
Join David Flanagan, founder of Raw Code Academy and 20-year cloud native veteran, as he shares his journey of building a completely over-engineered education platform using GraphQL Federation, Cloudflare Workers, and extreme microservices architecture. Discover how he's creating developer content for senior engineers, runs a one-man business powered by AI agents, and maintains his sanity with Jack Daniels (sometimes). Plus, hear his spicy takes on Kubernetes being both the best and worst thing in platform engineering, why AI makes junior developers obsolete, and why manual testing beats automated tests in 2025. From terminal workflows to mechanical keyboards, this is the raw truth about modern software development.
Dec 2, 2025 · 52 min
08: How Crypto Is Secretly Taking Over Banking - Sarah Benson
In this conversation, Sarah Benson discusses the current state of Web3 and crypto, emphasizing that the industry is not dead but has matured significantly. She highlights the evolving role of blockchain as a foundational infrastructure layer in various applications, particularly in the context of emerging technologies like AI.
#7
Nov 18, 2025 · 1 hr 22 min
07: Building AI That Actually Helps You Live Better - Ben Taylor (Spec Founder)
In this episode, we sit down with Ben, the founder and engineer behind Spec - an OS-level AI assistant for your Mac. Ben shares how he built Spec almost entirely himself, why he pivoted from robotics to personal AI, and what he’s learned across his previous startups. We cover Spec’s architecture, privacy model, and the future of “personal intelligence.” If you’re a developer or founder curious about practical AI tools, this one’s for you. 🔗 Relevant LinksSpec: https://withspec.com/Ben (X): https://x.com/benktaytay❤️ More about usRadically better observability stack: https://betterstack.com/Written tutorials: https://betterstack.com/community/Example projects: https://github.com/BetterStackHQ
S1 · E6
Oct 22, 2025 · 52 min
06: Expo, AI, and the Future of Mobile Development with Beto
In this episode of the Better Stack podcast, Richard, James, and Andris are joined by Beto, a Developer Success Engineer at Expo. They discuss Beto's role at Expo, the benefits of using Expo for React Native development, and the future of Expo. Beto shares insights about over-the-air updates, the CI/CD pipeline for app deployment, and his journey from Walmart to Expo. The conversation also covers content creation, including Beto's YouTube journey, his audio and video setup, and the tools he uses for editing. The episode concludes with a discussion on the challenges of app development for foldable devices and Beto's spicy take on Flutter.
#5
Oct 10, 2025 · 44 min
05: Sora 2 Cameos & Jailbreaks & Claude Agent SDK
In this episode of the Better Stack Podcast, James, Richard, and Andris delve into the latest developments in AI, focusing on OpenAI's Sora 2 video model and its features, including the cameo function. They discuss the invite process for accessing Sora 2, user experiences with video generation, and the implications of copyright and training data. The conversation shifts to the business model behind Sora 2, comparisons with other video generation models, and the future of AI agents with the Claude SDK. Ethical considerations regarding AI's impact on the environment and the potential success of Sora 2 in the market are also explored.
Sep 23, 2025 · 42 min
04: MCP UI, Large Behavioral Models & The Future of AI Interfaces
In this episode, we dive deep into MCP UI - the revolutionary technology that could transform ChatGPT from a text-only experience to a rich, interactive interface where brands can bring their own UI components directly into AI conversations. We explore the implications for e-commerce, user experience, and whether this is the future of human-AI interaction or just over-engineering. Plus, we discuss the next frontier: Large Behavioral Models that are powering the new generation of humanoid robots from companies like Helix, Tesla's Optimus, and Boston Dynamics, and examine how these advances might soon bring robotics into our everyday lives.
S3 · E3
Sep 12, 2025 · 47 min
03: Hao Sheng on Building Human-Business Interfaces with AI
In this episode of the Better Stack Podcast, we sit down with Hao Sheng, founder of Expertise.ai, to talk about how AI can transform the way businesses interact with their customers. Hao shares his journey from building early chatbot systems at Google to creating “human business interfaces” that turn static websites into dynamic, personalized experiences. We also explore what’s next for conversational AI and Hao’s vision for the future of human–AI interaction.
Sep 2, 2025 · 49 min
02: SDKs, Stealth Models, and LLM Myths
In this episode of the Better Stack Podcast, the team dives into the latest developments in AI tooling and models. They explore the new AI SDK and AI Elements library, discuss the stealth release of Sonic (aka Grok’s CodeFast), and break down OpenAI’s GPT real-time API and its potential uses. Andris takes us behind the scenes of LLMs, sharing the hilarious Golden Gate Bridge neuron story and his own quest to create a Chuck Norris model. The crew also debates AGI hype, jailbreak exploits, and wraps things up with some surprisingly tricky JavaScript date trivia.
S1 · E1
Aug 19, 2025 · 35 min
01: The GPT-5 Backlash, AI CLI Tools & AI Agent Protocols
Join James, Richard, and Andris as they dive deep into the explosive ChatGPT-5 release that left developers fuming! Discover why the "PhD-level coding AI" fell flat in real-world tests, the controversial router system that routes to older models, and how OpenAI's Apple-style marketing backfired spectacularly. Then buckle up for a wild ride through the AI coding tools battlefield—why Claude Code is crushing the competition, the shocking truth about benchmark manipulation, and which CLI tools are actually worth your time. Finally, explore the chaotic world of AI agent protocols where everyone's trying to create the next MCP, featuring crypto-wallet AI disasters and the dystopian future where AI browsers might kill the internet economy as we know it!

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