Open Source Stories

The Open Source Stories project celebrates collaboration, communication, community and, more in open source by collecting narratives from creators, ors, and consumers alike.

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Jun 27, 2025 · length unknown
Just keep moving - building inclusive pathways in open source with Dr. Kari L. Jordan
Dr. Kari Jordan from The Carpentries talks about her “aha moment” discovering open source and how teaching Zumba helps her create more welcoming tech communities. Discover the importance of succession planning in creating contribution pathways and the power of grassroots to help keep you going, because open source work is too important to stop.
Jan 15, 2025 · length unknown
How we show up in open source with Julia Silge
Ever wonder if you’re the only one who feels like open source is a mystery? Julia Silge shares how she went from thinking it was just ‘some person alone in a room’ to realizing it’s a whole world of collaboration and community! Plus, find out why being wrong on the internet isn’t so bad after all.
Dec 17, 2024 · length unknown
The Open Source Eras Tour with Erin McKean
Dive into a whimsical view of open source with Erin McKean as she examines it through the lens of Taylor Swift’s Eras. From the ‘Inventor Era’ to the ‘Responsibility Era,’ Erin explores how the focus of open source has changed over time. Discover why you need napkins and what ‘fully automated luxury space communism’ might have to do with it all!
Dec 16, 2024 · length unknown
Focus and feedback in the tidyverse
Hadley Wickham takes Tracy Teal through the evolution of the tidyverse, starting with a box of rocks all the way through to a thriving community of data scientists. Join them on the Open Source Story of the tidyverse!
Oct 21, 2024 · length unknown
The power of invitation and responsibility of leadership
Open source lets you create the experiences you want– whether it be with technology, community, or your lasting impact on the world. In his Open Source Story, Rich Bowen reflects on some of the ways in which open source has opened doors to meet those who have inspired him as well as how he thinks about opening doors for others.
Jun 27, 2024 · length unknown
Changing communities have changing needs with Andy Piper
In this conversation between Andy Piper and amanda casari, Andy talks about their work in open source communities, specifically highlighting how communities differ, have different needs, and how these needs change and evolve over time. Additionally the discussion covers the “non-glamourous” work that needs to be done, and how difficult it can be to know what sort of help to ask for as a project.
May 18, 2024 · length unknown
"Why do we code?" and other musings with Carol Willing
Carol Willing, a veteran programmer with a passion for making technology accessible, shares her journey from mainframe computers to the world of Python and Jupyter Notebooks. She emphasizes the importance of generalist skills, critical thinking, and building up the next generation of engineers.
Oct 26, 2023 · length unknown
Rethinking the meaning of governance with Shauna Gordon-McKeon
In a conversation looking at multiple meanings of open source governance and project health, Shauna Gordon-McKeon shares with Open Source Stories views of how investing in project culture can build virtuous cycles of inclusion and contribution. From reducing the number of roles that a maintainer might have to fill to lowering the barriers for user participation, this conversation looks to build from crisis management in 2017 to continuing improvements into the future with the ways open source projects get done.
Oct 5, 2023 · length unknown
The power and joy in collaboration with Clare Dillon
Why should open source have all the fun? Clare Dillon shares her experience in the wonderful world of innersource, the application of open source practices within organizations. Collaboration is just too exciting not to share!
Sep 20, 2023 · length unknown
Robby Russell and the happy little accidental success of Oh My Zsh
From selling stickers to creating one of the most popular projects on GitHub, Robby Russell looks back at the inception and unexpected rise of Oh My Zsh. Usefulness, creativity, and a good onboarding experience are key ingredients in this recipe.
Jul 25, 2023 · length unknown
Community health and belonging with Anita Ihuman
Measuring community health reveals challenges people experience in contributing. Anita Ihuman explains how to build awareness and leverage existing solutions for greater belonging in open source. What you measure, you can see and change!
May 16, 2023 · length unknown
The peculiarities of security maintainership with Filippo Valsorda
What changes when the projects you maintain are cornerstones of security? Filippo Valsorda elaborates on his experience as a cryptographer, his work in Go, and how his approach to maintainership might be a bit different from the average maintainer.
May 12, 2023 · length unknown
The journey to becoming a maintainer with Jessica Tegner
How does one pick up the maintainership baton? Turns out that you can ask for it! Jessica Tegner tells the story of how she went from contributing to pypandoc to being the maintainer of it, and of the pressures that come from maintaining a widely used project.
May 9, 2023 · length unknown
The critical human infrastructure of open source with Duane O’Brien
Open source is people and people are open source. Duane O’Brien talks about what he’s learned about supporting, connecting with, and caring for the critical human infrastructure of open source.
Mar 22, 2023 · length unknown
Open Hardware and Finding Your People with Thea Flowers
If you find yourself curious about what’s running your software, then you’re in good company! Many Makers before you have cultivated our current open hardware opportunities to make it easier to start. Python Software Foundation Fellow Thea Flowers invites us to think beyond open source software to the vibrant community of open hardware. Bodge your way to greatness! In this episode, explore the right to repair, mid-scale manufacturing, and vinyl for video game soundtracks. Join Open Source Stories in finding your people.
Mar 9, 2023 · length unknown
VM Brasseur on free and open source ecosystems and culture
Free and open source software is, or can be, a public good. But, VM Brasseur finds that for some, it may have gotten disconnected from its open culture roots. In this open source story, VM talks about motivations behind FOSS, how they have shifted, and how those who work in free and open source software can help recenter principles of openness.
Jan 26, 2023 · length unknown
Alex Cabal and the Standard Ebooks "saga"
Open source, the public domain, and various freedoms take center stage in the story behind Standard Ebooks. Learn about Standard Ebooks, a project founded by Alex Cabal to solve one particular problem, and how it brought together contributors with diverse sets of talents to make public domain literature works of art.
Dec 26, 2022 · length unknown
John Minnihan and the genesis of hosted source control
John Minnihan walks through the creation of Freepository, the first hosted source control service, how it paved the way for lowering the barrier to participation in open source, and evolution of version control systems.
Jun 9, 2022 · length unknown
Richard Littauer talks about birds, hats, and commitments
When you focus more on connections than commit-ments in open source, what do you say yes to? Richard talks about open source as an evolving collective and commons unbounded by strict definitions, working in the open with creativity and joy, and the practices which allow him to sustain himself as a collaborator.
Jun 5, 2022 · length unknown
Eriol Fox on open source design
What is open source design? Eriol dives into how designers contribute to open source, resources for designers looking to contribute to open source, and how incorporating design work into open source projects benefits the contributors and community using it.

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