Code and Connor

Code and Connor

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Code and Connor episodes

  • CxC Ep21: Will AI and Edtech restore America's Education System?

    CodeStrap's "Code and Connor" Episode 21 features friend Bill Salak, CTO and CTO of Brainly. At Brainly, he’s helped scale one of the world’s largest AI-powered learning platforms, serving 15 million learners daily. Bill has over two decades of leadership driving transformative technology at Age of Learning, AOL, HBO, ETS, Hasbro, NBC-Universal, and even the U.S. Army. 

    Our 21st episode focuses on, the state of AI and its current limitations, AI in education, the state of education in the U.S. K-12 and above, how can we use AI to improve student outcomes in light of the recent findings , how is AI impacting students negatively and positively, the AI impact on young children specifically around learning, and the state of edtech

    • Brainly

      • Website: https://brainly.com/

      • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/brainly-com/

      • Bill: https://www.linkedin.com/in/billsalak/

        • CodeStrap

          • Dorian: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dorian-smiley-97a72a14/

          • Connor: https://www.linkedin.com/in/connordeeks/

          • CodeStrap (X): https://x.com/CodeStrap411

          • CodeStrap (LI): https://www.linkedin.com/company/codestrap


            1 hr 24 min
          • CxC Ep20:Winning the AI Software Race

            CodeStrap's "Code and Connor" Episode 20 features our friend Chad Wahlquist. Chad is a Forward Deployed Architect at Palantir and serves customers and the developer audience with business-focused solutions and product exposure that the developer and customer community yearn for. 

            On this episode we discuss Chad’s journey from Tyson to Palantir, solving business problems during crises, the AIP launch and compounding features, MMDP and unlocking interoperability, the Palantir product roadmap and filling in gaps in enterprise architecture, pairing with Akshay and ensure the product is refined and understandable, NVIDIA partnership and setting the technical standard for optimization, software that dominates across government and commercial, AI FDE and the balance with human capital cultivation, and focusing on iteration against the unknown unknowns.

            • Palantir

              • Website: https://www.palantir.com/

              • Free Dev Tier: https://www.palantir.com/developers/

              • Lightweight Transform Deep Dive: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MITSJDI08R4

              • Multi-modal Data Plane: https://www.palantir.com/interoperability/

              • Chad: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chad-wahlquist/

                • CodeStrap

                  • Dorian: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dorian-smiley-97a72a14/

                  • Connor: https://www.linkedin.com/in/connordeeks/

                  • CodeStrap (X): https://x.com/CodeStrap411

                  • CodeStrap (LI): https://www.linkedin.com/company/codestrap


                    1 hr 13 min
                  • CxC Ep19: Can AI Save Government Procurement From Itself?

                    CodeStrap's "Code and Connor" Episode 19 features our friend August Chen, Co-Founder and CEO of Hazel. Hazel is an AI-powered procurement platform that helps federal, state, and local partners compress procurement cycles from months to minutes and save millions on what they purchase. Hazel launched out of Y Combinator in 2024 and is backed by the investors behind Palantir and Anduril. Before founding Hazel, August led mission-critical deployments at Palantir, including working with Connor and Dorian at their former employer.

                    Our 19th episode examines government inefficiency through the lens of procurement, and why competitive pricing often breaks down in the public sector. We explore emerging tech approaches for fixing these gaps, including large-scale processing of unstructured data, LLM-driven solutions, and the broader willingness—or cultural resistance—within government to adopt new capabilities. The conversation also covers the expanding startup ecosystem focused on public-sector innovation, the rise of AI and data-center infrastructure, and why some tech CEOs are now (laughably) urging the government to help underwrite AI investment.

                    • Hazel

                      • Website: https://www.hazelai.com/

                      • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hazel-ai/

                      • Y Combinator: https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/hazel-2

                      • August: https://www.linkedin.com/in/augustschen/

                        • CodeStrap

                          • Dorian: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dorian-smiley-97a72a14/

                          • Connor: https://www.linkedin.com/in/connordeeks/

                          • CodeStrap (X): https://x.com/CodeStrap411

                          • CodeStrap (LI): https://www.linkedin.com/company/codestrap


                            1 hr 4 min
                          • CxC Ep18: What Scaled Foundry Looks Like

                            CodeStrap's "Code and Connor" Episode 18 features our friend Nicolas Renkamp. Nicolas Renkamp is the Global Head of Platform Product Portfolio at Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany. One of the most important voices in the Palantir ecosystem, he was deeply involved in the development of Foundry DevTools, allowing us to interact with the Foundry APIs and develop transforms locally, and in 2025 he worked with Palantir to bring lightweight transforms to the next level and to everyone in platform.

                            He joined the company in 2019 and began working within the Palantir platform. He is also deeply involved with Merck’s deployment of AWS, Snowflake and Fivetran.
                            On this episode we discuss the scaling Foundry and managing the complexity, the evolution of DevTools and enhancing DexEx in Foundry, Foundry’s branching and integration of lightweight transforms, open data formats and Palantir’s Multimodal Data Plane, interoperability and identity federation challenges, the importance of platform automation, AI and automation in Foundry and impact on business users, and unlocking value through Natural Language Interfaces
                            Nicolas Renkamp:

                            • LinkedIn:   / nicolasrenkamp  
                            • Palantir Community: https://community.palantir.com/u/nico...
                            • Foundry-Dev-Tools: https://github.com/nicornk
                            • Nicolas & Chad:    • Chad & Nicolas | Lightweight Transforms at...  
                              • Dorian:   / dorian-smiley-97a72a14  
                              • Connor:   / connordeeks  
                              • CodeStrap (X): https://x.com/CodeStrap411
                              • CodeStrap (LI):   / codestrap  

                                • CodeStrap:

                                1 hr 14 min
                              • CxC Ep17: Live from FuturOps! Interviews with Databricks and Fujitsu Intelligence

                                CodeStrap's "Code and Connor" Episode 17 comes to you live from FuturOps in Dallas, TX on October 23, 2025. This episode features live interviews with Fred Abood, Lead Solutions Architect, at Databricks and Nicholas Lee, CEO, at Fujitsu Intelligence.

                                Connor’s presentation covers IIntelligence Augmentation, overcoming LLM’s 3 limitations, we introduced CodeStrap’s Larry - AI-assisted programming that scales, AI as an amplifier, Engineering as Ontology and the the Natural Language Interface for the Web

                                Our interview with Fred at Databrick covered the Databricks platform, their culture, history, developer community, partnership with Palantir Technologies, AI Coding, rivalry with Snowflake, and more!

                                Our interview with Nicholas  at Fujitsu Intelligence covered their partnership with Palantir Technologies, everything they've accomplished with Foundry and AIP, and other ML & AI capabilities and offerings.

                                • Databricks

                                  • Website: https://www.databricks.com/

                                  • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/databricks/

                                  • Fred: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fredabood/

                                    • Fujitsu Intelligence

                                      • Website: https://global.fujitsu/en-global

                                      • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fujitsu/

                                      • Nicholas: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholasjlee/

                                        • CodeStrap

                                          • Dorian: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dorian-smiley-97a72a14/

                                          • Connor: https://www.linkedin.com/in/connordeeks/

                                          • CodeStrap (X): https://x.com/CodeStrap411

                                          • CodeStrap (LI): https://www.linkedin.com/company/codestrap

                                            Be sure to follow us to get the latest information, and schedule a meeting with us through www.codestrap.com!

                                            2025 DORA Report: https://dora.dev/research/2025/dora-report/


                                            1 hr 9 min
                                          • CxC Ep16:Reindustrialize America

                                            CodeStrap's "Code and Connor" Episode 16 features our friends from Sigma·IQ: Duane Massie, CEO, and Ryan Mead, Head of Sales. Sigma·IQ is an official Palantir Technologies partner firm that delivers a unique, outcome-driven approach to digital transformation to help organizations, particularly in industrials, turn data and AI into real operational advantage.

                                            On this episode we discuss the reindustrialization of America and the levers to pull to get that done, human-centric software and the likely future for ERPs, AI in operations and manufacturing, reskilling operators, where AI coding and AI FDE fit into the aforementioned motions, and learning lessons from the past

                                            • Sigma IQ

                                              • Website: https://sigmaiq.com/

                                              • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sigma%C2%B7iq/

                                              • Duane: https://www.linkedin.com/in/duane-massie-8407976/

                                              • Ryan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanmead89/

                                                • CodeStrap

                                                  • Dorian: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dorian-smiley-97a72a14/

                                                  • Connor: https://www.linkedin.com/in/connordeeks/

                                                  • CodeStrap (X): https://x.com/CodeStrap411

                                                  • CodeStrap (LI): https://www.linkedin.com/company/codestrap

                                                    Be sure to follow us to get the latest information, and schedule a meeting with us through www.codestrap.com!

                                                    Interested in the American Tech Fellowship: https://www.palantir.com/american-tech-fellowship/

                                                    2025 DORA Report: https://dora.dev/research/2025/dora-report/


                                                    1 hr 13 min
                                                  • CxC Ep15:A Generational Opportunity to Build What’s Next

                                                    CodeStrap's "Code and Connor" Episode 15 features our friend Zoë Nengite. Zoë is a Forward Deployed Engineer at Palantir and has spent the last few years supporting the developer community, composed of  the independent builders in their platforms. 

                                                    On this episode we discuss, how Palantir is attracting developers to the platform (including FREE developer tier licenses), current state of the developer community and ideas to improve it, DevCon and other community-led events (i.e., FuturOps), the American Tech Fellowship, user adoption in enterprises of Foundry and AIP and the Palantir product roadmap and insights into MMDP, Marketplace, and AI FDE.

                                                    • Palantir

                                                      • Website: https://www.palantir.com/

                                                      • Free Dev Tier: https://www.palantir.com/developers/

                                                      • American Tech Fellowship: https://www.palantir.com/american-tech-fellowship/

                                                      • Multi-modal Data Plane: https://www.palantir.com/interoperability/

                                                      • Zoe: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zoe-nengite/

                                                        • CodeStrap

                                                          • Dorian: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dorian-smiley-97a72a14/

                                                          • Connor: https://www.linkedin.com/in/connordeeks/

                                                          • CodeStrap (X): https://x.com/CodeStrap411

                                                          • CodeStrap (LI): https://www.linkedin.com/company/codestrap


                                                            Attending the Inaugural Palantir Customer Conference? We are: https://rangrdata.com/futurops/

                                                            1 hr 7 min
                                                          • CxC Ep14:Winning the European Market

                                                            CodeStrap's "Code and Connor" Episode 14 features our friend Antoine Allard. Antoine is a former Tech Lead at Palantir and the CEO of 10x Partners, a senior-only consultancy and an official Palantir Partner. 

                                                            On this episode we discuss, the current state of AI advancement and investment in Europe, Palantir sentiment and growth in Europe, Palantir vs Databricks, large tech investing in startups, the new “circular AI economy” and how AI companies are optimized for more use, not outcomes.

                                                            • 10x Partners

                                                              • Website: https://10x-partners.com/

                                                              • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/10x-partners/

                                                              • Antoine: https://www.linkedin.com/in/antoine-allard/

                                                                • CodeStrap

                                                                  • Dorian: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dorian-smiley-97a72a14/

                                                                  • Connor: https://www.linkedin.com/in/connordeeks/

                                                                  • CodeStrap (X): https://x.com/CodeStrap411

                                                                  • CodeStrap (LI): https://www.linkedin.com/company/codestrap

                                                                    Attending the Inaugural Palantir Customer Conference? We are: https://rangrdata.com/futurops/

                                                                    Relevant articles and videos:

                                                                    • https://hai.stanford.edu/assets/files/hai_ai_index_report_2025.pdf

                                                                    • https://medium.com/codestrap/the-coming-codepocalypse-d4cb33986669

                                                                    • https://medium.com/@moneytent/ais-unsustainable-burn-rate-the-harsh-realities-of-the-industry-d79865e97f66

                                                                    • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoycgOMq1tI


                                                                      1 hr 22 min
                                                                    • CxC Ep13: Why Trust and Security Define AI Success

                                                                      CodeStrap's "Code and Connor" Episode 13 features our friends at Foxtrot Services: co-CEOs Christine Williams and Nicole Sanders and CTO Martin Seebach. Foxtrot Services are field-proven Palantir Foundry & AIP engineers with 40+ secure, large-scale deployments under their belt and growing. On this episode we discuss how AI procurement is driven and owned by the business, AI adoption hinging on governance, security, observability and trust, ontology as a product, and the explosion of AI coding tools and the risks associated with them and the blindness to security.

                                                                      • Foxtrot Services

                                                                        • Website: https://www.foxtrot-services.com/

                                                                        • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/foxtrot-services/

                                                                        • Christine: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christine-susanne-williams/

                                                                        • Nicole: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicole-sanders-975bba1/

                                                                        • Martin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/martinseebach/

                                                                          • CodeStrap

                                                                            • Dorian: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dorian-smiley-97a72a14/

                                                                            • Connor: https://www.linkedin.com/in/connordeeks/

                                                                            • CodeStrap (X): https://x.com/CodeStrap411

                                                                            • CodeStrap (LI): https://www.linkedin.com/company/codestrap

                                                                              Attending the Inaugural Palantir Customer Conference? We are: https://rangrdata.com/futurops/


                                                                              1 hr 18 min
                                                                            • CxC Ep12: Business Leads, Tech Follow. The Ambition Playbook from AIPCon8

                                                                              CodeStrap's "Code and Connor" Episode 12 features our friend Ryan Goodwin, Sr. Director Advanced Supply Chain at Trinity Industries, Inc. An ardent innovator racking up over a decade at Trinity, Ryan is helping his company chart the path forward with Palantir Technologies's Foundry and AIP. 

                                                                              Our twelfth episode focuses on the ambition needed to achieve high value, AIPCon 8 recap, AIP and automated reasoning to win the battle in medical claims/denials, developers with AI tools vs. clickops in Foundry and AI FDE, Reducing the cognitive load of software killing us, the cost concern around Palantir, extreme programming and enablement, and Databricks vs. Palantir

                                                                              • Trinity

                                                                                • Trinity (Website): https://www.trin.net/home/default.aspx

                                                                                • Trinity (LI): https://www.linkedin.com/company/trinity-industries/

                                                                                • Ryan (LI): https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryancgoodwin/

                                                                                  • CodeStrap

                                                                                    • Dorian: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dorian-smiley-97a72a14/

                                                                                    • Connor: https://www.linkedin.com/in/connordeeks/

                                                                                    • CodeStrap (X): https://x.com/CodeStrap411

                                                                                    • CodeStrap (LI): https://www.linkedin.com/company/codestrap

                                                                                      Attending the Inaugural Palantir Customer Conference? We are: https://rangrdata.com/futurops/


                                                                                      1 hr 19 min

                                                                                    About Code and Connor

                                                                                    From the publisher's feed

                                                                                    Code & Connor is where Connor Deeks and Dorian Smiley ask the questions most AI podcasts won't. Two founders — one strategist, one engineer — in honest conversations with executives, builders, and…