Crossword

Jonathan and Luke are back and kickoff the season with an uncomprehensive recap of recent events. Luke offers his thoughts on Matt’s reemergence into the project and Jonathan offers his take on where the opportunity is for WordPress in the new world of AI.

Luke goes solo to WordCamp Asia and records a bonus episode of Crossword. He narrates his contributor day experience, monologues delightfully through day one and two, and, sadly, avoids all cricket references.

A special thanks to Kinsta for sponsoring this episode.

Luke and Jonathan bring season 10 to a close. Jonathan attempts to reflect on the Crossword decalogy and Luke isn't having it. They end up talking about AI instead which, of course, was much more interesting.

Miriam Schwab joins Luke and Jonathan to discuss the Elementor ecosystem, what other product companies can learn from its growth, and how Elementor thinks about its relationship with the wider WordPress project. Luke asks a question about dependency, Jonathan geeks out about ecosystem thinking, and Miriam welcomes ideas from listeners.

Jonathan and Luke talk through the upcoming end of the Crossword season. They discuss WP Engine’s new offering and offer their speculations. Luke brings up the new Agent Skills project and steps up onto his soapbox.

Jonathan and Luke have a chat with Jonathan Desrosiers, WordPress Core Committer and Principle Software Engineer at Bluehost. They discuss a recent episode of Crossword and a preview of Desrosiers's now published blog post. Wold asks for clarity on do-acracy vs meritocracy and the three discuss the importance of both active and passive contributions. Desrosiers offers his guidance for new contributors.

Luke and Jonathan discuss plugin piracy then segue into the WordPress project’s goals for 2026. Luke has mixed feelings about the AI emphasis and Jonathan resurrects the idea of WordPress as an operating system, to Luke’s chagrin.

Luke and Jonathan catch up with Jeff Paul, VP of Open Source Solutions at Fueled and an active contributor to the WordPress project for the past decade. They discuss Jeff's contribution journey, their shared agency experiences, and thoughts on the upcoming 7.0 release. Luke introduces the concept of cool and dodgy versions of WordPress and Jeff shares guidance for newcomers to contribution.

Luke kicks off Crossword with a surprise and Jonathan rolls with it. They discuss fresh WordPress drama, the plugin review team’s use (or non-use) of AI, and Luke shares his take on AI in WordPress plugins.

Luke and Jonathan enjoy a conversation with Rae Morey, publisher of The Repository. Rae shares her origin story and they discuss the top stories of 2025. Luke expresses his optimism for 2026 and Jonathan asks Rae about the sustainability of The Repository itself. Oh, and AI, of course.