What does it mean to be a senior (or staff) software engineer? How are we preparing the next generation of software engineers to maintain the software we've created? In this episode, Matt and Kris are joined by Bill Kennedy to discuss tech communities, training software engineers, the landscape of learning, how artificial intelligence is affecting it all, and so much more.

Supporters get access to an extended conversation with Bill, where we get into more depth on artificial intelligence, the Go team, and more! You can get access by signing up at https://fallthrough.fm/subscribe.

Thanks for tuning in and happy listening!

Notes:

• The Market for Lemons

Table of Contents:

• Prologue (01:10)
  • Intros & The Rain (01:10)
  • Mr. Gopher Man (02:35)
  • Introducing Bill Kennedy (03:08)
• Chapter 1: Tech Communities & Software Engineer Training (04:57)
  • From Ultimate Go to Ultimate Software Design Live (04:57)
  • Software Engineers & Criticism (10:01)
  • Saying The Wrong Things (15:12)
  • The Times Have Changed (16:08)
  • You Learn More From Your Mistakes (24:44)
• Chapter 2: The Learning Landscape (28:25)
  • The trouble with senior engineering (30:10)
  • The difference between programming and coding (35:04)
  • What is legacy? (39:19)
  • It's All About Packages (44:06)
  • Expanding Into Rust (51:23)
• Chapter 3: Giving Back (59:43)
  • Sustaining open source projects (59:43)
• Chapter 4: Passing The Baton (01:13:28)
  • The need for written documentation (01:27:50)
  • What AI can do for you (01:33:50)
  • When do you do something? (01:40:57)
• Epilogue (01:50:05)
  • Helicopter taxi (01:50:34)

Hosts

• Website
• Bluesky
• Threads
• X/Twitter
• LinkedIn
• Instagram

• (01:10) - Prologue

Software is hard to build. From knowing which regulations apply to us to understanding what's in our software, there's a lot to learn. On top of that, regulation is coming for all of us. In this episode, Luis Villa joins Kris, Ian, and Angelica, to discuss the laws and regulations that will change the way that you build and deploy software. We discuss the EU's Cyber Resilience Act, the difficulty in interpreting the law and staying within its bounds, how these new laws differ from what we're used to, artificial intelligence, and so much more.

Supporters get access to an extended conversation with Luis, where we discuss AI, the Deno vs Oracle lawsuit, writing personal code on employer devices, and more! You can get access by signing up at https://fallthrough.fm/subscribe.

Thanks for tuning in and happy listening!

Notes:

• The Draghi Report
• MacPherson v. Buick Motor Co.

Table of Contents:

• Prologue (1:11)
  • Panel introductions (1:24)
  • Introducing Luis Villa (2:32)
• Chapter 1: What's even in our software? (5:58)
  • What is the Cyber Resilience Act? (9:31)
  • Why software engineers need to care (12:06)
  • Ambiguity begets flexibility (15:57)
  • Law is eventually consistent (19:29)
  • The rooms where law is made (21:14)
  • Open source has power (23:51)
  • The reach of regulation (28:25)
  • Thinking on the global scale (36:17)
  • Silicon Union: Rebuilding Silicon Valley in Europe (41:25)
  • Challenges in regulating open source (43:47)
  • Regulations aren't our adversaries (46:47)
  • What's even in this (software) stuff? (51:24)
  • Regulations Sticks vs Monetary Carrots (55:41)
• Chapter 2: AI & Legal Knowledge Graphs (1:06:07)
  • The law lacks a linter (1:10:16)
• Chapter 3: Open Source & Business Licenses (1:16:08)
• Epilogue (1:33:42)

Hosts

• Website
• Bluesky
• Threads
• X/Twitter
• LinkedIn
• Instagram

• (01:11) - Prologue

Communities play a vital role in our technical and non-technical lives, but how much thought have we put into what makes these spaces valuable? In this episode, Kris is joined by the panel and Kelsey Hightower to discuss communities and their intersection with the digital and non-digital world.

Supporters get access to an extended conversation with Kelsey, where we discuss his views of AI and what he's been up to in retirement! You can get access by signing up at https://fallthrough.fm/subscribe.

Thanks for tuning in and happy listening!

Notes:

• What If CSS Grid Changes?
• The Infinite Game by Simon Sinek
• Kitchen Nightmares

Table of Contents:

• Prologue (00:00)
  • Kelsey Introduction (01:18)
  • Panel Introduction (01:39)
  • GopherCon CFP (01:54)
• Chapter 1: Choice (02:46)
  • Why did Kelsey leave the Go community? (02:46)
  • Dylan's first experiences with Go (09:05)
  • A shared vocabulary (10:39)
  • The software relay race (12:30)
  • Go: The Potential Parts (13:37)
  • The challenge of having a Go team (15:00)
  • Yes is forever (25:59)
  • Modules Therapy (27:11)
  • Remember the past & give space to be honest (28:17)
  • Dropping the community baton (31:53)
  • Go by choice (32:19)
  • Wall Street measure of success (35:48)
  • The first date isn't the same as the hundredth (39:36)
  • The leader in you (42:19)
• Chapter 2: Infinite (47:35)
  • Software is an Infinite Game (47:35)
  • Constraints are required (51:30)
  • You cannot build the everything tool (54:21)
  • We need to touch grass (55:39)
  • Augmenting life (59:27)
• Chapter 3: Evolution (01:00:55)
  • Keeping sane in DevRel (01:07:17)
  • Conferences in the current era (01:13:30)
  • Superiority of the Single Track Conference (01:18:04)
  • Kelsey's KubeCon Story (01:21:00)
  • Virtual Conferences need a new term (01:23:38)
  • Conferences need some innovating (01:25:35)
  • Does tech even have communities? (01:27:52)
  • Kelsey's dream talk development path (01:30:06)
• Chapter 4: Kelsey's Retirement (01:42:05)
  • This chapter is supporter only content.
• Epilogue (01:43:34)

Hosts

• Website
• Bluesky
• Threads
• X/Twitter
• LinkedIn
• Instagram

• (00:00) - Prologue

There are Web APIs everywhere, from the classic REST/HTTP, to GraphQL, to gRPC, we rely on them to get things done each and every day. But how much do we think about the design of these APIs? How do you document an API once you've created it? What even is versioning? Do we really understand HTTP? In this episode, Kris and the panel are joined by Jamie Tanna to discuss APIs, their design, how to document them, and more.

Want to hear us discuss APIs and how we design identifiers? Become a supporter and enjoy bonus content and higher quality audio today, and additional perks and benefits when we add them in the future.

Thanks for tuning in and happy listening!

Notes:

• Web API Versioning Is Insufficient (08:38)
• http.cat (50:03)
• Please Stop Saying "just" (01:12:01)
• jvt.me/elsewhere (01:13:17)

Table of Contents:

• Intro (00:00)
• Preface (01:13)
  • Introducing Jamie Tanna (01:13)
• Prologue - APIs: The Leaky Kitchen Sink of Software (02:12)
  • This chapter is supporter only content. Subscribe at https://fallthrough.fm/subscribe!
• Chapter 1 - Versioning & Breaking Changes (02:15)
  • What is a breaking change? (02:17)
  • Communicating breaking changes (05:17)
  • APIs as Contracts (08:32)
• Chapter 2 - API: Annoying Perpetual Interface (08:32)
  • APIs require planning (16:52)
• Chapter 3 - Documenting Designs (21:34)
  • Can OpenAPI save us? (21:34)
  • Design through documentation (30:40)
  • Innovation & API/Transport Separation (34:21)
• Interlude - Version 0 Forever! (44:00)
• Chapter 4 - An Exploration of HTTP (44:26)
  • HTTP and it's Status Codes (44:26)
• Chapter 5 - Identifying Identifiers (57:42)
  • How to choose identifiers (57:42)
• Appendix UNPOP - Unpopular Opinions (58:01)
  • Dylan's Unpop (58:46)
  • Jamie's Unpop (01:01:51)
  • Matt's Unpop (01:07:35)
  • Ian's Unpop (01:09:17)
  • Kris' Unpop (01:10:47)
  • Just stop using just (01:12:01)
• Epilogue (01:13:13)
  • Where to find Jamie (01:13:13)
• Outro (01:13:27)

Hosts

• Website
• Bluesky
• Threads
• X/Twitter
• LinkedIn
• Instagram

• (00:00) - Intro

We all have tools that make our lives better. Software tools, hardware tools, and everything in between. In this episode, Matt is joined by Kris, Ian, and Dylan to discuss some of their favorite tools, what they use them for, and why they chose them.

Want to hear about the tools we don't like? Become a supporter and enjoy bonus content and higher quality audio today, and additional perks and benefits when we add them in the future.

Thanks for tuning in and happy listening!

Tools:

• (01:36) Tool #1: Jujitsu
• (05:40) Tool #2: MyRepos
• (08:56) Tool #3: GitHub Actions
• (14:54) Tool #4: ZFS
• (17:02) Tool #5: GNU Stow
• (19:15) .ignore in your .gitconfig
• (19:49) Subshell for mktmp -d
• (27:29) Tool #6: ZSA Moonlander
• (32:47) Tool #7: A good office chair
• (37:25) Tool #8: KitchenAid Professional 600
• (39:17) https://flameka.com
• (40:47) Tool #9: Sourcegraph
• (42:53) Tool #10: Comby
• (43:25) Tool #11: Kagi
• (47:14) Tool #12: Datagrip
• (48:57) Tool #13: govers
• (51:15) Tool #14: Mage
• (53:22) Tool #15: NeoVim
• (55:57) Tree-sitter
• (58:44) Tool #16: Ghostty
• (01:00:57) Tool #17: 1Password
• (01:06:02) Tool #18: B5 Paper
• (01:12:22) Tool #19: Leuchtturm1917
• (01:13:26) Tool #20: Uni Kuru Toga
• (01:13:52) Tool #21: Koh-i-noor Rapidomatic
• (01:16:36) Tool #22: Hardened steel ruler
• (01:17:37) Tool #23: LAMY Safari
• (01:19:01) Tool #24: Baron Fig Strategist
• (01:20:42) Tool #25: Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro
• (01:21:12) Tool #26: Schiit Vali
• (01:21:51) Tool #27: Sony MDR-7506
• (01:22:24) Tool #28: Shokz OpenRun
• (01:28:56) Tool #29: BlackMagic Design Ultra Studio Recorded 3G
• (01:31:16) Tool #30: OBS
• (01:33:05) Tool #31: SM7B
• (01:33:47) Tool #32: Ziess lens wipes
• (01:34:58) Tool #33: Apple M2 Macbook Air
• (01:41:36) Tool #34: iFixIt Mako driver kit
• (01:42:46) Tool #35: American Giant hoodie
• (01:44:17) Tool #36: Epson ES-300W portable scanner
• (01:45:37) Tool #37: HP LasterJet P1102W
• (01:47:30) Tool #38: IKEA SKADIS

Chapters:

• (00:00) - Intro

• Website
• Bluesky
• Threads
• X/Twitter
• LinkedIn
• Instagram

What's a terminal? Why is it being emulated? On this week's episode, Matt and Kris are joined by Mitchell Hashimoto to discuss his newest project Ghostty, the Zig programming language, thoughts and feelings about Go, and more. As always, catch some Unpopular Opinions at the end of the episode.

Want to hear even more from Mitchell? This episode features bonus content for our Fallthrough Fan and above subscribers! Become a supporter and enjoy bonus content and higher quality audio today, and additional perks and benefits when we add them in the future.

Thanks for tuning in and happy listening!

Notes & Links:

• How to reset the terminal in Ghostty (from 04:41)
  • Ghostty reset keybinding
• Sunsetting Cursed Terminal Emulation (from 18:22)
• XTGETTCAP in Ghostty (from 23:31)
• ncurses terminfo database (from 25:14)
• Gnome VTE (from 36:55)
• Mongoose embedded web server (from 52:28)
• libuv (from 52:40)
• freetype (from 52:44)
• HarfBuzz (from 52:45)
• Pixman (from 52:48)
• libxev (from 52:58)
• z2d (from 53:01)
• Scripto Continua (from 01:25:26)

Chapters:

• (00:05) - Intro

• Website
• Bluesky
• Threads
• X/Twitter
• LinkedIn
• Instagram

A recent Ars Technica article outlined a backdoor in the Go Module Mirror. Even though it's framed as a backdoor, and potentially a vulnerability, it's actually an exploit of a design choice designers of the module mirror made. Kris is joined by Matthew, Dylan, and guest host Jamie Tanna, to discuss this vulnerability-but-actually-feature, the implications for the Go community, and the wider reasons why something like this happened. We go on a journey through the history of modules, the Go community, and a whole lot more. We know this is a long one but we're sure you'll love it! Have thoughts? Reach out to us on social media and let us hear them!

Thanks for tuning in and happy listening!

Notes & Links:

• Go Module Mirror served backdoor to devs for 3+ years
• Go Supply Chain Attack: Malicious Package Exploits Go Module Proxy Caching for Persistence
• Abusing Go's infrastructure (from 8:38)
• #66653: x/pkgsite: links can point at source code that may not match what is served by the module proxy
• openapi.tanna.dev/go/validator (from 22:15)
• #44550: proposal: cmd/go: make major versions optional in import paths (from 1:15:56)
  • Comment from above
• SourceHut will (not) blacklist the Go module mirror (from 9:19)

Chapters:

• (00:05) - Intro

• Website
• Bluesky
• Threads
• X/Twitter
• LinkedIn
• Instagram

Go's steady cycle of releasing new versions every six months continues. On this episode, our "What's new in Go?" correspondent (a carry over from Go Time) joins special guest host Johnny Boursiquot to talk about the new features and changes coming in Go 1.24. As always, we've got some great unpopular opinions at the end.

Thanks for tuning in and happy listening!

Notes & Links:

• Carlana's Website
• Time Is Not A Synchronization Primitive (from 19:04)
• sqlc (from 1:05:01)

Chapters:

• (00:00) - Intro

• Website
• Bluesky
• Threads
• X/Twitter
• LinkedIn
• Instagram

How much do you know about a career in coding? Perhaps you're already a well versed professional software person. Or maybe you're someone who's just starting out. Either way, you're going to need some help along your entire technology career. In this episode, which is part 2 of a 2 part series, the panel is chatting with Chris Allaire to talk about all things tech recruiting! They discuss what makes one a good candidate, why a recruiter is useful, whether recruiting can be replaced with AI, and so much more. As always, we've got some great unpopular opinions at the end.

Thanks for tuning in and happy listening!

Notes & Links:

• Averity

Chapters:

• (00:00) - Intro

• Website
• Bluesky
• Threads
• X/Twitter
• LinkedIn
• Instagram

Modern software development feels so complex. In this episode, Ian Wester-Lopshire is joined by Kris Brandow, Matthew Sanabria, and Angelica Hill to discuss complexity. They propose hypotheses for the root cause of complexity, explore the ways complexity affects our technology and organizations, and ponder if artificial intelligence can aid us in reducing complexity. As always, we've got some great unpopular opinions at the end.

As always thanks for tuning in and happy listening!

This episode is a pilot for a planned mini-series on complexity. We'd like to explore complexity deeper by having conversations with and interviewing a diverse set of people. Do you have thoughts about complexity, know someone who thinks deeply about this topic, or have something you'd like to add? Reach out to us on social media and let us know!

Notes & Links:

• CPU.fm
• Changelog & Friends #77

Chapters:

• (00:00) - Intro

• Website
• Bluesky
• Threads
• X/Twitter
• LinkedIn
• Instagram