This interview was recorded for GOTO Unscripted.
https://gotopia.tech

Simon Peyton Jones - Key Contributor of Haskell & Engineering Fellow at Epic Games
Chelsea Troy - MLOps Tech Lead at Mozilla & Lecturer at University of Chicago

RESOURCES
Simon
https://simon.peytonjones.org
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Peyton_Jones
https://www.linkedin.com/in/simonpj

Chelsea
https://chelseatroy.com
https://social.clawhammer.net/@HeyChelseaTroy
https://www.linkedin.com/in/chelseatroy

Links
https://www.barefootcomputing.org
https://www.computingatschool.org.uk/resources/2015/january
https://www.computingatschool.org.uk/forum-news-blogs/2023/november
https://chelseatroy.com/2025/05/14
https://computingeducation.org.uk
https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog

DESCRIPTION
Simon discusses how a simple math problem led him to discover the binary system 55 years ago. He explores how to maintain the essence of computational thinking in an era where AI can instantly solve coding problems, emphasizing concrete, motivated contexts over abstract algorithms.

The discussion spans from elementary programming to his unique role as a computing fellow at Epic Games, where he works with CEO Tim Sweeney to design the Verse programming language, proving that even big companies can prioritize denotational semantics over quarterly profits.

RECOMMENDED BOOKS
Simon Peyton Jones • The Implementation of Functional Programming Languages • https://amzn.to/3HQE0Xn
Chelsea Troy • Remote Work Sucks • https://heychelseatroy.gumroad.com/l/remoteworksucks

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Andrew Harmel-Law - Technical Principal at Thoughtworks & Author of "Facilitating Software Architecture"
Marit van Dijk - Developer Advocate at JetBrains, Java Champion & Open Source Contributor

RESOURCES
Andrew
https://bsky.app/profile/andrewhl.bsky.social
https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewharmellaw
https://andrewharmellaw.github.io

Marit
https://bsky.app/profile/maritvandijk.bsky.social
https://linkedin.com/in/maritvandijk
https://medium.com/@mlvandijk
https://maritvandijk.com

Links
https://facilitatingsoftwarearchitecture.com
https://ruthmalan.com
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse

DESCRIPTION
Andrew Harmel-Law discusses their book "Facilitating Software Architecture" and how traditional architecture approaches often become bottlenecks that slow down high-performing development teams.

Rather than architects making top-down decisions in isolation, they advocate for a facilitation approach centered on the "advice process".

This collaborative method shifts the architect's role from decision-maker to conversation facilitator. The approach has proven successful even in traditional corporate environments, ultimately creating more maintainable code bases where development teams actually enjoy working and can respond effectively to changing requirements.

RECOMMENDED BOOK
Andrew Harmel-Law • Facilitating Software Architecture • https://amzn.eu/d/5kZKVfU

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This interview was recorded at GOTO Copenhagen 2024.
https://gotocph.com

Russ Olsen - Author of "Getting Clojure" & "Eloquent Ruby"
James Lewis - Software Architect & Director at Thoughtworks

RESOURCES
Russ
https://bsky.app/profile/russolsen.bsky.social
https://hachyderm.io/@russolsen
https://github.com/russolsen
https://www.linkedin.com/in/russolsen
http://russolsen.com

James
https://bsky.app/profile/boicy.bovon.org
https://linkedin.com/in/james-lewis-microservices
https://github.com/boicy
https://www.bovon.org

Read the full abstract here:
https://gotocph.com/2024/sessions/3522

RECOMMENDED BOOKS
Russ Olsen • Getting Clojure • https://amzn.to/3J8zI8s
Russ Olsen • Eloquent Ruby • https://amzn.to/37gOhcG
Russ Olsen • Design Patterns in Ruby • https://amzn.to/3r2uBjW
Barry O'Reilly • Unlearn • https://amzn.to/3O3DQeI
Jez Humble, Joanne Molesky & Barry O'Reilly • Lean Enterprise • https://amzn.to/3Cpt6ET
Sarah Wells • Enabling Microservice Success • https://amzn.to/4aa8xrv
Martin Fowler • Refactoring • https://amzn.to/3EVcHXQ
Matthew Skelton & Manuel Pais • Team Topologies • http://amzn.to/3sVLyLQ

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This interview was recorded for GOTO Unscripted.
https://gotopia.tech

Jessica Kerr - Engineering Manager of Developer Relation at Honeycomb.io & Symmathecist
Diana Montalion - Systems Architect, Mentrix Founder & Author of "Learning Systems Thinking"

RESOURCES
Jessica
https://bsky.app/profile/jessitron.bsky.social
https://linkedin.com/in/jessicakerr
https://www.twitch.tv/jessitronica
https://jessitron.com

Diana
https://bsky.app/profile/dianamontalion.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianamontalion
https://montalion.com
https://learningsystemsthinking.com

DESCRIPTION
Systems architect Diana Montalion and engineering manager Jessica Kerr cut through the AI coding hype to explore what these tools actually do well - and where they have room for improvement. Moving beyond the "AI will replace developers" narrative, they reveal how AI assistants excel at the tedious work of typing, scaffolding, and error handling while remaining surprisingly bad at the nuanced thinking that experienced developers bring to complex systems.

Their discussion illuminates a more mature relationship with AI tools: one where developers maintain agency over design decisions while leveraging AI's strengths in automation, synthesis, and rapid prototyping. The result is a pragmatic roadmap for using AI to amplify human expertise rather than replace it.

RECOMMENDED BOOKS
Diana Montalion • Learning Systems Thinking • https://amzn.to/3ZpycdJ
Andrew Harmel-Law • Facilitating Software Architecture • https://amzn.eu/d/5kZKVfU
Donella H. Meadows • Thinking in Systems • https://amzn.to/3XtqYCV
Yu-kai Chou • Actionable Gamification • https://amzn.to/45D8bHA

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This interview was recorded for GOTO Unscripted.
https://gotopia.tech

Read the full transcription of this interview here:
https://gotopia.tech/articles/388

Meri Williams - CTO at Pleo & Advisor at Skiller Whale & Kindred Capital
Charles Humble - Freelance Techie, Podcaster, Editor, Author & Consultant

RESOURCES
Meri
https://x.com/Geek_Manager
https://github.com/geekmanager
http://blog.geekmanager.co.uk

Charles
https://bsky.app/profile/charleshumble.bsky.social
https://mastodon.social/@charleshumble
https://conissaunce.com

Links
https://blog.container-solutions.com/managing-remote-teams-in-scaling-organisations

DESCRIPTION
Join us in a conversation with Meri Williams, an experienced CTO who has led technology teams from 30 to 300 people across organizations.
In this candid discussion, Meri shares their journey from reluctant manager to seasoned leader, revealing hard-won insights about scaling teams, avoiding the "Google trap" of copying big tech practices inappropriately, and why investing in onboarding can make or break your organization.
With refreshing honesty about management mistakes and the ongoing importance of diversity in building products that serve everyone, this conversation offers practical wisdom for anyone navigating the world of tech leadership.

RECOMMENDED BOOKS
Meri Williams • The Principles of Project Management • https://amzn.to/4lj5B1G
Tom DeMarco & Tim Lister • Peopleware • https://amzn.to/3KJmFOq
Marcus Buckingham & Gallup Organization • First, Break All the Rules • https://amzn.to/40xpppI
Daniel H. Pink • Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us • https://amzn.to/3UHx535
Kathy Sierra • Badass • https://amzn.to/4b9fb2V
James Stanier • Become an Effective Software Engineering Manager • https://amzn.to/3vHrx1E

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SUBSCRIBE TO OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL - new videos posted daily!

This interview was recorded for the GOTO Book Club.
http://gotopia.tech/bookclub

Read the full transcription of the interview here:
https://gotopia.tech/episodes/393

Victor Grazi - Oracle Java Champion & Co-Author of "Real-World Java"
Jeanne Boyarsky - Oracle Java Champion, Co-Author of "Real-World Java" & "OCP 21 Java Cert Book"
Barry Burd - Professor at Drew University, Owner at Burd Brain Consulting & Author of "Java for Dummies"

RESOURCES
Victor
https://x.com/vgrazi
https://www.linkedin.com/in/victorgrazi

Jeanne
https://bsky.app/profile/jeanneboyarsky.bsky.social
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeanne-boyarsky

Barry
https://x.com/allmycode
https://www.linkedin.com/in/barry-burd

Links
https://projectlombok.org
https://www.selikoff.net/2014/12/07/why-i-like-regular-expressions-who-says-they-arent-readable

DESCRIPTION
Barry interviews Victor and Jeanne  about their book "Real-World Java: Helping You Navigate the Java Ecosystem".
Victor emphasizes that knowing how to use your development tools, particularly IDE refactoring features, is a better indicator of developer experience than algorithm tests.
Rather than just teaching "hello world" examples, the authors focus on the essential ecosystem components needed to succeed in enterprise Java environments, making it accessible for anyone who knows the Java language but needs to understand the broader technological landscape they'll encounter in professional development roles.

RECOMMENDED BOOKS
Victor Grazi & Jeanne Boyarsky • Real-World Java • https://amzn.to/4oCEeBR
Jeanne Boyarsky & Scott Selikoff • OCP 21 Java Cert Book • https://amzn.to/4lF8OIC
Barry Burd • Java For Dummies • https://amzn.to/4mrXC3e
Barry Burd • Quantum Computing Algorithms • https://amzn.to/3Josymi

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This interview was recorded for the GOTO Book Club.

Read the full transcription of the interview here:
https://gotopia.tech/episodes/387

Prof. Andreas Zeller - Faculty at CISPA Helmholtz Center for Information Security & Author of "The Debugging Book"
Clare Sudbery - Independent Technical Coach

RESOURCES
Andreas
https://bsky.app/profile/andreaszeller.bsky.social
https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreaszeller
https://andreas-zeller.info

Clare
https://bsky.app/profile/claresudbery.bsky.social
https://www.madetech.com/podcast
https://insimpleterms.blog

Links
https://www.debuggingbook.org
https://github.com/uds-se/debuggingbook
https://www.st.cs.uni-saarland.de/dd

DESCRIPTION
Programming education has a critical blind spot: while we extensively teach code creation, we barely scratch the surface of testing and give almost no attention to debugging—despite debugging consuming half of all software development time.

In this conversation with Clare Sudbery, Prof. Andreas Zeller argues that systematic debugging skills and modern automated debugging tools are the "ugly stepchild" of programming that nobody wants to discuss, yet debugging represents the biggest business risk and time sink in software development.

RECOMMENDED BOOKS
Andreas Zeller • The Debugging Book • https://www.debuggingbook.org
Sy Brand • Building a Debugger • https://amzn.to/4cWWr84
Nora Sandler • Writing a C Compiler • https://amzn.to/3Z6SMhU

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This interview was recorded for the GOTO Book Club.
http://gotopia.tech/bookclub

Read the full transcription of the interview here:
https://gotopia.tech/episodes/389

Alessandro Colla - Partner & Head of Development at Evoluzione & Co-Author of "Domain-Driven Refactoring"
Alberto Acerbis - Software Architect at Intré & Co-Author of "Domain-Driven Refactoring"
Xin Yao - Independent Consultant Contextualizing DDD & Sociotechnical Architecture

RESOURCES
Alessandro
https://www.linkedin.com/in/alessandrocolla
https://www.alessandrocolla.com

Alberto
https://www.linkedin.com/in/aacerbis
https://albertoacerbis.com

Xin
https://bsky.app/profile/settling-mud.bsky.social
https://www.linkedin.com/in/xinxin

Links
https://github.com/PacktPublishing/Domain-driven-Refactoring
https://github.com/BrewUp

DESCRIPTION
Legacy code isn't just old - it's a treasure chest of lost business knowledge waiting to be rediscovered. Alessandro Colla and Alberto Acerbis share their battle-tested approach to domain-driven refactoring, explaining why you should start with understanding the business problem before touching a single line of code. Like Michelangelo seeing the statue of David hidden in marble, they show how the right solution already exists within your legacy codebase—you just need the right tools and techniques to set it free.

From event storming workshops over beer to modular monoliths as stepping stones, these "double-A battery" developers prove that thoughtful, incremental refactoring beats flashy microservices migrations every time.

RECOMMENDED BOOKS
Colla & Acerbis • Domain-Driven Refactoring • https://amzn.to/3I3I7zf
Evans • Domain-Driven Design • https://amzn.to/3tnGhwm
Vernon • Implementing Domain-Driven Design • https://amzn.to/44r39PB
Nilsson • Applying Domain-Driven Design and Patterns • https://amzn.to/3GoxYwm

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This interview was recorded at GOTO Copenhagen 2024.
https://gotocph.com

Daniel Terhorst-North - Originator of Behavior Driven Development (BDD) & Principal at Dan North & Associates
Kevlin Henney - Consultant, Programmer, Keynote Speaker, Technologist, Trainer & Writer

RESOURCES
Daniel
https://bsky.app/profile/tastapod.com
https://twitter.com/tastapod
https://www.linkedin.com/in/tastapod
https://github.com/tastapod
https://mastodon.social/@tastapod
http://dannorth.net/blog

Kevlin
https://bsky.app/profile/kevlin.bsky.social
https://about.me/kevlin
https://twitter.com/KevlinHenney
https://linkedin.com/in/kevlin
https://instagram.com/kevlin.henney
https://kevlinhenney.medium.com

Links
https://jaoo.dk/jaoo2004/index2.jsp
https://jaoo.dk/archives

RECOMMENDED BOOKS
Jez Humble & David Farley • Continuous Delivery • https://amzn.to/452ZRky
Nicole Forsgren, Jez Humble & Gene Kim • Accelerate • https://amzn.to/442Rep0
Kevlin Henney & Trisha Gee • 97 Things Every Java Programmer Should Know • https://amzn.to/3kiTwJJ
Kevlin Henney • 97 Things Every Programmer Should Know • https://amzn.to/2Yahf9U
Henney & Monson-Haefel • 97 Things Every Software Architect Should Know • https://amzn.to/3pZuHsQ
Gojko Adzic • Specification by Example • https://amzn.to/44uqT6z

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This interview was recorded for GOTO Unscripted.
https://gotopia.tech

Read the full transcription of this interview here:
https://gotopia.tech/articles/386

Flavia Circiumaru - Software Engineer at FundApps
Hannes Lowette - Principal Consultant at Axxes, Monolith Advocate, Speaker & Whiskey Lover

RESOURCES
Flavia
https://x.com/FlavsFA
https://github.com/flaviacirciumaru
https://www.linkedin.com/in/flavia-circiumaru

Hannes
https://bsky.app/profile/hanneslowette.net
https://twitter.com/hannes_lowette
https://github.com/Belenar
https://linkedin.com/in/hanneslowette

DESCRIPTION
When FundApps exploded from 20 to 50+ engineers in just one year, their old "everyone does support" model crumbled spectacularly. Software engineer Flavia Circiumaru and host Hannes Lowette dive deep into how this London-based regulatory compliance company transformed from a support-free-for-all to a streamlined powerhouse.

Flavia Circiumaru reveals the behind-the-scenes story of building a three-desk support system that turned their support team into the ultimate connector, bridging customers, developers, and business teams like never before. From battling context-switching nightmares to creating communication magic, Flavia and Hannes explore actionable insights on scaling support without losing your sanity.

The twist? Their ultimate goal is to make support so seamless that dedicated teams won't even be needed. Talk about engineering your way out of a job!

RECOMMENDED BOOKS
Jacqui Read • Communication Patterns • https://amzn.to/3E37lvv
Saleem Siddiqui • Learning Test-Driven Development • https://amzn.to/35OMb3n
Ben Goldacre • Bad Science • https://amzn.to/4lqNLKN
Ben Goldacre • Bad Pharma • https://amzn.to/3G15Mz7
Jeet Pattanaik • Ethics in AI • https://amzn.to/4jXyQXw

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