PHP Architect Podcasts

   In this episode, Scott talks with Edward Barnard about his column in PHP Architect magazine and his current series on using N8N with PHP to create reusable workflows. Links: N8N – https://n8n.io/ Beyond Prompt Engineering – https://leanpub.com/beyond-prompt-engineering Lean Startup Book – https://www.amazon.com/Lean-Startup-Entrepreneurs-Continuous-Innovation-ebook/dp/B004J4XGN6/ displace.tech – https://displace.tech/ Our Discord – https://discord.gg/aMTxunVx Buy our shirts – […]

The post Community Corner: N8N With PHP With Edward Barnard appeared first on PHP Architect.

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Zuzana didn’t grow up coding at age 10, she came to development later in life, looking for flexible work she could do around raising three kids. A chance encounter with an online bootcamp that happened to use PHP (not JavaScript like most today) set her on a path she never expected. WordPress meetups and self-directed learning became her entry point into a world that would soon feel surprisingly lonely.

Learning to code in her home bubble felt comfortable and welcoming. Then Zuzana walked into her first in-person PHP meetup and realized: she was the only woman developer in the room. WordPress meetups had women, but they were in design, SEO, and marketing—not development. The question hit hard: Where are all the women? Why am I the only one here?

While searching for role models in Laravel, Zuzana found herself reading Django Girls and PyLadies stories religiously. Not because she used those frameworks, but because she desperately needed to see that people like her, with different backgrounds, ages, career paths—could succeed in this field. Laravel had no equivalent community. When she asked on Twitter if one existed, a stranger replied: “Why don’t you create one and call it Larabelles?”

For a year, that suggestion sat in the back of her mind. She was nobody. She was too new. This was for “real developers” to create, not her. But friends pushed her to just do it—and within days, she had a domain, a one-page website, and a tweet. She had no plan for what it would become. She just wanted to meet someone like her.

Larabelles isn’t just for women—it’s for anyone who doesn’t identify as a man and feels underrepresented in tech. Finding the right language is hard (the website tagline keeps evolving), but the mission is clear: if you don’t feel like you belong because of your gender, you belong here.

One member described attending her first conference with Larabelles as feeling like instant friendship—like going to a Taylor Swift concert where everyone just gets it. No more shouting into the void on Stack Overflow or wondering if anyone will answer. Now there’s a community that will actually respond, mentor, and connect.

With speakers in the Larabelles directory and a growing community across Discord and beyond, conference organizers can no longer claim they “don’t know any female speakers.” The directory exists. The community exists. The work to reach underrepresented developers might take more effort, but the excuse is gone.

Recent survey results reveal what many suspected: the community is still heavily male-dominated, but the numbers for women and other genders are creeping upward. Real change starts at the top—diversity in leadership at places like the PHP Foundation matters because it trickles down and shows what’s possible.

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Subscribe to our magazine: https://www.phparch.com/subscribe/

This podcast is made a little better thanks to our partners

Infrastructure Management, Simplified

Put Your Technical Debt on Autopay with PHPScore

Honeybadger helps you deploy with confidence and be your team’s DevOps hero by combining error, uptime, and performance monitoring in one simple platform. Check it out at honeybadger.io

https://www.epidemicsound.com/

The post PHP Alive And Kicking 8 – Zuzana Kuchnova appeared first on PHP Architect.

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a young Linux sysadmin whose job involves kicking the mail server once a week and spending the rest of the time playing Call of Duty. Steve watched the dev team actually creating things and decided to join them. JavaScript looked “kind of cool,” PHP “made sense,” and .NET? “I’ll see you later.” The choice was made.

Before iTunes existed in the cloud—before the cloud existed—Steve forgot his MP3 player USB stick at home one day. Rather than face the horror of talking to people at the office, he did the socially awkward thing: taught himself PHP and built an online MP3 player. Later, refusing to pay for Dropbox before a holiday, he built his own file storage app. Sometimes the best motivation is just being cheap and antisocial.

Steve listened to PHP Ugly for the first time and tweeted that he didn’t like how much they bashed Laravel. Eric saw the tweet, then noticed Steve appearing on multiple other podcasts that same week. The next episode: “You’ll never guess who was on Voices of the Elephant… fucking Steve.” A legend was born from a single critical tweet.

Both Steve and Mike share stories of being told in school to “do something with your hands” because of dyslexia. Mike was held back in maths despite excelling at it, finishing work while the teacher was still explaining to the class. Decades later, both are thriving developers. Take that, 90s education system.

Steve’s approach to educational content is refreshingly honest: take advanced concepts, explain them clearly, and when things go wrong (which they will), work through it live. After 10+ years of development, he still makes typos and mistakes constantly. The point isn’t perfection—it’s showing less experienced developers that imposter syndrome is normal and mistakes are just part of the process.

Mike once spent an hour debugging code before Joe pointed out: “You’ve got your date and month the wrong way around.” Carbon doesn’t care that you’re British. The team regularly argues about spelling (it’s “colour” with a U, thank you), and Steve has a simple solution: “I build APIs. You don’t need a pretty date from me. You just need some data.”

ChatGPT is useful when you understand what it’s giving you back. Steve uses it to skip tedious debugging, but he knows when the AI invents PHP functions that don’t exist. The new Laravel error page lets you copy errors as markdown and paste them directly into your LLM—proper copy-pasta coding, but with comprehension.

X: https://x.com/phparch

Subscribe to our magazine: https://www.phparch.com/subscribe/

This podcast is made a little better thanks to our partners

Infrastructure Management, Simplified

Put Your Technical Debt on Autopay with PHPScore

Honeybadger helps you deploy with confidence and be your team’s DevOps hero by combining error, uptime, and performance monitoring in one simple platform. Check it out at honeybadger.io

https://www.epidemicsound.com/

The post PHP Alive And Kicking: Episode 7 – Steve McDougall appeared first on PHP Architect.

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Matt takes us back to the mid-90s, learning HTML and PHP alongside his older brother – back when there was no CSS or JavaScript, and getting a header and footer to include across multiple pages felt like magic. Fast forward to today, and that early foundation still influences how he codes and thinks about technology.

Before there was an official Laravel partner program, there was just Matt and his buddy Taylor Otwell talking in IRC about turning Laravel into something sustainable. Hear how that friendship evolved into a partnership program that now spans the globe, and why being one of the first three partners was very different from being one of forty.

With 80% of the web running on PHP (yes, WordPress helps with that number), Matt breaks down why the language’s longevity and breadth matter more than Silicon Valley’s opinions. From ERPs to CMSs to bespoke applications, PHP does it all – and that’s exactly the point.

You’ve probably heard Matt reference “the pub fight” if you were at Laravel Live UK. Now get the full story: an attempted intervention, a violent drunk, and Matt’s wife swinging her purse like nunchucks. Spoiler: he learned an important lesson about paying attention to threats when you’re trying to help someone.

Matt shares his philosophy on managing developers: small full-stack teams, minimal meetings, maximum trust. Why does he think the entire agile world is toxic? How does he handle disagreements between developers? And what’s this upcoming free Laracasts course about building dev teams all about?

From choosing company insurance policies to resolving technical debates, Matt explains how having clear company values makes tough decisions easier. Keep it simple, ship features, and don’t build for futures you can’t predict.

X: https://x.com/phparch

Subscribe to our magazine: https://www.phparch.com/subscribe/

This podcast is made a little better thanks to our partners

Infrastructure Management, Simplified

Put Your Technical Debt on Autopay with PHPScore

Honeybadger helps you deploy with confidence and be your team’s DevOps hero by combining error, uptime, and performance monitoring in one simple platform. Check it out at honeybadger.io

https://www.epidemicsound.com/

The post PHP Alive And Kicking: Episode 6 – Matt Stauffer appeared first on PHP Architect.

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In this special live episode of The PHP Podcast, hosts Eric Van Johnson and John Congdon welcome the legendary Nuno Maduro from the Laravel Core Team — live and in person! This episode is packed with energy, laughs, and deep insights as Nuno shares stories from behind the scenes of Laravel development, the philosophy that drives the framework’s evolution, and his approach to open-source collaboration. The trio dives into developer productivity, testing, and the craft of writing elegant code, all while keeping the conversation lighthearted and fun. Whether you’re a Laravel enthusiast or just love hearing passionate devs talk shop, this episode is a must-listen celebration of the PHP community and the people who keep it thriving.

Links from the show:

| Eric Van Johnson and John Congdon host the PHP Podcast featuring Nuno Maduro from the PHP community.

00:00

In their usual conversational style, Eric and John introduce the episode, touching on PHP and development topics. As Eric mentions, a significant part of these podcasts is about sharing stories within the PHP community, which they find inspiring and essential.

06:01

“You guys are too nice, man. You’re getting close right here,” shared Nuno Maduro, reflecting on interactions within the PHP community. Maduro appreciates the diverse atmosphere at tech conferences and considers PHP tech meetings a refreshing change from traditional corporate gatherings. His story reveals the excitement and true connections formed in developer circles.

Reflections on PHP Conferences

PHP Development Journey

Nuno recounts his transition from JavaScript back to PHP, expressing his enduring passion for PHP development. He speaks of the Laravel framework and its contribution to his career, detailing his involvement and professional growth within Laravel’s core team.

26:01

John and Eric discuss community support and the discourse surrounding PHP among developers. Eric: “How do we make PHP sexy for the younger generation?” They explore ways of rejuvenating PHP’s image, such as focusing on creating high-quality content aimed at engaging younger developers.

Creating Engaging Content

36:01

Nuno and the hosts examine prevalent debugging strategies and express varied preferences for the tools used in debugging PHP applications.

Testimonies highlight Xdebug for detailed examination while some developers lean on DD’s simplicity and immediacy for testing.

Quick Debugging

46:01

As the PHP community rapidly advances, John outlines the significant roles PHP and Laravel frameworks play in modern web environments. They discuss the growing application and appeal of Laravel within diverse sectors and its continuous evolution accommodating the enterprise.

Nuno on Laravel

56:01

The hosts review recent PHP Storm’s survey data, spotlighting adoption trends and version usage among developers.

PHP Version Usage in 2025:

Interestingly, Japan shows a significant rise in PHP-related activity, reflecting global shifts and adoption rates.

Addressing Legacy Support

66:01

Concluding the conversation, Nuno shares reflections on engaging with the community, both online and in-person. He describes interactions with fans and tech enthusiasts as a humbling yet energizing experience, underscoring the power of personal connection in development circles.

Remember the Humanity

These testimonials emphasize the importance of networking in tech conferences and the unique opportunities they present for collaboration and learning.

The PHP Podcast streams the recording of this podcast live, typically every Thursday at 3 PM PT. Come join us and subscribe to our YouTube channel.

X: https://x.com/phparch

Subscribe to our magazine: https://www.phparch.com/subscribe/

This podcast is made a little better thanks to our partners

Infrastructure Management, Simplified

Put Your Technical Debt on Autopay with PHPScore

Honeybadger helps you deploy with confidence and be your team’s DevOps hero by combining error, uptime, and performance monitoring in one simple platform. Check it out at honeybadger.io

https://www.epidemicsound.com/

The post The PHP Podcast 2025.10.16 with Nuno Maduro appeared first on PHP Architect.

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X: https://x.com/phparch

Subscribe to our magazine: https://www.phparch.com/subscribe/

This podcast is made a little better thanks to our partners

Infrastructure Management, Simplified

Put Your Technical Debt on Autopay with PHPScore

Honeybadger helps you deploy with confidence and be your team’s DevOps hero by combining error, uptime, and performance monitoring in one simple platform. Check it out at honeybadger.io

https://www.epidemicsound.com/

The post PHP Alive And Kicking: Episode 5 – Saifeddin Gmati appeared first on PHP Architect.

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This week on the PHP Podcast, Eric and John talk about NativePHP Mobile, EAV Database Models, PHP Tek 2026 CFP coming to and end, Fun Simpson API, and more…

Links from the show:

The PHP Podcast streams the recording of this podcast live, typically every Thursday at 3 PM PT. Come join us and subscribe to our YouTube channel.

X: https://x.com/phparch

Subscribe to our magazine: https://www.phparch.com/subscribe/

This podcast is made a little better thanks to our partners

Infrastructure Management, Simplified

Put Your Technical Debt on Autopay with PHPScore

Honeybadger helps you deploy with confidence and be your team’s DevOps hero by combining error, uptime, and performance monitoring in one simple platform. Check it out at honeybadger.io

https://www.epidemicsound.com/

The post The PHP Podcast 2025.10.09 appeared first on PHP Architect.

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In this episode, Scott talks with Daniel Scherzer about his work as a PHP contributor and PHP 8.5 release manager.

X: https://x.com/phparch

Subscribe to our magazine: https://www.phparch.com/subscribe/

This podcast is made a little better thanks to our partners

Infrastructure Management, Simplified

Put Your Technical Debt on Autopay with PHPScore

Honeybadger helps you deploy with confidence and be your team’s DevOps hero by combining error, uptime, and performance monitoring in one simple platform. Check it out at honeybadger.io

https://www.epidemicsound.com/

The post Community Corner: PHP 8.5 Release Manager Daniel Scherzer appeared first on PHP Architect.

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Makes AI code better with context-aware docs, guidelines, and tools

Will AI take our jobs? Short answer: No

Why “boring code” is the best code

Watch to learn how to work smarter with AI while staying irreplaceable!

X: https://x.com/phparch

Subscribe to our magazine: https://www.phparch.com/subscribe/

This podcast is made a little better thanks to our partners

Infrastructure Management, Simplified

Put Your Technical Debt on Autopay with PHPScore

Honeybadger helps you deploy with confidence and be your team’s DevOps hero by combining error, uptime, and performance monitoring in one simple platform. Check it out at honeybadger.io

https://www.epidemicsound.com/

The post PHP Alive And Kicking: Episode 4 – Ashley Hindle appeared first on PHP Architect.

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This week on the PHP Podcast, Eric and John talk about Scott’s PHP 8.5 review, Alive and Kicking’s first live stream, PHP Foundation’s call for design, the new Laravel Forge, and more…

Links from the show:

The PHP Podcast streams the recording of this podcast live, typically every Thursday at 3 PM PT. Come join us and subscribe to our YouTube channel.

X: https://x.com/phparch

Subscribe to our magazine: https://www.phparch.com/subscribe/

This podcast is made a little better thanks to our partners

Infrastructure Management, Simplified

Put Your Technical Debt on Autopay with PHPScore

Honeybadger helps you deploy with confidence and be your team’s DevOps hero by combining error, uptime, and performance monitoring in one simple platform. Check it out at honeybadger.io

https://www.epidemicsound.com/

The post The PHP Podcast 2025.10.02 appeared first on PHP Architect.