Ryan took his love of products and created Product Hunt, a place to share and discover new products, which sold to Angel List for a rumored $20M. Ryan shares what makes a great product, what he looks for in products as an investor, and how you can get started in product management. Show Links Flatiron School (sponsor) Red Hat (sponsor) Linode ( ...…

You've got a new job at a new company in a new industry. It's been a few weeks, and things feel a bit off. Maybe you were excluded from a meeting, or your boss isn't being supportive, or maybe you're worried about keeping that new job. What do you do? Who do you call for help? Jaime-Alexis started a non-profit to solve this problem. She created ...…

What are progressive web apps? And why are they so important? Frances breaks down what they are, how they work, and how they make technology more accessible. We also have our sixth episode of "Tales from the Command Line" where Scotts gives us a tour of the infrastructure needed to make mobile happen. Show Links Flatiron School (sponsor) Red Ha ...…

Not everyone has fast internet, or access to internet at all. It might be because it's too expensive, or simply that the infrastructure isn't there. Whatever the reason, high-speed internet isn't as universal as we might think. But what does that mean for developers? How do we build products that work even without fast internet? Carmen breaks i ...…

So what exactly is a compiler? And how is it different from an interpreter? And do you even need to know any of this stuff as a developer? Thorsten Ball has all the answers. He's written two books on the topic and he gives us a newbie-friendly introduction to the world of compilers and interpreters. We've also got our fourth episode of Tales fr ...…

What does open source look like when you do it at a big company? Is it even possible to work on open source full-time? In this special episode, we talk to Jessie Frazelle and Bryan Liles about their experiences and perspectives on open source. We also feature our third episode of Tales from the Command Line, which is all about going from a real ...…

You've been coding for a little while. Maybe you just finished a bootcamp, maybe you're in your first job or your second. But at what point do you get to level up? And what does leveling up even look like for a developer? We talk to Ben Orenstein, one of the creators of Upcase, a learning platform designed specifically to "take the junior out o ...…

Bekah is a mother of four who’s learning to code. But what’s incredible about her story isn’t just that she’s raising young children while finding 2-4 hours every day to code, it’s that she used coding as a form of therapy to get through a very tough time in her life. We’re also introducing a new segment called Tales from the Command Line, and ...…

Kyla's really passionate about cybersecurity. She's so passionate that she started a company that produces events and content to help people better understand security and how to protect themselves. She's worked with IBM and Facebook, created open source curriculum that's being used in other countries, and she's also sixteen. She shares why she ...…

It was late at night when Sudie ran to her bus stop after a long day at work, just in time to see the bus pull away. And then it started raining. She took this moment to reflect on her life, and ask herself questions about her goals and her dreams, questions that led to her moving to Utah, getting a computer science degree, and working as a dev ...…

You have an idea for an app. You manage to get the basic features working, but it doesn't look great. After all, you're a coder, not a designer, so what do you do? Laura Elizabeth spent years learning design, and, now, she's helping developers up their design game. She shares some helpful design tips, explains what it really takes to get better ...…

Devon didn't mean to be a freelancer. But when he applied to developer jobs and didn't hear back, he started freelancing to bring in some money temporarily. Five years later, he's still freelancing and loving it. He shares how he got his first client, how he sets his rate, and why he thinks freelancing is a great first job for a new coder. Show ...…

If you're new to testing, the idea of writing tests for code that you wrote might sound strange. You just wrote it, so, theoretically, you should know what it does, right? But with a growing codebase and lots of people touching the code, implementing your piece of software might come with some unexpected side effects! Jonas explains why testing ...…

Jesslyn worked with NASA to build an app for astronauts. She and a small team used augmented reality to create a navigation tool, much like Google Maps for space. Building it meant learning new tools, even traveling to a volcano to test it out. But most of what she built, she learned on the job. She tells us how she did it, what she's learned a ...…

Hayley works with storage software. But before that job, she had no idea what storage software even was. In fact, at the time, she was a librarian working towards becoming a web developer. Then one day, she visited a booth at OSCON, a huge conference on open source, where she met the company that would end up hiring her for her first technical ...…

Jeff is an executive at two very different tech companies, but data is at the heart of both. He describes how he uses data to make apps better and smarter, how he got started in the world of data, and how he built a database of his own. Show Links Flatiron School (sponsor) Red Hat (sponsor) Linode (sponsor) Digital Ocean (sponsor) Codeland Conf ...…

Chad Fowler is an author, developer, speaker, and investor. He's been a CTO, he founded Ruby Central, the non-profit behind RubyConf and RailsConf, and is a recognizable tech figure, particularly in the Ruby community. But before he knew what code was, he was a professional musician. He shares how he switched careers without a computer science ...…

Courtland Allen has built up a community of Indie Hackers, people who want to make money by selling products they build themselves. But how do you become an Indie Hacker? And how good of a coder do you need to be to become an Indie Hacker full time? Courtland shares lessons he's gathered over the years on what it takes to live off of your own p ...…

Rachel spends her free time building robots, creating hardware art, and making silicone molds of her friends' faces. She got her start with NodeBots, a beginner-friendly way of creating hardware projects using JavaScript. Rachel shares how she was first introduced to the hardware world, breaks down what a simple hardware project looks like, and ...…

Jarvis recently went from engineer to engineering manager, taking his career down a whole new path. He talks about how he thinks about his career, what different tech career paths look like, and why, although being a developer can be wonderful, it may not be everything you think it'll be. Show Links Flatiron School (sponsor) Red Hat (sponsor) L ...…

With so many different ways to learn to code, how do you pick? And where do technical books fit into your learning curriculum? Katel LeDû is the CEO of A Book Apart, a company that produces short technical books. She shares how to get the most out of a coding book, the benefits of reading technical books, and how she went from a career in photo ...…

Dan decided he wanted to get into tech, so he looked for a new job. And he found one! But it wasn't exactly the coding job he was hoping for. In fact, it would be about five years before Dan landed that dream coding job. He shares how he navigated the many ups and downs of becoming a developer, and what helped him persevere. Show Links Flatiron ...…

You may have heard of quality assurance and testing, but what's quality engineering? Intuit engineer, Rocio Montes, guides us through the world of quality, and shares why she's so passionate about this piece of the product development process. She also shares her own journey of being a quality engineer and how you can get started on the same ca ...…

Suz Hinton introduces us to the world of open source hardware. She shares interesting projects, both artistic and functional, and breaks down the steps it takes to create a hardware product. She also tells us what it's like to livestream her coding projects on her Twitch channel, and why she keeps doing it even though it can be scary and uncomf ...…

Kevin Scott is the first CTO of Microsoft in almost twenty years. But what does the chief technology officer at such a large tech company do? He tells us all about his day-to-day, how he ended up at Microsoft, and shares his thoughts on the value of computer science degrees. Show Links Flatiron School (sponsor) Red Hat (sponsor) Linode (sponsor ...…

Angela Andrews hosted her first coding workshop at her dining room table. Since then, she's hosted a number of coding workshops, sharing her technical skills and introducing other codenewbies to new tech topics. She shares how she puts on these workshops and how being a newbie herself has helped her be a better teacher. Show Links Flatiron Scho ...…

Michael started his career as a glass blower, creating lighting for movies and tv shows. But after cutbacks at work, he decided it was time to look into other careers, and revisited his childhood love of computers. He shares how he taught himself to code, and the one-year job search that landed him the developer job he has today. Show Links Fla ...…

Kathryn's participated in dozens of hackathons as a student, and even when things didn't go well, she kept going back. Kathryn shares all the ways hackathons have helped her in her professional coding career, what the real benefits are (spoiler alert: it's not the thing you're hacking on), and how you can get the benefits of a hackathon even if ...…

Whether you're a new developer or an experienced developer, you probably don't enjoy the technical interview process. It's long, hard, and, often times, not even related to the actual job you're interviewing for. So how do you make the most of this notoriously difficult process? We talk to Parker Phinney, creator of Interview Cake, on what to e ...…

Launch Code is a non-profit that helps you launch your tech career through apprenticeships. But what's it like to be a coding apprentice? Kasey, one of their graduates, shares her experiences as an apprentice and how she successfully navigated the tech industry and landed her first job. Chris, their VP of Education, talks about what companies a ...…

A big part of the developer culture is sharing knowledge, writing blog posts, and posting code. You show your passion for coding by putting your work out there, but how do you show that passion if you can't publish your work? What if your job requires you to keep your work private? What if being quiet is part of being safe online? We talk to Se ...…

Amir Rajan is CEO of RubyMotion, a tool that helps you turn your ruby code base into an iOS app. He shares his own app building experience, and what developers should know when turning their project into a mobile app. Show Links Flatiron School (sponsor) Red Hat (sponsor) Linode (sponsor) Digital Ocean (sponsor) Codeland Conf A Dark Room Metapr ...…

Colleen is a military spouse, mother of three, and taught herself how to code over a number of years. She learned to code and became a freelance developer with little time, little money, and a lot of patience. She tells us how she did it, and how you can do it too. Show Links Flatiron School (sponsor) Red Hat (sponsor) Linode (sponsor) Digital ...…

Anil Dash has been in tech for a long time. He’s a vocal advocate for inclusion and humane tech, writes amazing blog posts (and tweets!), and is now the CEO of Fog Creek. He shares how he navigated his impressive career in tech and how he builds kindness and community into his company's products. Show Links Flatiron School (sponsor) Red Hat (sp ...…

You type in a url and you get a website. But how did you get that website? What are all the little steps that happen when you request a page and (hopefully) see that page in your browser? Julia Evans breaks down how the internet works and gives us an amazing introduction to computer networking. Show Links Flatiron School (sponsor) Red Hat (spon ...…

If you’ve been trying to figure out what JavaScript framework you should learn, Sarah is here to help. She explores the differences (and similarities!) between JavaScript frameworks like Vue.js, React, and jQuery, and what new developers should think about when deciding which tool to learn. She also shares how she got into coding, a journey she ...…

Many companies use cookies, tracking, and behavioral ads to help them sell more things. But it also means they collect a lot of data on what we do and who we are, raising online privacy concerns. What does that mean for developers? Laura Kalbag explains how those tools work and what we as developers should think about when building our own prod ...…

What is bitcoin? How do cryptocurrencies work? What is the blockchain? Preethi Kasireddy, a blockchain engineer, gives us a gentle introduction to the world of digital currencies. She walks us through how it all works, what developers should care about, and how she transitioned from a career in finance to being a blockchain engineer. Show Links ...…

If you've heard of containers and this thing called Kubernetes, but you're not sure exactly how they work and what they are, this episode is for you. Kelsey Hightower of Google gives us a newbie friendly tour of the world of containers. We talk about what problems they solve, and what new developers should know about them. Show Links Flatiron S ...…

What's the value of a computer science degree? Is it worth going back to school for? We talk to a computer science student and professor to help us answer these questions. Ashley Fong is a history major who's going back to school to get her CS degree online. She shares how she made that decision and what her experience has been like. Dave Thoma ...…

You want to get started in open source, but where do you start? How do you pick a repo? And once you do, what's the best way to help out, especially if it's your first time? Richard Schneeman is here to help. He's the creator of Code Triage, where you can sign up for repos and get an open issue sent to your inbox. He talks about different ways ...…

You've heard of augmented reality, but you're not sure how to get started. Molmol and Zach, the wife and husband coding team, give us a solid intro to AR and how they've built powerful experiences and beautiful stories using AR tools. Show Links Flatiron School (sponsor) Red Hat (sponsor) Linode (sponsor) Digital Ocean (sponsor) Codeland Conf C ...…

Working with CSS can be frustrating, and sometimes just plain painful. But if you listen to Jen Simmons talk about CSS, her passion for it might rub off on you. She gives tips on how to make your next CSS adventure more enjoyable, explains how the CSS working group determines new features, and shares the honest ups and downs of her own coding j ...…

You put on a headset in a real life beauty salon in real life, and, in seconds, you’re transported to a virtual one. It’s full of colors, shapes, music, and the soothing voice of a narrator. She explains that you’re in a different world now, and you’re about to contribute to the “synaptic lineage.” The setting is intriguing and futuristic, the ...…

This is the last week to submit a talk to Codeland, our annual tech conference, so we wanted to give you some insight on what makes a good talk, a good speaker, and a good proposal. You'll hear from Lara Hogan, who literally wrote the book on public speaking, and Kelsey Hightower, speaker and chair of many tech conferences. They share their per ...…

Applying to your first technical role (or your second!) can be a long and intimidating process, especially when you're not sure how to stand out. What do tech companies really care about? What should you put on your resume? What should you leave out? We talk to in-house recruiter, Eddie Washington, to give you the scoop on how companies evaluat ...…

You use the browser all the time, but how much do you really know about it? Lin Clark walks us through all the steps a browser takes to translate your html into pixels on the screen. She also makes these wonderful coding cartoons. She shares her techniques and her process, and how you can apply them to your next technical blog post. Show Links ...…

Alicia Carr grew up surrounded by domestic violence. So when she learned about coding, she decided to build a mobile app to help women escape domestic abuse. Her app, Pevo, got the attention of Apple, who featured her in their WWDC promo video. She shares the technical challenges of building this app, the personal challenge of learning to belie ...…

Web animation can be creative and fun, but what does it have to do with building a website? How do you use it in a form or a basic landing page in a way that's actually helpful and not just cute? Rachel Nabors helps us understand what web animation looks like and how to use it to create powerful user experiences. She also shares her own inspiri ...…

You've got an amazing website. It's beautiful, functional, but it takes forever to load. What do you do? Where do you even begin to debug that? Lara Hogan, VP of Engineering at Kickstarter and author of the book, Designing for Performance, breaks down common web performance issues, tools you can use to diagnose the problem, and how to use AB te ...…