Fallthrough

Deprecate the Error Interface

Fallthrough Media — Sat, 07 Mar 2026 08:00:00 -0500

Another week, another Kris & Matt duo episode! This week, they're picking up where Bryan Cantrill's "Complexity of Simplicity" framework left off and asking what it means for Go's future. Kris argues Go is squarely rebellious (simple and emergent) and that the community needs to stop appealing to the Go team and start owning the ecosystem. The episode builds to a (potentially unpopular) proposal: deprecate the error interface.

As always, we've got supporter content! This week that includes Oxide's counter-cultural approach to hiring, a riff on tech industry irony and title inflation, and a deep dive into why Go couldn't ship general-purpose coroutines. Not a supporter yet? Fix that today by heading over to https://fallthrough.fm/subscribe where you'll get not only extra content but also higher quality audio. Sign up today!

If you prefer to watch this episode, you can view it on YouTube.

No episode of Break this week. We'll have more aftershow episodes soon! In the meantime, catch up on previous episodes at https://break.show.

Thanks for tuning in and happy listening!

Table of Contents:

Prologue (00:00:00)
Chapter 1: Catching Up and Guest Plans (00:00:56)
Chapter 4: Go as a Rebellious Language (00:05:38)
Chapter 6: Go's Unique Position: Rebellious and Revolutionary (00:09:40)
Chapter 7: Modules, SemVer, and Where Go Missteps (00:12:55)
Chapter 8: Stop Appealing to the Go Team (00:16:01)
Chapter 9: Building a Community-Owned Ecosystem (00:24:46)
Chapter 10: Recapturing Go's Excitement (00:32:09)
Chapter 11: The Problem With the Error Interface (00:41:01)
Chapter 12: Multiple Returns and Deprecating the Error Interface (00:48:06)
Epilogue (00:56:13)

Hosts

Kris Brandow - Host
Matthew Sanabria - Host

Socials:

(00:00) - Prologue
(00:56) - Chapter 1: Catching Up and Guest Plans
(05:38) - Chapter 4: Go as a Rebellious Language
(09:40) - Chapter 6: Go's Unique Position: Rebellious and Revolutionary
(12:55) - Chapter 7: Modules, SemVer, and Where Go Missteps
(16:01) - Chapter 8: Stop Appealing to the Go Team
(24:46) - Chapter 9: Building a Community-Owned Ecosystem
(32:09) - Chapter 10: Recapturing Go's Excitement
(41:01) - Chapter 11: The Problem With the Error Interface
(48:06) - Chapter 12: Multiple Returns and Deprecating the Error Interface
(56:13) - Epilogue

Package Hell

Fallthrough Media — Sat, 28 Feb 2026 08:00:00 -0500

Another week, another Kris & Matt duo episode! This week, we're digging into Go codebase structure, package design, and why the community keeps struggling with the same problems. The conversation starts with a Gopher Slack discussion about how to arrange Go code, moves through package hell and dependency cycles, and ends with a look at community health.

As always, we've got supporter content! This week that includes Go's missing project boundary and why internal is a blunt instrument, real world package design patterns, and how modules broke the elegant simplicity of Go's database/sql driver pattern. Not a supporter yet? Fix that today by heading over to https://fallthrough.fm/subscribe where you'll get not only extra content but also higher quality audio. Sign up today!

If you prefer to watch this episode, you can view it on YouTube.

This week's episode of Break continues the conversation. Kris and Matt dissect the magic underscore imports in database/sql, argue you should just test against a real database, and then spend the back half debating where Go lands in Bryan Cantrill's "Complexity of Simplicity" quadrant framework. Watch it on YouTube or listen with your favorite podcasting app! Learn more by going to https://break.show/ep/29.

Thanks for tuning in and happy listening!

Table of Contents:

Prologue (00:00:00)
Chapter 1: Catching Up: Snow, Life, and Episode 60 (00:00:57)
Chapter 2: The Go Repository Structure Problem (00:05:50)
Chapter 3: Package Hell and Dependency Cycles (00:10:19)
Chapter 6: The Go 1 Compatibility Promise (00:18:06)
Chapter 9: The Community Must Lead (00:26:11)
Chapter 10: The Dying Gopher Slack and Community Fragmentation (00:37:45)
Chapter 11: "You're Holding It Wrong" (00:45:11)
Chapter 12: GopherCon vs. RustConf: The Energy Gap (00:53:24)
Epilogue (00:59:32)

Hosts

Kris Brandow - Host
Matthew Sanabria - Host

Socials:

(00:00) - Prologue
(00:57) - Chapter 1: Catching Up: Snow, Life, and Episode 60
(05:50) - Chapter 2: The Go Repository Structure Problem
(10:19) - Chapter 3: Package Hell and Dependency Cycles
(18:06) - Chapter 6: The Go 1 Compatibility Promise
(26:11) - Chapter 9: The Community Must Lead
(37:45) - Chapter 10: The Dying Gopher Slack and Community Fragmentation
(45:11) - Chapter 11: "You're Holding It Wrong"
(53:24) - Chapter 12: GopherCon vs. RustConf: The Energy Gap
(59:32) - Epilogue

Is Go Simple Anymore?

Fallthrough Media — Sat, 21 Feb 2026 08:00:00 -0500

Another week, another Kris & Matt duo episode! This week, they're talking about Go. They cover the recent generic methods proposal by Robert Griesemer, results from the 2025 Go Developer Survey, some highlights of the 1.26 release, and more!

As always, we've got supporter content! This week that includes the survey's tooling data, a deep dive into GOPATH nostalgia and why Go Workspaces can't save the AWS SDK's 70,000+ tags, Kris's research into the entire Go module proxy, and a structural argument for why the module system's base premises don't hold. Not a supporter yet? Fix that today by heading over to https://fallthrough.fm/subscribe where you'll get not only extra content but also higher quality audio. Sign up today!

If you prefer to watch this episode, you can view it on YouTube.

No episode of Break this week. We'll have more aftershow episodes soon! In the meantime, catch up on previous episodes at https://break.show.

Thanks for tuning in and happy listening!

Table of Contents:

Prologue (00:00:00)
Chapter 1: Go Generic Methods Proposal (00:00:46)
Chapter 2: Go 1.26 Release Highlights (00:17:07)
Chapter 3: Go Developer Survey: Trust & Leadership (00:25:42)
Chapter 4: Survey Challenges: Idioms, Features & Error Handling (00:36:22)
Epilogue (01:08:23)

Hosts

Kris Brandow - Host
Matthew Sanabria - Host

Socials:

(00:00) - Prologue
(00:46) - Chapter 1: Go Generic Methods Proposal
(17:07) - Chapter 2: Go 1.26 Release Highlights
(25:42) - Chapter 3: Go Developer Survey: Trust & Leadership
(36:22) - Chapter 4: Survey Challenges: Idioms, Features & Error Handling
(01:08:23) - Epilogue

Lava Layers

Fallthrough Media — Sat, 14 Feb 2026 08:00:00 -0500

This week it's Kris and Matt diving into the state of hardware, security, and what local AI actually needs to work. The conversation starts with AI agent social networks and why prompt injection is the unsolved SQL injection of our era, then shifts into why memory bandwidth is the real bottleneck for running models locally. Matt compiles Rust on a Mac Studio at the Apple Store, and the two debate whether the traditional PC build is even worth it anymore.

As always, we've got supporter content! This week that includes the security primitives nobody uses, Kris's local AI research pipeline, the myth that you'll actually upgrade your components, Matt's DaVinci Resolve nightmare on Arch Linux, and why the Mac Pro doesn't know what it is anymore. Not a supporter yet? Fix that today by heading over to https://fallthrough.fm/subscribe where you'll get not only extra content but also higher quality audio. Sign up today!

If you prefer to watch this episode, you can view it on YouTube.

This week's episode of Break continues the conversation. Kris and Matt dig into why the chat interface is just the piano keyboard moment for AI, the pair programming gap where agents can't notice your manual edits, and the Codex personality controversy. They close with a teaser for next week's Go generic methods discussion. Watch it on YouTube or listen with your favorite podcasting app! Learn more by going to https://break.show/28.

Thanks for tuning in and happy listening!

Table of Contents:

Prologue (00:00:00)
Chapter 1: Welcome and Catching Up (00:00:45)
Chapter 2: OpenClaw and AI Social Networks (00:12:18)
Chapter 3: Prompt Injection Is the New SQL Injection (00:17:01)
Chapter 4: Sandboxing and Defense in Depth (00:19:56)
Chapter 6: Lava Layers of Abstraction (00:21:53)
Chapter 8: Memory Bandwidth Is the Real Bottleneck (00:24:32)
Chapter 9: Consumer Hardware is at an Inflection Point (00:27:34)
Chapter 10: The RAM Shortage and Supply Chain Crisis (00:32:03)
Chapter 12: Nobody Actually Upgrades (00:34:36)
Chapter 13: Compiling Rust at the Apple Store (00:36:28)
Chapter 14: Do You Still Need a Big Desktop? [Extended] (00:41:24)
Chapter 16: The Future of Local AI (00:41:25)
Chapter 18: Two Terabytes of RAM and What We'd Do With It (00:50:17)
Chapter 19: Reimagining the PC for Massive Parallelism (00:52:56)
Epilogue (00:55:08)

Hosts

Kris Brandow - Host
Matthew Sanabria - Host

Socials:

(00:00) - Prologue
(00:45) - Chapter 1: Welcome and Catching Up
(12:18) - Chapter 2: OpenClaw and AI Social Networks
(17:01) - Chapter 3: Prompt Injection Is the New SQL Injection
(19:56) - Chapter 4: Sandboxing and Defense in Depth
(21:53) - Chapter 6: Lava Layers of Abstraction
(24:32) - Chapter 8: Memory Bandwidth Is the Real Bottleneck
(27:34) - Chapter 9: Consumer Hardware is at an Inflection Point
(32:03) - Chapter 10: The RAM Shortage and Supply Chain Crisis
(34:36) - Chapter 12: Nobody Actually Upgrades
(36:28) - Chapter 13: Compiling Rust at the Apple Store
(41:24) - Chapter 14: Do You Still Need a Big Desktop? [Extended]
(41:25) - Chapter 16: The Future of Local AI
(50:17) - Chapter 18: Two Terabytes of RAM and What We'd Do With It
(52:56) - Chapter 19: Reimagining the PC for Massive Parallelism
(55:08) - Epilogue

The Vibes-Based Legal System

Fallthrough Media — Sat, 07 Feb 2026 08:00:00 -0500

This week Steve's back to tackle the big question: is AI-generated output copyrightable? The conversation includes discussions of the Copyright Act of 1976, the philosophy of why copyright exists at all, whether LLM training is learning, and why owning a style would destroy culture.

As always, we've got supporter content! This week that includes the Coca-Cola DEA deal and why trade secrets beat patents, what happens when copyright expires on open source code, turning software into giant prime numbers, the JSON "for good and not evil" licensing saga, and a deep dive into why open source licensing is an honor code system that's quietly falling apart. Not a supporter yet? Fix that today by heading over to https://fallthrough.fm/subscribe where you'll get not only extra content but also higher quality audio. Sign up today!

If you prefer to watch this episode, you can view it on YouTube.

This week's episode of Break continues the conversation. Kris, Matt, and Steve pick up the copyright thread and ask whether it even matters to working developers, draw parallels to the U.S. tax system, and debate whether the frantic pace of AI standards is chaos or just what innovation looks like. Watch it on YouTube or listen with your favorite podcasting app! Learn more by going to https://break.show/27.

Thanks for tuning in and happy listening!

Table of Contents:

Prologue (00:00:00)
Chapter 1: Snow, Ice, and Frozen Pipes (00:01:26)
Chapter 2: Is AI Output Copyrightable? (00:04:24)
Chapter 3: Training vs Output: Two Separate Questions (00:07:28)
Chapter 4: The 1976 Copyright Act and Software (00:11:12)
Chapter 7: Copyleft vs Permissive in the LLM Era (00:15:59)
Chapter 8: Copyright as a Weapon, Not a Shield (00:20:50)
Chapter 9: LLM Training Is Just Learning (00:23:04)
Chapter 10: Owning a Style Would Destroy Culture (00:26:57)
Chapter 11: The Real Problem Is Bigger Than Copyright (00:32:40)
Chapter 12: AI Acceptance and What Is Thinking? (00:36:41)
Chapter 13: Our Definition of Thinking Is Just Vibes (00:41:58)
Chapter 18: The Whole System Is Vibes (00:47:32)
Epilogue (00:48:47)

Hosts

Socials:

(00:00) - Prologue
(01:26) - Chapter 1: Snow, Ice, and Frozen Pipes
(04:24) - Chapter 2: Is AI Output Copyrightable?
(07:28) - Chapter 3: Training vs Output: Two Separate Questions
(11:12) - Chapter 4: The 1976 Copyright Act and Software
(15:59) - Chapter 7: Copyleft vs Permissive in the LLM Era
(20:50) - Chapter 8: Copyright as a Weapon, Not a Shield
(23:04) - Chapter 9: LLM Training Is Just Learning
(26:57) - Chapter 10: Owning a Style Would Destroy Culture
(32:40) - Chapter 11: The Real Problem Is Bigger Than Copyright
(36:41) - Chapter 12: AI Acceptance and What Is Thinking?
(41:58) - Chapter 13: Our Definition of Thinking Is Just Vibes
(47:32) - Chapter 18: The Whole System Is Vibes
(48:47) - Epilogue

The AI Factory Floor

Fallthrough Media — Sat, 31 Jan 2026 08:00:00 -0500

This week we're talking about Gastown! Dylan and Steve join Kris to break down the viral project that spins up hundreds of Claude Code instances to build a software factory. Steve makes the case for why this is an inevitable evolution and the conversation digs into what it actually means to treat software development as a factory floor. The panel traces the cycle from mainframes to PCs to cloud to AI, debates whether data centers are really the environmental villain, and gets into the real economics of AI pricing.

As always, we've got supporter content! This week that includes the crypto rug pull scheme targeting open source maintainers, why conEdison is actually good at their job, whether AI subscriptions are just Uber-style subsidization all over again, the gambling psychology of usage-based costs, and Steve's secret project Docket. Not a supporter yet? Fix that today by heading over to https://fallthrough.fm/subscribe where you'll get not only extra content but also higher quality audio. Sign up today!

If you prefer to watch this episode, you can view it on YouTube.

This week's episode of Break continues the conversation. Kris and Steve dive deep into semantic versioning, the real cost of "breaking changes" in Go, and a whirlwind history of package managers from CPAN to NPM to Go modules. Watch it on YouTube or listen with your favorite podcasting app! Learn more by going to https://break.show/26.

Thanks for tuning in and happy listening!

Table of Contents:

Prologue (00:00:00)
Chapter 1: Welcome Back, Dylan (00:00:46)
Chapter 2: What is Gastown? (00:06:02)
Chapter 3: Where Are the AI Factory Floor Managers? (00:07:53)
Chapter 4: The Industry is Cyclical (00:19:43)
Chapter 5: Rug Pull as a Service [Preview] (00:23:36)
Chapter 7: Energy, Grids & Con Edison [Preview] (00:24:12)
Chapter 9: Mainframes Are Still Holding It Together [Preview] (00:25:00)
Chapter 11: API Pricing & the Race to the Bottom [Preview] (00:25:35)
Chapter 12: Is AI Pricing Just Uber All Over Again? [Preview] (00:26:12)
Chapter 13: The Gambling Psychology of API Costs [Preview] (00:26:47)
Chapter 15: Beads & AI Dev Tools [Preview] (00:27:23)
Chapter 16: Steve's Secret Project [Preview] (00:27:52)
Chapter 6: Data Centers Aren't the Villain (00:28:45)
Chapter 8: The Case for Local AI (00:35:01)
Chapter 10: Claude Code Usage & Hitting the Limits (00:39:55)
Chapter 14: The Upgrade Treadmill (00:47:15)
Chapter 17: Claude Debugging War Stories (00:56:31)
Epilogue (01:01:28)

Hosts

Socials:

(00:00) - Prologue
(00:46) - Chapter 1: Welcome Back, Dylan
(06:02) - Chapter 2: What is Gastown?
(07:53) - Chapter 3: Where Are the AI Factory Floor Managers?
(19:43) - Chapter 4: The Industry is Cyclical
(23:36) - Chapter 5: Rug Pull as a Service [Preview]
(24:12) - Chapter 7: Energy, Grids & Con Edison [Preview]
(25:00) - Chapter 9: Mainframes Are Still Holding It Together [Preview]
(25:35) - Chapter 11: API Pricing & the Race to the Bottom [Preview]
(26:12) - Chapter 12: Is AI Pricing Just Uber All Over Again? [Preview]
(26:47) - Chapter 13: The Gambling Psychology of API Costs [Preview]
(27:23) - Chapter 15: Beads & AI Dev Tools [Preview]
(27:52) - Chapter 16: Steve's Secret Project [Preview]
(28:45) - Chapter 6: Data Centers Aren't the Villain
(35:01) - Chapter 8: The Case for Local AI
(39:55) - Chapter 10: Claude Code Usage & Hitting the Limits
(47:15) - Chapter 14: The Upgrade Treadmill
(56:31) - Chapter 17: Claude Debugging War Stories
(01:01:28) - Epilogue

Systems Thinking for Humans

Fallthrough Media — Sat, 24 Jan 2026 08:00:00 -0500

Annie and Michael Hedgpeth, founders of People Work, join Kris and Matt to unpack the junior hiring crisis and what's really broken about how we grow engineers. Annie's viral blog post sparked debate about whether senior engineers have abandoned their responsibility to mentor and whether our obsession with career ladders created the problem. The conversation moves from systemic dysfunction to solutions: People Work, their local-first app that helps engineers manage professional relationships with a systems thinking approach.

As always, we've got supporter content! This week that includes Kris's unconventional career path, a rant about why we have too many engineering titles, deep dives into relational intelligence and privacy concerns around workplace surveillance, and the technical architecture behind People Work: Swift frontend, Rust backend, and a custom DSL inspired by HCL. Not a supporter yet? Fix that today by heading over to https://fallthrough.fm/subscribe where you'll get not only extra content but also higher quality audio. Sign up today!

If you prefer to watch this episode, you can view it on YouTube.

This week's episode of Break continues the conversation. Annie and Michael stick around as the panel digs into why early career engineers rush to prove themselves, the trap of becoming "the glue person" instead of building technical depth, and why your strength as a junior is that you don't know anything yet. The panel also discusses some spicy topics like why software engineers spew logical fallacies, and the future of computing as hardware gains slow down. They round out the episode with some Unpopular Opinions. Watch it on YouTube or listen with your favorite podcasting app! Learn more by going to https://break.show/25.

Thanks for tuning in and happy listening!

Table of Contents:

Prologue (00:00:00)
Chapter 1: Meet Annie & Michael Hedgpeth (00:00:49)
Chapter 2: The Junior Hiring Crisis (00:01:15)
Chapter 3: AI as an Amplifier (00:10:37)
Chapter 4: The Broken Apprenticeship Model (00:12:05)
Chapter 5: Scaling Yourself Through Others (00:20:00)
Chapter 6: Kris Never Had a Mentor [Preview] (00:25:59)
Chapter 7: Too Many Titles [Preview] (00:26:14)
Chapter 10: Relational Intelligence [Preview] (00:26:33)
Chapter 12: Why Engineers? [Preview] (00:27:04)
Chapter 13: Privacy & Safe Spaces [Preview] (00:27:36)
Chapter 14: AI Strategy & On-Device [Preview] (00:28:06)
Chapter 15: Swift + Rust + Crux [Preview] (00:28:34)
Chapter 8: Networking That Actually Works (00:29:17)
Chapter 9: What is People Work? (00:33:56)
Chapter 11: The Onboarding Use Case (00:43:18)
Chapter 16: Data Ownership & The DSL (00:48:16)
Epilogue (00:52:25)

Hosts

Socials:

(00:00) - Prologue
(00:49) - Chapter 1: Meet Annie & Michael Hedgpeth
(01:15) - Chapter 2: The Junior Hiring Crisis
(10:37) - Chapter 3: AI as an Amplifier
(12:05) - Chapter 4: The Broken Apprenticeship Model
(20:00) - Chapter 5: Scaling Yourself Through Others
(25:59) - Chapter 6: Kris Never Had a Mentor [Preview]
(26:14) - Chapter 7: Too Many Titles [Preview]
(26:33) - Chapter 10: Relational Intelligence [Preview]
(27:04) - Chapter 12: Why Engineers? [Preview]
(27:36) - Chapter 13: Privacy & Safe Spaces [Preview]
(28:06) - Chapter 14: AI Strategy & On-Device [Preview]
(28:34) - Chapter 15: Swift + Rust + Crux [Preview]
(29:17) - Chapter 8: Networking That Actually Works
(33:56) - Chapter 9: What is PeopleWork?
(43:18) - Chapter 11: The Onboarding Use Case
(48:16) - Chapter 16: Data Ownership & The DSL
(52:25) - Epilogue

When Reality Drifts

Fallthrough Media — Fri, 16 Jan 2026 08:00:00 -0500

Nick Gerace, Engineering Manager at System Initiative, joins Kris and Matt to explore what infrastructure management looks like beyond Terraform. Nick walks us through how System Initiative differs from traditional IaC, why git isn't really your source of truth, and how the company pivoted to AI-first tooling. The conversation turns to Claude Code and MCP tools before landing on a nuanced discussion about distributed systems, and how the messy, eventual consistency of real life mirrors the systems we build.

As always, we've got supporter content! This week that includes deep dives into System Initiative's architecture evolution from Postgres to a custom graph database, Nick's passionate defense of domain-driven design in Rust monorepos ("if I see a util directory, I go a little nuts"), why AI won't replace musicians (or you), and a spicy take on AI, capitalism, and power structures. Not a supporter yet? Fix that today by heading over to https://fallthrough.fm/subscribe where you'll get not only extra content but also higher quality audio. Sign up today!

If you prefer to watch this episode, you can view it on YouTube.

This week's episode of Break continues the conversation. Nick sticks around as the hosts compare audio engineering backgrounds, discuss the IC to manager journey, and take a hard turn into hardware—dual 3090 TIs with NVLink, the case for water cooling, Kris's absurd home lab, and everyone's temptation toward Framework Desktops and Mac Studios. Watch it on YouTube or listen with your favorite podcasting app! Learn more by going to https://break.show/24.

Thanks for tuning in and happy listening!

Table of Contents:

Prologue (00:00:00)
Chapter 1: Meet Nick Gerace (00:01:21)
Chapter 2: The Power of Networking (00:05:38)
Chapter 3: What is System Initiative? (00:14:54)
Chapter 4: Terraform vs System Initiative (00:19:58)
Chapter 5: Git Isn't Your Source of Truth (00:25:47)
Chapter 6: SI Architecture: From Postgres to Graph [Extended] (00:34:47)
Chapter 7: Rust Monorepos & Domain-Driven Design [Extended] (00:35:10)
Chapter 10: AI Won't Replace Musicians (or You) [Extended] (00:35:34)
Chapter 12: AI, Capitalism & Power Structures [Extended] (00:36:03)
Chapter 8: The AI Pivot at System Initiative (00:37:14)
Chapter 9: Claude Code & MCP Tools (00:47:30)
Chapter 11: Distributed Systems Are Just Real Life (00:54:13)
Chapter 13: Data Centers, Water & Nuance (01:00:20)
Epilogue (01:08:11)

Hosts

Kris Brandow - Host
Matthew Sanabria - Host
Nick Gerace - Guest

Socials:

(00:00) - Prologue
(01:21) - Chapter 1: Meet Nick Gerace
(05:38) - Chapter 2: The Power of Networking
(14:54) - Chapter 3: What is System Initiative?
(19:58) - Chapter 4: Terraform vs System Initiative
(25:47) - Chapter 5: Git Isn't Your Source of Truth
(34:47) - Chapter 6: SI Architecture: From Postgres to Graph [Extended]
(35:10) - Chapter 7: Rust Monorepos & Domain-Driven Design [Extended]
(35:34) - Chapter 10: AI Won't Replace Musicians (or You) [Extended]
(36:03) - Chapter 12: AI, Capitalism & Power Structures [Extended]
(37:14) - Chapter 8: The AI Pivot at System Initiative
(47:30) - Chapter 9: Claude Code & MCP Tools
(54:13) - Chapter 11: Distributed Systems Are Just Real Life
(01:00:20) - Chapter 13: Data Centers, Water & Nuance
(01:08:11) - Epilogue

New Year, New Nuance

Fallthrough Media — Fri, 09 Jan 2026 21:00:00 -0500

New Year, New Nuance! In this episode, Kris and Matt discuss what they're looking forward to in 2026—Matt shares the exciting news that he's becoming a dad, and the duo explore the value of growth, changing your opinions, and adding more nuance to how you see the world. They talk about what they're excited to build this year, from physical projects like woodworking and doors to the podcast platform they keep talking about. Kris shares how a conversation with Claude finally made electricity click, leading to a broader discussion about LLMs as "digital librarians" and what education should really be about: teaching you how to teach yourself.

As always, we've got supporter content! This week that includes deep dives into local AI infrastructure, home networking with 10G and WireGuard, and a spicy rant about why centralized package management is fundamentally broken. Not a supporter yet? Fix that today by heading over to https://fallthrough.fm/subscribe where you'll get not only extra content but also higher quality audio. Sign up today!

If you prefer to watch this episode, you can view it on YouTube.

This week's episode of break continues the conversation. Where the two reflect on AI doomerism's mental health toll, why things aren't worse than before, the logistics behind society's real problems, and turning waste into opportunity with BASF's Verbund principle. Watch it on YouTube or listen with your favorite podcasting app! Learn more by going to https://break.show/23.

Thanks for tuning in and happy listening!

Table of Contents:

Prologue (00:00:00)
Chapter 1: Matt's Becoming a Dad (00:03:06)
Chapter 2: Growth & Changing Your Opinions (00:06:39)
Chapter 3: Adding More Nuance in 2026 (00:15:44)
Chapter 4: What We're Excited to Build (00:24:57)
Chapter 5: Learning How Things Work: Electricity (00:30:21)
Chapter 6: LLMs as Digital Librarians (00:39:05)
Chapter 7: The Real Purpose of Education (00:51:44)
Chapter 8: Local AI Infrastructure & Home Networking [Extended] (00:58:38)
Chapter 9: The Centralization Problem in Package Management [Extended] (00:59:30)
Epilogue (00:59:39)

Hosts

Kris Brandow - Host
Matthew Sanabria - Host

Socials:

(00:00) - Prologue
(03:06) - Chapter 1: Matt's Becoming a Dad
(06:39) - Chapter 2: Growth & Changing Your Opinions
(15:44) - Chapter 3: Adding More Nuance in 2026
(24:57) - Chapter 4: What We're Excited to Build
(30:21) - Chapter 5: Learning How Things Work: Electricity
(39:05) - Chapter 6: LLMs as Digital Librarians
(51:44) - Chapter 7: The Real Purpose of Education
(58:38) - Chapter 8: Local AI Infrastructure & Home Networking [Extended]
(59:30) - Chapter 9: The Centralization Problem in Package Management [Extended]
(59:39) - Epilogue

Stack Trace 2025

Fallthrough Media — Wed, 31 Dec 2025 16:00:00 -0500

We decided to do our own wrap up for the year. We've called it Stack Trace, and we pulled a bunch of stats from the first year of Fallthrough. In this episode, Kris, Matt, and Dylan talk through these stats and how they feel about Fallthrough's first year.

If you prefer to watch this episode, you can view it on YouTube.

This week's episode of break continues the conversation. Watch it on YouTube or listen with your favorite podcasting app! Learn more by going to https://break.show/22.

In this week's bonus content, we've got some extra stats! Not a supporter yet? Fix that today by heading over to https://fallthrough.fm/subscribe where you'll get not only extra content but also higher quality audio. Sign up today!

Thanks for tuning in and happy listening!

Table of Contents:

Prologue (00:00:00)
Chapter 1: A Year of Fallthrough In Stats (00:03:37)
Chapter 2: Better and Smaller Platforms (00:36:28)
Chapter 3: Who Had The Longest Monologues? (00:41:33)
Chapter 4: It's Different In The Moment (00:49:13)
Chapter 5: The Spicy Content That Wasn't (00:54:16)
Chapter 6: More Stats! [Extended] (01:00:48)
Chapter 7: Thinking About The Future (01:01:05)
Epilogue (01:12:35)

Hosts

Socials:

(00:00) - Prologue
(03:37) - Chapter 1: A Year of Fallthrough In Stats
(36:28) - Chapter 2: Better and Smaller Platforms
(41:33) - Chapter 3: Who Had The Longest Monologues?
(49:13) - Chapter 4: It's Different In The Moment
(54:16) - Chapter 5: The Spicy Content That Wasn't
(01:00:48) - Chapter 6: More Stats! [Extended]
(01:01:05) - Chapter 7: Thinking About The Future
(01:12:35) - Epilogue

Worse Is Better

Fallthrough Media — Thu, 25 Dec 2025 08:00:00 -0500

There's a famous joke essay called Worse Is Better, which compares the New Jersey and the MIT ideologies. In this episode, Kris and Matt discuss these two different ideologies and how they show up in technology, from Go, to dependency management, to electric vehicles.

If you prefer to watch this episode, you can view it on YouTube.

This week's episode of break continues the conversation. Watch it on YouTube or listen with your favorite podcasting app! Learn more by going to https://break.show/21.

In this week's bonus content, the duo discusses how idealistic thinking has slowed down the adoption of electric vehicles and what a better path forward might have looked like. Not a supporter yet? Fix that today by heading over to https://fallthrough.fm/subscribe where you'll get not only extra content but also higher quality audio. Sign up today!

Thanks for tuning in and happy listening!

Show Notes:

Table of Contents:

Prologue (00:00:00)
Chapter 1: Worse Is Better? (00:02:58)
Chapter 2: Go Got Stranded In The Middle (00:10:39)
Chapter 3: SemVer Is Fundamentally Broken (00:33:32)
Chapter 4: We Don't Live In The Ideal World (00:47:19)
Chapter 5: BEVs vs EREVs [Extended] (00:56:26)
Chapter 6: Holistic vs Deep (00:56:58)
Epilogue (01:01:39)

Hosts

Kris Brandow - Host
Matthew Sanabria - Host

Socials:

(00:00) - Prologue
(02:58) - Chapter 1: Worse Is Better?
(10:39) - Chapter 2: Go Got Stranded In The Middle
(33:32) - Chapter 3: SemVer Is Fundamentally Broken
(47:19) - Chapter 4: We Don't Live In The Ideal World
(56:26) - Chapter 5: BEVs vs EREVs [Extended]
(56:58) - Chapter 6: Holistic vs Deep
(01:01:39) - Epilogue

Why Is Tech So Mid?

Fallthrough Media — Fri, 19 Dec 2025 21:00:00 -0500

In the tech industry, we talk about how exceptional and innovative we are. But are we really? In this episode, Kris and Matt explore why they see the industry as pretty mid and how things should be better.

If you prefer to watch this episode, you can view it on YouTube.

This week's episode of break continues the conversation. Watch it on YouTube or listen with your favorite podcasting app! Learn more by going to https://break.show/20.

In this week's bonus content, the duo discusses the problems with hype and how it's not just about the tech industry. Not a supporter yet? Fix that today by heading over to https://fallthrough.fm/subscribe where you'll get not only extra content but also higher quality audio. Sign up today!

Thanks for tuning in and happy listening!

Table of Contents:

Prologue (00:00:00)
Chapter 1: Why Is Tech So Mid? (00:02:27)
Chapter 2: The Innovation Hype [Extended] (00:35:42)
Chapter 3: Everyone Is Always Wrong (00:36:14)
Epilogue (00:53:51)

Hosts

Kris Brandow - Host
Matthew Sanabria - Host

Socials:

(00:00) - Prologue
(02:27) - Chapter 1: Why Is Tech So Mid?
(35:42) - Chapter 2: The Innovation Hype [Extended]
(36:14) - Chapter 3: Everyone Is Always Wrong
(53:51) - Epilogue

Project Management 2 Shell

Fallthrough Media — Fri, 12 Dec 2025 18:00:00 -0500

Another Cloudflare outage. A CVSS 10.0 React RCE vulnerability. We've been dealing with quite a lot these last few weeks. In this week's episode, Kris and Matt discuss the outage and vulnerability and have a deeper discussion about project management and how all of these things relate to each other.

If you prefer to watch this episode, you can view it on YouTube.

This week's episode of break continues the conversation. Watch it on YouTube or listen with your favorite podcasting app! Learn more by going to https://break.show/19.

We've got a new format for the bonus content snippets in this episode. This week we've got an extended discussion about how process should follow people, not the other way around. Not a supporter yet? Fix that today by heading over to https://fallthrough.fm/subscribe where you'll get not only extra content but also higher quality audio. Sign up today!

Thanks for tuning in and happy listening!

Table of Contents:

Prologue (00:00:00)
Chapter 1: Outages & Vulnerabilities (00:03:42)
Chapter 2: Project Management (00:22:10)
Chapter 3: Waltzing With Bears (00:29:55)
Chapter 4: Process & Culture (00:43:21)
Chapter 5: Process Follows People [Extended] (00:52:18)
Chapter 6: We Need Better Estimates (00:52:49)
Epilogue (01:04:33)

Hosts

Kris Brandow - Host
Matthew Sanabria - Host

Socials:

(00:00) - Prologue
(03:42) - Chapter 1: Outages & Vulnerabilities
(22:10) - Chapter 2: Project Management
(29:55) - Chapter 3: Waltzing With Bears
(43:21) - Chapter 4: Process & Culture
(52:18) - Chapter 5: Process Follows People [Extended]
(52:49) - Chapter 6: We Need Better Estimates
(01:04:33) - Epilogue

Ghostting Is Better Than Shelling

Fallthrough Media — Fri, 05 Dec 2025 08:00:00 -0500

We've had Mitchell Hashimoto on a couple episodes, and each time we've discussed his vision for libghostty. In this episode, Kris and Matt talk about what the vision for libghostty actually means for the industry as a whole and the power of platforms. The duo also covers the new models that have dropped and how they see using the various models that have become available.

If you prefer to watch this episode, you can view it on YouTube: https://youtu.be/XbjmqlSWlKI.

This week's episode of break continues the conversation, where they continue this conversation and talk about how we're all becoming writers. Watch it on YouTube or listen with your favorite podcasting app! Learn more by going to https://break.show/18.

We've got a new format for the bonus content snippets in this episode. All of them are together in the middle of the episode, with a small intro and outro around them. In this week's bonus content the duo discusses how AI might help save Stack Overflow, how it's making us write more specifications for software, and how it might lead to a much more viable funding model for the web. Not a supporter yet? Fix that today by heading over to https://fallthrough.fm/subscribe where you'll get not only extra content but also higher quality audio. Sign up today!

Thanks for tuning in and happy listening!

Table of Contents:

Prologue (00:00:00)
Chapter 1: New Models & How We Use Them (00:02:28)
Chapter 2: AI Will Help StackOverflow [Extended] (00:35:27)
Chapter 3: Software Engineering Is About Writing Specifications [Extended] (00:35:59)
Chapter 4: A Better Funding Model For The Web [Extended] (00:36:38)
Chapter 5: SSH Out, libghostty In (00:37:37)
Chapter 6: New Segment Type? (01:01:04)
Epilogue (01:04:56)

Hosts

Kris Brandow - Host
Matthew Sanabria - Host

Socials:

(00:00) - Prologue
(02:28) - Chapter 1: New Models & How We Use Them
(35:27) - Chapter 2: AI Will Help StackOverflow [Extended]
(35:59) - Chapter 3: Software Engineering Is About Writing Specifications [Extended]
(36:38) - Chapter 4: A Better Funding Model For The Web [Extended]
(37:37) - Chapter 5: SSH Out, libghostty In
(01:01:04) - Chapter 6: New Segment Type?
(01:04:56) - Epilogue

Magic Numbers Take Down The Internet

Fallthrough Media — Tue, 25 Nov 2025 08:00:00 -0500

This cannot keep happening. Another day, another outage. On this week's episode Kris and Matt talk about the recent Cloudflare outage. And boy do they have thoughts, we really hope you enjoy this exchange of monologues.

If you prefer to watch this episode, you can view it on YouTube: https://youtu.be/LsOgDolc9Fw

This week's episode of break continues the conversation, with a few more monologues and some thinking about the state of things. Watch it on YouTube or listen with your favorite podcasting app! Learn more by going to https://break.show/17.

And we've got bonus content for our supporters, where you'll hear about the Cloudflare outage in a bit more depth and hear the duos take on being a generalist versus a specialist. Not a supporter yet? Fix that today by heading over to https://fallthrough.fm/subscribe where you'll get not only extra content but also higher quality audio. Sign up today!

Thanks for tuning in and happy listening!

Table of Contents:

Prologue (00:00:00)
Chapter 1: The Cloudflare Outage (00:02:17)
Chapter 2: Too Much Centralization? (00:20:24)
Chapter 3: Communication Matters (00:26:22)
Chapter 4: Magic Numbers Take Down The Internet [Extended] (00:29:50)
Chapter 5: Programming Language Hate and AI versus Tools (00:30:19)
Chapter 6: The Generalist and The Specialist [Extended] (00:49:29)
Epilogue (00:50:03)

Hosts

Kris Brandow - Host
Matthew Sanabria - Host

Socials:

(00:00) - Prologue
(02:17) - Chapter 1: The Cloudflare Outage
(02:52) - Chapter 2: Too Much Centralization?
(26:22) - Chapter 3: Communication Matters
(26:43) - Chapter 4: Magic Numbers Take Down The Internet [Extended]
(30:19) - Chapter 5: Programming Language Hate and AI versus Tools
(35:05) - Chapter 6: The Generalist and The Specialist [Extended]
(50:03) - Epilogue

The AI Marketing Problem

Fallthrough Media — Wed, 19 Nov 2025 21:00:00 -0500

The tech industry is terrible at marketing things. From AI to Blockchain to Git, we constantly miss the actual innovation by looking too closely at the surface level. In this episode, Kris is joined by the full panel of Ian, Matthew, and Dylan to discuss the marketing problem AI seems to have and its wider implications.

If you prefer to watch this episode, you can view it on YouTube: https://youtu.be/4nGG8Mv4L88

This week's episode of break continues the conversation, with a deeper discussion around the marketing point and a whole bunch more. Watch it on YouTube or listen with your favorite podcasting app! Learn more by going to https://break.show/16.

And we've got bonus content for our supporters, where you'll hear how the panel is currently using AI and the importance of embracing being human. Not a supporter yet? Fix that today by heading over to https://fallthrough.fm/subscribe where you'll get not only extra content but also higher quality audio. Sign up today!

Thanks for tuning in and happy listening!

Table of Contents:

Prologue (00:00:00)
Chapter 1: The AI Marketing Problem (00:06:14)
Chapter 2: What Does It Mean To Adopt AI? [Extended] (00:09:53)
Chapter 3: SciFi Computer or Reference System? (00:10:16)
Chapter 4: Embrace Being Human [Extended] (00:36:17)
Chapter 3: SciFi Computer or Reference System? (00:00:-17)
Chapter 5: Context Is Important (00:36:54)
Appendix UNPOP: Unpopular Opinions and Panic & Recover (00:49:41)

Hosts

Socials:

(00:00) - Prologue
(06:14) - Chapter 1: The AI Marketing Problem
(09:53) - Chapter 2: What Does It Mean To Adopt AI? [Extended]
(10:16) - Chapter 3: SciFi Computer or Reference System?
(36:17) - Chapter 4: Embrace Being Human [Extended]
(36:54) - Chapter 5: Context Is Important
(49:41) - Appendix UNPOP: Unpopular Opinions and Panic & Recover

Artisanal Software Engineering

Fallthrough Media — Wed, 12 Nov 2025 08:00:00 -0500

Software engineering has an identity problem. Some software engineers want to be craftspeople and artisans, while others want to be more like the traditional engineers, while others just want to write some code. In this episode, Kris and Matt talk about the state of software engineering today and the areas that they think could use improvement.

For this week's episode of break, we're pulling one out of the archives! Sometimes we record an episode and don't ship it for quite a while, and this one was recorded all the way back on July 30th! Kris and Matt talk about their (at the time) yet to be recorded episode with Mitchell, Oxide's Series B announcement, and have another conversation about software artisans. Watch it on YouTube or listen with your favorite podcasting app! Learn more by going to https://break.show/15.

And we've got bonus content for our supporters, where you'll hear the duo's feelings about project management, the industry's lack of planning, and Kris' recent change in view around artificial intelligence. Not a supporter yet? Fix that today by heading over to https://fallthrough.fm/subscribe where you'll get not only extra content but also higher quality audio. Sign up today!

Thanks for tuning in and happy listening!

Table of Contents:

Prologue (00:00:00)
Chapter 1: The Current State of Software Engineering (00:02:28)
Chapter 2: MVPs and the Challenge of Shipping Software (00:17:05)
Chapter 3: Project Management and Workflows [Extended] (00:26:01)
Chapter 4: The Invisible Things (00:26:24)
Chapter 5: Path Dependency and Asking Why (00:31:26)
Chapter 6: Engineering Is About Design (00:46:11)
Chapter 7: We Need Better Planning [Extended] (00:58:42)
Chapter 8: Matt wants to write less code (00:59:02)
Chapter 9: Kris' view of AI has shifted [Extended] (01:02:38)
Epilogue (01:03:06)

Hosts

Kris Brandow - Host
Matthew Sanabria - Host

Socials:

(00:00) - Prologue
(02:28) - Chapter 1: The Current State of Software Engineering
(17:05) - Chapter 2: MVPs and the Challenge of Shipping Software
(26:01) - Chapter 3: Project Management and Workflows [Extended]
(26:24) - Chapter 4: The Invisible Things
(31:26) - Chapter 5: Path Depenency and Asking Why
(46:11) - Chapter 6: Engineering Is About Design
(58:42) - Chapter 7: We Need Better Planning [Extended]
(59:02) - Chapter 8: Matt wants to write less code
(01:02:38) - Chapter 9: Kris' view of AI has shifted [Extended]
(01:03:06) - Epilogue

The Fault In Our Clouds

Fallthrough Media — Tue, 04 Nov 2025 08:00:00 -0500

First it was GCP in June. Then it was AWS in October. Then it was Azure a week later. It seems that our cloud providers are having outages far more often, and for far longer, than any of us would like. In this episode, Kris, Ian, and Matthew discuss the two most recent outages along with some of their thoughts on the current state of the industry and the future of software.

We continue this discussion in this week's episode of Break! The panel talks about whether seeking a career with a FAANG company is worth it anymore, why building software for your local community is important, and their frustrations with point of sale systems. Watch it on YouTube or listen with your favorite podcasting app! Learn more by going to https://break.show.

EXTRA! EXTRA! There's lots of bonus content in this episode! And if you're a supporter you're getting all of it. In this week's extra chapters the panel talks about whether we all need to be on large cloud providers, frustrations with food delivery app PINs, whether timeouts and retries should be our go to, and why it feels like software is constantly getting worse. Not a supporter yet? Fix that today by heading over to https://fallthrough.fm/subscribe where you'll get not only extra content but also higher quality audio. Sign up today!

Thanks for tuning in and happy listening!

Show Notes:

AWS Outage Summary: https://aws.amazon.com/message/101925/
Azure Outage Summary: https://azure.status.microsoft/en-us/status/history/

Table of Contents:

Prologue (00:00:00)
Chapter 1: The AWS Outage (00:03:03)
Chapter 2: Overdependence on Timeouts and Retries [Extended] (00:27:15)
Chapter 3: Food Delivery app PINs should be Local First [Extended] (00:27:41)
Chapter 4: The Azure Outage (00:28:11)
Chapter 5: Do We Actually Need All These Cloud Services? [Extended] (00:39:37)
Chapter 6: We Are Trapped By Our Own Path Dependence [Extended] (00:40:07)
Chapter 7: What Is Popular Is Not Necessarily What Is Good (00:40:54)
Appendix UNPOP: Unpopular Opinions and Panic & Recover (00:42:42)
Epilogue (01:02:34)

Hosts

Socials:

(00:00) - Prologue
(03:03) - Chapter 1: The AWS Outage
(27:15) - Chapter 2: Overdependence on Timeouts and Retries [Extended]
(27:41) - Chapter 3: Food Delivery app PINs should be Local First [Extended]
(28:11) - Chapter 4: The Azure Outage
(39:37) - Chapter 5: Do We Actually Need All These Cloud Services? [Extended]
(40:07) - Chapter 6: We Are Trapped By Our Own Path Dependence [Extended]
(40:54) - Chapter 7: What Is Popular Is Not Necessarily What Is Good
(42:42) - Appendix UNPOP: Unpopular Opinions and Panic & Recover
(01:02:34) - Epilogue

JJ and How to Evolve an Open Source Ecosystem

Fallthrough Media — Tue, 28 Oct 2025 08:00:00 -0400

Jujutsu is a new version control system that's gaining in popularity. Its swappable backends allow users to continue using version control systems like Git without other users even noticing. Steve Klabnik aims to be a big part of it. Much like with Rust, he's getting involved early and making some big swings. In this episode, he joins Kris and Matt to discuss JJ and his recent announcement that he'll be joining East River Source Control to work on JJ and related projects full time.

We continue this discussion in this week's episode of Break! We get into some of the topics briefly mentioned during the main episode. Watch it on YouTube or listen with your favorite podcasting app! Learn more by going to https://break.show.

Love extra content? Well if you're a supporter you're getting some. This week's extended edition includes bonus content includes a chapter on the need for new layers and another chapter on potential plans for a JJHub. Not a supporter yet? You can fix that by heading over to https://fallthrough.fm/subscribe where you'll get not only extra content but also higher quality audio. Sign up today!

Thanks for tuning in and happy listening!

Table of Contents:

Prologue (00:00:00)
Chapter 1: Farewell, Oxide! Hello, East River Source Control! (00:03:44)
Chapter 2: JJ Backends (00:13:54)
Chapter 3: When To Choose New Tools (00:17:58)
Chapter 4: We're Not Going Back (00:29:16)
Chapter 5: Why Use JJ? (00:31:05)
Chapter 6: Creating New Layers [Extended] (00:45:33)
Chapter 7: JJHub? [Extended] (00:46:08)
Chapter 8: Forking Is About More Than Just The Code (00:46:56)
Appendix Unpop: Unpopular Opinions (00:50:02)
Epilogue (00:56:10)

Hosts

Socials:

(00:00) - Prologue
(03:44) - Chapter 1: Farewell, Oxide! Hello, East River Source Control!
(13:54) - Chapter 2: JJ Backends
(17:58) - Chapter 3: When To Choose New Tools
(29:16) - Chapter 4: We're Not Going Back
(31:05) - Chapter 5: Why Use JJ?
(45:33) - Chapter 6: Creating New Layers [Extended]
(46:08) - Chapter 7: JJHub? [Extended]
(46:56) - Chapter 8: Forking Is About More Than Just The Code
(50:02) - Appendix Unpop: Unpopular Opinions
(56:10) - Epilogue

DevOps: The Answer to Life, The Universe, and Everything

Fallthrough Media — Mon, 20 Oct 2025 18:00:00 -0400

In this episode, hosts Angelica Hill and Matthew Sanabria are joined by special guest Cory O'Daniel to dive deep into DevOps. They chat through some of the big questions shaping the industry: Is the "cloud promise" still holding up? What role does on-prem infrastructure play now? And perhaps most importantly, what does "DevOps" even mean today?

We've got a ton of supporter content in this episode, so our supporters can hear Cory's thoughts on why technology choices should be kept simple, why we aren't thinking things through, and why the C-Suite forgets the pain of being an IC. Not a supporter yet? You can fix that by heading over to https://fallthrough.fm/subscribe where you'll get not only extra content but also higher quality audio. Sign up today!

Thanks for tuning in and happy listening!

Table of Contents:

Prologue (00:00:00)
Chapter 1: What Is DevOps? (00:05:50)
Chapter 2: Structuring DevOps (00:20:27)
Chapter 3: Software Engineering is a Craft (00:46:10)
Chapter 4: Keep Technology Choices Simple [Extended Only] (00:58:18)
Chapter 5: Why Are We Not Thinking Things Through? [Extended Only] (00:58:45)
Chapter 6: What Makes The C-Suite Forget The Pain? [Extended Only] (00:59:26)
Chapter 7: OpenTofu (01:00:16)
Epilogue (01:03:12)

Hosts

Matthew Sanabria - Host
Angelica Hill - Producer
Cory O'Daniel - Guest

Socials:

(00:00) - Prologue
(05:50) - Chapter 1: What Is DevOps?
(20:27) - Chapter 2: Structuring DevOps
(46:10) - Chapter 3: Software Engineering is a Craft
(58:18) - Chapter 4: Keep Technology Choices Simple [Extended Only]
(58:45) - Chapter 5: Why Are We Not Thinking Things Through? [Extended Only]
(59:26) - Chapter 6: What Makes The C-Suite Forget The Pain? [Extended Only]
(01:00:16) - Chapter 7: OpenTofu
(01:03:12) - Epilogue

Ghostty & The Shell

Fallthrough Media — Mon, 13 Oct 2025 08:00:00 -0400

Mitchell once again joins Matt and Kris to give us an update about Ghostty, a new library he's working on called libxev, and some of his thoughts around AI.

For our supporters, we have extra chapters on Mitchell's talk on open source governance and requiring AI disclosures for Ghostty contributions. Not a supporter yet? You can fix that by heading over to https://fallthrough.fm/subscribe where you'll get not only extra content but also higher quality audio. Sign up today!

Thanks for tuning in and happy listening!

Table of Contents:

Prologue (00:00:00)
Chapter 1: What's New With Ghostty? (00:01:44)
Chapter 2: Mitchell's Take On Open Source Governance [Extended Only] (00:34:14)
Chapter 3: libxev (00:34:35)
Chapter 4: AI Contribution Disclosures in Ghostty [Extended Only] (00:55:31)

Hosts

Socials:

(00:00) - Prologue
(01:44) - Chapter 1: What's New With Ghostty?
(34:14) - Chapter 2: Mitchell's Take On Open Source Governance [Extended Only]
(34:35) - Chapter 3: libxev
(55:31) - Chapter 4: AI Contribution Disclosures in Ghostty [Extended Only]

The Failure of Open Source Leadership

Fallthrough Media — Tue, 07 Oct 2025 09:00:00 -0400

Open source project leaders have faced heavy challenges over the last decade and a half. It seems every language community has had conflicts with its leadership: Python with the struggles of the Python 2 to 3 migration; Node.JS and the community's conflict with Joyent; Rust and their handling of trademarks and IP; Wordpress and their conflict with WPEngine; and of course Go and their conflict around dependency management (and error handling). Now we've added another: the recent conflict between Ruby Central and the community.

In this episode, Kris, Matt, and Steve discuss these conflicts and what they tell us about the way we've come to see leadership within open source projects, where the blame actually lies, and what changes we can make to avoid these issues in the future.

For our supporters, we have extra chapters about the sustainability of the current model and where we should place blame for the current problems. Not a supporter yet? You can fix that by heading over to https://fallthrough.fm/subscribe where you'll get not only extra content but also higher quality audio. Sign up today!

Thanks for tuning in and happy listening!

Show Notes:

Table of Contents:

Prologue (00:00:00)
Chapter 1: How Did We Get Here? (00:02:07)
Chapter 2: Why Does Open Source Like Dictators? (00:41:04)
Chapter 3: So what happened with Ruby? (00:45:21)
Chapter 4: How Sustainable Is All Of This? [Extended Only] (01:01:49)
Chapter 5: Blame Lies Everywhere [Extended Only] (01:02:19)
Chapter 6: It's Not The Individual, It's The System (01:03:06)
Chapter 7: We Actually Can All Get Along (01:13:41)
Chapter 8: Nuance Was Had (01:24:24)

Hosts

Socials:

(00:00) - Prologue
(02:07) - Chapter 1: How Did We Get Here?
(41:04) - Chapter 2: Why Does Open Source Like Dictators?
(45:21) - Chapter 3: So what happened with Ruby?
(01:01:49) - Chapter 4: How Sustainable Is All Of This? [Extended Only]
(01:02:19) - Chapter 5: Blame Lies Everywhere [Extended Only]
(01:03:06) - Chapter 6: It's Not The Individual, It's The System
(01:13:41) - Chapter 7: We Actually Can All Get Along
(01:24:24) - Chapter 8: Nuance Was Had

PHP Was Never Dead

Fallthrough Media — Tue, 30 Sep 2025 08:00:00 -0400

This week we've got a grab bag episode! Kris and Matt discuss a variety of topics, including a GopherCon debrief (featuring some RustConf comparisons!), why people can't be mad all the time, the need for better abstractions, and so much more!

For our supporters, we've got two great chapters about carefully selected criticism and a new Linux distro. Not a supporter yet? You can fix that by heading over to https://fallthrough.fm/subscribe where you'll get not only extra content but also higher quality audio. Sign up today!

Thanks for tuning in and happy listening!

Show Notes:

The Future of Programming - Bret Victor

Table of Contents:

Prologue (00:00:00)
Chapter 1: GopherCon Debrief (00:02:26)
Chapter 2: Corporations Are Followers (00:34:10)
Chapter 3: Carefully Crafted Narratives [Supporter Only] (00:44:09)
Chapter 4: You Can't Be Mad All The Time (00:45:47)
Chapter 5: We Need New Abstractions (00:55:40)
Chapter 6: Omarchy [Supporter Only] (01:11:45)
Epilogue (01:13:27)

Hosts

Kris Brandow - Host
Matthew Sanabria - Host

Socials:

(00:00) - Prologue
(02:26) - Chapter 1: GopherCon Debrief
(34:10) - Chapter 2: Corporations Are Followers
(44:09) - Chapter 3: Carefully Crafted Narratives [Supporter Only]
(45:47) - Chapter 4: You Can't Be Mad All The Time
(55:40) - Chapter 5: We Need New Abstractions
(01:11:45) - Chapter 6: Omarchy [Supporter Only]
(01:13:27) - Epilogue

Defer Life Considered Harmful

Fallthrough Media — Tue, 23 Sep 2025 08:00:00 -0400

From AI winters to Tiny Go, Ron Evans has a long and storied career. In this episode he joins Angelica and Matt to discuss his journey, what past AI winters can tell us about our current AI moment, the importance of Tiny Go, and so much more.

This week's episode has a Break aftershow! Watch it on YouTube or listen with your favorite podcasting app! Learn more by going to https://break.show.

For our supporters, we've got two great chapters about epistemology and how AI affects newcomers to programming. Not a supporter yet? You can fix that by heading over to https://fallthrough.fm/subscribe where you'll get not only extra content but also higher quality audio. Sign up today!

Thanks for tuning in and happy listening!

Show Notes:

Table of Contents:

Prologue (00:00:00)
Chapter 1: Who Is Ron Evans? (00:03:00)
Chapter 2: The Next AI Winter? (00:06:03)
Chapter 3: Epistemology [Supporter Only] (00:36:39)
Chapter 4: Ron's Long Game (00:39:20)
Chapter 5: There Are Always Things To Do (00:50:22)
Chapter 6: How Is AI/ML Impacting People New To The Industry? [Supporter Only] (00:59:27)
Chapter 7: Anything Left Unsaid? (01:02:19)
Appendix UNPOP: Unpopular Opinions (01:07:28)

Hosts

Matthew Sanabria - Host
Angelica Hill - Producer
Kris Brandow - Producer
Ron Evans - Guest

Socials:

(00:00) - Prologue
(03:00) - Chapter 1: Who Is Ron Evans?
(06:03) - Chapter 2: The Next AI Winter?
(36:39) - Chapter 3: Epistemology [Supporter Only]
(39:20) - Chapter 4: Ron's Long Game
(50:22) - Chapter 5: There Are Always Things To Do
(59:27) - Chapter 6: How Is AI/ML Impacting People New To The Industry? [Supporter Only]
(01:02:19) - Chapter 7: Anything Left Unsaid?
(01:07:28) - Appendix UNPOP: Unpopular Opinions

Building For The Future

Fallthrough Media — Mon, 15 Sep 2025 18:00:00 -0400

We've all experienced the dreaded rewrite. A system that was promised to last for years has grown so full of technical debt and cruft that we feel we need to throw it out and start over again. How can we avoid this? In this episode, Angelica and Matt are joined by Jon Sabados, where they discuss how to build software that can last long into the future.

This week's episode does not have a companion break episode, but check out our backlog if you haven't watched them already! Watch it on YouTube or listen with your favorite podcasting app! Learn more by going to https://break.show.

This week's episode features a bonus chapter for supporters! Not a supporter yet? You can fix that by heading over to https://fallthrough.fm/subscribe where you'll get not only extra content but also higher quality audio. Sign up today!

Thanks for tuning in and happy listening!

Table of Contents:

Prologue (00:00:00)
Chapter 1: Why Should We Build For The Future? (00:03:13)
Chapter 2: Business Value & Future Planning (00:10:18)
Chapter 3: Where Do You Start? (00:13:21)
Chapter 4: How To Make Decisions Effectively (00:27:35)
Chapter 5: Crafting A Solution (00:39:55)
Chapter 6: What Does It Actually Mean To Build For The Future? [Supporter Only] (00:47:50)
Chapter 7: A Case Study (00:49:57)
Chapter 8: Incorporating New Technologies (01:05:07)
Chapter 9: Building For The Future Outage (01:08:19)
Chapter 10: Final Advice (01:16:34)
Appendix UNPOP: Unpopular Opinions (01:20:03)
Epilogue (01:35:12)

Hosts

Matthew Sanabria - Host
Angelica Hill - Producer
Kris Brandow - Producer
Jon Sabados - Guest

Socials:

(00:00) - Prologue
(03:13) - Chapter 1: Why Should We Build For The Future?
(10:18) - Chapter 2: Business Value & Future Planning
(13:21) - Chapter 3: Where Do You Start?
(27:35) - Chapter 4: How To Make Decisions Effectively
(39:55) - Chapter 5: Crafting A Solution
(47:50) - Chapter 6: What Does It Actually Mean To Build For The Future? [Supporter Only]
(49:57) - Chapter 7: A Case Study
(01:05:07) - Chapter 8: Incorporating New Technologies
(01:08:19) - Chapter 9: Building For The Future Outage
(01:16:34) - Chapter 10: Final Advice
(01:20:03) - Appendix UNPOP: Unpopular Opinions
(01:35:12) - Epilogue

Bootstrapping A Podcast

Fallthrough Media — Mon, 08 Sep 2025 18:00:00 -0400

Ever wondered what it really takes to build a successful online presence? How about if you were doing it as a couple? In this episode, Angelica and Matt are joined by Sophie and Rory of the "Media Couple" podcast as they pull back the curtain on their current projects and share the unfiltered reality of being content creators, the tools and tech they use, and how it's going.

Not a supporter yet? You can fix that by heading over to https://fallthrough.fm/subscribe where you'll get not only extra content but also higher quality audio. Sign up today!

Thanks for tuning in and happy listening!

Table of Contents:

Prologue (00:00:00)
Chapter 1: What Is The Media Couple? (00:08:20)
Chapter 2: Getting Started with Content Creation (00:12:55)
Chapter 3: How's The Media Couple Going? (00:20:34)
Interlude: Dealing With Your Inner Critic [Supporter Only] (00:24:19)
Chapter 4: Choosing A Format (00:25:14)
Chapter 5: Who Is Your Audience? (00:33:13)
Chapter 6: The Tech Behind It All (00:47:30)
Interlude: Vibe Coding Through Life (01:05:54)
Chapter 7: Where Do You Start With Branding? (01:09:51)
Chapter 8: Preventing Boredom (01:12:53)
Chapter 9: Generating New Content Ideas (01:22:27)
Chapter 10: Feedback [Supporter Only] (01:30:15)
Chapter 11: A Few Good Productions (01:32:18)
Appendix UNPOP: Unpopular Opinions (01:39:52)
Epilogue (01:55:35)

Hosts

Matthew Sanabria - Host
Angelica Hill - Producer
Kris Brandow - Producer
Rory Nichols - Guest
Sophie Haines-Nichols - Guest

Socials:

(00:00) - Prologue
(08:20) - Chapter 1: What Is The Media Couple?
(12:55) - Chapter 2: Getting Started with Content Creation
(20:34) - Chapter 3: How's The Media Couple Going?
(24:19) - Interlude: Dealing With Your Inner Critic [Supporter Only]
(25:14) - Chapter 4: Choosing A Format
(33:13) - Chapter 5: Who Is Your Audience?
(47:30) - Chapter 6: The Tech Behind It All
(01:05:54) - Interlude: Vibe Coding Through Life
(01:09:51) - Chapter 7: Where Do You Start With Branding?
(01:12:53) - Chapter 8: Preventing Boredom
(01:22:27) - Chapter 9: Generating New Content Ideas
(01:30:15) - Chapter 10: Feedback [Supporter Only]
(01:32:18) - Chapter 11: A Few Good Productions
(01:39:52) - Appendix UNPOP: Unpopular Opinions
(01:55:35) - Epilogue

What It Takes To Be A Content Creator

Fallthrough Media — Mon, 01 Sep 2025 19:00:00 -0400

Everyone can be a content creator. Whether it's posting long form content on YouTube, shorter content on TikTok, or photos on Instagram, content creation is accessible to all. In this episode, Angelica and Matt are joined by Benjamin Bryant to talk about what it takes to become a content creator. This episode contains extra chapters for supporters.

Not a supporter yet? You can fix that by heading over to https://fallthrough.fm/subscribe where you'll get not only extra content but also higher quality audio. Sign up today!

Thanks for tuning in and happy listening!

Table of Contents:

Prologue (00:00:00)
Chapter 1: Introducing Ben Bryant (00:02:20)
Chapter 2: Starting Out In Content Creation (00:03:32)
Chapter 3: Self Preparation for Making a Video (00:06:26)
Chapter 4: Finding Your First Content (00:09:47)
Chapter 5: Hows the Channel Going? (00:17:41)
Chapter 6: How Much of You Do You Show in Your Content? [Supporter Only] (00:31:01)
Chapter 7: Matt's Journey to Content Creation [Supporter Only] (00:31:34)
Chapter 8: Finding Your Why (00:32:06)
Chapter 9: How Do You Find The Fun? (00:38:21)
Chapter 10: Dealing With Negative Comments [Supporter Only] (00:54:04)
Chapter 11: YouTube vs On Stage (00:54:52)
Chapter 12: What Does Success Look Like? (01:03:03)
Chapter 13: Ben's Viral Videos (01:16:58)
Chapter 14: Final Thoughts (01:26:25)
Appendix UNPOP: Unpopular Opinions (01:28:47)
Epilogue (01:35:53)

Hosts

Matthew Sanabria - Host
Angelica Hill - Producer
Kris Brandow - Producer
Benjamin Bryant - Guest

Socials:

(00:00) - Prologue
(02:20) - Chapter 1: Introducing Ben Bryant
(03:32) - Chapter 2: Starting Out In Content Creation
(06:26) - Chapter 3: Self Preparation for Making a Video
(09:47) - Chapter 4: Finding Your First Content
(17:41) - Chapter 5: Hows the Channel Going?
(31:01) - Chapter 6: How Much of You Do You Show in Your Content? [Supporter Only]
(31:34) - Chapter 7: Matt's Journey to Content Creation [Supporter Only]
(32:06) - Chapter 8: Finding Your Why
(38:21) - Chapter 9: How Do You Find The Fun?
(54:04) - Chapter 10: Dealing With Negative Comments [Supporter Only]
(54:52) - Chapter 11: YouTube vs On Stage
(01:03:03) - Chapter 12: What Does Success Look Like?
(01:16:58) - Chapter 13: Ben's Viral Videos
(01:26:25) - Chapter 14: Final Thoughts
(01:28:47) - Appendix UNPOP: Unpopular Opinions
(01:35:53) - Epilogue

How To Have A Great Conference Experience

Fallthrough Media — Mon, 25 Aug 2025 08:00:00 -0400

GopherCon is this week! Kris, Matt, Dylan, and Angelica are talking about conferences: their favorite experiences, how they approach them, and advice for first time conference attendees. For our supporters, the panel has an in-depth discussion of what would make for better conferences and where current conferences are failing.

We've also have a new episode of Break! Watch it on YouTube or listen with your favorite podcasting app! Learn more by going to https://break.show.

Not a supporter yet? You can fix that by heading over to https://fallthrough.fm/subscribe where you'll get not only extra content but also higher quality audio. Sign up today!

Thanks for tuning in and happy listening!

Table of Contents:

Hello. And Welcome To. Fallthrough? (00:00:00)
Prologue (00:01:55)
Interlude: How are we doing? (00:04:15)
Chapter 1: What Are Your Favorite Conference Experiences? (00:07:48)
Chapter 2: How Do You Approach Attending A Conference? (00:26:13)
Chapter 3: Talks & Workshops (00:32:33)
Chapter 4: First Time Speakers & The Speaker Pipeline [Supporter Only] (00:40:45)
Chapter 5: The Ideal Conference [Supporter Only] (00:41:55)
Chapter 6: Should Conferences Provide Mentorship For Speakers? [Supporter Only] (00:43:23)
Chapter 7: Advice for First Time Conference Attendees (00:45:41)
Epilogue (00:50:26)

Hosts

Kris Brandow - Host
Dylan Bourque - Host
Matthew Sanabria - Host
Angelica Hill - Producer

Socials:

(00:00) - Hello. And Welcome To. Fallthrough?
(01:55) - Prologue
(04:15) - Interlude: How are we doing?
(07:48) - Chapter 1: What Are Your Favorite Conference Experiences?
(26:13) - Chapter 2: How Do You Approach Attending A Conference?
(32:33) - Chapter 3: Talks & Workshops
(40:45) - Chapter 4: First Time Speakers & The Speaker Pipeline [Supporter Only]
(41:55) - Chapter 5: The Ideal Conference [Supporter Only]
(43:23) - Chapter 6: Should Conferences Provide Mentorship For Speakers? [Supporter Only]
(45:41) - Chapter 7: Advice for First Time Conference Attendees
(50:26) - Epilogue

What's New in Go 1.25?

Fallthrough Media — Mon, 18 Aug 2025 08:00:00 -0400

It's August, which means we've got a fresh new Go release! In this episode, Kris and Matt pick up the "What's New in Go?" series with an edition for the Go 1.25 release.

We've also have a new episode of Break! Watch it on YouTube or listen with your favorite podcasting app! Learn more by going to https://break.show.

This episode contains an extra Unpopular Opinion and lengthy discussion for our supporters. Not a supporter yet? You can fix that by heading over to https://fallthrough.fm/subscribe where you'll get not only extra content but also higher quality audio. Sign up today!

Thanks for tuning in and happy listening!

Notes:

Go 1.25 Release Notes

Table of Contents:

Prologue (00:01:19)
Chapter 1: Tools (00:03:58)
Chapter 2: Runtime (00:16:23)
Chapter 3: Compiler (00:25:03)
Chapter 4: Standard Library (00:29:59)
Appendix UNPOP: Unpopular Opinions and Panic & Recover (01:04:38)
Epilogue (01:07:45)

Hosts

Kris Brandow - Host
Matthew Sanabria - Host

Socials:

(01:19) - Prologue
(03:58) - Chapter 1: Tools
(16:23) - Chapter 2: Runtime
(25:03) - Chapter 3: Compiler
(29:59) - Chapter 4: Standard Library
(01:04:38) - Appendix UNPOP: Unpopular Opinions and Panic & Recover
(01:07:45) - Epilogue

Big Data Energy

Fallthrough Media — Mon, 11 Aug 2025 08:00:00 -0400

In the years leading up to the current AI hype cycle we're currently all experiencing, there was another hype cycle: Big Data. In this episode, Kris is joined by Matt and Steve to discuss how the Big Data craze relates to the current Artificial Intelligence one, where Big Data ends and AI/ML begin, and so much more.

We've also have a new episode of Break! We've decided that Break will be video first, so you can watch it on YouTube or in your favorite podcast app by going to: https://break.show/ep/5.

For our supporters, we have extra content, including a chapter about the importance of our ideas being grounded in truth. Not a supporter yet? You can fix that by heading over to https://fallthrough.fm/subscribe where you'll get not only extra content but also higher quality audio. Sign up today!

Thanks for tuning in and happy listening!

Table of Contents:

Prologue (02:49)
Chapter 1: What is Big Data? (04:33)
Chapter 2: Is AI/ML Big Data? (17:23)
Chapter 3: Our Ideas must Touch Ground Truth [Supporter Only] (59:31)
Appendix UNPOP: Unpopular Opionions & Panic and Recover (01:00:39)

Hosts

Socials:

(02:49) - Prologue
(04:33) - Chapter 1: What is Big Data?
(17:23) - Chapter 2: Is AI/ML Big Data?
(59:31) - Chapter 3: Our Ideas must Touch Ground Truth [Supporter Only]
(01:00:39) - Appendix UNPOP: Unpopular Opionions & Panic and Recover

Championing A Cause

Fallthrough Media — Mon, 04 Aug 2025 08:00:00 -0400

How do you make change happen effectively? In this episode, Matt is joined by Alex Sims to discuss championing a cause and making change happen within your organization. They discuss various strategies, including how to get started, different technical approaches, and how to deal with those who resist change.

We've also have a new episode of Break! We've decided that Break will be video first, so you can watch it on YouTube or in your favorite podcast app by going to: https://break.show/ep/4.

For our supporters, we have extra content, including chapters on how observability factors into making change happen and how to deal with detractors and decrees from above. Not a supporter yet? You can fix that by heading over to https://fallthrough.fm/subscribe where you'll get not only extra content but also higher quality audio. Sign up today!

Thanks for tuning in and happy listening!

Table of Contents:

Prologue (01:39)
Chapter 1: Alex's Background (02:04)
Chapter 2: Becoming a Champion (08:02)
Chapter 3: Dealing with Detractors [Supporter Only] (21:25)
Chapter 4: Getting Started (22:10)
Chapter 5: Dealing with Decrees [Supporter Only] (27:57)
Chapter 6: Dealing with Detractors (continued) [Supporter Only] (28:29)
Chapter 7: The Power of Observability (29:42)
Chapter 8: Programming Languages (30:34)
Chapter 9: Technical Debt (45:47)
Chapter 10: Parting Advice (59:22)
Appendix UNPOP: Unpopular Opinions (01:01:50)
Epilogue (01:08:47)

Hosts

Matthew Sanabria - Host
Kris Brandow - Producer
Alex Sims - Guest

Socials:

(01:39) - Prologue
(02:04) - Chapter 1: Alex's Background
(08:02) - Chapter 2: Becoming a Champion
(21:25) - Chapter 3: Dealing with Detractors [Supporter Only]
(22:10) - Chapter 4: Getting Started
(27:57) - Chapter 5: Dealing with Decrees [Supporter Only]
(28:29) - Chapter 6: Dealing with Detractors (continued) [Supporter Only]
(29:42) - Chapter 7: The Power of Observability
(30:34) - Chapter 8: Programming Languages
(45:47) - Chapter 9: Technical Debt
(59:22) - Chapter 10: Parting Advice
(01:01:50) - Appendix UNPOP: Unpopular Opinions
(01:08:47) - Epilogue

AI Booster? AI Doomer? You're Wrong Either Way

Fallthrough Media — Mon, 28 Jul 2025 08:00:00 -0400

It's a rarity in recent years to have a conversation and not have the topic of AI brought up. There are those who think we're on the cusp of AI super-intelligence, those who think AI will destroy the job market, and those who completely write the entire thing off. What these conversations lack is nuance. In this episode, Kris is joined by Matt and Steve to bring some much needed nuance to the conversation around artificial intelligence. They discuss the history of AI; how everything old is new again, sometimes literally; why boosters and doomers are wrong; what intelligence actually is (in reference to computers); and so much more.

We've also have a new episode of Break! We've decided that Break will be video first, so you can watch it on YouTube or in your favorite podcast app by going to: https://break.show/ep/3.

For our supporters, we have a whole bunch of extra content. This episode was one large, unstructured conversation, so we've included interludes of related or slightly tangential conversations as supporter content. Not a supporter yet? You can fix that by heading over to https://fallthrough.fm/subscribe where you'll get not only extra content but also higher quality audio. Sign up today!

Thanks for tuning in and happy listening!

Notes:

How AI is Ruining the Electrical Grid

Table of Contents:

Prologue (03:12)
Chapter 1: A Brief History of AI (04:35)
Chapter 2: The AI Boom & Bust (09:00)
Interlude: Why Are People Mad at Duolingo? [Supporter Only] (10:07)
Chapter 3: The Problem Isn't AI, It's The Products (10:07)
Interlude: Why AI Coding Assistants are like Debuggers [Supporter Only] (18:33)
Interlude: Bankified Companies [Supporter Only] (20:22)
Interlude: The Uber of Past Successes [Supporter Only] (23:30)
Chapter 4: Why Everyone Is Wrong About AI (23:33)
Interlude: How The Power Grid Works [Supporter Only] (36:34)
Interlude: Congestion Pricing, Capacity Planning, & Subway Cars [Supporter Only] (42:10)
Chapter 5: Startups Aren't Businesses [Supporter Only] (42:11)
Chapter 6: The Machines Have Been Intelligent The Entire Time (42:39)
Chapter 7: The Interface Is A Means To An End (53:14)
Chapter 8: We Need More Naunce (01:02:08)
Appendix UNPOP: Unpopular Opinions (01:10:29)
Epilogue (01:15:58)

Hosts

Socials:

(03:12) - Prologue
(04:35) - Chapter 1: A Brief History of AI
(09:00) - Chapter 2: The AI Boom & Bust
(10:07) - Interlude: Why Are People Mad at Duolingo? [Supporter Only]
(10:07) - Chapter 3: The Problem Isn't AI, It's The Products
(18:33) - Interlude: Why AI Coding Assistants are like Debuggers [Supporter Only]
(20:22) - Interlude: Bankified Companies [Supporter Only]
(23:30) - Interlude: The Uber of Past Successes [Supporter Only]
(23:33) - Chapter 4: Why Everyone Is Wrong About AI
(36:34) - Interlude: How The Power Grid Works [Supporter Only]
(42:10) - Interlude: Congestion Pricing, Capacity Planning, & Subway Cars [Supporter Only]
(42:11) - Chapter 5: Startups Aren't Businesses [Supporter Only]
(42:39) - Chapter 6: The Machines Have Been Intelligent The Entire Time
(53:14) - Chapter 7: The Interface Is A Means To An End
(01:02:08) - Chapter 8: We Need More Naunce
(01:10:29) - Appendix UNPOP: Unpopular Opinions
(01:15:58) - Epilogue

Versioning: We Did It To Ourselves

Fallthrough Media — Mon, 21 Jul 2025 08:00:00 -0400

Versioning! It's a topic that we all deal with on a daily basis, and yet it's a topic that many of us dread. Our ecosystems love semantic versioning, but many of us find it lacking for many of our use cases. In this episode, Kris and Matt are joined once again by Jamie and Steve to talk about versioning. The panel discusses what versioning is, when to use Semantic Versioning, whether identifiers and versions are the same thing, and so much more.

Last week we shipped the first episode of our aftershow, Break. This week we're following it up with another installment! We've got a separate feed up and running for the aftershow, but for now we'll carry the first few episodes of it in this feed. You can listen to the episode by going to: https://break.show/ep/2.

Don't worry supporters, we've got a ton of extra content for you. As per usual with this panel, we got into quite a deep discussion around artificial intelligence, how it relates to meaning, and whether this whole thing might just disappear tomorrow. Not a supporter yet? You can fix that by heading over to https://fallthrough.fm/subscribe where you'll get not only extra content but also higher quality audio. Sign up today!

Thanks for tuning in and happy listening!

Notes:

Table of Contents:

Prologue (02:00)
Chapter 1: An Early Unpopular Opinion! (05:32)
Chapter 2: What Is A Version? (10:36)
Chapter 3: Semantic Versioning (22:33)
Chapter 4: Versioning For Humans (41:59)
Chapter 5: Choosing A Versioning Scheme (01:04:37)
Chapter 6: SemVer Metadata (01:11:50)
Chapter 7: Versioning In The World [Supporter Only] (01:17:24)
Chapter 8: With AI, Do We Need Versions? [Supporter Only] (01:29:34)
Chapter 9: Will AI Go The Way of NFTs? [Supporter Only] (01:38:04)
Chapter 10: Liberal What Accept (02:00:08)
Chapter 11: Closing Thoughts (02:05:41)
Appendix UNPOP: Unpopular Opinions (02:07:55)

Hosts

Socials:

(02:00) - Prologue
(05:32) - Chapter 1: An Early Unpopular Opinion!
(10:36) - Chapter 2: What Is A Version?
(22:33) - Chapter 3: Semantic Versioning
(41:59) - Chapter 4: Versioning For Humans
(01:04:37) - Chapter 5: Choosing A Versioning Scheme
(01:11:50) - Chapter 6: SemVer Metadata
(01:17:24) - Chapter 7: Versioning In The World [Supporter Only]
(01:29:34) - Chapter 8: With AI, Do We Need Versions? [Supporter Only]
(01:38:04) - Chapter 9: Will AI Go The Way of NFTs? [Supporter Only]
(02:00:08) - Chapter 10: Liberal What Accept
(02:05:41) - Chapter 11: Closing Thoughts
(02:07:55) - Appendix UNPOP: Unpopular Opinions

[Break] You're Now Less Wrong About REST

Fallthrough Media — Tue, 15 Jul 2025 17:10:21 -0400

Welcome to Break, a Fallthrough aftershow! After months of spending time after each recording of Fallthrough chatting, Kris and Matt decided it's time to record some of these chats and publish them to the world! In many ways the show's name is apropos: it's more like a watercooler break than a podcast recording and it's a break from the way we usually record podcast episodes.

In this first episode, Kris, Matt, and Jamie discuss the recording of Fallthrough episode #28. They talk more about OpenAPI and how it relates to REST and hypermedia, what layering brings to the table for APIs, and how change can start with just a single person.

We hope you enjoy this new show and let us know if you like this content and format!

Thanks for tuning in and happy listening!

Table of Contents:

Prologue (00:45)
OpenAPI (08:15)
Layering (15:33)
We Can Build This (33:21)
Epilogue (38:40)

Hosts

Socials:

(00:45) - Prologue
(08:15) - OpenAPI
(15:33) - Layering
(33:21) - We Can Build This
(38:40) - Epilogue

[Break] You're Now Less Wrong About REST

Fallthrough Media — Tue, 15 Jul 2025 17:10:21 -0400

We hope you enjoy this new show and let us know if you like this content and format!

Thanks for tuning in and happy listening!

Table of Contents:

Prologue (00:45)
OpenAPI (08:15)
Layering (15:33)
We Can Build This (33:21)
Epilogue (38:40)

Hosts

Socials:

(00:45) - Prologue
(08:15) - OpenAPI
(15:33) - Layering
(33:21) - We Can Build This
(38:40) - Epilogue

Why You're Wrong About REST

Fallthrough Media — Mon, 14 Jul 2025 08:00:00 -0400

The web has been around for nearly 40 years, yet despite its massive success, the principles that made it a success still prove elusive to most software engineers today. We've stumbled into a world where so called REST APIs are less RESTful than GraphQL, where most definitions of hypermedia are wrong, and where nuance has been replaced with "well actually". In this episode, Kris is joined by Matt, Jamie, and Steve to discuss REST, hypermedia, the Web (now at version 4.0!), where all of these came from, and so much more.

For our long time listeners, you might remember hearing Kris and Matt discuss a potential after show. Well good news, they've finally recorded an episode! The first episode will be released in this feed, but subsequent episodes will have their own feed. You can listen to the episode by going to: https://break.show/ep/1.

The panel also discusses OpenAPI and how it relates to REST and hypermedia, but that chapter is for supporters only. Hear what the panel has to say about OpenAPI, along with other extended conversations, and higher quality audio! Get access by signing up at https://fallthrough.fm/subscribe.

Thanks for tuning in and happy listening!

Notes:

Table of Contents:

Prologue (01:28)
Chapter 1: What even is hypermedia? (02:30)
Chapter 2: What is REST? (09:48)
Chapter 3: The Uniform Interface (22:57)
Chapter 4: Cookies are terrible [Supporter Only] (01:02:53)
Chapter 5: and Web 4.0 (01:03:43)
Chapter 6: OpenAPI [Supporter Only] (01:26:27)
Chapter 7: An interlude and the future of the web [Supporter Only] (01:28:28)
Epilogue (01:28:32)

Hosts

Socials:

(01:28) - Prologue
(02:30) - Chapter 1: What even is hypermedia?
(09:48) - Chapter 2: What is REST?
(22:57) - Chapter 3: The Uniform Interface
(01:02:53) - Chapter 4: Cookies are terrible [Supporter Only]
(01:03:43) - Chapter 5: and Web 4.0
(01:26:27) - Chapter 6: OpenAPI [Supporter Only]
(01:28:28) - Chapter 7: An interlude and the future of the web [Supporter Only]
(01:28:32) - Epilogue

What Even Is A [Programming|Natural] Language?

Fallthrough Media — Mon, 07 Jul 2025 08:00:00 -0400

Whether you're talking to another person, talking to a computer, or just talking to yourself, we use languages every day. For a long time now, there's been a debate about whether natural languages and programming languages are distinct from each other. The creation of large language models and their ability to produce code from natural language has blurred these lines even further. In this episode, Kris is joined by Angelica, Matt, and guest co-host Steve Klabnik, to discuss language, what it means to know something, what it means to mean, and so much more.

This conversation went so long that we accidentally recorded an entire extra episode! That episode is available as a bonus release in our feed.

Supporters get even more conversation and higher quality audio! Get access by signing up at https://fallthrough.fm/subscribe.

Thanks for tuning in and happy listening!

Notes:

Table of Contents:

Prologue (02:04)
Chapter 1: Natural vs Programming (04:48)
Chapter 2: What does it mean to know something? (20:15)
Chapter 3: Language != Intelligence (37:32)
Chapter 4: What if Kafka wrote America for the PowerPC? [Supporter Only] (43:43)
Chapter 5: Spoken Language Is Different From Written Language [Supporter Only] (44:30)
Chapter 6: Misinterpretation In Programming Language (47:44)
Chapter 7: Is It Harder To Learn Natural or Programming Languages? [Supporter Only] (01:01:45)
Epilogue (01:02:31)

Hosts

Kris Brandow - Host
Matthew Sanabria - Host
Angelica Hill - Producer
Steve Klabnik - Host

Socials:

(02:04) - Prologue
(04:48) - Chapter 1: Natural vs Programming
(20:15) - Chapter 2: What does it mean to know something?
(37:32) - Chapter 3: Language != Intelligence
(43:43) - Chapter 4: What if Kafka wrote America for the PowerPC? [Supporter Only]
(44:30) - Chapter 5: Spoken Language Is Different From Written Language [Supporter Only]
(47:44) - Chapter 6: Misinterpretation In Programming Language
(01:01:45) - Chapter 7: Is It Harder To Learn Natural or Programming Languages? [Supporter Only]
(01:02:31) - Epilogue

Language and Codes of Misconduct

Fallthrough Media — Mon, 07 Jul 2025 08:00:00 -0400

In episode 27, the panel discussed what languages are, what it means to know things, and what meaning is. In this bonus episode, we extend that conversation to discuss how language affects the tech and software communities. We delve into things like whether Codes of Conduct are actually a good thing, how efforts to make language more inclusive can be harmful, and much more.

This content would usually be included as supporter only content, but we decided to release it to everyone! If you enjoy this kind of discussion (and the higher quality audio!), become a supporter today so you can get access to this extra content in each of our episodes! You can sign up by going to https://fallthrough.fm/subscribe.

Thanks for tuning in and happy listening!

Notes:

Table of Contents:

Chapter 8: Language and Psychological Safety (01:28)
Epilogue (01:00:23)

Hosts

Kris Brandow - Host
Matthew Sanabria - Host
Angelica Hill - Producer
Steve Klabnik - Host

Socials:

(01:28) - Chapter 8: Language and Psychological Safety
(01:00:23) - Epilogue

SIMD & Go

Fallthrough Media — Mon, 30 Jun 2025 08:00:00 -0400

Speed and software should go hand in hand, but with Moore's Law coming to an end and CPU clock speeds remaining steady over the last 20 years, software engineers need to turn to new techniques to improve the efficiency of their code. In this episode, Matt and Angelica and joined by Clement Jean to discuss one of these techniques: SIMD. They'll discuss what SIMD is, how it can be used from languages like Go, the various proposals to get better support for SIMD directly into Go and its compiler, and a bunch of other related topics.

Supporters get even more conversation and higher quality audio! Get access by signing up at https://fallthrough.fm/subscribe.

Thanks for tuning in and happy listening!

Notes:

Table of Contents:

Prologue (03:36)
Chapter 1: What is SIMD? (04:56)
Chapter 2: SIMD in Go (13:20)
Chapter 3: When should one use SIMD? (18:43)
Chapter 4: Clement's journey to SIMD [Supporter Only] (21:19)
Chapter 5: SIMD Intrinsics in Go (21:32)
Chapter 6: SIMD in other languages (35:47)
Chapter 7: Measuring SIMD performance (43:00)
Chapter 8: Data Oriented Design [Supporter Only] (52:52)
Chapter 9: SIMD-JSON (52:59)
Chapter 10: Protocol Buffers, gRPC, and cURL [Supporter Only] (58:11)
Epilogue (01:01:50)

Hosts

Matthew Sanabria - Host
Angelica Hill - Producer
Kris Brandow - Producer
Clément Jean - Guest

Socials:

(03:36) - Prologue
(04:56) - Chapter 1: What is SIMD?
(13:20) - Chapter 2: SIMD in Go
(18:43) - Chapter 3: When should one use SIMD?
(21:19) - Chapter 4: Clement's journey to SIMD [Supporter Only]
(21:32) - Chapter 5: SIMD Intrinsics in Go
(35:47) - Chapter 6: SIMD in other languages
(43:00) - Chapter 7: Measuring SIMD performance
(52:52) - Chapter 8: Data Oriented Design [Supporter Only]
(52:59) - Chapter 9: SIMD-JSON
(58:11) - Chapter 10: Protocol Buffers, gRPC, and cURL [Supporter Only]
(01:01:50) - Epilogue

The Three Ps: Understanding Product, Project, and Program Management

Fallthrough Media — Mon, 23 Jun 2025 08:00:00 -0400

Building software is difficult and rarely can software engineers do it alone. In this episode, Kris is joined by Ian, Matthew, and Angelica to talk managing software projects and what three often used but rarely defined roles actually mean: project manager, product manager, and program manager. The panel also discusses how these roles interact with engineering managers, what they think these roles actually do, and whether product managers should actually exist.

For our supporters, this episode contains an extended discussion including a discussion on whether you should trust a new company you join, how to build trust, and what metrics we should measure for project success. Get access by signing up at https://fallthrough.fm/subscribe.

Thanks for tuning in and happy listening!

Table of Contents:

Prologue (03:28)
Chapter 1: Product? Project? Program? (05:18)
Chapter 2: PMs and Software Engineers (13:56)
Chapter 3: Splitting Roles (44:49)
Chapter 4: Building Trust [Supporter Only] (53:34)
Chapter 5: Metrics [Supporter Only] (54:13)
Chapter 6: Should Product Managers Exist? (55:25)
Appendix UNPOP: Unpopular Opinions (01:06:37)
Epilogue (01:11:56)

Hosts

Socials:

(03:28) - Prologue
(05:18) - Chapter 1: Product? Project? Program?
(13:56) - Chapter 2: PMs and Software Engineers
(44:49) - Chapter 3: Splitting Roles
(53:34) - Chapter 4: Building Trust [Supporter Only]
(54:13) - Chapter 5: Metrics [Supporter Only]
(55:25) - Chapter 6: Should Product Managers Exist?
(01:06:37) - Appendix UNPOP: Unpopular Opinions
(01:11:56) - Epilogue

Go's Error Handling Is Handled

Fallthrough Media — Mon, 16 Jun 2025 08:00:00 -0400

Error handling in Go is one of the language's most controversial topics. It ranks high in each Go Developer Survey and many different people have proposed many different solutions to the perceived problems. The Go Team's stance on error handling as a problem in need of a fix has changed recently, with a declaration that no proposals will be accepted for changes to Go's error handling syntax. In this episode, Kris is joined by Ian and Matt to discuss this news. They talk about whether error handling has ever actually been a problem, what the Go team actually is, and the benefits of deciding not to provided syntactic support for error handling.

For our supporters, this episode contains an extended discussion. Get access by signing up at https://fallthrough.fm/subscribe.

Thanks for tuning in and happy listening!

Notes:

Table of Contents:

Prologue (02:32)
Chapter 1: It's Fine. (04:03)
Chapter 2: But What Are Errors? (09:19)
Chapter 3: Who's Responsible For Solving Problems? (26:53)
Chapter 4: We Should Panic (38:24)
Chapter 5: Go Is A Low Level Language (41:32) [Supporter Only]
Chapter 6: What Is The Go Team? (41:56)
Chapter 7: What's Next for Go? (50:41)
Chapter 8: Boundaries & Backpressure (59:08)
Appendix UNPOP: Unpopular Proposals (59:39) [Supporter Only]
Appendix WASM: The New FFI (59:43)
Epilogue (01:05:36)

Hosts

Socials:

(02:32) - Prologue
(04:03) - Chapter 1: It's Fine.
(09:19) - Chapter 2: But What Are Errors?
(26:53) - Chapter 3: Who's Responsible For Solving Problems?
(38:24) - Chapter 4: We Should Panic
(41:32) - Chapter 5: Go Is A Low Level Language [Supporter Only]
(41:56) - Chapter 6: What Is The Go Team?
(50:41) - Chapter 7: What's Next for Go?
(59:08) - Chapter 8: Boundaries & Backpressure
(59:39) - Appendix UNPOP: Unpopular Proposals [Supporter Only]
(59:43) - Appendix WASM: The New FFI
(01:05:36) - Epilogue

A Discourse On AI Discourse

Fallthrough Media — Mon, 09 Jun 2025 08:00:00 -0400

AI is a divisive topic. Some people are AI boosters while others are AI doomers. And then there are those of us who sit in the middle, feeling both sides are not just wrong but that they aren't experiencing a shared reality with the rest of us. In this episode, Kris and Matt are joined by Steve Klabnik to talk about the state of AI and the discourse around it.

For our supporters, this episode contains extra chapters of discussion. Get access by signing up at https://fallthrough.fm/subscribe.

Thanks for tuning in and happy listening!

Notes:

Table of Contents:

Prologue (01:35)
Chapter 1: Chemistry Is Just Alchemy Rebranded (07:30)
Chapter 2: Quantity Is A Quality All On Its Own (15:57)
Chapter 3: Optimizing The Individual, Not The Collective (25:39)
Chapter 4: What Is Fun? (30:09)
Chapter 5: Balancing The Good And The Bad [Supporter Only] (38:18)
Chapter 6: The Art of Constructive Criticism [Supporter Only] (38:28)
Chapter 7: Embracing The Meta (38:44)
Chapter 8: What's Popular Is Popular Because It's Popular (44:56)
Chapter 9: What Is A Computer? (51:29)
Chapter 10: What's Popular Is Popular Because It's Popular Part II (01:09:24)
Epilogue (01:14:09)

Hosts

Socials:

(01:35) - Prologue
(07:30) - Chapter 1: Chemistry Is Just Alchemy Rebranded
(15:57) - Chapter 2: Quantity Is A Quality All On Its Own
(25:39) - Chapter 3: Optimizing The Individual, Not The Collective
(30:09) - Chapter 4: What Is Fun?
(38:18) - Chapter 5: Balancing The Good And The Bad [Supporter Only]
(38:28) - Chapter 6: The Art of Constructive Criticism [Supporter Only]
(38:44) - Chapter 7: Embracing The Meta
(44:56) - Chapter 8: What's Popular Is Popular Because It's Popular
(51:29) - Chapter 9: What Is A Computer?
(01:09:24) - Chapter 10: What's Popular Is Popular Because It's Popular Part II
(01:14:09) - Epilogue

Building An Open Source Maintenance Company

Fallthrough Media — Mon, 02 Jun 2025 08:00:00 -0400

We all use open source software on a daily basis. Even though the software is free to consume doesn't mean it's free to produce. Over the years, there have been many attempts to support open source development financially, from companies that sell support to foundations and many things in between. On this week's episode, Angelica and Matt are joined by Filippo Valsorda and Daniel McCarney to discuss Geomys, an open source maintenance company. The goal of Geomys is to provide open source maintainers with stable income to support themselves financially while doing the very important work of keeping open source projects well maintained. The group discusses the why and how of Geomys, what the day to day is like, and open source maintenance as a whole.

For our supporters, this episode contains extra chapters of discussion. Get access by signing up at https://fallthrough.fm/subscribe.

Thanks for tuning in and happy listening!

Notes:

Geomys

Table of Contents:

Prologue (01:11)
Chapter 1: Geomys, An Open Source Maintainership Company (04:27)
Chapter 2: Day To Day At Geomys [Supporter Only] (12:29)
Chapter 3: How Are Things Going? (12:29)
Chapter 4: The Geomys Team [Supporter Only] (19:34)
Chapter 5: Expansion Possibilities (19:34)
Chapter 6: Interacting With The Community (30:42)
Chapter 7: Building A Geomys Of Your Own [Supporter Only] (40:09)
Chapter 8: Preventing Burnout (40:09)
Chapter 9: Prioritizing Work (52:18)
Appendix UNPOP: Unpopular Opinions (58:06)

Hosts

Matthew Sanabria - Host
Angelica Hill - Producer
Kris Brandow - Producer
Filippo Valsorda - Guest
Daniel McCarney - Guest

Socials:

(01:11) - Prologue
(04:27) - Chapter 1: Geomys, An Open Source Maintainership Company
(12:29) - Chapter 2: Day To Day At Geomys [Supporter Only]
(12:29) - Chapter 3: How Are Things Going?
(19:34) - Chapter 4: The Geomys Team [Supporter Only]
(19:34) - Chapter 5: Expansion Possibilities
(30:42) - Chapter 6: Interacting With The Community
(40:09) - Chapter 7: Building A Geomys Of Your Own [Supporter Only]
(40:09) - Chapter 8: Preventing Burnout
(52:18) - Chapter 9: Prioritizing Work
(58:06) - Appendix UNPOP: Unpopular Opinions

Event Driven Architectures

Fallthrough Media — Mon, 26 May 2025 08:00:00 -0400

When it comes to building distributed systems, RPC and REST style interfaces aren't the only options. Events provide an alternative way to build a distributed system that can result in more robust systems that are easier to extend and deploy, while reducing the chances of a single bottlenecked service taking down the entire system. In this episode, your host Angelica is joined by Indu Alagarsamy, Ignacio Castillejos, and Chris Richardson to discuss what event-driven architecture is, what technologies can be used with it, and how to model and evolve events.

This episode's extended content includes two chapters: one about domain drive design and another about AI/ML. Get access by signing up at https://fallthrough.fm/subscribe.

Thanks for tuning in and happy listening!

Notes:

Table of Contents:

Prologue (01:11)
Chapter 1: What Is Event Driven Architecture? (05:26)
Chapter 2: Event Driven Architecture Technologies (12:49)
Chapter 3: Evolving Event Models (29:36)
Chapter 4: Domain Driven Design [Supporter Only] (49:52)
Chapter 5: AI/ML [Supporter Only] (49:52)
Epilogue (52:53)

Hosts

Angelica Hill - Producer
Kris Brandow - Producer
Indu Alagarsamy - Guest
Ignacio Castillejos - Guest
Chris Richardson - Guest

Socials:

(01:11) - Prologue
(05:26) - Chapter 1: What Is Event Driven Architecture?
(12:49) - Chapter 2: Event Driven Architecture Technologies
(29:36) - Chapter 3: Evolving Event Models
(49:52) - Chapter 4: Domain Driven Design [Supporter Only]
(49:52) - Chapter 5: AI/ML [Supporter Only]
(52:53) - Epilogue

Blown Glass Half-Full of WebAssembly & SQLite

Fallthrough Media — Mon, 19 May 2025 10:00:00 -0400

From deploying WebAssembly all over the world, to using SQLite to keep track of distributed data, to blowing glass, this episode is quite the adventure! Your co-hosting power duo of Matt and Angelica are joined by Danielle Lancashire, a Principal Engineer at Fermyon, to navigate this discussion filled with insights and advice.

This episode's extended content includes two chapters: one about the groups thoughts on artificial intelligence and another on the local tech scenes across the world. Get access by signing up at https://fallthrough.fm/subscribe.

Thanks for tuning in and happy listening!

Notes:

Fermyon

Table of Contents:

Prologue (01:11)
Chapter 1: WebAssembly (02:58)
Chapter 2: SQLite (15:20)
Chapter 3: How To Solve Big Problems (21:35)
Chapter 4: Artifical Intelligence [Supporter Only] (42:55)
Chapter 5: Local Technology Communities [Supporter Only] (42:55)
Chapter 6: Life With Work (44:18)
Chapter 7: Parting Advice (56:07)
Appendix UNPOP: Unpopular Opinions (58:40)
Epilogue (01:11:13)

Hosts

Matthew Sanabria - Host
Angelica Hill - Producer
Kris Brandow - Producer
Danielle Lancashire - Guest

Socials:

(01:11) - Prologue
(02:58) - Chapter 1: WebAssembly
(15:20) - Chapter 2: SQLite
(21:35) - Chapter 3: How To Solve Big Problems
(42:55) - Chapter 4: Artifical Intelligence [Supporter Only]
(42:55) - Chapter 5: Local Technology Communities [Supporter Only]
(44:18) - Chapter 6: Life With Work
(56:07) - Chapter 7: Parting Advice
(58:40) - Appendix UNPOP: Unpopular Opinions
(01:11:13) - Epilogue

A Phoenix's Path to Principal

Fallthrough Media — Mon, 12 May 2025 15:00:00 -0400

From implementing minesweeper on a TI calculator to becoming a prolific open source maintainer, Evan Phoenix has had quite the journey. In this week's episode, Matt & Angelica sit down with Evan to discuss his journey, from his early days writing basic on his TI calculator, to writing an alternative implementation of Ruby, being GitHub user #7, becoming a Principal Engineer at Hashicorp, starting his own company (with his wife!), and so much more. This episode is packed with life lessons and advice helpful for everyone, from the most junior of engineers to the most seasoned VPs.

A few of the chapters of this week's episode are supporter only content, including long conversations about Evan's involvement with Ruby and a deep discussion of his interesting habit of being an early adopter. Get access by signing up at https://fallthrough.fm/subscribe.

Thanks for tuning in and happy listening!

Notes:

Table of Contents:

Prologue (01:11)
Chapter 1: The Beginning (02:34)
Chapter 2: Building In Open Source [Supporter Exclusive] (28:26)
Chapter 3: The Path To Principal (29:27)
Chapter 4: Post Hashicorp (54:21)
Chapter 5: Miren (01:00:31)
Chapter 6: Being Early [Supporter Exclusive] (01:05:37)
Chapter 7: East vs West [Supporter Exclusive] (01:05:37)
Chapter 8: Remote vs In Office [Supporter Exclusive] (01:05:37)
Chapter 9: Life With Work (01:07:09)
Chapter 10: The Open Source Funding Problem (01:25:36)
Epilogue (01:34:16)

Hosts

Matthew Sanabria - Host
Angelica Hill - Producer
Kris Brandow - Producer
Evan Phoenix - Guest

Socials:

(01:11) - Prologue
(02:34) - Chapter 1: The Beginning
(28:26) - Chapter 2: Building In Open Source [Supporter Exclusive]
(29:27) - Chapter 3: The Path To Principal
(54:21) - Chapter 4: Post Hashicorp
(01:00:31) - Chapter 5: Miren
(01:05:37) - Chapter 6: Being Early [Supporter Exclusive]
(01:05:37) - Chapter 7: East vs West [Supporter Exclusive]
(01:05:37) - Chapter 8: Remote vs In Office [Supporter Exclusive]
(01:07:09) - Chapter 9: Life With Work
(01:25:36) - Chapter 10: The Open Source Funding Problem
(01:34:16) - Epilogue

The Language of Data Visualization

Fallthrough Media — Mon, 05 May 2025 08:00:00 -0400

Little languages are powerful. From text processing with AWK to calculations with APL, domain specific languages help us do things more concisely and with more precision than with other languages. Anthony Starks knows this well, as he's designed several little languages, including decksh, the focus of this episode, which allows users to create powerful presentations without the hassle of pushing around pixels in Powerpoint. He joins Angelica and Matt to discuss the background of why he created these languages, how they work, and so much more. And we have some fantastic unpopular opinions to round out the episode.

This episode's supporter content is truly fantastic. It includes an extended conversation where the group discusses data visualization in depth, including how Anthony was able to recreate graphics from W. E. B. Du Bois that are challenging or impossible to recreate with regular data visualization tools. Get access by signing up at https://fallthrough.fm/subscribe.

Thanks for tuning in and happy listening!

Notes:

Table of Contents:

Prologue (01:29)
Chapter 1: Why Make DSLs? (04:49)
Chapter 2: decksh (09:57)
Chapter 3: Visualizing Data [Supporter Only] (23:34)
Chapter 4: Documentation (24:22)
Chapter 5: Metaprogramming (37:33)
Chpater 6: Good Tools (45:13)
Appendix UNPOP: Unpopular Opinions (54:23)
Epilogue (01:08:21)

Hosts

Anthony Starks - Guest
Angelica Hill - Producer
Matthew Sanabria - Host
Kris Brandow - Producer

Socials:

(01:29) - Prologue
(04:49) - Chapter 1: Why Make DSLs?
(09:57) - Chapter 2: decksh
(23:34) - Chapter 3: Visualizing Data [Supporter Only]
(24:22) - Chapter 4: Documentation
(37:33) - Chapter 5: Metaprogramming
(45:13) - Chpater 6: Good Tools
(54:23) - Appendix UNPOP: Unpopular Opinions
(01:08:21) - Epilogue

Maintainers, Monetization, and Making The Time

Fallthrough Media — Mon, 28 Apr 2025 08:00:00 -0400

Maintaining software is challenging, but monetizing it while properly valuing your time complicate matters even more. Doing all of this for open source projects is a challenge that few have figured out. In this week's episode Matt and Angelica are joined by Carlos Becker to discuss maintaining and monetizing open source projects, what it's like to work out an open source company, and how to value your own time. Plus, we've got some unpopular opinions at the end of the episode.

Supporters get access to an extended conversation including a chapter on valuing time, the tools Carlos uses, and the groups thoughts on AI tooling! Get access by signing up at https://fallthrough.fm/subscribe.

Thanks for tuning in and happy listening!

Notes:

Carlos's Website

Table of Contents:

Prologue (01:11)
Chapter 1: How Carlos Got Started (03:12)
Chapter 2: Open Source Product Management (12:29)
Chapter 3: Go Releaser's Architecture (15:47)
Chapter 4: Monetization (23:23)
Chapter 5: The Value Of Time [Extended Episode Content] (27:05)
Chapter 6: Life at Charm (27:37)
Chapter 7: Monetizing Open Source Projects (32:38)
Chapter 8: Valuing Your Own Time (39:45)
Chapter 9: The Tools Carlos Loves [Extended Episode Content] (46:57)
Appendix UNPOP: Unpopular Opinions (46:57)
Epilogue (56:06)

Hosts

Kris Brandow - Producer
Carlos Becker - Guest
Matthew Sanabria - Host
Angelica Hill - Producer

Socials:

(01:11) - Prologue
(03:12) - Chapter 1: How Carlos Got Started
(12:29) - Chapter 2: Open Source Product Management
(15:47) - Chapter 3: Go Releaser's Architecture
(23:23) - Chapter 4: Monetization
(27:05) - Chapter 5: The Value Of Time [Extended Episode Content]
(27:37) - Chapter 6: Life at Charm
(32:38) - Chapter 7: Monetizing Open Source Projects
(39:45) - Chapter 8: Valuing Your Own Time
(46:57) - Chapter 9: The Tools Carlos Loves [Extended Episode Content]
(46:57) - Appendix UNPOP: Unpopular Opinions
(56:06) - Epilogue

From TinyGo to Takeoff

Fallthrough Media — Mon, 21 Apr 2025 08:00:00 -0400

Most of us write code for servers and systems with terabytes of storage and gigabytes of RAM. This week, we're talking about Go in the small. Patricio Whittingslow joins Dylan and Angelica to discuss how he got started with Tiny Go; how he's used Go in software ranging from trajectory simulations to rocket fueling systems to rocket engine fuel injectors to 3D modeling; and so much more. To top it all off, he's got some unpopular opinions as well!

Supporters get access to an extended conversation including a bonus unpopular opinion from Patricio, conversations about getting a mechanical engineering degree, and more! You can get access by signing up at https://fallthrough.fm/subscribe.

Thanks for tuning in and happy listening!

Notes:

Table of Contents:

Preface (01:23)
Chapter 0: Mechanical Engineering (Supporter Only)
Chapter 1: Pato's Early Years (02:16)
Chapter 2: Simulating Rocket Trajectories in Go (09:52)
Chapter 3: Fueling Rockets with Go (14:21)
Chapter 4: What Makes Go Great? (15:24)
Chapter 5: Trying to catch (19:01)
Chapter 6: An Early Unpop! (Supporter Only)
Chapter 7: TinyGo! (26:40)
Chapter 8: 3D Design (42:01)
Chapter 9: Back to aerospace (53:52)
Chapter 10: Solving Interesting Problems with Go (56:12)
Appendix UNPOP: Unpopular Opinions (01:06:05)
Epilogue (01:10:29)

Hosts

Patricio Whittingslow - Guest
Dylan Bourque - Host
Angelica Hill - Producer
Kris Brandow - Producer

Socials:

(01:23) - Preface
(02:16) - Chapter 1: Pato's Early Years
(09:52) - Chapter 2: Simulating Rocket Trajectories in Go
(14:21) - Chapter 3: Fueling Rockets with Go
(15:24) - Chapter 4: What Makes Go Great?
(19:01) - Chapter 5: Trying to catch
(25:58) - Chapter 6: An Early Unpop! (Supporter Only)
(26:40) - Chapter 7: TinyGo!
(42:01) - Chapter 8: 3D Design
(53:52) - Chapter 9: Back to aerospace
(56:12) - Chapter 10: Solving Interesting Problems with Go
(01:06:05) - Appendix UNPOP: Unpopular Opinions
(01:10:29) - Epilogue

From TinyGo to Takeoff

Fallthrough Media — Mon, 21 Apr 2025 08:00:00 -0400

Thanks for tuning in and happy listening!

Notes:

Table of Contents:

Preface (01:23)
Chapter 0: Mechanical Engineering (Supporter Only)
Chapter 1: Pato's Early Years (02:16)
Chapter 2: Simulating Rocket Trajectories in Go (09:52)
Chapter 3: Fueling Rockets with Go (14:21)
Chapter 4: What Makes Go Great? (15:24)
Chapter 5: Trying to catch (19:01)
Chapter 6: An Early Unpop! (Supporter Only)
Chapter 7: TinyGo! (26:40)
Chapter 8: 3D Design (42:01)
Chapter 9: Back to aerospace (53:52)
Chapter 10: Solving Interesting Problems with Go (56:12)
Appendix UNPOP: Unpopular Opinions (01:06:05)
Epilogue (01:10:29)

Hosts

Patricio Whittingslow - Guest
Dylan Bourque - Host
Angelica Hill - Producer
Kris Brandow - Producer

Socials:

(01:23) - Preface
(02:16) - Chapter 1: Pato's Early Years
(09:52) - Chapter 2: Simulating Rocket Trajectories in Go
(14:21) - Chapter 3: Fueling Rockets with Go
(15:24) - Chapter 4: What Makes Go Great?
(19:01) - Chapter 5: Trying to catch
(25:58) - Chapter 6: An Early Unpop! (Supporter Only)
(26:40) - Chapter 7: TinyGo!
(42:01) - Chapter 8: 3D Design
(53:52) - Chapter 9: Back to aerospace
(56:12) - Chapter 10: Solving Interesting Problems with Go
(01:06:05) - Appendix UNPOP: Unpopular Opinions
(01:10:29) - Epilogue

The Podcast Pipeline

Fallthrough Media — Mon, 14 Apr 2025 13:00:00 -0400

Fallthrough is a podcast about having conversations in public, and over the last 3 months we've shipped 15 of them! In this episode, Kris, Ian, and Matt sit down to discuss the podcast so far: what we've enjoyed, the feedback we've gotten, how we produce episodes, and so much more. We're excited to take a look at the first 15 episodes we've produced and look forward to making the next 15!

Supporters get access to an extended conversation including chapters on how we've pivoted the podcast, learned about what works and what doesn't, our thoughts on art vs production, and much more. You can get access by signing up at https://fallthrough.fm/subscribe.

Thanks for tuning in and happy listening!

Table of Contents:

Prologue (01:23)
Chapter 1: The Podcast So Far (02:07)
Chapter 2: Behind The Scenes (05:53)
Chapter 3: Our Favorite Episodes (12:59)
Chapter 4: Pivoting The Podcast (Supporter Only)
Chapter 5: On Feedback (18:14)
Chapter 6: Yes, And vs No, But (27:58)
Chapter 7: Monologing (35:45)
Chapter 8: Pre & Post Production (43:01)
Chapter 9: How We Make Episodes (01:01:04)
Chapter 10: Learning How Things Work (Supporter Only)
Chapter 11: The Best Feedback (01:08:19)
Appendix UNPOP: Unpopular Opinions (01:13:45)
Appendix DESIGN: Art vs Production (Supporter Only)
Epilogue (01:22:27)

Hosts

Socials:

(01:23) - Prologue
(02:07) - Chapter 1: The Podcast So Far
(05:53) - Chapter 2: Behind The Scenes
(12:59) - Chapter 3: Our Favorite Episodes
(17:50) - Chapter 4: Pivoting The Podcast
(18:14) - Chapter 5: On Feedback
(27:58) - Chapter 6: Yes, And vs No, But
(35:45) - Chapter 7: Monologing
(43:01) - Chapter 8: Pre & Post Production
(01:01:04) - Chapter 9: How We Make Episodes
(01:08:18) - Chapter 10: Learning How Things Work
(01:08:19) - Chapter 11: The Best Feedback
(01:13:45) - Appendix UNPOP: Unpopular Opinions
(01:22:00) - Appendix DESIGN: Art vs Production
(01:22:27) - Epilogue

APIs: Design Imperfectly, Improve Relentlessly

Fallthrough Media — Mon, 07 Apr 2025 12:00:00 -0400

APIs are built, not born, so how do we go about actually building them? Well, it starts with design. In this episode, Kris and Ian are joined by Jamie Tanna to talk about API design. From creating a theory of your API, through building its foundation, to actively prototyping as you design, the panel discusses what they've learned over the years to design high quality APIs. At the end we have unpopular opinions, but we also have a bonus behind the scenes look at howe we create episodes of this podcast. Make sure to stick around until the end of the episode for that content!

Supporters get access to an extended conversation about API design, where we continue some conversation that were cut short, dig more into how the podcast is made, and you'll get to hear Kris argue against using REST! You can get access by signing up at https://fallthrough.fm/subscribe.

Thanks for tuning in and happy listening!

Notes:

Table of Contents:

Prologue (01:11)
Chapter 1: Designing APIs (02:54)
- You will make mistakes (03:26)
- Inventing things from whole cloth (06:29)
- There is no correct (12:34)
Chapter 2: A Theory of Your API (17:48)
- Creating a foundation (31:26)
- Starting from your database schema (Supporter Only)
Chapter 3: Prior Art (34:13)
Chapter 4: Design Requires Code (41:37)
Chapter 5: The Happy Path (48:19)
Chapter 6: Application Transactions (53:08)
Chapter 7: What Is Forever? (57:06)
Chapter 8: Separate Application & Transfer (01:08:30)
Chapter 9: Stop Doing RESTful Nonsense (Supporter Only)
Chapter 10: Concrete Challenges with Correctness (01:11:59)
Appendix UNPOP: Unpopular Opinions (01:18:44)
- Jamie's Surprise Unpop (01:18:47)
- Jamie's Second Unpop (01:23:55)
Epilogue (01:26:55)

Hosts

Socials:

(01:11) - Prologue
(02:54) - Chapter 1: Designing APIs
(17:48) - Chapter 2: A Theory of Your API
(34:13) - Chapter 3: Prior Art
(41:37) - Chapter 4: Design Requires Code
(48:19) - Chapter 5: The Happy Path
(53:08) - Chapter 6: Application Transactions
(57:06) - Chapter 7: What Is Forever?
(01:08:30) - Chapter 8: Separate Application & Transfer
(01:11:59) - Chapter 9: Stop Doing RESTful Nonsense (Supporter Only)
(01:11:59) - Chapter 10: Concrete Challenges with Correctness
(01:18:44) - Appendix UNPOP: Unpopular Opinions
(01:26:55) - Epilogue

What Even Is A Senior Software Engineer?

Fallthrough Media — Mon, 31 Mar 2025 12:00:00 -0400

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

Socials:

(01:10) - Prologue
(04:57) - Chapter 1: Tech Communities & Software Engineer Training
(28:25) - Chapter 2: The Learning Landscape
(59:43) - Chapter 3: Giving Back
(01:13:28) - Chapter 4: Passing The Baton
(01:50:05) - Epilogue

Translating The Law for Software Engineers

Fallthrough Media — Mon, 24 Mar 2025 12:00:00 -0400

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:

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

Kris Brandow - Host
Ian Wester-Lopshire - Host
Angelica Hill - Producer
Luis Villa - Guest

Socials:

(01:11) - Prologue
(05:58) - Chapter 1: What's even in our software?
(01:06:07) - Chapter 2: AI & Legal Knowledge Graphs
(01:16:08) - Chapter 3: Open Source & Business Licenses
(01:33:42) - Epilogue

Choosing, Expanding, & Evolving Communities

Fallthrough Media — Mon, 17 Mar 2025 10:15:00 -0400

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:

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

Socials:

(00:00) - Prologue
(02:46) - Chapter 1: Choice
(47:35) - Chapter 2: Infinite
(01:00:55) - Chapter 3: Evolution
(01:42:05) - Chapter 4: Retirement
(01:43:34) - Epilogue

An Exploration of APIs, Versioning, & HTTP

Fallthrough Media — Mon, 10 Mar 2025 08:00:00 -0400

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

Socials:

(00:00) - Intro
(01:13) - Prologue
(02:12) - Preface - APIs: The Leaky Kitchen Sink of Software (supporter only)
(02:15) - Chapter 1 - Versioning & Breaking Changes
(08:32) - Chapter 2 - API: Annoying Perpetual Interface
(21:34) - Chapter 3 - Documenting Designs
(44:26) - Chapter 4 - An Exploration of HTTP
(57:42) - Chapter 5 - Identifying Identifiers (supporter only)
(58:01) - Appendix UNPOP - Unpopular Opinions
(01:13:13) - Epilogue
(01:13:27) - Outro

Tools We Love

Fallthrough Media — Mon, 03 Mar 2025 08:00:00 -0500

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
(01:36) - Tech Tools
(23:49) - Shift Lock & Escaping Vim (tangent)
(27:29) - Keyboards
(30:29) - Typing Classes (tangent)
(32:47) - Office Gear
(37:25) - Kitchen Gear
(40:47) - More Tech Tools
(46:17) - Ad Auctions (tangent)
(47:14) - Even More Software
(01:06:02) - Stationery
(01:20:42) - Audio & Video Gear
(01:42:46) - Other Tools
(01:50:53) - Tools We Don't Love
(01:52:01) - Outro

Hosts

Socials:

Ghosttying Go

Fallthrough Media — Mon, 24 Feb 2025 08:00:00 -0500

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
(00:39) - Become a subscriber: https://fallthrough.fm/subscribe
(01:52) - What is Ghostty?
(03:47) - Consequences of cat'ing binaries
(04:43) - Ghostty's journey to release
(06:47) - Ghostty's team structure
(08:22) - What terminal are we using?
(09:03) - Ghostty's Dev Tools
(14:53) - What are escape sequences?
(16:57) - What are terminal emulators emulating?
(19:50) - The ossification of SSH & Terminfo
(27:26) - Ghostty Terminfo workaround
(28:38) - Shell in the Ghostty
(34:44) - libghostty
(38:59) - The most difficult part in implementing Ghostty
(42:35) - Why Zig?
(46:41) - How to build with Zig
(55:35) - The Zig Standard Library
(59:00) - Social feedback creates bleh languages
(01:02:52) - Go's place in the modern world
(01:11:56) - On handling feedback
(01:19:45) - Join the Ghostty development community
(01:21:35) - Mitchell's thoughts on GitHub (subscriber only)
(01:23:02) - Mitchell's Unpop
(01:24:21) - Matt's Unpop
(01:26:37) - Kris' Duolingo Streak
(01:29:29) - Kris' Unpop
(01:33:25) - Outro

Hosts

Socials:

Patching Problems with Persnickety Proxies Purveyed by Paternalistic Princes

Fallthrough Media — Mon, 17 Feb 2025 08:00:00 -0500

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:

Chapters:

(00:05) - Intro
(01:38) - Introducing Jamie Tanna
(02:21) - The vulnerability that's actually a feature
(04:53) - The Go Module Mirror
(14:02) - Paternalism
(21:14) - What are vanity URLs?
(23:02) - Not just the official Go Module Mirror
(27:58) - Unforgiving Module Proxies
(29:23) - #BringBackGOPATH
(29:36) - Tags are mutable
(33:44) - What does a version mean?
(35:10) - Jamie's Hot Take
(38:20) - The Trails and Tribulations of Modules
(42:03) - It's humans!
(44:40) - How might we fix this?
(49:12) - Is it too easy to fetch dependencies?
(52:25) - Decentralized versus Centralized
(57:24) - A Proxy is not an Origin
(01:03:14) - Can we revalidate?
(01:05:14) - I can't believe it's not SemVer!
(01:06:34) - Analogy Time, featuring The Web!
(01:09:25) - Is this a problem elsewhere?
(01:12:20) - The tooling should be better
(01:16:47) - The Community that was
(01:23:06) - Matthew's Is Go Dead? Perspective
(01:23:59) - Jamie's Is Go Dead? Perspective
(01:25:19) - What does Dead mean?
(01:28:23) - Go should be able to do more
(01:31:22) - Go as an identity
(01:32:33) - Some added nuance
(01:39:18) - A difference in leadership
(01:43:03) - A lack of inclusion
(01:57:34) - Blame the system, not the person
(02:03:00) - Outro

Hosts

Socials:

What's New In Go 1.24?

Fallthrough Media — Mon, 10 Feb 2025 08:00:00 -0500

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
(02:20) - Introducing Carlana
(03:29) - What's New In Go 1.24?
(04:02) - package weak
(10:17) - package runtime
(16:55) - testing
(27:37) - package os
(32:28) - go tool
(37:58) - generic type aliases
(41:35) - minor changes
(52:25) - Unpopular Opinions
(52:35) - Carlana's Unpop
(56:36) - Johnny's Unpop
(01:05:43) - Outro

Hosts

Kris Brandow - Producer
Johnny Boursiquot - Host
Carlana Johnson - Guest

Socials:

Navigating A Career In Tech

Fallthrough Media — Mon, 03 Feb 2025 08:00:00 -0500

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
(00:57) - How're we doing?
(01:47) - Introducing Chris Allaire
(03:30) - Retro Tech Recruiting
(08:44) - Recruiting Throughout The Decades
(13:17) - Increasing Specialization. Or Not.
(17:02) - Modern Tech Recruiting
(27:47) - Fearing Automation
(35:45) - What makes a good candidate?
(42:33) - Senior vs Staff: Knowing The Job You want
(47:23) - Starting A Career In Coding
(55:51) - For Those Who Love Tech, But Not Coding
(01:00:57) - How To Choose The Right Company
(01:13:03) - Unpopular Opinions
(01:13:48) - Chris' Unpop
(01:16:10) - Dylan's Unpop
(01:17:43) - Kris' Unpop
(01:20:18) - Ian's Unpop
(01:22:50) - Final Advice: Get A Recruiter (who cares about you)!
(01:25:23) - Outro

Hosts

Socials:

An Exploration of Complexity

Fallthrough Media — Mon, 27 Jan 2025 08:00:00 -0500

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:

Chapters:

(00:00) - Intro
(00:31) - How are we doing?
(01:24) - Where did complexity come from?
(02:53) - Ian's Hypothesis
(07:00) - Kris' (Hot Take) Hypothesis
(14:38) - FAANG & Engineering Excellence
(19:21) - Do better practices lead to complexity?
(24:02) - The Cloud's enablement of complexity
(24:39) - Some of the complexity is worth it
(26:01) - Systems become more complex over time
(27:33) - Moving Faster & Thinking Less
(31:18) - Accidental complexity
(31:47) - Where else does complexity surface?
(32:03) - Human Organizations & Trading Complexities
(37:46) - Documenting Decisions
(38:20) - Hypoethsis: Bad information organization is the root of complexity
(49:01) - Can AI be our librarian?
(54:39) - Search is not a text box
(55:57) - Machine learning for indexing
(01:00:17) - Can AI write our code?
(01:05:44) - Easy & Hard Learning
(01:12:27) - Hypothesis: mixed and unclear terminology
(01:14:46) - Concise Hyopthesis of Complexity
(01:18:05) - Letters by mail?!
(01:18:56) - Unpopular Opinions
(01:19:14) - Matthew's Unpop
(01:23:10) - Ian's Unpop
(01:28:30) - Kris' Unpop
(01:35:47) - Fallthrough & CPU.fm
(01:37:39) - Complexity Mini-Series
(01:38:26) - Outro

Hosts

Socials:

Do We Think You Should Learn To Code?

Fallthrough Media — Mon, 20 Jan 2025 08:00:00 -0500

For years we've been told that everyone needs to learn to code. As career software people, what are our thoughts on this? Should you learn to code? Is coding the right career for you? In this first episode of a two part series, the panel discusses how they learned to code, whether they think everyone should learn to code, and of course they offer up some unpopular opinions.

And if you're thinking, "I already know how to code", don't worry, this episode contains valuable advice for you as well.

As always thanks for tuning in and happy listening!

Notes & Links:

Ben Eater's YouTube Channel (from 53:00)
John Carmack's Fast Inverse Square Root (from 1:01:47)
- This is actually from Quake, not Doom.
Change Interviews #581 It's Not Always DNS (from 1:04:15)

Chapters:

(00:00) - Intro
(01:33) - How're we doing?
(04:41) - Why did we learn to code?
(06:10) - Why Kris learned to code
(07:44) - Why Ian learned to code
(08:54) - Why Dylan learned to code
(10:36) - Why Matthew learned to code
(14:22) - Computer Assembly Not Required
(16:51) - Tangent: Why Are USB-C Cables?
(17:36) - Should you focus on a specific language?
(22:45) - Do you want to solve problems?
(24:53) - Coding & Woodworking
(27:09) - Curiosity & Itches that need scratching
(31:07) - What do we mean when we say "code"?
(32:34) - You should learn Excel
(39:35) - Coding Is Configuring Computers
(43:32) - Discrete Math, Not Binary
(47:03) - Learn the low level stuff... eventually
(53:42) - The desire to learn
(57:41) - Sidequest: Networking
(01:05:52) - Learning Design & Being Load Bearing
(01:12:10) - Continual Learning
(01:14:33) - What of AI and Automation?
(01:21:49) - Share What You Learn
(01:24:24) - Should You Learn To Code?
(01:24:57) - Teaser: Episode 5 - Is Coding The Career For You?
(01:26:02) - Unpopular Opinions
(01:26:08) - Matthew's Unpop
(01:28:51) - Ian's Unpop
(01:29:29) - Dylan's Unpop
(01:33:52) - Kris' Unpop
(01:36:50) - Tangent: Chopper?
(01:37:27) - Outro

Hosts

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The Gems & Warts of Go

Fallthrough Media — Mon, 13 Jan 2025 09:30:00 -0500

Gems are the things we love, and warts are the things we don't. On today's episode, Kris is joined by the hosting panel of Ian, Matt, and Dylan and they are talking about the gems and warts of Go. From defer, to net/http, to vanity URLs, to modules, we cover around 30 topics! To prevent our listeners/viewers from returning an E_TOO_MANY_UNPOPS error, we didn't include the Unpopular Opinions segment (there are plenty throughout the episode). We hope you enjoy this tangent filled episode. Have a gem or wart you agree/disagree with or think we missed a few? Let us know on social media or in the comments!

Thank you so much for listening. Happy listening!

Notes & Links:

Chandler Carruth's CPPcon talk (from 40:44)
Go x/tools/guru (from 43:36)
- Since deprecated, however this functionality is included in gopls.
go/analysis (from 47:19)
go/x/tools/cmd/eg (from 1:47:25)
- go/x/tools/refactor/eg
- eg documentation

Chapters:

(00:00) - Intro
(00:31) - Introductions
(05:07) - Gem#1: net/http
(07:37) - Gem#2: defer (gem)
(09:36) - PEBKAC (tangent)
(11:36) - Gem#3: if err != nil (gem)
(16:09) - Gem#4: testing included (gem)
(19:13) - Gem#5: struct field tags (gem)
(21:57) - Gem#6: reflect & unsafe (gem)
(24:35) - Gem#7: sync/atomic (gem)
(24:54) - Gem#8: io as composeable interfaces (gem)
(25:32) - Gem#9: No inheritance (gem)
(31:20) - Gem#10: Vanity URLs (gem)
(34:33) - Gem#11: single for loop (gem)
(37:08) - Gem#12: pprof (gem)
(38:25) - Gem#13: security by default (gem)
(40:01) - Gem#14: fast compiler times (gem)
(41:16) - Gem#15: go/ast & go/* packages (gem)
(42:05) - Gem#16: implicit interfaces (gem)
(42:38) - Wart#1: implicit interfaces (wart)
(48:37) - Wart#2: slice tricks (wart)
(54:10) - Wart#3: lack of method overloads (wart)
(56:57) - Wart#4: covariance for array parameters (wart)
(59:38) - Wart#5: encoding/json marshalling unexported fields (wart)
(01:01:27) - Wart#6: encoding/json marshalling errors (wart)
(01:02:31) - Wart#7: single letter variable names (wart)
(01:08:45) - Wart#8: iota (wart)
(01:16:09) - Wart#9: map operations (wart)
(01:18:23) - Gem#17: structs as map keys (gem)
(01:20:04) - Wart#10: main function signature (wart)
(01:23:35) - Gem/Wart#1: channels (gem & wart)
(01:30:38) - Wart#11: range loop variables (wart)
(01:34:31) - Wart#12: no standard build system (wart)
(01:38:09) - Wart#13: modules (wart)
(01:53:18) - Outro

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War Stories

Fallthrough Media — Mon, 06 Jan 2025 08:00:00 -0500

Our experiences are what make us the software people we are today. In this episode, Kris is joined by the hosting panel of Ian, Matt, and Dylan and they're talking war stories. You'll hear tales of coworker frustrations, our own hubris, and plenty of weird software bugs. To close the episode out, Dylan, Ian, and Kris provide some unpopular opinions! Let us know on social media if you think their opinions are unpopular as they seem to think they are!

Thank you so much for listening to our first episode. Happy listening!

(00:00) - Introduction
(00:43) - Talkin' Bout The Rain
(01:39) - Dates, Times, and "Helpful" Platforms
(14:17) - Y2K Flashback
(16:20) - Non-Refreshing Refresh Tokens
(21:53) - TCP, Locks, and Load Balancers
(34:16) - tar != tar
(39:52) - Bonus Story: Too Many Modules
(43:58) - pprof to the rescue!
(47:18) - netcat: the ultimate database backup tool
(49:03) - The Perfect API (In Theory)
(53:30) - Hubris and the ease of ETL
(55:38) - Problems with Proactive Fixes
(58:39) - Unpopular Opinions
(59:00) - Dylan's Unpop
(01:03:08) - Ian's Unpop
(01:09:26) - Kris' Unpop
(01:12:32) - Outro

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Falling Through: A New Perspective

Fallthrough Media — Mon, 16 Dec 2024 17:18:23 -0500

Welcome to Fallthrough! In our first episode, properly numbered 0, we're discussing what this podcast is and many of the things we hope to discuss on future episodes of the podcast. If you loved Go Time, we hope that you'll love Fallthrough. Happy listening!

(00:00) - Welcome to Fallthrough!
(00:29) - What's in a name?
(01:55) - A New Perspective
(03:33) - Introduction: Ian Wester-Lopshire
(04:02) - Introduction: Matthew Sanabria
(05:43) - Introduction: Dylan Bourque
(06:19) - From the prospective of Go
(06:34) - Prospective Podcast Content: Dylan
(07:46) - Prospective Topic: Other languages from the Go perspective
(13:39) - Prospective Topic: The missing bits from the standard library
(15:17) - Prospective Topic: The "Don't touch that!" parts of Go
(19:04) - Prospective Topic: The No Build movement
(23:21) - Prospective Topic: Removing old Go habits
(23:47) - Prospective Topic: Union, Sum, or Option types
(25:41) - Prospective Topic: Documentation, Code Readability, & Error Planning
(32:16) - Prospective Topic: If, Else, Switch, & Strong Opinions
(36:55) - Podcast format changes
(38:19) - Things we're planning to keep
(38:58) - Opinions of the unpopular variety
(39:29) - Ian's Unpopular Opinion
(40:56) - Matthew's Unpopular Opinion
(43:08) - Dylan's Unpopular Opinion
(45:31) - Kris' Unpopular Opinion
(46:20) - Bonus: A Popular Opinion
(47:06) - Wrap up

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Falling Through: The Trailer

Fallthrough Media — Tue, 03 Dec 2024 14:04:59 -0500

We're hard at work preparing the first episode of Fallthrough, but in the meantime we put together a short trailer to tease some of that episode's content. Make sure to subscribe so you'll be notified when the first episode ships. Happy listening!

(00:00) - Introduction
(01:09) - Clip 1: The Unsafe & Reflect Packages
(04:03) - Clip 2: Documentation & Errors
(06:04) - Clip 3: Internet Speeds
(07:16) - Outro

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