Still Burning Transistor (https://transistor.fm) https://feeds.transistor.fm/still-burning Honest conversations about fear, uncertainty, and what it means to build things when the ground keeps shifting. Season One is sponsored by WorkOS and Augment Code. Kent Beck 57777aa0-d33a-5d8e-b274-46a3e67da37f yes Alyssa Eidam Kent Beck en Wed, 17 Jun 2026 16:26:19 +0000 Fri, 19 Jun 2026 05:07:56 +0000 http://www.stillburningpodcast.com https://img.transistorcdn.com/VZo6j06FXvFIZPUqoUQrcMC3ocpVNU-65xkkHhtafHM/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:1400/h:1400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS8zZGQ4/ZjRkNmEzMTUzYjcz/ZWU2ODk5ZThiMGM4/ZWUwZS5qcGc.jpg Still Burning http://www.stillburningpodcast.com episodic Kent Beck Honest conversations about fear, uncertainty, and what it means to build things when the ground keeps shifting. Season One is sponsored by WorkOS and Augment Code. Honest conversations about fear, uncertainty, and what it means to build things when the ground keeps shifting. Kent Beck sponsorships@kentbeck.com No Yes A Learning System Made of Learning Parts A Learning System Made of Learning Parts full 3a6373a4-1468-4f8d-8292-d4ae2389b8f4 https://share.transistor.fm/s/b9745f10 Jessica Kerr joins Kent by the fire to argue that AI didn't take the programmer's job, it split it in two. The part we loved, crafting code by hand, has been commoditized like IKEA furniture. What's left is harder and more human: understanding what to build, proving it works, and stewarding the living "symmathesy" of people, code, and agents all learning from each other. They get into accelerated learning, why play is a signal you're learning, the loop that "becomes a noose," and choosing excitement over fear while the ground keeps shifting.

This season of Still Burning is sponsored by WorkOS and Augment Code.

]]> Jessica Kerr joins Kent by the fire to argue that AI didn't take the programmer's job, it split it in two. The part we loved, crafting code by hand, has been commoditized like IKEA furniture. What's left is harder and more human: understanding what to build, proving it works, and stewarding the living "symmathesy" of people, code, and agents all learning from each other. They get into accelerated learning, why play is a signal you're learning, the loop that "becomes a noose," and choosing excitement over fear while the ground keeps shifting.

This season of Still Burning is sponsored by WorkOS and Augment Code.

]]> Wed, 17 Jun 2026 16:26:19 +0000 Kent Beck Kent Beck 2822 Jessica Kerr joins Kent by the fire to argue that AI didn't take the programmer's job, it split it in two. The part we loved, crafting code by hand, has been commoditized like IKEA furniture. What's left is harder and more human: understanding what to build, proving it works, and stewarding the living "symmathesy" of people, code, and agents all learning from each other. They get into accelerated learning, why play is a signal you're learning, the loop that "becomes a noose," and choosing excitement over fear while the ground keeps shifting.

This season of Still Burning is sponsored by WorkOS and Augment Code.

]]> augmented-coding, is software engineering dead AI, how the developer job is changing, AI commoditizing coding, what programmers actually do now, working with AI agents, future of software jobs AI, symmathesy software teams, ai-transition, personal-psychological, ai-ml, future-of-work, systems-thinking No Alyssa Eidam Kent Beck You Don't Get to Create Anything You Don't Get to Create Anything full 3e6643b5-c3bb-405b-a65d-08c096026b1a https://share.transistor.fm/s/bfd572f8 Randy Shoup set out to be an international lawyer. He studied in West Berlin when there was still a wall around it, spent a year at Stanford Law, and had what should have been the perfect summer internship on Sand Hill Road. Instead he spent it watching inventors light up whiteboards with brilliant ideas — then being told his job was just to write them down. That summer broke something open. He went back to Oracle that fall and never looked back. Kent and Randy dig into what it means to need to make things, why the people who wrote the original distributed systems playbook aren't panicking about AI wiping it clean, and how Jevons paradox explains what happens when cognition gets cheap.

This season of Still Burning is sponsored by WorkOS and Augment Code.

]]> Randy Shoup set out to be an international lawyer. He studied in West Berlin when there was still a wall around it, spent a year at Stanford Law, and had what should have been the perfect summer internship on Sand Hill Road. Instead he spent it watching inventors light up whiteboards with brilliant ideas — then being told his job was just to write them down. That summer broke something open. He went back to Oracle that fall and never looked back. Kent and Randy dig into what it means to need to make things, why the people who wrote the original distributed systems playbook aren't panicking about AI wiping it clean, and how Jevons paradox explains what happens when cognition gets cheap.

This season of Still Burning is sponsored by WorkOS and Augment Code.

]]> Wed, 03 Jun 2026 07:00:00 +0000 Kent Beck Kent Beck 2615 Randy Shoup set out to be an international lawyer. He studied in West Berlin when there was still a wall around it, spent a year at Stanford Law, and had what should have been the perfect summer internship on Sand Hill Road. Instead he spent it watching inventors light up whiteboards with brilliant ideas — then being told his job was just to write them down. That summer broke something open. He went back to Oracle that fall and never looked back. Kent and Randy dig into what it means to need to make things, why the people who wrote the original distributed systems playbook aren't panicking about AI wiping it clean, and how Jevons paradox explains what happens when cognition gets cheap.

This season of Still Burning is sponsored by WorkOS and Augment Code.

]]> humanity, xp-ai-for-future, geek identity software, distributed systems eBay, extreme programming AI, augmented coding teams, Jevons paradox software, engineering leadership No Alyssa Eidam Kent Beck Itchy Brain Itchy Brain full 30497395-0469-418d-b6fe-8e4e03a41b7b https://share.transistor.fm/s/125a1c54 Michael Grinich has an unusual vantage point, his company powers enterprise infrastructure for hundreds of companies, so he sees how the AI transition is actually playing out across the industry, not just in the headlines.What he's noticing: the whole ecosystem is accelerating, not just the AI companies. And most people are misreading what kind of moment this is. Kent and Michael talk about building when the marginal cost of software approaches zero, what the Red Queen theory tells us about AI competition, how engineering leadership is quietly changing, and what drew Michael to the itchy-brained compulsion to make things in the first place.

This season of Still Burning is sponsored by WorkOS and Augment Code.

]]> Michael Grinich has an unusual vantage point, his company powers enterprise infrastructure for hundreds of companies, so he sees how the AI transition is actually playing out across the industry, not just in the headlines.What he's noticing: the whole ecosystem is accelerating, not just the AI companies. And most people are misreading what kind of moment this is. Kent and Michael talk about building when the marginal cost of software approaches zero, what the Red Queen theory tells us about AI competition, how engineering leadership is quietly changing, and what drew Michael to the itchy-brained compulsion to make things in the first place.

This season of Still Burning is sponsored by WorkOS and Augment Code.

]]> Wed, 20 May 2026 07:05:00 +0000 Kent Beck Kent Beck 2821 Michael Grinich has an unusual vantage point, his company powers enterprise infrastructure for hundreds of companies, so he sees how the AI transition is actually playing out across the industry, not just in the headlines.What he's noticing: the whole ecosystem is accelerating, not just the AI companies. And most people are misreading what kind of moment this is. Kent and Michael talk about building when the marginal cost of software approaches zero, what the Red Queen theory tells us about AI competition, how engineering leadership is quietly changing, and what drew Michael to the itchy-brained compulsion to make things in the first place.

This season of Still Burning is sponsored by WorkOS and Augment Code.

]]> will AI replace software engineers, future of software engineering with AI, AI impact on engineering management, how to measure developer productivity AI, enterprise software AI adoption speed, CTO writing code again AI, marginal cost of software going to zero, Red Queen effect technology competition, software industry AI acceleration 2025 2026, WorkOS enterprise authentication, software engineering future, AI tools for developers, AI productivity, future of work, Kent Beck podcast, agentic, AI developer tools No Alyssa Eidam Kent Beck Did We Do This to Ourselves? Did We Do This to Ourselves? full 1f0b97cc-69e9-4b9d-b407-42b0ed791a48 https://share.transistor.fm/s/208da674 Angie Jones spent years as the "geek whisperer" — translating technical possibility into human progress. Then she led one of the most ambitious AI adoption programs in the industry, and the rug got pulled out. Now at the Agentic AI Foundation, she's working to make sure the standards powering the next era of software are built in the open, by everyone. Kent and Angie dig into the impossible bargain AI has handed engineers, what it really means to hire junior developers right now, and what scares her most about where we're all headed.

This season of Still Burning is sponsored by WorkOS and Augment Code.

]]> Angie Jones spent years as the "geek whisperer" — translating technical possibility into human progress. Then she led one of the most ambitious AI adoption programs in the industry, and the rug got pulled out. Now at the Agentic AI Foundation, she's working to make sure the standards powering the next era of software are built in the open, by everyone. Kent and Angie dig into the impossible bargain AI has handed engineers, what it really means to hire junior developers right now, and what scares her most about where we're all headed.

This season of Still Burning is sponsored by WorkOS and Augment Code.

]]> Wed, 06 May 2026 07:00:00 +0000 Kent Beck Kent Beck 2462 Angie Jones spent years as the "geek whisperer" — translating technical possibility into human progress. Then she led one of the most ambitious AI adoption programs in the industry, and the rug got pulled out. Now at the Agentic AI Foundation, she's working to make sure the standards powering the next era of software are built in the open, by everyone. Kent and Angie dig into the impossible bargain AI has handed engineers, what it really means to hire junior developers right now, and what scares her most about where we're all headed.

This season of Still Burning is sponsored by WorkOS and Augment Code.

]]> technology, augmented development, llm, ai-native orgs, genies, junior developers No Alyssa Eidam Kent Beck Angie Jones Find the North Star Find the North Star full substack:post:194991339 https://share.transistor.fm/s/dc5e8220 Amelia Wattenberger didn’t want to be a developer — both her parents were, and from the outside it looked boring. Then she accidentally built a website, and everything changed. In this conversation, she and Kent talk about why play matters more right now than productivity, what we actually lose when every project has a KPI attached, and why the most important skill in augmented development might just be knowing when to step back.

This season of Still Burning is brought to you in partnership with WorkOS and Augment Code.


]]> Amelia Wattenberger didn’t want to be a developer — both her parents were, and from the outside it looked boring. Then she accidentally built a website, and everything changed. In this conversation, she and Kent talk about why play matters more right now than productivity, what we actually lose when every project has a KPI attached, and why the most important skill in augmented development might just be knowing when to step back.

This season of Still Burning is brought to you in partnership with WorkOS and Augment Code.


]]> Wed, 22 Apr 2026 13:05:00 +0000 Kent Beck Kent Beck 2948 Amelia Wattenberger didn’t want to be a developer — both her parents were, and from the outside it looked boring. Then she accidentally built a website, and everything changed. In this conversation, she and Kent talk about why play matters more right now than productivity, what we actually lose when every project has a KPI attached, and why the most important skill in augmented development might just be knowing when to step back.

This season of Still Burning is brought to you in partnership with WorkOS and Augment Code.


]]> augmented development, llm, technology, ai, kent beck, No Alyssa Eidam Kent Beck Amelia Wattenberger Run Out to Meet It Run Out to Meet It full substack:post:193499338 https://share.transistor.fm/s/398e4760 Charity Majors spent a year telling engineers they needed to learn to code to stay relevant. Then, in about three months, that advice became obsolete. In this conversation, she talks about why engineers who built careers on beautiful, readable code are struggling more than anyone else, why junior developers might have a hidden advantage right now, and what it means that nobody has a headstart anymore. Everybody’s ignorance has been reset to 100.

This season of Still Burning is brought to you in partnership with WorkOS and Augment Code.


]]> Charity Majors spent a year telling engineers they needed to learn to code to stay relevant. Then, in about three months, that advice became obsolete. In this conversation, she talks about why engineers who built careers on beautiful, readable code are struggling more than anyone else, why junior developers might have a hidden advantage right now, and what it means that nobody has a headstart anymore. Everybody’s ignorance has been reset to 100.

This season of Still Burning is brought to you in partnership with WorkOS and Augment Code.


]]> Wed, 08 Apr 2026 13:30:00 +0000 Kent Beck and Charity Majors Kent Beck and Charity Majors 3089 Charity Majors spent a year telling engineers they needed to learn to code to stay relevant. Then, in about three months, that advice became obsolete. In this conversation, she talks about why engineers who built careers on beautiful, readable code are struggling more than anyone else, why junior developers might have a hidden advantage right now, and what it means that nobody has a headstart anymore. Everybody’s ignorance has been reset to 100.

This season of Still Burning is brought to you in partnership with WorkOS and Augment Code.


]]> augmented development, llm, technology, ai, kent beck, Yes Alyssa Eidam Kent Beck Charity Majors Nobody Knows Nobody Knows full substack:post:192009562 https://share.transistor.fm/s/32f34c78 Kent Beck kicks off Still Burning with a fireside manifest for geeks navigating a world that's shifted under their feet. Old skills are losing leverage, and nobody has the answers — not even the people who've been doing this for 30 years. So what do you do? You try things. You experiment cheaply. You bless and release what no longer matters. This one's for the geeks who still care and are still doing something about it.


This season is brought to you in partnership with WorkOS and Augment Code.


]]> Kent Beck kicks off Still Burning with a fireside manifest for geeks navigating a world that's shifted under their feet. Old skills are losing leverage, and nobody has the answers — not even the people who've been doing this for 30 years. So what do you do? You try things. You experiment cheaply. You bless and release what no longer matters. This one's for the geeks who still care and are still doing something about it.


This season is brought to you in partnership with WorkOS and Augment Code.


]]> Wed, 25 Mar 2026 11:15:00 -0100 Kent Beck Kent Beck 2633 Kent Beck kicks off Still Burning with a fireside manifest for geeks navigating a world that's shifted under their feet. Old skills are losing leverage, and nobody has the answers — not even the people who've been doing this for 30 years. So what do you do? You try things. You experiment cheaply. You bless and release what no longer matters. This one's for the geeks who still care and are still doing something about it.


This season is brought to you in partnership with WorkOS and Augment Code.


]]> technology, augmented development, exploristan, shifting-landscape, llm, genie No Alyssa Eidam Kent Beck