Kent says goodbye at the end of another season of the "Chats with Kent" podcast, which featured interviews with speakers for the upcoming Epic Web Comp 2025 conference in Salt Lake City. The host, Kent C. Dodds, expresses excitement about the lineup of speakers and encourages listeners to attend the conference in March 2025. He also mentions that the talks will be available on the EpicWeb.dev platform for those who miss the live event. Meet at Epic Web Conf . Guest: Kent C. Dodds Website: kentcd...
Mar 10, 2025•2 min•Season 6Ep. 26
Kent C. Dodds sits down with Jason Lengstorf to discuss his talk at Epic Web Conf, Of Things Epic , where he dives into the principles behind effective decision-making in web development. Rather than focusing on which tools to pick, Kent emphasizes the need for a framework that enables developers to make confident decisions that scale. He draws from his experience with the Epic Stack, highlighting the importance of clear reasoning behind technical choices. Key topics in this conversation include...
Mar 09, 2025•13 min•Season 6Ep. 25
Andre Landgraf joins Kent to discuss his talk at Epic Web Conf, Epic Image Optimization. In this conversation, they explore the challenges and trade-offs of optimizing images for the web, particularly when handling large numbers of event photos or user-generated content. Andre shares how building his own image optimization pipeline gave him a deeper understanding of the process, allowing him to make more informed decisions when choosing external services. Kent and Andre also discuss: The evoluti...
Mar 08, 2025•13 min•Season 6Ep. 24
In this conversation, Jason Lengstorf, creator of CodeTV and the Web Dev Challenge, joins Kent to discuss: His background in engineering, developer relations, and open-source at companies like IBM, Gatsby, and Netlify. The Web Dev Challenge, a fast-paced, team-based competition that brings developers together to solve unique coding challenges in just four hours. The free Epic Web Conf hackathon happening the day before the conference, where attendees can join the challenge, build something cool,...
Feb 13, 2025•18 min•Season 6Ep. 23
In this conversation, Ryan Florence, co-creator of Remix and React Router, joins Kent to talk about the evolving landscape of web development. He shares insights on: The motivation behind moving core Remix features into React Router. The rising importance of AI-driven development and how it affects frameworks. Betting on the web platform as a long-term strategy for performance, portability, and future-proofing applications. How Remix is being reimagined with a focus on web-native capabilities. T...
Feb 12, 2025•23 min•Season 6Ep. 22
Annie Sexton joins Kent to talk about her upcoming talk at Epic Web Conf, JavaScript: The Origin Story. In this discussion, she shares her love for history and why documenting the evolution of programming languages is so important. They dive into: The rushed creation of JavaScript and how it shaped the language. Competing languages of the era and how JavaScript won out. The unexpected ways JavaScript evolved into a web powerhouse. Why software history often gets overlooked and why it matters tod...
Feb 11, 2025•9 min•Season 6Ep. 21
Zackary Jackson joins Kent to discuss his upcoming talk at Epic Web Conf, Epic Federation: Scaling Web Infrastructure. As an expert in large-scale web architecture, Zack has helped build critical tools like Module Federation and RSPack, both of which power ByteDance’s global infrastructure. In this conversation, Kent and Zack cover: The challenges of managing thousands of developers and repos across multiple teams. Why ByteDance chose to build its own bundler in Rust instead of adopting an exist...
Feb 09, 2025•16 min•Season 6Ep. 20
Aaron Francis joins Kent to discuss his talk at Epic Web Conf, Epic Bets: Practical Tips for Betting on Yourself. In this conversation, Aaron reflects on his non-traditional path into tech, his experience being laid off, and how he prepared himself to be resilient in the face of career uncertainty. He shares insights on why developers should focus on skill stacking, personal branding, and long-term sustainability in their careers rather than chasing trends. Kent and Aaron also explore: How to fu...
Feb 08, 2025•11 min•Season 6Ep. 19
Fran Zekan, an engineer from Croatia with experience in hardware, robotics, and web development, joins Kent to discuss his talk, Shipping Reusable Full-Stack Components . Fran explains how React Server Components (RSCs) allow developers to build truly self-contained, reusable full-stack features—something that has long been a staple in the Rails ecosystem with Rails Engines. In this conversation, Fran and Kent discuss: How RSCs simplify full-stack development by eliminating the need for multiple...
Feb 07, 2025•15 min•Season 6Ep. 18
Josh Cirre, a developer advocate and content creator, joins Kent to discuss his talk at Epic Web Conf: "Learning-Driven Development." Josh shares his philosophy on learning by doing—where the best way to master new technologies is by applying them to real-world projects rather than passively consuming tutorials. Josh and Kent discuss: The importance of curiosity in learning and how small observations can spark deeper exploration. Why focusing on what you want to build rather than what you want t...
Feb 06, 2025•17 min•Season 6Ep. 17
In this episode, Kent is joined by Kira Corbett, an AI-focused developer educator with deep experience in robotics, simulation, and human-computer interaction. Kira discusses her background in building real-world systems and how her transition to web development has shaped her approach to optimizing user experiences. Her talk at Epic WebConf, "Building an AI Assistant to Deliver Your Best Presentations," explores how AI can enhance communication skills, streamline productivity, and create better...
Feb 05, 2025•11 min•Season 6Ep. 16
Taylor Desseyn, VP of Global Development at Torque.dev and host of the Guidance Counselor 2.0 podcast, joins Kent to discuss his role as an emcee at Epic WebConf and the importance of networking in tech. Taylor shares insights on how developers can maximize their time at conferences, from preparing in advance to actively building meaningful connections. Taylor emphasizes the value of in-person events, explaining how they provide an opportunity to deepen online relationships, connect with industr...
Feb 04, 2025•12 min•Season 6Ep. 15
Mark Techson, a developer advocate at Google working on Angular, joins Kent to discuss the intersection of AI and developer productivity. His Epic WebConf talk, "Beyond Code Assist: Driving Impact as a Next-Gen Developer," explores how developers can go beyond using AI for simple code assistance and instead integrate AI into their workflows to accomplish more. Mark emphasizes that the world of software development is evolving, and AI tools are becoming integral to the way we work. He shares insi...
Feb 03, 2025•10 min•Season 6Ep. 14
Shruti Kapoor, a frontend engineer at Slack and an Epic Web instructor, joins Kent to dive into the intricacies of accessibility in web development. With over a decade of experience, Shruti has dedicated herself to educating developers on building accessible and inclusive applications. Her Epic WebConf talk, "Building Accessible Web Apps," will focus on real-world accessibility challenges, showcasing a live demo where she transforms a web app to improve usability for all users. She emphasizes ho...
Feb 02, 2025•11 min•Season 6Ep. 13
Eva Ferreira, a frontend engineer, educator, and design systems expert, shares insights into what makes or breaks a design system. As a tech lead at Mable and a long-time web development instructor, Eva brings years of experience building UI components, optimizing accessibility, and implementing robust frontend architectures. Her talk at Epic WebConf, "Bulletproof Design Systems," dives into the biggest challenges teams face when adopting a design system. She covers topics like onboarding new us...
Feb 01, 2025•10 min•Season 6Ep. 12
Eve Porcello, an experienced educator and speaker, shares her insights on AI-powered presentation tools and communication skills for developers. With years of experience teaching JavaScript, React, and GraphQL, Eve now focuses on how AI can assist in learning, teaching, and public speaking. Her Epic WebConf talk, co-presented with Kira Corbett, explores the development of an AI assistant to enhance presentation delivery. They’ll showcase AI-powered tools like ml5 for voice recognition and intera...
Jan 31, 2025•12 min•Season 6Ep. 11
Jared Forsyth, a front-end infrastructure engineer at Khan Academy, shares insights into type inference and programming language design. With nearly a decade of experience working with React and React Native, Jared has a deep appreciation for tooling and developer experience. His Epic WebConf talk, "Hindley and Milner Walk Into a Bar," will break down type inference algorithms and how they improve developer ergonomics by reducing the need for excessive type annotations. Jared and Kent discuss th...
Jan 30, 2025•10 min•Season 6Ep. 10
Madison Kanna, a full-stack developer and community builder, shares her insights on the importance of learning out loud and building an authentic personal brand. In her Epic WebConf talk, “Why You Should Learn Out Loud in 2025,” Madison emphasizes the growing need to differentiate yourself in an AI-driven world by sharing your work and building genuine connections. She discusses her experiences as a full-stack developer using TypeScript and Python, as well as her journey running coding communiti...
Jan 29, 2025•12 min•Season 6Ep. 9
Leah Thompson, known online as LeahTCodes, shares her experience as a career switcher and how live streaming on Twitch became a vital part of her career journey. Leah explains how streaming not only helped her connect with others in tech but also directly led to job opportunities. Her talk at Epic WebConf will explore the unique value of Twitch for building professional relationships and standing out in the tech industry. Leah also touches on her love of math, her background as a high school tea...
Jan 28, 2025•12 min•Season 6Ep. 8
Dax Raad, known for his work on SST and the creator of OpenAuth, shares his passion for improving the developer experience with authentication and infrastructure. OpenAuth offers developers an alternative to AWS Cognito, enabling self-owned, spec-compliant OAuth systems that are easy to deploy and maintain. In this episode, Dax talks about: The problems with AWS Cognito and the motivation behind OpenAuth. The simplicity and power of constrained environments like terminal UIs. The value of focusi...
Jan 27, 2025•13 min•Season 6Ep. 7
Brooks Lybrand, Developer Relations Manager for Remix at Shopify, joins Kent to explore the impact of React 19 on React Router and modern web development. In his talk "What React 19 Means for React Router," Brooks will highlight React 19's integration with server components, web component support, and simplified APIs for meta tags, links, and more. These updates promise to enhance developer experience and streamline app-building processes. Brooks shares his insights on the evolution of Remix, Sh...
Jan 26, 2025•14 min•Season 6Ep. 6
Alex Anderson, a local Salt Lake City developer and creator of the spaceship simulation game Thorium Nova, shares his passion for pushing the limits of web technologies. Alex previews his Epic WebConf talk, "The Weird Web," which showcases creative uses of web APIs such as the GamePad API, Web Serial API, and Web Audio API. These tools allow developers to build interactive, user-friendly, and immersive experiences. Alex explains how these APIs can be leveraged in both creative and practical ways...
Jan 25, 2025•12 min•Season 6Ep. 5
Devon Neill, a software developer and solopreneur from Cape Town, South Africa, shares his experience navigating solopreneurship, including learning the ropes of marketing, user engagement, and copywriting. Devon highlights the importance of streamlining development workflows with AI tools and introduces his Epic WebConf talk. His talk explores diving into the AI hype, comparing various tools, and integrating them with the Epic Stack to take ideas from concept to production in just 20 minutes. D...
Jan 24, 2025•14 min•Season 6Ep. 4
Joel Hooks, a seasoned software developer and co-organizer of Epic WebConf, delves into his experience building personalized AI workflows. Joel introduces his talk on constructing a “hoard of AI minions” to enhance productivity and automation, using his app JoelFit.app as a case study. The app integrates AI routers and workflows for managing health and fitness goals, demonstrating how developers can adopt similar approaches for professional and personal projects. Joel emphasizes the importance o...
Jan 23, 2025•10 min•Season 6Ep. 3
Bree Hall, a frontend software engineer and developer advocate at HubSpot, emphasizes the role of creativity in coding and professional growth. Bree discusses how personal projects like CSS art, including her recreation of a Nintendo Switch, help her stay inspired and improve her technical skills. She and Kent reflect on the unique value of in-person conferences for building professional and personal relationships, highlighting Epic WebConf as a hub for inspiration and community. As one of the e...
Jan 23, 2025•9 min•Season 6Ep. 2
Kent introduces a new season of the "Chats with Kent" podcast, which will feature interviews with speakers for the upcoming Epic Web Comp 2025 conference in Salt Lake City. The host, Kent C. Dodds, expresses excitement about the lineup of speakers and encourages listeners to attend the conference in March 2025. He also mentions that the talks will be available on the EpicWeb.dev platform for those who miss the live event. Meet at Epic Web Conf . Guest: Kent C. Dodds Website: kentcdodds.com 𝕏: @...
Jan 23, 2025•1 min•Season 6Ep. 1
In this final episode of season five, Kent C. Dodds recaps the enriching conversations with the speakers of Epic WebConf 2024, expressing gratitude and excitement for the upcoming event in April. He encourages listeners, whether planning to attend the conference or not, to revisit the season's episodes for timeless web development advice. While season six remains unplanned, Kent thanks his audience for their continued support and hints at future engagements, urging them to stay tuned. Meet Kent ...
Apr 05, 2024•2 min•Season 5Ep. 26
In this episode, Kent C. Dodds interviews Dan Farrelly, the CTO and co-founder of Jest, about his journey from front-end engineer to CTO, the challenges of scaling a tech company, and the importance of staying small to maintain agility and innovation. Farrelly shares insights into the evolving challenges of a tech team, from infrastructure to front-end development, and emphasizes the value of a generalist approach in a small, dynamic team. The conversation also delves into Farrelly's upcoming co...
Apr 03, 2024•12 min•Season 5Ep. 25
In this podcast, Zeno Rocha, open-source advocate and founder of Resend, joins host Kent to discuss the dynamic world of web development and the shift towards SDK-first strategies. They reflect on the evolution of developer tools and the significance of user experience in product development. Rocha and Kent stress the necessity of high standards to stand out in web development, and they also touch upon the value of developer conferences for fostering relationships and collaborations. They look f...
Apr 01, 2024•11 min•Season 5Ep. 24
In the podcast, Simon, an advocate for Tailwind CSS, shares his insights on its impact on web development and design. Tailwind CSS serves as a facilitator between design and development teams, streamlining collaborations and enabling quick translation of design concepts into code. He highlights how it enhances learning, boosts efficiency, and, despite some tradeoffs, provides significant workflow benefits by integrating design tool shortcuts. Simon also teases an upcoming conference where the po...
Mar 29, 2024•12 min•Season 5Ep. 23
