When Joe Masilotti scanned a conference badge QR code at RailsConf, he was immediately uncomfortable with how it added someone's phone number directly to his contacts. That friction point sparked the creation of Ruby Friends – an innovative app transforming how developers connect at conferences and meetups. In this illuminating conversation with Drew Bragg, Joe reveals how Ruby Friends provides a "lighter touch" approach to networking, letting users create shareable profiles with conversation st...
Aug 06, 2025•54 min•Season 1Ep. 55
The Ruby community's most recognizable podcast voices gather for a heartfelt discussion at the final RailsConf in Philadelphia, sharing wisdom that extends far beyond technical topics into the realm of human connection. From conquering social anxiety at conferences to building meaningful relationships in tech, this panel digs into what makes the Ruby community special. Drew Bragg of Code and the Coding Coders who Code it confesses that despite his outgoing appearance, he still struggles with soc...
Jul 15, 2025•45 min•Season 1Ep. 54
When does a framework reach maturity? For Joel Hawksley, lead maintainer of GitHub's ViewComponent framework, the answer comes with the upcoming fourth major release – a milestone that marks not just new features, but a transition to long-term support mode. Joel takes us behind the scenes of his seven-year journey at GitHub, where an idea sketched on an airplane has evolved into a critical part of how the platform renders its interfaces. With candid insights, he explains why ViewComponent is now...
Jul 02, 2025•54 min•Season 1Ep. 53
What happens when you put Rails in a browser? Vladimir Dementyev (Vova) is pushing WebAssembly to its limits by creating an interactive Rails playground that runs entirely client-side. This groundbreaking project aims to eliminate the frustrating installation barriers that often discourage newcomers from trying Ruby on Rails. "I asked myself the question - can I run Rails on WASM? And that's when you feel yourself like a pilgrim software engineer, experiencing something for the first time that n...
Jun 17, 2025•1 hr 6 min•Season 1Ep. 52
The last RailsConf ever is coming to Philadelphia this summer, and co-chair Chris Oliver joins us to pull back the curtain on what's sure to be a historic gathering for the Rails community. Chris reveals how the programming committee curated an exceptional lineup from hundreds of submissions, balancing nostalgic looks at Rails' 18-year journey with cutting-edge technical content. You'll hear why Philadelphia's walkable layout, incredible food scene (Reading Terminal Market gets particular praise...
Jun 03, 2025•1 hr 22 min•Season 1Ep. 51
Swimming against the current sometimes leads to unexpected treasures. In this fascinating conversation, Adam Fortuna reveals how migrating Hardcover—a social network for readers with 30,000 users—from Next.js back to Ruby on Rails delivered surprising performance improvements and development simplicity. The journey begins with Adam explaining how Hardcover originated as a response to Goodreads shutting down their API. As a longtime Rails developer who initially chose Next.js for its server-side ...
May 20, 2025•35 min•Season 1Ep. 50
What happens when a seasoned Rails developer with 17 years of experience decides to document their journey learning Hotwire? Radan Skorić joins us to discuss his ebook "Master Hotwire" and the fascinating parallels between writing and coding. Unlike most tutorials that start from ground zero, Radan's approach assumes you already know Rails—because that was his experience when learning Hotwire. "When I was picking up Hotwire, I had tons of Rails experience. I've just not done Hotwire," he explain...
Apr 01, 2025•34 min•Season 1Ep. 49
Join us as we unravel the inspiring journey of Tailwind CSS with its creator, Adam Wathan. From its inception in 2017 as an open-source CSS framework to becoming a major player in web design, Tailwind has recently undergone a significant rebranding with the launch of Tailwind Plus. This episode provides listeners with insights into Adam's strategic choices, including the reasoning behind merging Tailwind UI into the broader Tailwind ecosystem. Discover the challenges and outcomes of balancing co...
Mar 18, 2025•33 min•Season 1Ep. 48
Join us for a fascinating episode where we explore the development of SaturnCI—a new and user-friendly Continuous Integration tool that arose from frustrations with existing solutions like CircleCI and GitHub Actions. Our guest, Jason Sweat, shares his passion for creating a platform that not only simplifies the user experience but actively incorporates feedback from early adopters. Through candid conversations, Jason recounts his journey as a content creator in the Ruby community, and how it in...
Mar 04, 2025•49 min•Season 1Ep. 47
David Hill, the innovative mind behind "Ode to RailsConf" and a senior engineer at Simplify, invites us to explore his fascinating journey into the world of podcasting. Inspired by the final announcement of RailsConf, David crafted a platform to celebrate the cherished memories of the event while also providing himself with a bridge to manage social interactions more comfortably. With his love for board games providing a structured approach, David shares how the podcasting framework has transfor...
Feb 25, 2025•42 min•Season 1Ep. 46
Stephen Margheim, a celebrated figure in the Ruby and Rails community, returns to unravel the fascinating intricacies of his latest project—writing a parser for SQLite's SQL dialect in Ruby. He shares his enlightening journey of translating complex SQL syntax, which at first seemed a simple endeavor but soon unfolded into a realm of deep learning and unexpected challenges. Alongside this, Stephen collaborates with Aaron Francis on "High Leverage Rails," a video course designed to spotlight the s...
Feb 04, 2025•39 min•Season 1Ep. 45
What if you could scale your SaaS platforms effortlessly across diverse hosting services? Join us as we welcome Adam McCrea, the brilliant mind behind JudoScale, who takes us through his fascinating evolution from being a Rails developer to creating a cutting-edge autoscaling solution. Adam opens up about the technical challenges he faced while adapting JudoScale for platforms like Render, Fly, and Railway, and how Heroku's unique architecture initially shaped his approach. His journey is one of...
Dec 17, 2024•35 min•Season 1Ep. 44
What drives a seasoned developer from Taiwan to London, and how does one translate a passion for Ruby into groundbreaking projects? Hear from Stan Lo of Shopify's RubyDX team as he shares his captivating journey and his significant impact on the Ruby development landscape. From his essential work on the debug gem and IRB to his current efforts with the Sorbet type checker and Prism parser, Stan delves into the technical intricacies of using C++ for performance and memory management. Gain unique ...
Dec 03, 2024•32 min•Season 1Ep. 43
Cody Norman, an independent Ruby on Rails consultant and creator of SpotSquid, takes us on a fascinating journey through the intersection of technology and tattoo artistry. Discover how Cody transformed a traditionally paper-based industry into a tech-savvy environment, using customer feedback to tackle the unique challenges faced by tattoo artists and shop owners. With anecdotes from his tech conference experiences and insights into his consulting career, Cody's story is both relatable and insp...
Oct 22, 2024•28 min•Season 1Ep. 42
Ever wondered why a seasoned entrepreneur would choose acquisition over starting from scratch? Join us as veteran Rubyist John Nunemaker unravels the secrets behind his strategic purchase of Fireside FM. You’ll discover the ins and outs of transitioning ownership and handling infrastructure while gaining insights into why stepping into an existing company can be a game-changer for entrepreneurs. John's journey doesn't stop at Fireside FM. He shares his experiences juggling multiple ventures, inc...
Oct 08, 2024•40 min•Season 1Ep. 41
Ever been jolted awake at 2:30 AM by a fire alarm while at a tech conference? We have, and it was just one of the unexpected moments that added a unique twist to our RailsWorld experience. Join us as Andy Kroll, Chris Oliver, Alan Reitelhoover, and I recount the highs and lows of the conference, from the festival-like energy to the invaluable hallway conversations. We share our reflections on Eileen's powerful keynote and the buzz around the new features in Rails 8, including solid Q and solid c...
Sep 27, 2024•19 min
Can you feel the festival vibes of Rails World? Brace yourself for an electrifying journey through the upcoming release of Rails 8, where authentication features are creating a buzz like never before. Picture yourself amidst a sea of passionate developers, where hallway interactions often outshine the scheduled talks. We'll also share a heartfelt tribute to Justin Searles, whose potentially final talk left a lasting mark on the Rails community. And guess what? The Rails World spirit isn't just c...
Sep 27, 2024•30 min
What groundbreaking feature has Rails 8 introduced that has Jason Charns grinning from ear to ear? Join us live from Railsworld 2024 in Toronto as we break down DHH's monumental keynote unveiling the built-in authentication feature that’s set to revolutionize Rails development. Jason shares his excitement over the long-awaited feature, drawing hilarious comparisons to his past struggles with Devise and other gems. We also dive into the latest deployment tools—Kamal 2, Thruster, and Propshaft—tha...
Sep 26, 2024•11 min
What does it take to build a modern, distraction-free forum platform that fosters deep community engagement? Join us as we welcome back Jeremy Smith, a seasoned Rails developer and consultant, who shares his journey of creating Liminal, an innovative platform inspired by conversations at RailsConf. Jeremy's insights offer a unique look into his work under Hybrid Studio, his passion for Ruby and Rails projects, and his latest ventures, including organizing Blue Ridge Ruby and co-hosting the Indie...
Sep 24, 2024•39 min•Season 1Ep. 40
Ever wondered how a backend developer can transition into a successful content creator while juggling a bustling family life? Join us as Aaron Francis, a prominent figure in the tech video content space, shares his incredible journey. From his early days working with Laravel to launching a comprehensive SQLite course, Aaron provides invaluable insights into balancing full-time commitments with side projects. He also opens up about his personal life, revealing how he and his wife, along with the ...
Aug 06, 2024•39 min•Season 1Ep. 39
Ready to unlock the secrets of game development using Ruby? Join us as we chat with the ingenious Amir Rajan, the mastermind behind the DragonRuby Game Toolkit. Amir takes us on a captivating journey from his corporate days in app development to becoming a trailblazing indie game developer. You'll be amazed at how Amir leveraged Ruby's expressive power to create innovative games and how his monumental success with the iOS port of "A Dark Room" reshaped his career. Prepare to gain an insider's pe...
Jul 16, 2024•48 min•Season 1Ep. 38
Get a behind-the-scenes look at the meticulous planning for RubyConf, where Kinsey Durham Grace reveals exciting new initiatives aimed at making the conference more inclusive and accessible for developers of all skill levels. Learn about the importance of the early Call for Proposals (CFP) and the exciting RubyConf tracks planned for this year. As she details the structure of RubyConf, featuring three simultaneous tracks and a community-focused day, you’ll see why this event is a must-attend for...
Jul 02, 2024•28 min•Season 1Ep. 37
In this special crossover episode recorded live from RailsConf 2024 in Detroit, join us for a unique gathering of prominent Ruby podcasters. Drew teams up with Elise from the 'Ruby on Rails' podcast, Jason from 'Code with Jason,' Joël from 'The Bike Shed,' and Julie from 'Ruby for All' The group discusses their experiences at RailsConf, including workshops, talks about Test Driven Development (TDD), and building dynamic applications with Turbo. They delve into the implications of RailsConf being...
Jun 18, 2024•30 min•Season 1Ep. 36
Ever wondered how a Ruby developer transitions into a successful entrepreneur? Join us as Josh Wood, co-founder of HoneyBadger.io, shares his fascinating journey. From creating notable projects like the Heya gem and Exceptional Creatures to spearheading the launch of HoneyBadger Insights, Josh offers an insider's view of the Ruby community and his experiences at RailsConf. Listen to his unique perspective on balancing developer relations, marketing, and the dynamic energy that fuels his passion ...
Jun 04, 2024•40 min•Season 1Ep. 35
Discover the heartbeat of Ruby with Ufuk Kayserilioglu, the engineering maestro at Shopify, as we unravel the layers of Ruby infrastructure and the bright future of Rails development. Ufuk's insights into the meticulous work of maintaining CRuby reveal the fine art of balancing performance with modernity while also diving into the exciting realms of TruffleRuby and the Prism compiler. His recent appointment to the Ruby Central board brings a fresh perspective to the community's cherished events,...
Apr 16, 2024•46 min•Season 1Ep. 34
Embark on a journey through the landscape of SQLite and Ruby on Rails as I chat with the exceptional Stephen Margheim, who enlightens us on the robustness and agility of SQLite for modern web development. Stephen brings to the table his extensive open-source contributions and projects that integrate SQLite with Rails, offering insights into Ruby gems like Lightstream for backups and an SQLite package manager for extensions. Dispel any doubts about SQLite's scalability with us, as Stephen dismant...
Apr 02, 2024•47 min•Season 1Ep. 33
Imagine stepping into the control room of a major tech conference with us as we chat with Andy Croll, CTO of Coverage Book and freshly minted co-chair of RailsConf. This episode peels back the curtain on the meticulous craft of conference planning – from the adrenaline rush of putting together a tech event to the nitty-gritty of ensuring that every attendee leaves with more than they came for. Andy's vision for RailsConf marries the camaraderie of small engineering teams with the prowess of indu...
Jan 30, 2024•38 min•Season 1Ep. 32
It's time for another Ruby on Rails podcast crossover episode! This time I'm joined by the RoR Podcasts new host, Elise Shaffer. Elise interviews me about the game show I've been giving, I offer my thoughts on doing "weird talks", and we chat about how I got started podcasting. We then flip the script and I interview Elise about her new course on Test Driven Development (TDD), her podcast, and her thoughts on teaching and learning. Elise also had some great tips for getting started (or getting b...
Dec 12, 2023•35 min•Season 1Ep. 31
In this eipsode I had the pleasure of talking to Adarsh Pandit, Executive Director of Ruby Central, who gave me a peek behind the curtain. From discussing his journey through the coding industry to arriving at Ruby Central, to the challenges he tackled stepping into an executive role - Adarsh's story is a tale of perseverance, growth, and community building. Get ready to uncover how Ruby Central is keeping the Ruby community vibrant and innovative. You'll hear about RubyConf and the exciting Com...
Nov 07, 2023•48 min•Season 1Ep. 30
In this episode, I'm joined by a special guest, Ben Ornstein, one of my Ruby heroes. I may fan-boy a bit as I express my admiration for Tuple, a tool I love. Together, we dive deep into Tuple's journey, starting from its inception and delving into the creative problem-solving and ingenuity behind its design and development. Ben also reveals his transition from CEO to Head of Product. We discuss the fresh perspective on team collaboration methods and product development this change offers. We exp...
Oct 03, 2023•37 min•Season 1Ep. 29
