Guest Batool Almarzouq Panelist Richard Littauer | Amanda Casari Show Notes In this episode, hosts Richard Littauer and Amanda Casari are joined by Batool Almarzouq, Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Liverpool and Research Project Manager at the Alan Turing Institute. They discuss Batool's work in open science, including her involvement in the Open Science Community Saudi Arabia, localization efforts, and the challenges of connecting global and local open science initiatives. The con...
Nov 01, 2024•32 min
Guest Juan Pablo Alperin | John Willinsky Panelist Richard Littauer Show Notes In this episode of Sustain, host Richard discusses the importance of maintaining open access to research with guests Juan Pablo Alperin and John Willinsky from the Public Knowledge Project (PKP). The conversation covers PKP’s history, the development of their open-source software, Open Journal Systems (OJS), and its impact on scholarly publishing. They dive into the integration with other open-access initiatives, the ...
Oct 25, 2024•45 min
Guest Nolan Lawson Panelist Richard Littauer | Eric Berry | Justin Dorfman Show Notes In this episode of Sustain, Richard, Justin, and Eric revisit an unreleased interview with Nolan Lawson from 2020. They discuss Nolan's experience as a former maintainer of PouchDB, the emotional labor of being an open source maintainer, and the challenges that led him to step away from such high-profile projects. Nolan also shares his thoughts on the impact of reputation-driven development, open source communi...
Oct 18, 2024•37 min
Guest Gina Häußge Panelist Richard Littauer Show Notes In this episode of Sustain, Richard chats with guest Gina Häußge, the creator and maintainer of OctoPrint, a web interface for 3D printers. Gina shares her journey in open-source development, discussing how she transitioned to working full-time on OctoPrint through crowdfunding. She talks about managing burnout, maintaining a healthy community, and the complexities of balancing development with user demands. Gina also explains the importance...
Oct 11, 2024•34 min
Guest Juliana Barros Lima Panelist Richard Littauer Show Notes In this episode of Sustain, Richard Littauer talks with Juliana (Jules) Barros Lima, a full-stack developer and marketing director at Associação Python Brasil. They explore Jules' involvement in organizing and supporting Python events across Brazil, including her work with PyLadies Recife and Python Brasil. The conversation dives into the challenges of fostering diversity and inclusion in open-source communities, touching on Jules’ "...
Oct 04, 2024•39 min
Guest Jenn Turner Panelist Richard Littauer Show Notes In this episode of Sustain, host Richard Littauer interviews Jenn Turner, a content strategist at Fastly and part of the Glitch team. They discuss Jenn's unusual journey from journalism to open source, the challenges of being a non-technical contributor in a technical field, and the importance of effective communication in open source projects. Jen shares insights about maintaining work-life balance, the role of community in sustaining open ...
Sep 27, 2024•41 min
Guest Lorenzo Sciandra | Mirko Swillus Panelist Richard Littauer | Abby Mayes Show Notes In this episode of Sustain, host Richard Littauer and co-host Abby Mayes are joined by Lorenzo Sciandra and Mirko Swillus from the Sovereign Tech Fund (STF) to discuss the launch of the "Fellowship for Maintainers" program. Funded by the German government, STF is dedicated to supporting open-source sustainability by funding maintainers, especially those who work on multiple projects. Lorenzo and Mirko explai...
Sep 20, 2024•35 min
Guest Chad Whitacre Panelists Richard Littauer | Eriol Fox Show Notes In this episode, host Richard Littauer and co-host Eriol Fox interview Chad Whitacre, a key figure in the open source community and Head of Open Source at Sentry. Today, they delve into the challenges and strategies related to sustaining open source projects, focusing on Sentry's efforts to fund open source through various initiatives, including the ambitious Open Source Pledge. The discussion covers the history of Sentry's co...
Sep 13, 2024•39 min
Guest Divya Mohan Panelist Richard Littauer Show Notes In this episode, host Richard Littauer welcomes guest Divya Mohan, Principal Technology Advocate at SUSE, as they discuss her journey into open source and her role in advocating for SUSE's projects. The conversation delves into the importance of community involvement, the goals of CHAOSS Asia, and the challenges of fostering a cohesive open-source community across a diverse continent. They also explore the necessity of standardization within...
Sep 06, 2024•29 min
Guest Brian Douglas Panelist Richard Littauer Show Notes In this episode of Sustain, host Richard Littauer talks with Brian “bdougie” Douglas, founder and CEO of Open Sauced. They discuss the multifaceted aspects of sustaining open source projects, Brian’s journey in developer advocacy, and the unique goals of Open Sauced. Brian shares insights from his experiences at GitHub and Netlify, elaborates on concepts like lottery factor and the significance of unique issue authors, and tackles the chal...
Aug 30, 2024•43 min
Guests Jan Lehnardt | Alba Herrerías Ramírez Panelist Richard Littauer Show Notes In this episode of Sustain, host Richard Littauer engages with Jan Lehnardt and Alba Herrerías Ramírez from Neighbourhoodie, a consultancy company based in Berlin and the Canary Islands. The discussion delves into Neighbourhoodie’s work on sustaining open source projects, their collaboration with the Sovereign Tech Fund for enhancing open source project's bug resilience, and the technical and ethical facets of thei...
Aug 23, 2024•45 min
Guests Elizabeth Barron | Luis Cañas-Diaz | Dawn Foster Panelist Richard Littauer Show Notes In this episode of Sustain, host Richard Littauer is joined by three guests, Dawn Foster, Elizabeth Barron, and Luis Cañas Diaz, to discuss the CHAOSS Project's recent development of Practitioner Guides. The show delves into the purpose of these guides, which are designed to help open source projects interpret and utilize metrics to improve community health and sustainability. The guests explain the sign...
Aug 16, 2024•39 min
Guest Ben Cotton Panelist Leslie Hawthorne Show Notes In this episode of Sustain, host Leslie Hawthorn is joined by guest, Ben Cotton, the Open Source Community Lead at Kusari and former Fedora Program Manager. Ben discusses his career path, the importance of intentional program management in open source projects, and shares insights from his book, 'Program Management for Open Source Projects.' The conversation covers the evolution of engagement in open source communities, the impact of professi...
Aug 09, 2024•44 min
Guests Tracy Hinds | Ashley Williams Panelist Richard Littauer Show Notes On today’s episode of Sustain, host Richard Littauer is joined by guests, Tracy Hinds and Ashley Williams, to discuss the structural inequities and funding issues in open source. The episode delves deep into the misaligned incentives in the open source community, how regulatory and policy awareness is growing, and the potential for government regulations to create opportunities for open source maintainers. The conversation...
Jul 12, 2024•41 min
Guest Yo Yehudi Panelist Richard Littauer Show Notes In this episode of Sustain, host Richard Littauer is joined by Yo Yehudi, Executive Director of Open Life Science (OLS), who discusses the importance of sustaining open source and scientific research. They cover topics such as the transition of OLS from a life sciences focus to all sciences, the importance of sharing scientific work openly, and strategies for building inclusive and sustainable communities within open source projects. Yo also t...
Jul 05, 2024•37 min
Guest Deb Goodkin Panelist Richard Littauer Show Notes This episode of Sustain features host Richard Littauer having a conversation with guest Deb Goodkin, the Executive Director of the FreeBSD Foundation. They discuss the history, development, and distinct characteristics of FreeBSD as an operating system independent from Linux, and the foundational support provided by the FreeBSD Foundation. The conversation delves into the organization’s efforts in software development, security, community en...
Jun 28, 2024•39 min
Guest Julia Evans Panelists Richard Littauer | Amanda Casari Show Notes In this episode of Sustain, host Richard Littauer and co-host Amanda Casari talk to Julia Evans, a zine artist and programmer from Montreal. The discussion delves into Julia's journey in creating educational zines about technical topics like strace, Bash, and Git. Julia shares insights into her unique approach to making complex tools more accessible, how she uses feedback and beta readers to refine her work, and the importan...
Jun 21, 2024•34 min
Guest Max Jones Panelist Richard Littauer Show Notes In this first ever cross-over episode of Sustain and Open Source for Climate, host Richard welcomes guest Max Jones, a data scientist and open source software developer who works at Carbon Plan. Max discusses the importance of open source in bringing about effective climate action, the role of Carbon Plan in building accessible data products and tools, and how being a nonprofit is advantageous for open source development. The conversation also...
Jun 14, 2024•29 min
Guests Eva Maxfield Brown | Boris Veytsman Panelist Richard Littauer Show Notes In this episode of Sustain, host Richard Littauer engages with guests Eva Maxfield Brown and Boris Veytsman to explore their co-authored paper, "Biomedical Open Source Software: Crucial Packages and Hidden Heroes." The paper focuses on identifying crucial but often overlooked software dependencies in biomedical research. The discussions delve into how the study used data from two million papers to map these dependenc...
Jun 07, 2024•40 min
Guest Emmy Tsang Panelist Richard Littauer Show Notes In this episode of Sustain, host Richard Littauer welcomes Emmy Tsang, the Engagement Lead at Invest in Open Infrastructure (IOI). Emmy introduces the mission of IOI, which focuses on increasing investment in and adoption of open infrastructure to promote equitable access and participation in research. The discussion delves into what constitutes 'open infrastructure,' the need for nuanced definitions, and IOI's efforts in providing evidence-b...
May 31, 2024•37 min
Guest Simon Vansintjan Panelist Richard Littauer Show Notes In this episode, host Richard Littauer and guest Simon Vansintjan dive into the topic of open-source sustainability in the music industry. Simon, a long-time friend of Richard and a seasoned coder and designer, introduces Mirlo, an innovative online platform he's working on that combines elements of Bandcamp and Patreon to enable direct financial support for musicians. Mirlo, an open-source project built with a full-stack TypeScript, Ex...
May 24, 2024•30 min
Guest Dr. Carlotta A. Berry Panelist Richard Littauer Show Notes In this episode, host Richard Littauer engages in a conversation with Dr. Carlotta Berry, a Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology and a passionate advocate for diversity in STEM. Carlotta shares her journey from an undergraduate student rarely seeing diversity in her field to becoming an engineering professor determined to change that narrative. She discusses her w...
May 17, 2024•38 min
Guest Susan Kennedy Panelists Richard Littauer | Eriol Fox Show Notes In this episode, hosts Richard Littauer and Eriol Fox chat with Susan Kennedy, a program manager at the Open Technology Fund (OTF), to explore the intricacies of sustaining open source technologies. OTF, a nonprofit organization, plays a vital role in promoting internet freedom in oppressive regimes by supporting the development of anti-censorship and anti-surveillance technologies. Funded by the U.S. Congress but operating in...
May 10, 2024•37 min
Guest Velda Kiara Panelist Richard Littauer Show Notes Today, host Richard has a conversation with guest Velda Kiara, a passionate open source developer. Velda discusses how open source has helped businesses, how it benefits both coders and non-coders, and how it can lead to career growth. She also talks about the challenges of open source, particularly in terms of finances and the sustainability of projects. The discussion also turns to Velda’s attendance at OSCA fest in Lagos, Nigeria, and her...
May 03, 2024•20 min
Guest Kari L. Jordan Panelist Richard Littauer Show Notes In this episode of Sustain, host Richard welcomes guest Dr. Kari L. Jordan, the Executive Director of The Carpentries, to discuss the organization’s mission, challenges, and strategies for fostering an inclusive community that teaches data and coding skills. We explore topics like sustaining open source projects, the importance of teaching open source tools and practices, and how The Carpentries contribute to the ecosystem. The conversati...
Apr 26, 2024•36 min
Guest Stephen Okonkwo Panelist Richard Littauer Show Notes In this episode of Sustain, the OSCA 2023 series, host Richard welcomes Steve Okonkwo, a multidisciplinary designer who actively contributes to the Open Source Community Africa (OSCA). Steve sheds light on his role in enhancing user experience through thoughtful design, particularly for OSCA, and shares his dedication to continue elevating the design team's work. Richard and Steve discuss the Sustain sub-event, the importance of design i...
Apr 19, 2024•14 min
Guest Yani Bellini Saibene Panelist Richard Littauer Show Notes In this episode of Sustain, host Richard welcomes guest Yani Bellini Saibene from Argentina. Yani, with a rich background in open source community management, shares her journey into the tech and open source world, and highlights her roles as the rOpenSci Community Manager, R-Ladies Project Lead, and Vice President for the Board of Directors for The Carpentries. The discussion dives into the challenges of funding, sustainability of ...
Apr 12, 2024•45 min
Guest Adewale “Ace” Abati Panelist Richard Littauer Show Notes In this episode, host Richard Littauer sits down with Adewale “Ace” Abati, a staff developer advocate at TBD and member of the Open Source Community Africa. Today, they discuss Ace’s work in building a decentralized future of the web and advocating for open protocol and Web5 technology. Ace provides insightful perspectives on the pressure of content creation, the importance of repetition for skill acquisition, and the role of communi...
Apr 05, 2024•14 min
Guest Jacob Kaplan-Moss Panelist Richard Littauer | Amanda Casari Show Notes This episode of Sustain explores the challenges and dynamics of funding open source projects. Host Richard Littauer and co-host Amanda Casari welcome guest Jacob Kaplan-Moss, Board Member and Treasurer of the Django Software Foundation, and Security Architect at Latacora. The discussion covers Jacob’s recent blog post on the criticism faced by open source maintainers who seek compensation, highlighting the backlash enco...
Mar 29, 2024•34 min
Guest Subomi Oluwalana Panelist Richard Littauer Show Notes On today’s episode, Richard engages in a conversation with Subomi Oluwalana, Co-founder and CEO of Convoy, an innovative company specializing in open source Webhooks gateway solutions akin to Kong but focused on Webhooks, with features like rate limiting and circuit breaking. He delves into the intricacies of balancing a genuine open source philosophy with profitability drawing parallels with GitLab’s model and emphasizes the importance...
Mar 22, 2024•14 min
