Syntax - Tasty Web Development Treats

894: Open Source Matters w/ Chad Whitacre

Wes and Scott talk with Chad Whitacre, the newest member of the Syntax team, about all things open source—licenses, controversies, economics, and ethics. Chad breaks down what most people misunderstand, and how companies can support sustainable software development the right way. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 00:39 Meet Chad Whitacre 03:39 Chad’s retro headphones Retrospekt 05:00 Chad’s role at Syntax https://syntax.fm/oss Open Path 09:41 What do people get wrong about open source? 11:11 W...

893: Everyone Is Talking About MCP

Scott and Wes break down the Model Context Protocol (MCP), a new open standard that gives AI agents secure, tool-like access to your dev environment. They cover how it works, why it’s a big deal for AI coding workflows, and real-world use cases like GitHub, Sentry, and YouTube. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 00:49 The lore of ICP. Wes MCP Shirt . 03:09 Brought to you by Sentry.io . 03:33 What is MCP ? 05:06 The steps of AI coding. 07:11 MCP hosts. 07:28 MCP clients. 07:35 MCP servers. 08:24...

892: The History of Syntax

Wes and Scott talk about the origins of Syntax, sharing how a friendly course name conflict led to a mastermind group, then a podcast, and eventually a full-blown media brand. They also reflect on key milestones, from early episodes and sponsorships to joining Sentry, expanding the team, and what’s next. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 00:51 How Wes and Scott met Scott Tolinski & The Origins of LevelUpTuts LevelUpTutorials WesBos.com 09:31 How Syntax got its name Episode 001: React Tools 15:...

891: Light and Dark Mode

Light mode? Dark mode? Scott and Wes break down the best ways to implement theme switching in CSS, from prefers-color-scheme to manual overrides. Plus, tips on handling shadows, icons, and the dreaded flash of dark mode! Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 01:05 Brought to you by Sentry.io . 02:06 Light and dark mode, things to consider. 02:31 Light and dark mode from scratch. drop-in.css . 04:41 Calculations vs assigned color. 05:32 color-mix and relative color. 08:15 Foreground and background ...

890: Accepting Money on the Internet in 2025

Wes and Scott talk about the ins and outs of accepting payments online—from choosing processors like Stripe and PayPal to handling fraud, taxes, custom checkouts, and more. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 02:34 Payment processors Stripe PayPal Square Authorize.net 09:29 Checkouts 18:22 The checkout flow 23:10 Methods of accepting money 25:30 Brought to you by Sentry.io 28:34 Merchant of Record Lemon Squeezy Gumroad Paddle Beacons 32:51 Handling fraud, disputes, and refunds 41:25 Sick Picks +...

889: Planning A Build

Scott and Wes talk about the planning process for a major redesign of the Syntax.fm website. They share their thoughts on organizing tasks, choosing tech, handling styling, and the debates that come with deciding what to keep and what to change. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 01:36 Brought to you by Sentry.io . 02:48 Why we need version 3.0 of Syntax.fm . Level Up Tutorials , Travis Neilson . 04:41 Project planning and organization. 05:53 The codebase. 09:50 The CSS changes. Episode 770: De...

888: You Need a Monorepo × Client Only React × TanStack + More

887: Vibe Coding Is a Problem

Is Vibe Coding the future of software development or just a fun way to experiment? Scott and Wes talk about coding with AI, the risks of ignoring the details, and the cool (and sometimes cursed) projects they’ve Vibe Coded. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 00:31 “Personal Software”. 01:30 What exactly is Vibe Coding. 02:46 The challenges of coding with AI. Levelsio Airplane Game . 04:49 Brought to you by Sentry.io . 05:39 Vibe coding quality concerns. 07:25 Vibe Coding as a learning tool. 10:...

886: AWS and IAC for Dummies with SST

Wes and Scott talk about Infrastructure as Code and how SST makes deploying to AWS easier than ever. They dive into SST’s features, developer experience, and how it simplifies managing services like databases, email, and more. Plus, insights on Cloudflare integration, auto-scaling, and real-world use cases. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! Supper Club × Next.js on AWS + Serverless with Dax Raad 02:37 Brought to you by Sentry.io 04:52 Intro to SST config SST AWS 05:40 Overview of Scott’s SST c...

885: CSS Fonts Fallbacks, Variable and Trimming

Scott and Wes dig into the wild world of CSS fonts—covering fallbacks, variable fonts, and new tricks like text-box-trim. They also break down font-display, font kits, and how to avoid layout shifts when loading custom type. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 01:06 Brought to you by Sentry.io . Damnit Sans . 02:53 @font-face. 03:27 Font Display . 07:40 Avoiding layout shift. Fallbacks . 10:45 Variable fonts. Fontaine . font-kit Wakamai Fondue . Syntax Ep. 782 . Font Variation Settings . 16:23 V...