What’s changed about learning Python over the last few years? What new techniques and updated advice should beginners have as they start their journey? This week on the show, Stephen Gruppetta and Martin Breuss return to discuss beginning to learn Python. We share techniques for finding motivation, building projects, and learning the fundamentals. We provide advice on installing Python and not obsessing over finding the perfect editor. We also examine incorporating LLMs into learning to code and...
Oct 03, 2025•52 min•Ep. 268
What’s a good way to enable or disable code paths without redeploying the software? How can you use feature flags to toggle functionality for specific users of your application? Christopher Trudeau is back on the show this week, bringing another batch of PyCoder’s Weekly articles and projects. Christopher shares an article exploring the use of feature flags. The piece advises targeting specific users, storing schemas, and relying on well-worn code paths. He also discusses the danger of the expon...
Sep 26, 2025•42 min•Ep. 267
When converting an existing REST API to the Model Context Protocol, what should you consider? What anti-patterns should you avoid to keep an AI agent’s context clean? This week on the show, Kyle Stratis returns to discuss his upcoming book, “AI Agents with MCP”. Kyle has been busy since he last appeared on the show in 2020. He’s taken his experience working in machine learning startups and started his own consultancy, Stratis Data Labs. He’s been documenting his explorations working with LLMs an...
Sep 19, 2025•1 hr 24 min•Ep. 266
What are your options for hosting your Python application or scripts? What are the advantages of a platform as a service, container-based hosts, or setting up a virtual machine? Christopher Trudeau is back on the show this week, bringing another batch of PyCoder’s Weekly articles and projects. We discuss a recent article about hosting Python applications. The piece digs into the differences between using containers or platform-provided tools to automatically configure your project. We also cover...
Sep 12, 2025•44 min•Ep. 265
What’s happening with the latest releases of large language models? Is the industry hitting the edge of the scaling laws, and do the current benchmarks provide reliable performance assessments? This week on the show, Jodie Burchell returns to discuss the current state of LLM releases. The most recent release of GPT-5 has been a wake-up call for the LLM industry. We discuss how the current scaling of these systems is reaching a diminishing edge. Jodie also shares how many AI model assessments and...
Sep 05, 2025•1 hr 29 min•Ep. 264
What is a good way to add isolated, reusable functionality to Python classes? Christopher Trudeau is back on the show this week, bringing another batch of PyCoder’s Weekly articles and projects. Christopher covers a recent Real Python tutorial about developing mixin classes to reuse code across multiple Python classes. He describes how mixins rely on multiple inheritance to combine features from different classes, enhancing flexibility and code reuse. We also share several other articles and pro...
Aug 29, 2025•50 min•Ep. 263
What went into developing the open-source Python tools data scientists use every day? This week on the show, we talk with Travis Oliphant about his work on SciPy, NumPy, Numba, and many other contributions to the Python scientific community. Travis discusses his initial involvement in the open-source community and how he discovered Python while working in biomedical imaging. He was trying to find ways to manage large sets of numerical data, which led to his initial contributions and collaboratio...
Aug 22, 2025•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 262
When considering an object-oriented programming problem, should you prefer inheritance or composition? Why wouldn’t it just be simpler to use functions? Christopher Trudeau is back on the show this week, bringing another batch of PyCoder’s Weekly articles and projects. Christopher shares an article about structuring code using inheritance, composition, or only functions. We discuss how the piece is a good exploration of the trade-offs of each solution. Unlike the tutorials beginners typically en...
Aug 15, 2025•46 min•Ep. 261
What are the advantages of using Polars for your Python data projects? When should you use the lazy or eager APIs, and what are the benefits of each? This week on the show, we speak with Jeroen Janssens and Thijs Nieuwdorp about their new book, Python Polars: The Definitive Guide . Jeroen and Thijs describe how they were introduced to Polars while working at Xomnia. They were converting a large data project to Python and saw surprising speed increases using the new library. We discuss converting...
Aug 08, 2025•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 260
Do the design patterns learned in other programming languages translate to coding in Python? Christopher Trudeau is back on the show this week, bringing another batch of PyCoder’s Weekly articles and projects. Christopher dives into an article that tackles popular object-oriented design patterns from the famous Gang of Four book. These patterns offer solutions to common coding problems, but as Christopher explores, Python often doesn’t even have the problems these solutions try to fix. He discus...
Aug 01, 2025•49 min•Ep. 259
What goes into supporting more than 650,000 projects and nearly a million users of the Python Package Index? This week on the show, we speak with Maria Ashna about her first year as the inaugural PyPI Support Specialist. Maria has a varied background in creative arts and neuroscience. She decided to apply for the PyPI support position, defying common misconceptions about who can take on roles inside the Python Software Foundation, and challenging imposter syndrome along the way. Her recent talks...
Jul 25, 2025•50 min•Ep. 258
How does the performance of an algorithm hold up when you put it into a realistic context? Where might Python code defy Big O notation expectations when using a profiler? Christopher Trudeau is back on the show this week, bringing another batch of PyCoder’s Weekly articles and projects. Christopher shares an article about why real-world performance often defies Big O expectations. The piece starts with a task coded in Go and then optimized from O(n²) to O(n). Can an interpreted language like Pyt...
Jul 11, 2025•45 min•Ep. 257
What motivates someone to learn how to code as a scientist? How do you harness the excitement of solving problems quickly and make the connection to the benefits of coding in your scientific work? This week on the show, we speak with Ben Lear and Christopher Johnson about their book “Coding For Chemists.” Christopher is an associate professor of chemistry at Stony Brook University. Ben is a professor of chemistry at Penn State’s Eberly College of Science. They’re long-time friends who decided to...
Jul 04, 2025•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 256
What goes into crafting an effective Python script? How do you organize your code, manage dependencies with PEP 723, and handle command-line arguments for the best results? Christopher Trudeau is back on the show this week, bringing another batch of PyCoder’s Weekly articles and projects. We dig into a recent Real Python article about how to structure your Python scripts. It includes advice for adding inline script metadata as defined in PEP 723, which helps tools automatically create an environ...
Jun 27, 2025•54 min•Ep. 255
What goes into scaling a web application today? What are resources for learning and practicing DevOps skills? This week on the show, Calvin Hendryx-Parker is back to discuss the tools and infrastructure for autoscaling web applications with Kubernetes and Karpenter. Calvin is the co-founder and CTO of Six Feet Up, a Python and AI consultancy. He shares how they recently helped a client scale a web application that employs video, audio, and chat sessions. We dig deep into the tooling behind moder...
Jun 20, 2025•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 254
Looking for a guide on getting started with marimo notebooks? How do you build a reproducible notebook for sharing or create a dashboard with interactive UI elements? Christopher Trudeau is back on the show this week, bringing another batch of PyCoder’s Weekly articles and projects. We cover a recent Real Python article by Ian Eyre about using narimo notebooks. The tutorial covers installing Marimo, taking advantage of reactivity, building interactive dashboards, and managing a notebook’s enviro...
Jun 13, 2025•52 min•Ep. 253
Once you’ve learned the vocabulary and syntax of the Python language, how do you progress into learning the right combinations to put into your code? How can Python’s built-in itertools library enhance your skills? This week on the show, we speak with Rodrigo Girão Serrão about teaching Python through his blog and his passion for the itertools library. We discuss Rodrigo’s different approaches to writing on his blog. He likes to document smaller concepts about Python and building code in his “To...
Jun 06, 2025•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 252
What are the ways you can manage multithreaded code in Python? What synchronization techniques are available within Python’s threading module? Christopher Trudeau is back on the show this week, bringing another batch of PyCoder’s Weekly articles and projects. Christopher discusses his recent Real Python video course about thread safety. The course provides a quick overview of race conditions and how to use locks in your code. It then goes on to share a collection of additional synchronization pr...
May 30, 2025•35 min•Ep. 251
What goes into making video courses at Real Python? How should you build an installable Django application? Christopher Trudeau is back on the show this week, bringing another batch of PyCoder’s Weekly articles and projects. This week, the Real Python Podcast is experiencing several firsts. We recorded a show in front of a live audience for the very first time, and it happened in Dublin, Ireland—a place neither of us had visited before. I also got to meet Christopher Trudeau in person for the fi...
May 23, 2025•57 min•Ep. 250
What is the best way to record the Python dependencies for the reproducibility of your projects? What advantages will lock files provide for those projects? This week on the show, we welcome back Python Core Developer Brett Cannon to discuss his journey to bring PEP 751 and the pylock.toml file format to the community. Brett has been working on a way to move beyond the requirements.txt file for over six years. He was on the show previously to discuss his work on PEP 665, which was rejected. He d...
May 16, 2025•1 hr 32 min•Ep. 249
Are you looking for some projects where you can practice your Python skills? Would you like to experiment with building a generative AI app or an automated knowledge graph sentiment analysis tool? This week on the show, we speak with Raymond Camden about his journey into Python, his work in developer relations, and the Python projects featured on his blog. Raymond is a developer evangelist and advocate who works with APIs, AI, and the web. He’s been expanding his developer knowledge by learning ...
May 09, 2025•59 min•Ep. 248
Are you looking for a fast database that can handle large datasets in Python? What’s the difference between a Python expression and a statement? Christopher Trudeau is back on the show this week, bringing another batch of PyCoder’s Weekly articles and projects. We cover a Real Python article that explores DuckDB and discuss creating a database by reading data from multiple file formats. When building queries, DuckDB uses standard SQL syntax, or for an object-oriented approach, you can chain meth...
Apr 18, 2025•52 min•Ep. 247
Do you want to learn deeper concepts in Python? Would the accountability of scheduled group classes help you get past the basics? This week, five Real Python Intermediate Deep Dive workshop members discuss their experiences. We discuss the struggles of learning Python independently and the barriers to moving beyond the basics. We also explore the advantages of having a curated collection of both written tutorials and video courses. The cohort members also talk about filling in the gaps in their ...
Apr 11, 2025•56 min•Ep. 246
What are the current Python graphical user interface libraries? Should you build everything in the terminal and create a text-based user interface instead? Christopher Trudeau is back on the show this week, bringing another batch of PyCoder’s Weekly articles and projects. We cover a Real Python article that explores the Textual library. Textual is a Python toolkit and framework for creating attractive and functional text-based user interface (TUI) applications that run in the user’s terminal. Th...
Apr 04, 2025•47 min•Ep. 245
What goes into updating one of the most popular books about working with Python? After a decade of changes in the Python landscape, what projects, libraries, and skills are relevant to an office worker? This week on the show, we speak with previous guest Al Sweigart about the third edition of “Automate the Boring Stuff With Python.” Al shares his thoughts on teaching Python and writing books over the past decade. In this third edition, he shares several new projects and updates to existing ones....
Mar 21, 2025•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 244
How can you simplify the management of your Python projects with one file? What are the advantages of using LazyFrames in Polars? Christopher Trudeau is back on the show this week, bringing another batch of PyCoder’s Weekly articles and projects. We share a recent Real Python tutorial by Ian Currie about managing projects with a pyproject.toml file. This file simplifies Python project configuration by unifying package setup, managing dependencies, and streamlining builds. Christopher continues h...
Mar 14, 2025•49 min•Ep. 243
Should you always start testing your code with unit tests? When does it make sense to look at integration or end-to-end testing as a first step instead? This week on the show, we speak with previous guest Eric Matthes about where to begin testing your code. Eric is the author of the popular book Python Crash Course . Early in the development of the book, he decided to introduce testing and added a chapter on testing code with pytest. Over the past couple of years, Eric has continued to consider ...
Mar 07, 2025•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 242
How do you learn the terms commonly used when speaking about Python? How is the jargon similar to other programming languages? Christopher Trudeau is back on the show this week, bringing another batch of PyCoder’s Weekly articles and projects. We discuss a Python glossary recently created by Trey Hunner. Trey describes it as an unofficial glossary and Python jargon file. We dig into the terms and colloquial language often used when describing Python. We cover a blog post celebrating 31 years of ...
Feb 28, 2025•43 min•Ep. 241
How do you make compelling visualizations that best convey the story of your data? What methods can you employ within popular Python tools to improve your plots and graphs? This week on the show, Matt Harrison returns to discuss his new book “Effective Visualization: Exploiting Matplotlib & Pandas.” As a data scientist and instructor, Matt has been teaching the concepts of managing tabular data and making visualizations for over 20 years. Matt shares his methodology for taking a basic plot a...
Feb 21, 2025•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 240
What is behavior-driven development, and how does it work alongside test-driven development? How do you communicate requirements between teams in an organization? Christopher Trudeau is back on the show this week, bringing another batch of PyCoder’s Weekly articles and projects. In this episode, we expand on our software testing discussion from two weeks ago by adding behavior-driven development concepts. Christopher describes how BDD correlates with test-driven development and how it fosters co...
Feb 14, 2025•57 min•Ep. 239
